MotoGP : Marquez domine les deux premiers tests de la saison / Marquez dominant again in pre-season testing

Double champion du monde en titre, Marc Marquez (Honda HRC) a dominé les deux premiers tests officiels de la saison sur le circuit de Sepang en Malaisie.

Marc Marquez a terminé une nouvelle fois en haut de la feuille des classements à l’issue de la troisième et dernière journée du second test officiel de la saison. Il a bouclé son meilleur tour en 1.59.115, à quatre dixièmes seulement de son tour le plus rapide effectué lors du premier test début février.

Les pilotes ont profité de températures plus clémentes le matin pour signer leurs meilleurs temps respectifs. Au terme de ces trois journées, six autres pilotes sont descendus en-dessous des deux minutes. Jorge Lorenzo  (+0.322) est crédité du deuxième temps devant Cal Crutchlow (+0.543), Andrea Iannone (+0.607), Valentino Rossi (+0.718), Bradley Smith (+0.768) et Dani Pedrosa (+0.933).

Héctor Barberá (+1.129) a réalisé le meilleur temps de la catégorie Open.

Les pilotes ont essentiellement travaillé sur l’endurance et la régularité. Chez Honda, Pedrosa a poursuivi l’étude du châssis de la nouvelle RC213V tandis que Márquez s’est attelé à comparer deux cadres différents afin d’en sélectionner un avec lequel continuer le travail.

Du côté de chez Yamaha, on s’est concentré sur les essais de mise au point de la nouvelle boîte de vitesses seamless qui semble avoir donné satisfaction à Lorenzo et Rossi.

Chez Ducati, Iannone s’est montré très à l’aise sur la toute nouvelle GP15, avec laquelle il s’est classé quatrième, tandis que Dovizioso a rencontré quelques soucis techniques sur la fin des phases de freinage. Présent à Sepang, Luigi Dall’Igna, Directeur général de Ducati Corse, a annoncé que les deux pilotes officiels de la marque ne disposeraient peut-être que d’une seule GP15 chacun pour la première manche de la saison, qui aura lieu au Qatar à la fin du mois de mars, mais qu’ils en auraient ensuite deux pour la course suivante à Austin (12 avril).

Les Français Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing) et Loris Baz (Forward Racing) ont respectivement fini ce deuxième test officiel aux vingtième et vingt-quatrième places et termineront leur pré-saison au Qatar, à Losail, du 14 au 16 mars, une semaine avant la manche d’ouverture du Championnat du Monde MotoGP 2015.

Certains teams vont enchaîner jeudi avec une séance d’essais consacrée au développement des pneumatiques Michelin qui sera le manufacturier unique dès la saison 2016.

The 2013 and 2014 world champion Marc Marquez (Honda HRC) was the man to beat at both official test sessions at Sepang, Malaysia.

Marquez figured at the top of the timesheets after the third and final day of the season’s second official MotoGP test. His fastest lap (1m59.115s) was just four-tenths short of his best effort at the opening test at the beginning of the month.

The morning’s relatively cool temperatures saw the riders post their quickest times and six more managed to squeeze beneath the two-minute threshold. Jorge Lorenzo (+0.322s) was second fastest, ahead of Cal Crutchlow (+0.543s), Andrea Iannone (+0.607s), Valentino Rossi (+0.718s), Bradley Smith (+0.768s) and Dani Pedrosa (+0.933s).

Héctor Barberá (+1.129s) was the fastest rider in the Open class.

The teams focused essentially on durability and consistency.

At Honda, Pedrosa continued to lap with the new RC213V chassis, while Márquez compared two frames in order to select the one with which the team will carry on its work programme.

Yamaha concentrated on its new seamless gearbox which seems to have won over Lorenzo and Rossi.

In the Ducati camp, fourth-placed Iannone appeared happy with the new GP15, but Dovizioso encountered technical problems under braking. Ducati Corse CEO Luigi Dall’Igna, who was at Sepang, revealed that the brand’s two drivers might only have one GP15 each for the first race of the 2015 championship in Qatar at the end of March. They will then have two for the next clash at Austin, USA, on April 12.

A number of teams will stay over on Thursday for a session dedicated to tyre development with Michelin who will be MotoGP’s official supplier of rubber from 2016.

Aftershock - Sydney

Aftershock is all about backyard racing on inappropriate bikes. Inspired by Dirt Quake in England and the Australian Flat Track scene, Aftershock is a private event held in Sydney by the Sydney Cafe Racers. It is all about the laughter, cracked ribs, mate-ship, stupidity and friendly racing. A weekend of Mud, Bikes, Bands, Beers, Tents and Shenanigans.

Aftershock - Sydney from Sydney Cafe Racers on Vimeo.

Production-spec McLaren P1 GTR wears legendary Le Mans livery

Last summer, McLaren previewed the 1,000HP, track-only McLaren P1 GTR in Monterey. Now, the production version has officially been revealed, wearing the ‘Harrods’ livery made famous by its predecessor at Le Mans…

Celebrating the F1’s 20th anniversary – and that Le Mans win

The scheme applied to the production-spec P1 GTR harks back to that of F1 GTR chassis #06R, one of five McLarens to complete the manufacturer’s historic rout on its Le Mans debut two decades ago. Also revealed are details surrounding the P1 GTR Driver Programme: an initial test at Silverstone will be followed by the first on-track activity at Circuit de Catalunya in Spain, once the driver has undergone a number of ‘tailored consultations’, including seat fitting and livery selection.

During the development process, the McLaren has managed to give the GTR 10% more downforce in comparison to the P1 road car, along with a weight reduction of 50kg to complement the boost in power. The track-only machine will debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show in March, where it will join the P1 road car in McLaren’s ‘Ultimate Series’. Also at Geneva will be the latest product from the mid-level ‘Super Series’, the 675 LT, while the entry-level ‘Sports Series’ will debut at April’s New York Auto Show.

Photos: McLaren

You can find modern and classic McLarens for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

RANGE ROVER SPORT HAULS AIRSTREAM CARAVAN TO ARCTIC

---

Make way please. High speed glampers coming through.

2 / 4

By: Theo Ford-Sagers via http://www.lro.com/

To show off the towing capability of the hybrid Range Rover Sport, Land Rover recently teamed up with Airstream, purveyor of the luxurious ‘silver bullet’ caravans, for an epic Scandinavian voyage.

This is just what happens when the Sport goes into hybrid mode.

Destination: Arjeplog, Sweden (where Land Rover oeprates a cold-weather testing facility) then on to the Arctic Circle.

As luck would have it, the Scandinavian weather was atrocious, so the hybrid Sport and its 2.5-tonne trailer encountered abnormally icy roads, Arctic gales and record snow depths on its 2500-mile adventure. ‘We were closely watching the long range weather forecasts before we set off but nothing prepared us for how bad it got,’ says team Ben Samuelson.

Girding of loins… and a luxury caravan

The team set off from Land Rover’s Design and Engineering Centre at Gaydon, and drove to Airstream’s HQ in Germany to pick up their flagship Airstream 684 caravan, which had been specially winterised for the journey.

Described as ‘8.25m of boutique hotel suite on wheels, with two double beds, satellite television and Corian surfaces in both its fully-equipped kitchen and spacious bathroom’ that caravan is quite a beast.

The right tools for the job

En route, the team crossed the five-mile long Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden in the teeth of a Hurricane - a good opportunity to test the Range Rover Sport’s 'Trailer Stability Assist', which can brake the car’s wheels individually to counteract sway, preventing catastrophe.

Further north, temperatures fell as low as to -22 degrees centigrade, putting the Range Rover Sport through its paces as it pulled the Airstream along steep icy roads and forest tracks.

 Phil Talboys, who manages the Arjeplog test facility, commented afterwards: ‘This journey just goes to show that the Range Rover Sport Hybrid is pure hybrid – with all the capability and versatility that you’d expect from a Land Rover.’

Find out more about the Hybrid Range Rover Sport

Check out the final page of LRO’s current April issue, where Editor Mike Goodbun sets a hybrid Range Rover Sport against our Real World Test. In fact, it's the very same Range Rover Sport!

Feeling flush and want a Range Rover Sport for your own? Click here to browse some for sale on LRO.com

Is it a bird? Is it a fish? No, it’s the one-off Pininfarina X

Over the years, countless vehicles have drawn inspiration from nature – but while this Pininfarina concept might look like the automotive equivalent of a blowfish, it’s actually inspired by another of Mother Nature’s phenomena: advanced aerodynamics…

This is probably one of the weirdest cars you’ve ever seen; it will also be one of the most aerodynamically efficient. In 1960, the newly rebranded Pininfarina (formerly Pinin Farina) was looking to modernise other aspects of the business, with one potential path leading towards a horizon of aerodynamic excellence. The Cambianese coachbuilder thus called on a wind-wizard professor from Turin Polytechnic, asking him to apply his knowledge from other aero-intensive fields to a practical, low-drag family saloon.

Diamonds are for leather

The result was the Pininfarina X, whose refreshingly uncomplicated moniker referenced the diamond-drivetrain layout the professor believed necessary to achieve the teardrop shape. In essence, it was a Fiat 1100-engined motorcycle with stabilisers and a saloon body: the front wheel steered, the rear wheel drove, and the remaining pair served as outriggers. Oh, and those fins? Their purpose was not to jump on the bandwagon of symbolic extravagance, but rather to counterbalance the destabilisation that was a by-product of the slippery shape.

Ultimately, the X’s drag co-efficient reading was a mere 0.20Cd – not only bettering the legendary Tatra T77a and pretty much every production car made since, but also its successor, the ‘Y’ concept. Laugh at its appearance all you want, but the Pininfarina X has nothing left to prove as a pioneer of aerodynamics.

Photos: Barrett-Jackson

The 1960 Pininfarina X concept seen here is currently being offered for sale through Missouri-based dealer Hyman Ltd.

Icon 1000 Suzuki "New Jack" Katana Custom

The 1982 Suzuki Katana was a machine before her time, a Nippon-Saxon gamble on starship styling to jumpstart Suzuki’s dour offerings.

Thirty years on, she’s the darling of the ball, but in ’82 few were interested in dancing with the silver dame. The New Jack is ICON 1000’s reimagination of what could have been. 

1964 AC Cobra

This 1964 Shelby Cobra is one of AC Cars' second generation Mark II's produced from 1963 to 1965. The Ford 289 was new to the Cobra for 1964, and before the introduction of the 427 the 289 was the standard bearer for Cobra in America. The Shelby 289 Cobra dominated the USRRC with only one loss in three years of racing.

Built in England in May 1964, this example was then shipped to Shelby American in June, arriving at McAnary Ford in Gary, Indiana in August of that year. The then Vineyard Green sports car moved through a couple of owners in its first few years. The first owner of record was Douglas Casey of Chesteron, Indiana who purchased this car from its original owner. Casey would go on to sell both this Cobra and a Dragonsnake to Dodge Olmstead of Vienna, Virginia. Olmstead never drove the Cobra, and quickly sold it to his friend Brooke Perkins in 1965.

Perkins drove the car on the street for about a year, and then decided to go racing. He arranged for two friends, Jim Sutter and Rick Mandelson, to race the car until he received his SCCA License. This wonderful car raced as # 65 and #22 at some of the most famous circuits in the USA; Lime Rock, Marlboro, Reading, Mid-Ohio, Watkins Glen, Virginia International Raceway, Summit Point and Cumberland. Mandelson drove at the 1967 SCCA Nationals at Marlboro and took 1st in class, lapped Bob Tulius, and broke Mark Donohue's track record by a full second, quite an achievement for a car which had originally been purchased for road use!

In 1968, after a couple of years of racing, Perkins put the car up for sale in Autoweek magazine. Dave Johnson of Milwalkee, Wisconsin purchased the car, and after the car had been stripped to bare aluminium, repainted, and a new interior ordered Johnson decided to sell his 289 Cobra.
In 1969 the car landed back in the hands of another racer, Daniel Schott of Osh Kosh, WI. He would race under the banner "My Brother's Place Racing Team". Schott campaigned the car in SCCA B/P as #66 and #69 from 1969 through late 1972 at Brainard, Elkhart Lake, Blackhawk Farms, Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Michigan Int'l Raceway, Waterford Hills, Nelson Ledges, St. Louis, Lime Rock and Atlanta.
In 1973, after many years at the track, the car was given a rest and returned back to its original street form by its next owner, Steve Mondloch of Kaukaun, WI. He would completely restore the car in 1981, and go on to own the Cobra until 1990. After passing through another owner the car would end up in the care of the noted collector, Bill Jacobs and began living the sedate life of a treasured, collectable car.
Of course retirement doesn't work for everyone, and this racing Cobra was raring to get back to the track.
In 2011 the car was purchased by one of America's leading restorers as his own personal car and the car was immediately stripped so that a complete nut and bolt restoration could begin. The body was removed from the frame, with the intent of making the Cobra eligible for both concours and historic racing trophies.

Soon after the completion of the restoration this car took second place in the Shelby Cobra class at the prestigious Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, narrowly beaten by the first Shelby Cobra ever built.
The completely restored Cobra made its return to racing at the 2012 Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, Laguna Seca, which was dedicated to the recently passed Carroll Shelby. Despite starting from last place the Cobra's post restoration racing debut was a success with the car eventually finishing in 6th Place in all Cobra race.

Following this event the car was invited to participate in the World's most famous historic race; the Goodwood Revival TT. The car was repatriated to England in 2014 and was further prepared for European historic racing including the fitting of a fresh FIA engine and the fitting of a hardtop (supplied with the car). Prior to the event the car was tested twice to ensure the setup was at its optimum. The car was then raced at Goodwood by the then British Touring Car Champion Andrew Jordan and DK's James Cottingham and it completed the race without fault finishing in an extremely credible 7th position.
Few cars have the ability to be suitable for both fast road use and competitive race use whilst being what is probably the most iconic car in existence; a Cobra. It is thus no surprise that Cobras consistently take the top step of the Podium at events including the Tour Auto (Won in 2014 by a Cobra 289). This sensational example is race ready and in full FIA specification, fresh from its recent comprehensive restoration and is eligible for world's most coveted events including notably this year's Le Mans 24hrs Support Race, the 2016 Le Mans Classic, Tour Auto, Goodwood Revival and many more.

EDC: SILVER

FOUND IN UNCRATE QUARTERLY — Victorinox Swiss Army Farmer Knife($35). Braun Classic Mesh Watch ($220). Gerber E.A.B Knife ($15). Jack Spade Money Clip ($68). Maratac Stainless Steel Flashlight ($28). Kingston DataTraveler 64GB Flash Drive ($30). Nite Ize DoohicKey Tool ($5). Mophie Powerstation Plus($80+). Handgrey Titanium Carabiner ($55).

3 MAI 2015 / LES ARSOUILL’EURES SECONDE MONTEE HISTORIQUE D’EPIEDS

Vous en rêviez, Volants et Vallée l’a fait !

Vous rêviez de piloter vôtre auto ou votre moto, sans contrainte, à votre pogne, sans risque de croiser la Twingo de votre voisine au retour d’une grande aventure promotionnelle à l’hyper du coin, sans frôler la mort à l’évité du Wheeling du fils du copain sur sa nouvelle 750 « Super-Sport, Super-Mort » ou pire encore sans apercevoir l’un de ces nouveaux tristes engins à contrôle électronique de descente…

Bref vous aviez envie de vous faire plaisir sans contrainte, de prendre les plus belles trajectoires, de soigner les freinages et vos oreilles de mélomanes

à l’écoute de votre machine prenant des tours…

Et bien Volants & Vallée vous l’offre pour la seconde fois ! V&V Classic Team, en partenariat avec les Joyeux Epis d’Epieds vous offre 2,700 km de bonheur dans une montée qui vous mènera de la Vallée de l’Eure, au départ de Merey  à la commune d’Epieds.

La zone d’accueil, de rétention et le parc pré-course s’étendra sur 150 m au bas du parcours jusqu’au barnum de l’organisation.

Au programme, suivant le nombre de participants, 2  montées de reconnaissances le matin, 2 montées de démonstration l’après-midi entrecoupée d’une pause déjeuner sur notre parc fermé à Epieds où vous attendrons de nombreux spectateurs, puisque notre manifestation jouxtera la Foire à tout du Village.

Une vrai journée festive donc … Que nous renouvellerons chaque année si vous le souhaitez .

L’inscription comprends les droits d’engagement pour la voiture et le pilote, la plaque commémorative, café croissant le matin, un repas, l’apéritif et le pot de l’amitié en fin de journée. Pas d’inquiétude les accompagnants trouveront buvette et structure de restauration à Epieds .

PROGRAMME

•Accueil des participants :                                                            le 3 mai de     Heure :7h30   à : 9h30

•Vérifications administratives, techniques et d’authenticité :       le 3 mai de      Heure :7h30 à : 9h30

•Briefing obligatoire avec émargement des participants

•Phase de reconnaissance :                                                           le 3 mai de      Heure :9h30 à : 12h30

En fonction du nombre d’inscrits les participants bénéficieront de 2 à 3 montées de reconnaissance.

•Phase de démonstration :                                                            le 3 mai de      Heure :14h30 à : 17h30

En fonction du nombre d’inscrits les participants bénéficieront de 2 à 3 montées de démonstration.

•Remise des prix                                                                          le 3 mai de      Heure :17h45 à : 18h15

Nous remercions  tous les bénévoles qui vont permettre la concrétisation de cette belle journée (volontaires bienvenus), nous remercions très chaleureusement Top-Garage à Pacy sur Eure qui nous fournit balayeuse et dépanneuse ainsi que le Rav-Racing Team qui assure les moyens de lutte anti incendies avec plus de 15 extincteurs répartis tout au long du parcours.

Inscrivez-vous et venez nombreux à cette seconde Montée des Arsouill’Eures qui, j’en suis certain, est en passe de devenir incontournable.

Dodge...