Moto GP ; Aoyama remplace Pedrosa pour le Texas et l’Argentine / Aoyama to replace Pedrosa for Austin & Argentina

Hiroshi Aoyama rejoint le team Repsol Honda pour remplacer Dani Pedrosa, qui sera prochainement opéré de l’avant-bras droit.

Problème fréquent chez les pilotes, le syndrome des loges, causé par une augmentation de la pression dans une loge musculaire, de l’avant-bras provoque une douleur intense et rend le pilotage extrêmement difficile.

Pedrosa a fait de son mieux pour trouver une solution durant l’hiver après avoir en avoir souffert tout au long de la saison 2014 et avait été opéré l’an dernier après le GP de Jerez. L’intervention n’avait pas eu les effets escomptés et les médecins avaient alors déconseillé à l’Espagnol de subir une autre opération. Le problème semblait résolu cet hiver mais est finalement réapparu en situation de course.

Après avoir pris la sixième place de la première course de l’année le week-end dernier au Qatar, Pedrosa est rentré en Espagne lundi pour consulter des spécialistes de Barcelone et de Madrid. Les médecins lui ont recommandé de se faire opérer dès que possible et le Dr Angel Villamor se chargera de l’intervention chirurgicale à Madrid. Une attention particulière sera portée à la fermeture de la plaie afin de garantir une meilleure récupération et de minimiser les risques de rechute.

L’opération est prévue pour le vendredi 3 avril et la période de récupération est estimée entre quatre et six semaines, ce qui signifie que Pedrosa manquera de manière certaine les courses d’Austin et de Termas de Rio Hondo. Son retour ne sera pas confirmé tant que les médecins n’auront pas certifié la réussite de l’intervention.

Pedrosa sera remplacé par le pilote d’essais du HRC Hiroshi Aoyama.

Dani Pedrosa :
« Ce n’est évidemment pas la nouvelle que je souhaitais communiquer à tout le monde. Cependant, j’ai parlé avec des médecins spécialisés et des professionnels en qui j’ai confiance, et ils sont tous d’accord sur le fait qu’il s’agit de mon unique option. Je serai opéré vendredi et ils vont utiliser une technique spéciale pour refermer la plaie et faire en sorte que ce problème ne m’affectera plus. Espérons que ça marche. Je tiens à remercier mes fans pour leur soutien mais surtout Honda, Repsol, Red Bull et tous nos sponsors pour leur compréhension. »

Hiroshi Aoyama will replace the Factory Repsol Honda rider Dani Pedrosa with immediate effect, as he has surgery to fix his arm-pump issues.

Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa will unfortunately need further surgery to fix his arm pump issues that continued to plague the Spanish rider during the first round of the 2015 MotoGP Championship.

This common problem among motorcycle racers is a build-up of pressure in the forearm causing great pain, and makes riding a bike exceptionally difficult when the muscle becomes too big for the ‘sack’ that it sits in.

Dani tried very hard over the winter in order to find a solution, after struggling to perform at his top level throughout the 2014 season, and even had surgery last year – after the Jerez GP – but it was unsuccessful. During this time doctors advised against any further surgery. Then throughout all of the winter testing it seemed that in theory the problem was solved, unfortunately the issue came back again under the stresses of the race situation.

After his sixth place finish in the opening race of 2015 in Qatar last weekend, Dani returned to Spain on Monday and met with specialists in Barcelona and Madrid. Their recommendation was for him to undergo surgery as soon as possible, which Dr. Angel Villamor will perform in Madrid. Special attention will be paid to the closing of the wound as this will guarantee better recovery and less risk of the problem arising again in the future.

Surgery is planned for the morning of Friday 3rd April with an expected recovery time of four to six weeks, this means Dani will certainly miss the Red Bull Austin and Argentina races. His return to racing won’t be confirmed until doctors can ascertain the success of the surgery.

His replacement will be HRC test rider Hiroshi Aoyama.

Dani Pedrosa:
"Obviously this isn’t the news I wanted to be sharing with everyone. However, after speaking with some key doctors and medical professionals that I trust, they are all in agreement that this is the only option for me. We will have the surgery on Friday and they will use a special technique to help close the wound to try and prevent this issue continuing to affect me. Let’s hope it’s a success. I want to thank all my fans for their support, but especially Honda, Repsol, Red Bull and all our sponsors for their understanding in this matter."

ERC ; Barrable encore le plus rapide de la spéciale qualificative / Barrable fastest in Erc Ireland qualifying - again

Pour la deuxième année consécutive, Robert Barrable réalise le meilleur temps de la spéciale qualificative du Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally.

Assisté d’un nouveau copilote, Damien Connolly, et d’une Ford Fiesta R5 de location, le talentueux pilote de Dublin signe un chrono de 2’01’’6 au terme des 3,22 kilomètres de Whinney Hill, situé à la sortie de Belfast, près de Holywood.

Barrable a donc désormais le choix de sa position de départ, qui se déroulera devant l’Hôtel de ville de Belfast à 18h00.

« Nous avons un bon feeling avec la voiture », se félicite Robert. « J’ai tout donné dans cette spéciale. Il me faut simplement reproduire cette performance sur toutes les autres désormais ! »

Kajetan Kajetanowicz se hisse au deuxième rang avec sa Fiesta R5 du LOTOS Rally Team, à exactement une demi-seconde du chrono de référence.

Les équipiers de la Peugeot Rally Academy, Craig Breen et Charles Martin, encadrent Robert Consani et sa magnifique Citroën DS3 R5 en 3^e et 5^e positions.

Antonín Tlusťák n’est que 15^e avec sa ŠKODA Fabia S2000 et ce n’est pas anodin car seuls les 15 premiers sont amenés à choisir leur position de départ.

Jon Armstrong et Chris Ingram réalise un temps strictement identiques et dominent le Junior ERC avec leur 208 R2, tandis qu’ Emil Bergkvist, le leader du championnat, se classe 3^e avec l’Adam R2 de l’ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team.

Dávid Botka se classe 45^e et dernier de cette portion chronométrée en raison d’une crevaison au début de la spéciale sur sa Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

For the second year running, Robert Barrable has set the fastest time on the Qualifying Stage of the Discover Northern Ireland Circuit of Ireland Rally.

This time with a different co-driver, Damien Connolly, and a hired Ford Fiesta R5, the talented Dublineer set a 2m01.6s over the 3.22 kilometre Whinney Hill stage, which was located just outside Belfast, near Holywood.

Barrable now gets first choice at the road selection process, which takes place at the ceremonial start, outside Belfast City Hall, at 18h00 tonight.

“We have a very good feeling with the car – no problems at all,” said Robert. “I seem to have cracked this Qualifying Stage; I just need to be fastest on all the other stages now!”

Kajetan Kajetanowicz was second quickest in his LOTOS Rally Team Fiesta R5, exactly half a second behind.

Peugeot Rally Academy team-mates Craig Breen and Charles Martin set the third fifth best time in their 208 T16 – separated by fourth place Robert Consani in his stunning Citroën DS3 R5.

Antonín Tlusťák was 15th fastest in his ŠKODA Fabia S2000 – significant, as the top 15 are invited to the road selection process.

Jon Armstrong and Chris Ingram set identical times at the top of the ERC Junior time sheet in their Peugeot 208 R2s, while category leader Emil Bergkvist was third in his ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Adam R2.

Out of the 45 ERC registered drivers to do the Qualifying Stage, Dávid Botka was slowest, having unluckily picked up a front right puncture near the start in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX.

Circuit of Ireland Rally : Dépêche Elba ! / Elba on the island!

L’acteur britannique Idris Elba, qui a joué le rôle-titre dans Mandela : Un long chemin vers la liberté, dispute ce week-end une partie du Circuit of Ireland Rally au volant d’une Ford Fiesta R1.

Contrairement au Circuit qui attire régulièrement des people sur la piste, on pense notamment à Steve McQueen, Paul Newman ou cette année encore Patrick Dempsey aux 24 Heures du Mans, le Rallye n’a guère la faveur des célébrités, hormis pour quelques opérations promotionnelles.

Néanmoins, ce week-end, l’acteur britannique Idris Elba, participe au Circuit of Ireland Rally au volant d’une Ford Fiesta R1. Une participation qu’il avait annoncée lors du dernier Rallye Monte-Carlo où il avait pu s’installer au côté de Sébastien Ogier pour une petite balade dans les rues monégasques à bord de la VW Polo R WRC.

Idris Elba (42 ans) a été récompensé d’un Golden Globe Award en 2012 pour son rôle de l’inspecteur Luther dans la série éponyme. Mais c’est sans doute pour avoir interprété le rôle de Nelson Mandela dans Mandela : Un long chemin vers la liberté (2013) qu’Idris Elba est aujourd’hui une star hollywoodienne. Il a aussi joué dans American Gangster, Prometheus, Thor, Ghost Rider, et dans de nombreuses séries télé (Luther, Les Experts Miami…).

L’engagement d’Elba au Circuit of Ireland Rally s’inscrit dans le tournage d’une série de documentaires pour la chaîne Discovery Channel consacrés à différentes disciplines sportives (street racing, voltige, vitesse-bateau…) qui seront diffusés en milieu d’année.

Idris Elba est passionné d’automobile et sport automobile. Il avait déjà tourné des documentaires pour la chaîne BBC (King of Speed) et rencontré à cette occasion les Finlandais Ari Vatanen et son fils Max. C’est peut-être de cette rencontre qu’a germé l’idée de disputer un rallye au volant d’une « petite » voiture. Idris dispute ce week-end son premier rallye au volant d’une Ford Fiesta R1. Il parcourra les spéciales du samedi uniquement et ne figurera pas dans le classement officiel du rallye.

L’acteur britannique a pris sa monture en main lors d’une séance d’essais organisée il y a quelques semaines en Ulster, sous les conseils de Jimmy McRae, septuple vainqueur du Circuit of Ireland, et de son copilote irlandais Michael Orr.

Le directeur du Circuit of Ireland Rally, Bobby Willis, se félicite de la venue d’une star du cinéma. « L’an passé, notre épreuve a attiré 74 000 spectateurs. Avec la diffusion du documentaire sur Discovery Channel dans 220 pays, le Circuit of Ireland Rally sera encore plus populaire. »

British actor Idris Elba, who starred as Nelson Mandela in the film Long Walk to Freedom, is appearing in part of this weekend’s Circuit of Ireland Rally, driving a Ford Fiesta R1.

Unlike circuit racing, which has drawn several stars of the silver screen over the years, including Le Mans fans Steve McQueen, Paul Newman and Patrick Dempsey, rallying has tended to attract fewer celebrities, with the exception of specific, targeted promotional operations.

To change all that, the British actor Idris Elba will be out on this weekend’s Circuit of Ireland Rally in a Ford Fiesta R1, as we suggested prior to January’s Rallye Monte-Carlo when he was treated to a drive through Monaco with Sébastien Ogier in a VW Polo R WRC.

Elba, 42, won a Golden Globe Award in 2012 for his role as Detective Chief Inspector John Luther in the British TV series of the same name. He is more known internationally, however, for having played Nelson Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom (2013) which boosted his Hollywood reputation. His other films include American Gangster, Prometheus, Thor and Ghost Rider.

His participation in the Circuit of Ireland is part of a documentary being produced by Discovery Channel covering different sports and which is due to be broadcast later this year.

Elba is a big fan of cars and motorsport and has already appeared in BBC programmes like King of Speed. He once met Ari Vatanen and the Finn’s son Max, which is perhaps what sparked the idea of actually competing himself. His debut in the diminutive Ford Fiesta R1 will only concern Saturday’s stages, however, and his name won’t appear on the official timesheets.

The actor got his first chance to sample the car a few weeks ago at a test in Ulster where he received tips from seven-time Circuit of Ireland winner Jimmy McRae, as well as from his Irish co-driver Michael Orr.

Bobby Willis, the event’s organiser, is delighted to have such a household name in action. “Last year, we had 74,000 spectators. After the rally is seen in 220 countries on Discovery Channel, we will hopefully become even more popular!”

SNOW GO: NORTHERN LIGHTS’ YAMAHA HL500

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

Snow bikes are a great recipe for unbridled hooliganism. Take a dirt bike, fit it with a ski and a track, and hold on tight. But most are built using modern motocross machinery—and that doesn’t appeal to Orion Anthony.

Orion lives just north of Whistler in the alpine region of British Columbia, Canada—and spends a great deal of his time exploring the area by snowmobile. He’s also just launchedNorthern Lights Optics, a luxury eyewear collection that takes cues from early-days mountaineering and motorcycling.

“For this new brand,” says Orion, “I wanted to create something to provoke a sense of adventure and freedom, with a vintage twist.”

“I love touring the alpine on my snowmobile, but my sled is very modern; it has little relationship to the vintage feel of the collection. And while classic snowmobiles look cool, they are not effective for alpine touring in deep snow.”

“With several companies making snow bike kits, I thought maybe I could fit one onto an old MX bike!”

After some deliberation, Orion settled on the iconic Yamaha HL500: the bike famed for being the last four-stroke to win a Grand Prix before the reign of the two-stroke began. A little research led him to Rob Phillips of Husky Restorations in New York—a renowned bike builder with a number of HL replicas under his belt. One phone call later, and Rob was on board.

For the chassis, Rob ordered a custom-built frame from FrameCrafters in Illinois. The engine is a 1979 Yamaha XT500 mill, with a Megacycle cam and heavy duty valve springs installed “to give it a little punch.”

He also added his own steel-braided oil lines and modified the engine case for a shorter, steel-braided oil pickup line. The carb is a 36mm Mikuni item, kitted with a K&N filter, and the exhaust is a stainless steel, HL500-style unit with a built-in silencer.

With the HL having to run at altitudes ranging from sea level to 8,000 feet above, Rob had concerns over jetting. So he contacted Tom White at White Brothers for advice: “Tom’s the ultimate expert on these engines,” says Rob. “He gave me a carb recipe that worked perfectly, only needing a slight change in needle position for different altitudes.”

Moving to the bodywork, Rob fitted the tank and seat from the equally legendary 1976 YZ125. The fenders are generic MX parts, while the side covers were made from fiberglass. “Orion got a little creative,” says Rob, “and we changed the side panel numbers to NL500—as in Northern Lights 500.”

The original HL500 has 35mm YZ400 forks, but Rob thought it’d be best to go for something beefier—so he fitted 43mm YZ forks instead. Small modifications had to be made to the frame and forks to fit the Timbersled track and ski kit—but with the help of Arctic Cat specialists Route 99 Motorsports, the conversion went off without a hitch.

Rob’s work wasn’t done though: he also built up a swing arm, wheels, rear shocks, and everything else Orion would need if he ever decided to convert the ‘NL500′ for dirt use.

When all was said and done, Orion dragged the NL500 along to Milan for the MIDO Eyewear Show, and his first visit to the Italian Alps.

“Riding into the Alps on a throaty sounding HL500 beast of a snow bike was over the top. But the highlight of the day was pulling up in front of Ristoro Pasini, the alpine restaurant and bar. The reaction from the people sunning themselves on the patio was priceless.”

Visit the Northern Lights Optics website to see a video of the NL500 in action | Husky Restorations | Images by Claudio Bader

via BIKEexif

A twist of fate: The 1949 Indian Scout by Analog Motorcycles

The majority of our favourite custom bikes are based on 60s or 70s machines – but while Analog Motorcycles founder Tony Prust was searching for one such donor, he stumbled across a 1949 Indian Scout…

“A friend and I headed north to take a look at a Kawasaki W1,” Prust told Bike Exif. “While we were there, we saw a rolling chassis and a pile of parts sitting on a bench in the corner. It was a 1949 Indian Scout with a title that the owner had had for 17 years.” After convincing the owner to part company with the bike (or parts thereof), Prust put the project’s wheels into motion, quite literally.

Golden-era inspiration

It was decided to give the bike a distinctive 60s/70s appearance, one based on the racers of the era. The original engine was rebuilt, enlarged to 500cc, and shoehorned into a Trackmaster-style frame. Then came a set of hand-formed aluminium panels, left partially in their raw state but with large sections painted, pin-striped and gold-leafed.

Bend credits

Completing the look was a variety of details – our favourite being the hand-formed brass covers for the LED head- and tail-lights, which mean the Scout can remain street-legal while retaining that race-inspired appearance. We must doff our hats (or perhaps helmets?) to Prust, although Lady Luck is surely due a little credit, too?

Photos/Video: Whiplash Racing Media for Analog Motorcycles

You can find several Indian motorcycles for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

LANCIA STRATOS

The Lancia Stratos, or more correctly, the Lancia Stratos HF (HF standing for High Fidelity) is a car developed by Italian design house Bertone for their fellow Italians over at Lancia. It was to be the first car developed from scratch for the World Rally Championship – specifically for the hotly contested Group 4 class, which would go on to become Group B in 1983.

Lancia offered the Stratos in two major versions – the Stratos HF and the Stratos HF Stradale, the former was the stripped-back rally car and the latter was specifically modified for road use (in fact stradale is Italian for road) by slightly detuning the engine and adding some rudimentary items for increased comfort and convenience. That said, the Stratos was never intended as a grand tourer and attempting to use it as one would almost certainly end up with the driver in a physiotherapist’s waiting room.

Both versions of the Stratos were fitted with the 2,418cc DOHC Dino V6 engine, with triple Weber carburettors, a 5-speed manual transmission, 4-wheel independent suspension, and race-spec ventilated disc brakes on all four corners.

The windscreen was designed to curve around the driver (and co-driver) to offer an almost 180 degree field of view, this was especially useful on rally stages where the car spent most of its time sideways with the driver looking out of his own side window to see where he was going.

As a purpose-built rally car the Lancia Stratos HF was an extraordinary success, it started racing in Group 4 in 1974 after being homologated (requiring a production run of 500 units, later reduced to 400) and handily won the World Championship. It then won again in 1975 and 1976, and would likely have gone on to win more had it not been replaced by the Fiat 131 Abarth – a controversial decision by the Fiat Group.

By the time production was ceased, Lancia had built approximately 490 units and the survivors are now worth a small fortune. The green Stratos HF Stradale you see here is due to be auctioned by RM Sotheby’s at the Villa Erba on the 23rd of May 2015 and it’s already generating quite a lot of interest.

If you’d like to read more or register to big you can click here.

via SILODROME

Photo Credits: Tom Wood ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

A birthday road trip with a pair of McLaren F1 GTRs

To celebrate 20 years since the debut of the McLaren F1 GTR – which won Le Mans on its maiden outing – no fewer than 16 examples were summoned to the 73 Goodwood Members’ Meeting for a (very noisy) demonstration parade. We joined two of the Gulf cars on their birthday road trip…

Hitching a ride

The two cars in question (a navy short-tail and a powder-blue long-tail) form part of the astonishing,Gulf-themed ROFGO collection we visited a couple of years ago. Stored at the headquarters of Classic Driver dealer Duncan Hamilton, the duo must be trailered down to Goodwood as neither is road legal – and since we were heading down to Lord March’s estate anyway, we thought this was as good a ride to hitch as any.

Millimetres to spare

It doesn’t take long to winch the cars onto the trailers, although there are some nervous faces as the ground-hugging front splitters edge over their respective ramps with just millimetres to spare. Once the cars have been loaded up and fastened down, the costly convoy navigates the narrow hedgerows surrounding the Hamilton hideaway, and makes tracks for Goodwood.

Family gathering

On arrival, the rendezvous was just as impressive as you might expect, and then some. Not only were the duo’s sister cars on the scene, but also the 1995 Le Mans-winning Ueno Clinic-liveried machine, and the Harrods car that was driven to third in the same race by Derek Bell – who was reunited with his faithful steed for the parade laps. Stuart Hall and Jamie Campbell-Walter took the reins of the ROFGO cars, a pairing whose joint CV includes a Works drive for Aston Martin at Le Mans in 2013.

Exercised machines

For many, the McLaren F1 parade was one of the stand-out highlights of the 73rd Members’ Meeting. The intervals between the release of each car meant the wails of the bulletproof BMW V12s could be heard at all points of the circuit simultaneously. Perhaps the best viewpoint was from the chicane exit, where the monstrous power and torque was tangible – not only audibly, but also by the way the seasoned drivers would wait until the car was perfectly straight before firing it towards the horizon, or risk a heart-stopping moment of oversteer that only the most experienced wheelmen could hope to gather.

Hometime

After two days of crowd-pleasing exercise (and a few nights catching up with their siblings), the F1 GTRs must return home. Thankfully, Goodwood isn’t the only event hosting a party for them this year...

Photos: Tim Brown for Classic Driver