Enjoy the highlights from the opening round of 2015 FIA WEC in Silverstone.
dimanche 12 avril 2015
Márquez décroche sa première victoire de l’année à Austin/ Marquez cruises to impressive victory in Austin
Le Champion du Monde en titre s’est imposé depuis la pole position pour la troisième année consécutive au Circuit des Amériques.
Après son incroyable qualification en pole position, Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a une fois de plus été sans rival à sa hauteur sur la piste du Circuit des Amériques, où il demeure invaincu depuis la première venue du MotoGP™ au Texas en 2013.
L’Espagnol a été devancé par Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) au départ de la course mais n’a pas laissé durer le suspense et a distancé ses adversaires avec une aisance déconcertante. L’Italien a quant à lui pris le dessus sur son compatriote Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) pour s’assurer la deuxième place, prenant ainsi sa revanche après leur duel de Losail, tandis que Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) finissait au pied du podium, comme au Qatar, avec une petite seconde d’avance sur Andrea Iannone (Ducati).
Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.
Marc Marquez stamps his authority on the MotoGP™ World Championship by winning in Austin by more than 2.3 seconds.
The reigning MotoGP™ World Champion Marquez sent a message out to the rest of the paddock that he was back after his mishap in Qatar, as he dominated the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, at one point leading by over 5 seconds.
Marquez took the lead on lap 5, and didn't look back as he went on to leave the rest of the field behind to maintain his 100% record at CoTA, before relaxing towards the end of the race.
Andrea Dovizioso made it another podium for the resurgent Ducati Team, as he won the fight for 2nd ahead of the Movistar Yamaha of Valentino Rossi, who leads the Championship standings.
Rossi’s teammate Jorge Lorenzo left it late, overtaking the Ducati GP15 of Andrea Iannone with only 3 laps to go to snatch 4th place from the Italian, with Monster Tech 3 Yamaha’s Bradley Smith rounding out the top 6.
Click here for the MotoGP™ race results, full report to follow…
The Coast to Coast Trial
What would happen if you tried to ride a totally inappropriate vehicle from one side of the country to the other? What if that vehicle was a 15 year old trials motorbike (Montesa Cota 315) with no seat, a tiny 3 litre fuel tank and top speed of 30 mph? Would man and machine make it...?
The Coast to Coast Trial from Greg Villalobos on Vimeo.
The Coast to Coast Trial from Greg Villalobos on Vimeo.
WEC, Silverstone : Audi/Michelin brillant vainqueur / Audi/Michelin wins WEC opener
Après une campagne 2014 médiocre, Audi Sport Team Joest est revenu sur le devant de la scène en remportant les 6 Heures de Silverstone 2015 grâce à la R18 e-tron quattro N°7 de Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer. Porsche (N°18) et Toyota (N°1) complètent un podium très hétéroclite. G-Drive Racing (Ligier N°26), AF Corse (Ferrari N°51) et Aston Martin (Vantage N°98) ont remporté leurs catégories respectives.
Depuis très longtemps, le slogan du circuit de Silverstone est « Experience is everything » et Audi l’a encore prouvé aujourd’hui en remportant la première manche du championnat FIA WEC 2015.
Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer et Benoît Tréluyer ont offert la 3e victoire à Audi à Silverstone et la 14e au constructeur allemand depuis la création du championnat WEC. Ce trio magique a remporté sa 9e victoire mondiale.
Parties depuis la première ligne de départ, les Porsche 919 Hybrid ont bouclé le premier tour en tête. On a alors pensé que la firme de Stuttgart allait dominer cette manche d’ouverture comme le Prologue du début de saison.
Mais 80 minutes plus tard, le leader Mark Webber a garé la Porsche N°17 à son box (boîte de vitesses), alors que la N°18 était rejointe sur la piste par l’Audi N°7 et la Toyota N°1. Ces trois prototypes se sont alors échangés la première position a plusieurs reprises.
Lentement mais sûrement, le trio Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer a pris le contrôle des opérations en seconde moitié de course, malgré une plus faible consommation des Porsche qui leur a permis de boucler les 6 heures de course avec un pit-stop de moins, et en dépit d’un stop&go reçu pour avoir dépassé les limites du circuit. Cette pénalité a réduit l’écart à moins de 7 secondes, mais Marcel Fässler a tenu bon pour remporter sa seconde victoire à Silverstone après 2012.
« Oui, Audi est de retour » a prévenu Lotterer après l’arrivée. « C’est super de commencer la saison ainsi, c’est une belle victoire d’équipe. »
Neel Jani a offert la 2e place finale à la Porsche N°18 (+4s6), alors que la Toyota N°1 (Davidson/Buemi/Nakajima) a terminé sur le podium (+14s8), un podium composé de trois constructeurs différents. La Toyota N°2 (Wurz/Sarrazin/Conway) a pris la 4e place (+1 tour) devant l’Audi N°8 (Di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis, +4 tours) qui a cumulé les problèmes.
Aston Martin Racing avait placé ses trois Vantage V8/Michelin en tête aux qualifs, mais les LM GTE Pro britanniques auraient pu finir aux trois dernières places de la catégorie sans un problème d’amortisseur sur la Porsche N°92 (Pilet/Mako) alors leader après la mi-course. On s’acheminait vers un doublé Ferrari AF Corse, mais la Porsche N°91 (Bergmeister/Christensen) est parvenu à s’intercaler entre les deux Italiennes. La victoire est revenue à la Ferrari N°51 de Bruni/Vilander.
Aston Martin Racing a sauvé son week-end à domicile en remportant la catégorie LM GTE Am avec la Vantage N°98 (Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda) vainqueur devant les Ferrari N°83 AF Corse et N°72 SMP Racing.
En LM P2, il y a eu moins de rebondissements. Les Ligiers JS P2 G-Drive Racing ont dominé les débats et signé un doublé avec la N°26 (Rusinov/Canal/Bird) et la N°28 (Yacaman/Derani/Gonzalez). L’Oreca05-Nissan N°47 KCMG avait néanmoins pris un meilleur départ. Extreme Speed Motorsport a pris la 3e place avec la HPD-ARX03b N°30, devant la Dome-Nissan Strakka Racing N°42. Les débuts mondiaux d’Alpine se sont terminés sur une sortie de piste.
Prochain rendez-vous le 2 mai sur le circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Audi Sport Team Joest bounced back from a difficult 2014 season to win the 6 Hours of Silverstone thanks to a sure-footed performance by Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer in the N°7 car. Porsche (2nd) and Toyota (3rd) made it three different makes on the podium after an exciting finish. G-Drive Racing (Ligier), AF Corse (Ferrari/Michelin) and Aston Martin Racing/Michelin collected the spoils in LMP2, LMGTE Pro and LMGTE Am.
For many years, the official slogan of Silverstone Circuit has been ‘Experience is Everything’ and Audi proved that right by beginning its 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship campaign with a close but convincing victory.
Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer pocketed Audi’s third Silverstone success and the make’s 14th in total since the WEC’s creation. Of those, the winning trio has been responsible for no fewer than nine, and it was another polished display that saw them first over the line today.
Yet when the two Porsches leapt from the front row of the grid to lead at the first corner, it had looked like the Stuttgart firm would leave its rivals gasping.
Eighty minutes later, however, Mark Webber retired the pole-winning N°17 919 Hybrid (gearbox), while the N°18 sister car was ultimately caught by the N°7 Audi and N°1 Toyota. That led to a thrilling period of wheel-to-wheel dicing as the lead changed hands several times.
Slowly but surely, though, Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer took control during the race’s second half and appeared to be on target for an assertive victory. That would have been forgetting the Porsche’s fuel economy which allowed it to complete the distance with one less pit stop, not to mention the late Stop&Go penalty handed to the leading R18 e-tron quattro for “abusing track limits”. This slashed the gap to less than seven seconds, but Fässler held firm to collect his and his team-mate’s second Silverstone win after 2012.
“Yes, Audi is back!” beamed Lotterer afterwards. “It’s great to start the year like this. It was a big team effort.”
Jani (+4.6s) eventually picked up second place for Porsche, while the N°1 Toyota (3rd, +14.8s) made it three different prototypes in the top three. The N°2 Toyota was fourth (+1 lap) and the N°8 Audi was fifth (+4 laps) after a troubled afternoon.
Despite putting its three cars in front in LM GTE Pro qualifying, Aston Martin Racing was only saved from finishing in the last three places when a damper problem toppled the N°92 Porsche from the lead just after the mid-point. It then looked like we were heading for a Ferrari one-two finish, but the N°91 911 RSR managed to split AF Corse’s two F458 Italias. It didn’t have the speed, however, to prevent Bruni/Vilander (N°51) from starting their season with a victory.
Aston Martin was at least able to celebrate a home win in LM GTE Am when the class’s pole-winning Vantage V8 (N°98, Dalla Lana/Lamy/Lauda) finished clear of the N°83 and N°72 Ferraris.
The LMP2 battle was a far more cut-and-dry affair since G-Drive Racing’s Ligiers emerged in front shortly after the start and went on to collect first and second places. They were beaten off the line by the N°47 Oreca05 (KCMG) but its threat didn’t last long and Rusinov/Canal/Bird (N°26) cruised home to an easy win, G-Drive’s second in two years.
Extreme Speed took third (N°30), while Strakka Racing (N°42) celebrated its FIA WEC return with fourth. WEC debutant Signatech-Alpine crashed out in the first hour.
Teams will now reconvene in Belgium on May 2 for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Silverstone (ELMS race): Greaves remporte une course intense / Greaves wins four-hour thriller
La Gibson-Nissan N°41 Greaves Motorsport (Hirsch/Wirdheim/Lancaster) a remporté la première manche du championnat ELMS 2015 avec moins d’une seconde d’avance sur le prototype de Jota Sport ! Le multiple champion cycliste Sir Chris Hoy a remporté sa première victoire internationale sur quatre-roues au volant de la Ginetta-Nissan/Michelin LM P3.
Les 4 Heures de Silverstone 2015 se sont déroulées dans des conditions idéales. Qualifiée en pole, la Gibson 015S-Nissan N°41 de Hirsch/Wirdheim/Lancaster s’est imposée, mais cette victoire fut loin d’être facile pour l’équipe britannique Greaves Motorsport car la fin de course fut un véritable sprint entre trois voitures.
A trente minutes du drapeau à damier, l’Oreca05-Nissan N°46 Thiriet by TDS Racing (Thiriet/Badey/Gommendy) est ressortie de la pit-lane en tête après son dernier ravitaillement. Les trois leaders étaient alors séparés par 14 secondes. Derrière la N°46, les Gibson-Nissan N°41 et la N°38 étaient roues dans roues.
Ses deux prototypes britanniques ont échangé leur position à deux reprises, tout en se rapprochant de l’Oreca05-Nissan de tête. Finalement, le prototype Greaves Motorsport N°41 a pris l’avantage sur la N°38 après une attaque très (trop) audacieuse.
Ensuite, la N°41 a dépassé l’Oreca Thiriet by TDS Racing N°46 après une manœuvre osée ayant envoyé cette dernière en tête-à-queue. Puis, Harry Tincknell (N°38) semblait en mesure de prendre le dessus sur Lancaster (N°41) pour imposer la voiture Jota Sport. Mais Jon Lancaster a tenu bon et offert la victoire à Greaves Motorsport aux 4 Heures de Silverstone pour 0s370 ! Après son tête-à-queue, la N°46 a pris la 3e place à 20 secondes.
La Ligier JS P2-Judd/Michelin du Krohn Racing a terminé à la 4e place pour sa première apparition en ELMS.
La nouvelle catégorie LM P3 avait attiré cinq prototypes Ginetta-Nissan pour cette première manche. La course a été dominée par la voiture N°3 du Team LNT partagée par Charlie Robertson et Sir Chris Hoy, multiple champion du monde de cyclisme et médaillé d’or aux JO.
En GTE, la Porsche 911 RSR N°86 Gulf Racing UK (Wainwright/Carroll/Keen) s’est imposée devant une armada de Ferrari, dont deux (N°81 et N°51 AF Corse) ont été victimes d’accidents alors qu’elles jouaient les premiers rôles. La Ferrari 458 JMW Motorsport a pris la 2e place à un tour.
En GTC, la voiture qualifiée en pole, la BMW Z4 GT3 TDS Racing N°59 (Perera/Lunardi/Dermont), s’est imposée dans une catégorie décimée.
Victory at Round 1 of the 2015 ELMS landed in the hands of Greaves Motorsport’s N°41 Gibson-Nissan (Hirsch/Wirdheim/Lancaster) after a dramatic finale that saw Jota Sport’s similar N°38 LM P2 prototype finish less than one second behind! Cycling superstar Sir Chris Hoy celebrated his first international endurance race with LMP3 victory (N°3 Ginetta-Nissan). GT honours went to the N°86 Porsche (GTE class) and the N°59 BMW (GTC).
There was fine weather at Silverstone for Saturday’s European Le Mans Series race – the 4 Hours of Silverstone – which was won by the pole-winning N°41 Gibson 015S-Nissan of Hirsch/Wirdheim/Lancaster.
However, it was no lights-to-flag success for Greaves Motorsport’s LM P2 prototype, since it came after a tense contest that ended with an exceptional sprint finish involving three cars.
With 30 minutes remaining, the N°46 Oreca05-Nissan (Thiriet by TDS Racing, Thiriet/Badey/Gommendy) re-joined in front after its final pit stop, but there were now three cars covered by around 14 seconds: the race leader and the charging N°41 and N°38 Gibson-Nissans which were locked in a tremendous scrap for second spot.
These two machines traded positions twice as they homed in on the Thiriet prototype, but the advantage was with the Greaves car (N°41) after the Jota Sport machine (N°38, Dolan/Albuquerque/Tincknell) lost ground in an audacious passing attempt.
With a little breathing space in its favour, the Greaves car ended up catching and passing the N°46 Oreca05 in a controversial manoeuvre that sent the latter into a spin and down to third place. Then, during the dying moments, it looked like Jota Sport might clinch victory after all as Tincknell put pressure on Lancaster. The Greaves driver held firm, though, to cross the line 0.370s in front!
Thiriet by TDS Racing had to settle for third place (+20s).
Fourth place ended up in the hands of the Ligier JS P2-Judd/Michelin of Krohn Racing and team boss Tracy Krohn will be thrilled to have concluded his first ELMS appearance just shy of the podium.
The new LM P3 class attracted significant interest with five cars (all Ginetta-Nissans) on the entry list. The race was dominated and won by the N°3 car which Charlie Robertson shared with multiple cycling Olympic gold medallist Sir Chris Hoy who made a real contribution to Team LNT’s 16th place overall.
In GTE, the N°86 Porsche 911 RSR (Gulf Racing UK, Wainwright/Carroll/Keen) took first prize against an armada of Ferraris, two of which (the N°81 and N°51 AF Corse cars) crashed out after playing front-running roles early on. The best-placed Italian challenger at the flag was the JMW Motorsport F458 Italia (2nd, +1 lap).
Finally, the GTC class was won by TDS Racing’s N°59 BMW Z4 GT3 (Perera/Lunardi/Dermont) but only three of the six starters were still running at the end.
WSSP ; Sofuoglu renoue avec la victoire en Supersport au MotorLand / Aragon WSS race win goes to Sofuoglu
La première épreuve européenne du Championnat du Monde Supersport 2015 a été remportée par Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), qui succède donc à Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) et Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand), vainqueurs respectifs de épreuves australienne et thaïlandaise, au sommet du podium.
En pole position, Cluzel était en lice pour la victoire contre Sofuoglu mais a de nouveau été victime d’un problème technique sur sa moto, comme en Thaïlande, et a dû abandonner pour la seconde course consécutive, dans le douzième tour.
Suite à ce que le Français ait été obligé de s’arrêter en bord de piste, Sofuoglu a filé vers la 21e victoire de sa carrière en solitaire tandis que PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres), qui s’était battu avec les deux leaders en début d’épreuve, a fini deuxième, à trois secondes du triple Champion du Monde.
Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) complétait le podium tandis que Gino Rea a pris la quatrième place au photo finish devant Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).
Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) a fini sixième, devant son compatriote Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing).
Plusieurs pilotes ont chuté dont Wilairot, qui perd la première place du classement général, Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) et Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres).
The first European race of this year’s World Supersport championship was decided in favour of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).
Poleman Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto) was in contention until, for the second race in a row he suffered a technical problem while fighting for the lead. The Frenchman was clearly distraught as he retired on lap 12, leaving former Champion Sofuoglu to claim his 21st WSS race victory by a comfortable margin of 3.224s, and with it the championship lead.
PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) who was also in the hunt from the start eventually finished 2nd, with Pata Honda World Supersport’s Kyle Smith taking the final podium place in 3rd (+5.695s).
Gino Rea recovered from an average start to end the 16 lap race in 4th, the Brit getting the better of Italian Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in a photo finish. Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) continued his solid start to the year, scoring 10 points for a hard earned 6th at the flag ahead of compatriot Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing) who had his best result in WSS since Imola last year.
There was a multi rider crashes on lap 6, with Thai race winner Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand), Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) all falling from the top 8 without injury.
WSBK : Race1; Rea remporte une quatrième victoire dans la première épreuve d’Aragón / Race2 ;Davies triomphe en solitaire au MotorLand Aragón
Battu d’un rien par Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) dans la première des deux courses du WorldSBK au MotorLand Aragón, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team) a brillamment pris sa revanche dans la seconde épreuve de la journée et s’est imposé avec plus de trois secondes d’avance sur le leader du classement général.
Le Gallois, double vainqueur en Aragón en 2013, signait ainsi la première victoire de Ducati depuis celle de Sylvain Guintoli à Magny-Cours en 2012 mais surtout le tout premier succès de la Panigale depuis son introducion en WorldSBK en 2013. Il compte désormais cinq victoires à son palmarès.
Incapable de suivre Davies sur cette seconde course, Rea s’est contenté de la seconde place devant Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), qui lui a tenu compagnie durant presque toute la course et était parti de la pole position.
Jordi Torres, le coéquipier de ce dernier, a encore pris la quatrième place, sa quatrième cette année, tandis que Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team), qui succède à Troy Bayliss au poste de remplaçant de Davide Giugliano, progressait d’une position pour compléter le Top 5.
David Salom (Team Pedercini), Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) et Nico Terol (Althea Racing) figuraient eux aussi dans le Top 10 à l’arrivée.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) a chuté alors qu’il occupait la quatrième position, dans le sixième tour. Le Champion en titre Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) est tombé peu de temps après le Britannique, dans le virage n°14 et s’était classé dans les points 43 fois de suite avant ce premier abandon avec Pata Honda.
Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) est sorti de piste en début de course mais a pu revenir pour marquer les deux points de la quatorzième place, en finissant juste derrière son coéquipier Randy de Puniet tandis que Christophe Ponsson (Grillini SBK Team) a fini seizième.
Avec quatre victoires et deux secondes places en six courses depuis l’ouverture de la saison 2015, Rea mène le classement général avec un impressionnant total de 140 points et 26 longueurs d’avance sur Haslam, 57 sur Davies et 74 sur Sykes.
La saison WorldSBK 2015 continue la semaine prochaine aux Pays-Bas, dans la Cathédrale d’Assen.
In the opening 18-lap encounter at MotorLand Aragon, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed his fourth win of the season, equalling his previous best for number of victories in a year in just five starts. The Ulsterman came out on top at the end of an enthralling last lap saw, which him lose the lead only to retake it on the final corner from fellow Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Superbike Team) who finished second, missing out the victory by 0.051s.
Initially leading from the start, other KRT rider Tom Sykes was put under immense pressure from the current championship leader and team mate Jonathan Rea who eventually overhauled the former champion on lap 14, and Chaz Davies whose pace in the closing stages was impressive as he clawed back a small gap that had opened up to put himself into contention as the trio neared the last lap. Sykes would eventually finish in the final podium place.
Behind the leading three another three way fight ensued, with Pole Position man Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) getting the better of his team mate Jordi Torres, the pair finish 4th and 5th respectively, just ahead of Xavi Fores on the second factory Ducati Panigale R machine.
Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) closed to within 2.3s of Haslam to claim a well-deserved seventh ahead of Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Leon Camier, who completed the top-10.
It was a difficult opening race for the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki pairing of Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet who both retired to the pits within the opening five laps before rejoining at half distance in an attempt to ensure the technical issues do not re-appear in Race 2. Pata Honda rider Michael van der Mark also retired on lap 11.
The second 18-lap race at MotorLand Aragon, run in much warmer conditions, was won by Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), after a dominating performance. The Welshman led from turn one to build up a comfortable lead courtesy of a stellar race pace, eventually taking the flag for his fifth career win by 3.1 seconds. Davies last won a WorldSBK race at the Nürburgring in Germany in 2013, but his victory in Spain not only ended Ducati’s 58-race winning drought but also marked the first win for the Panigale R machine in the series.
Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), suffering from a fever, battled hard throughout the whole race with former team mate Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), who looked much more at home in race 2 than he did in the earlier encounter. Second position would eventually go to Rea, thus extending his championship lead to 26 points, with Haslam taking the final place on the rostrum as the pair were split by just 0.5s at the chequered flag.
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) took a well-earned fourth position, circulating more or less alone for the latter part of the race, the rookie looking pleased on his return to the pit box. Xavi Fores claimed another solid result on his debut weekend with the Aruba.it Ducati Superbike Team in fifth.
Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) took a well-earned fourth position, circulating more or less alone for the latter part of the race, the rookie looking pleased on his return to the pit box. Xavi Fores claimed another solid result on his debut weekend with the Aruba.it Ducati Superbike Team in fifth.
David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) completed the top-6 after overhauling Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Michael van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) in the final two laps.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was running fourth and looked comfortable before high-siding spectacularly on lap five. Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) also fell at the fast turn 14 which ends the lap, the Frenchman was able to walk away.
Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) had another race to forget, the young English rider running off track in the early stages before recovering to salvage two points with a 14th place finish at the flag.
MACCO MOTORS SPIKE
When Peter Williams designed, cast and raced his own magnesium alloy wheels back in 1974, while every other bike on the grid was still sporting wire-spoked rims, he did so for one reason: chasing tenths. Lighter, stronger and needing less maintenance than the newly pre-historic items surrounding him, the uptake was quick.
But outside the world of racing, and in particularly our little sub-section of biking, where performance is not the be all, the choice of wheel type has more to do with aesthetic preference. All too often we see the children of the ’70s like the RD400 have their solid spoke wheels cast aside for a set of laced up rims.
But are tastes shifting? Like Triumph and Moto Guzzi, Ducati also released their retro Scrambler with both cast and wire spoked wheel options. The uptake of each style will be interesting to see. There will always be room for wire-spoked wheels, they’re just too darn pretty and perfectly period for these modern-retro bikes, but it’s great to see an uptake of aesthetic influences from the ’70s and ’80s being thrown into the mix.
When a customer rolled into the Macco Motors workshop in Cadiz with a mag-wheel sporting 2011 Bonneville SE, he made it clear that the 7 spoke alloy wheels would be staying. Macco are deeply familiar with the modern classic Triumphs but the majority of their builds have been black and raw in appearance. This time, the customer wanted something a bit brighter and livelier: Macco’s first ‘white’ build, Spike.
As the clothes maketh the man, a paintjob does a bike. Like always, Macco have produced a refined and classy scheme, perfectly mixing the modern with the old. A metalflake blue stripe and narrower plain grey stripe wrap across the pure white tank, the whole lot brought into the modern age with the latest Triumph logo along the lower edge. The side panels receieved a coat of the bright white base with the Macco motor louvres cut away.
Hurtling through the city streets the owner will be thankful for the attention paid to the suspension. Progressive Bitubo rear shocks replace the underdamped original chrome items while matching Hagon springs have been added to the rebuilt front forks.
The hefty rear end of the standard Bonnie always benefits from a trim and the simple kicked loop job done to Spike is all that’s required to update the looks of the machine. Fluted brown leather works perfectly with the paintjob, rising to meet the tank and make the seat transition fluent.
Ancillary items were bought in to replace the. It’s often the detail items that make a ride feel truly special and when you’re on the bike, looking down to see a jewell like MotoGadget Tiny can’t help to make you smile. Teamed with a smaller, scrambler influenced headlight and a relocated ignition, it reminds the rider that they’re riding something individual even when onboard.
A smattering of Rizoma parts; handlebars, brake fluid reservoir and shorty levers work with some alloy footrests to make an altogether nice place for the rider to settle down in.
Not chasing power, means the guys didn’t haver to delve into the depths of the engine. The EFI power unit, perfectly fit for function. A sleek 2-1 Arrow exhaust and a remap had the bike running and sounding as it should from from the factory were it not for the bores in Brussels. Finished in black, the Macco guys couldn’t go too far with the colour and brightness!
And so back to those wheels. A deep coating of black powder, the 7 spoke alloys are more than in keeping with the bike’s look. No pinging of spokes or slipping tubes, the rims are wrapped with a set of Avon Distanzias for useful city grip. 110/80/17 up front and 140/80/17 out back provide plenty of rubber for traffic light grand prix. Macco Motors made up a pair of fibre-glass mudguards to protect the rider, finishing off a practical, stylish steed.
Delivered right on spec, the customer is out riding his rejuvinated wheels, Macco having bent to deliver a fresh take on their previous build. The quality photos, as always, were captured from the lens of Sergio Ibarra from Semimate Agency.
via The Bike Shed
MARKET FINDS: SO YOU WANT A VINTAGE VAN?
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Vans aren’t often the most exciting vehicles to drive, but they are, without a doubt, the most versatile. Because of this, owner’s groups around the world have been formed to appreciate their model of choice. The Volkswagen Type-2 Microbus clubs usually go camping. Citroën HY owners meet to compare how their vans differ from one another.
And those with GMC conversion vans compare the quality of both the airbrushed murals and the shag carpet fitted to their machines.
If you’ve ever wanted to own a vintage van, we’ve found plenty of interesting choices.
Catering trucks / Citroën HY
The Citroën HY is one of the more under-appreciated models from the double-chevron marque, owing to its unsightly Junkers-like ribbed metal sides and its Darth Vader-like face. Between 1947 and 1981, Citroën churned out nearly 500,000 of them. Problem, at least for those of us in North America: over here, there are only a handful to choose from.
They can be imported into both the U.S. and Canada, and a quick search across Europe on mobile.de shows two dozen on offer, from about €4,000 to more than €40,000.
We’re focusing, however, on a few recent eBay listings that a friend passed along, saying to simply search for “Citroën” on eBay and looking at the results. From what appears to be the same seller in France, here are a number of interesting body styles—and a number of different price points.
HY listings:
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Exotics:
That slab-sided Citroën may look exotic, however, it’s anything but. Alfa Romeo, Renault, and a few other European marques have a long history of building interesting commercial vans.
Here are some interesting examples we’ve been able to find:
Alfa Romeo Romeo at romeoregister.com
Alfa Romeo F12—a ratty example at mobile.de Renault Estafette at mobile.de British—and almost fully faired-in—Commer vans at carandclassic.co.uk Chevrolet Corsair Greenbriar cans at hemmings.com |
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Airbrushed Vans:
“Vanning” may have started before Hot Rod Magazine editor Terry Cook opened the first National Truck-In in 1973 by saying, “For those of you who are participating, please be cool. No arguments, no drugs, no thievery and no cutting brodies (doing doughnuts) in the dirt."
You may chuckle at some of the whimsical designs and often luxuriously-appointed interiors that were hallmarks of the Vanning craze, but the fact remains that vans are relatively inexpensive to acquire or build, they’re simple to fix, and there are a number of clubs to join and events to attend each year.
Amazingly, customizing vans has even spread to Japan, where they typically modify theirs for more performance or, in the case of this example, simply preserve an already-completed design.
“Vanning” listings:
Where else? The Vanning.com classifieds.
If you prefer your van with a side of sake, here as listings from the Japanese classifieds site, goo-net-exchange.com: Dodge, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ford. |
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