Renault Sport competition vehicles: making of in Dieppe

installée à Dieppe depuis 1969, l’usine Renault Alpine a produit de nombreux modèles sportifs de l’A310 à la Mégane Renault Sport, en passant par les Renault 5 Alpine et Renault Spider.

Aujourd’hui, Renault Sport et l’usine de Dieppe vous propose une immersion inédite au cœur du service compétition de l'usine.

Since opening its doors in Dieppe in 1969, the Renault Alpine factory has built more than a few sports cars, from the A310 and the Renault 5 Alpine to the Renault Spider and the Megane Renault Sport.

Today, Renault Sport and the Dieppe factory invite you to take a close up look at the competition vehicules being put together.

WORLD GP BIKE LEGENDS – A MOTORCYCLE FIESTA LIKE NO OTHER - Jerez

• World Champions racing again on classic 2-stroke bikes
• 14 races over the weekend with Saturday qualifying and free practice sessions to watch on Friday
• A three-day festival weekend including live music, classic bike displays, comedy entertainment, trials show and trade village
• Open-paddock policy gives unrivalled access to racing heroes

The first ever World GP Bike Legends will take place at Jerez in Spain in just over two months’ time. It is a full three-day festival extravaganza from 19-21 June, and is the ultimate weekend for any fan of  classic grand prix motorcycle racing.

At the heart of World GP Bike Legends is competition – it’s the first event to bring the legendary riders from the sport’s golden era together again to go elbow-to-elbow against one another on the 2-stroke bikes.

An incredible assembly of former world champions and race winners who rode between 1980 and 1999 will descend upon Jerez to compete in three headline classes – 125cc, 250cc and 500cc. Some of the biggest stars include Freddie Spencer, Wayne Gardner, Loris Capirossi, Kevin Schwantz, Ángel Nieto and many more. The full list of confirmed riders to date is below, and there will also be a number of support races throughout the weekend to keep the epic action going from dawn till dusk.

On the other side of the fence there is much more on offer for the army of grand prix racing fans:

• Live music on the Friday and Saturday nights – top tribute acts QueenMania and The ZZ Tops play on Friday with Toseland and the legendary Bonnie Tyler topping the Saturday night bill
• Live action displays from one of the world's most exciting trials display teams
• A shopping village – it wouldn’t be a full festival weekend without somewhere to shop. As well as classic memorabilia and retro gear there will also be modern gear on offer, and plenty of food and drink to complete the party atmosphere
• Open paddock policy. Unlike other classic events the pits and paddock at World GP Bike Legends are open to everyone – there’s no better place to meet some of the world’s top racing icons
• Classic and modern bike displays around the circuit

More is being packed into the World GP Bike Legends timetable every day, with more riders, support classes and entertainment to be announced between now and June.

The wealth and diversity of talent coming to Jerez from all over the world is something never before seen, and below is all the key information for the weekend:

17 Riders from all over the world with a total 298 wins and 36 World Championships 

Setting World GP Bike Legends apart is all the huge riding talents that will be taking part in the Legends races competing on 500cc, 250cc and 125cc 2-stroke Grand Prix machines:

Rider	Achievements	Nationality
Freddie Spencer	1983 500cc, 1985 250cc & 500cc World Champion	United States
Wayne Gardner	1987 500cc World Champion	Australian
Christian Sarron	1984 250cc World Champion	French
Didier De Radiguès	Multiple 250cc & 350cc GP Winner & 500cc Rider	Belgian
Kevin Schwantz	1993 500cc World Champion	United States
Graeme Crosby	500cc GP Rider & TT Formula One Winner	New Zealand
Steve Parrish	500cc GP Rider & Factory Team Manager 1987-1991	English
Carlos Cardús	Multiple 250cc GP Winner 1983-1993	Spanish
José Luis Cardoso	125cc, 250cc & 500cc GP Rider	Spanish
Loris Capirossi	1990 125cc, 1991 125cc & 1998 250cc World Champion	Italian
Juan Garriga	Multiple 250cc GP Winner & 500cc Rider 1984-1993	Spanish
Ángel Nieto	12+1 50cc & 125cc World Champion	Spanish
Jorge Martínez	1986, 1987, 1988 80cc & 1988 125cc World Champion	Spanish
Carlos Lavado Jones	1983 & 1986 250cc World Champion	Venezuelan
Tadayuki Okada	1994 250cc & 1997 500cc runner-up, mulitple GP Winner	Japanese
Phil Read	7 Times World Champion across 500cc, 250cc & 125cc + 1977 Formula TT Champion	English
Manuel "Champi" Herreros	1989 80cc World Champion & 125cc GP rider	Spanish

Support Grids

• International Classic Grand Prix (ICGP) - 250/350cc bikes from 1974-1984
• The 50/80cc Superstars Trophy
• The BMW Motorrad España Classic 250/350cc Trophy
• The 125cc Challenge Trophy

Live Music

Bonnie Tyler (Saturday)
The ‘International First Lady of Rock’ will close the show on Saturday night with some of her greatest hits including Lost in France, More than a Lover, Total Eclipse of the Heart, and Holding Out for a Hero.

James Toseland (Saturday)
Double World Superbike Champion turned-rocker kicks off Saturday's music line-up with his eponymously-named band Toseland belting out songs from their latest EP Hearts and Bones

QueenMania (Friday)
One of the best known Queen tribute acts – renditions of international super-hits like Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You and of course We Are The Champions – which could serve as an apt theme song to World GP Bike Legends!

The ZZ Tops (Friday)
Opening the show on Friday evening will be this unique three-man tribute to rock music's best known Texan boogie band who will undoubtedly bring the house down with classics like 'Gimme All Your Lovin', Sharp Dressed Man, Cheap Sunglasses and many more.

Entertainment

There will be loads going on all around the circuit over the weekend. For some fun on two wheels there is a mini bikes riding area, plus an exciting funfair with rides and giant slides. There are classic and modern bike displays showcasing the top road and race models from the early years right up to the present day. 

Look out for the following special features too:

George Formby motorbike act
Graeme Hardy is bringing his comedy act with that famous bike, the 'Speed Demon', from the film 'No Limit' to Jerez!

Trials Show
The Trials Shows team will be wowing the crowds with their gravity-defying shows throughout the weekend. Former Italian and European Trials Champion Mercel Justribó Agustí and former Spanish and European Champion Jordi Pascuet Mas will be thrilling fans with their two-wheeled acrobatics. 

Auction by Stanislas Machoïr

World GP Bike Legends is partnered with Stanislas Machoïr, the sophisticated and full service French auction house, to offer an incredible opportunity to owners of memorabilia, classic cars and motorcycles they wish to sell. Email contact@stanislasmachoir.com to submit an entry.

Hospitality

Choose from access to the VIP Terrace open to the beautiful Spanish skies with a fantastic view of the whole circuit or the just released VIP Suite for a full day of hospitality.

Click here to view the full timetable

One day is not enough – Three-Day Race Weekend Package includes access to grandstands, paddocks, live music and all entertainment!

Mondial Enduro GP1

Et on commence avec les images de la Supertest du vendredi soir. 

Le caméraman a trouvé un bon spot technique… Sont chauds les Chiliens ! Ça jardine sévère dans les cailloux ! 

Quelques jolis passages dans la poussière chilienne 

Et encore de belles glisses dans la poussière

Et pour finir les vidéos officielles 

WRC Rally Argentina 2015 : « Pour Colin McRae » / ''For Colin''

A 35 ans, le Britannique Kris Meeke a (enfin) remporté sa première victoire mondiale qu’il a dédiée à Colin McRae, dernier Britannique à s’être imposé en WRC. Le pilote écossais avait beaucoup aidé Kris Meeke à ses débuts.

Une première victoire WRC à 35 ans, et alors ? Kris Meeke ne dispute que sa seconde saison mondiale complète. Et puis, on a trouvé plus anciens premiers vainqueurs sur les tablettes : Jorge Recalde et Franz Wittman (37 ans), Joginder Singh (42 ans), Kenjiro Shinozuka (43 ans), Pentti Airikkala (44 ans). Cette liste n’est pas exhaustive…
« Oui, la route a été très longue, très longue », reconnaît Kris Meeke. « J’ai souvent cru que tout allait s’arrêter…Mais j’ai pu compter sur des gens qui ont cru en moi, comme Colin McRae qui m’a suivi à mes débuts et m’a tout appris. Je lui dédie cette victoire. Je n’oublie pas Yves Matton, aussi, à qui je dois énormément. Il est venu me chercher alors que j’étais au fond du gouffre, je n’avais plus piloté depuis deux ans, je n’avais absolument rien en vue… »
C’est vrai que la carrière de Kris Meeke fut chaotique. Elle a débuté chez M-Sport où Kris, fraîchement diplômé en ingénierie mécanique, était designer CAO. Sa véritable carrière de rallyman a démarré au début des années 2000, sur une petite Peugeot 106, puis, aidé par Colin McRae, en championnat Junior britannique sur une Ford Puma qu’il a remporté dès sa première saison.
Toujours soutenu par Colin, Kris Meeke a progressé en championnat du monde Junior sur Opel Corsa, puis chez Citroën en 2005 et 2006, deux saisons compliquées. Il rebondit chez Peugeot UK en IRC 2009 et remporte le titre, ce qui lui vaut de signer chez Prodrive pour un programme Mini en WRC, un bien mini-programme. Et puis Yves Matton l’a appelé avant la Finlande 2013…
« Mon début de saison a été difficile », analyse Kris après trois rallyes médiocres. « Je voulais trop en faire, je me suis mis la pression tout seul. Ce long break entre le Mexique et l’Argentine m’a fait du bien. J’ai coupé, fait du sport… Je suis arrivé ici avec les idées claires. »
« Bien sûr, j’ai profité des ennuis de mes adversaires. Mais j’ai aussi réalisé un bon chrono dans l’ES2 Agua de Oro-Ascochinga et pris la tête à ce moment-là avec 30 secondes d’avance », résumait Kris. Ensuite, il a fallu gérer, un exercice dans lequel Kris n’est pas toujours performant, pour mémoire sa bourde au dernier Rallye Deutschland…
Kris Meeke est le premier Britannique à s’imposer en WRC depuis son mentor Colin McRae au Safari Rally 2002 (Ford), soit 12 ans, 9 mois et 12 jours !

 

At the age of 35, Kris Meeke has won his first world class event at last. He immediately dedicated it to Colin McRae, the last Briton to claim a WRC victory. The late Scot played a big role in the Citroën driver's early career.

Kris Meeke, who is contesting only his second full season at factory level, waited until the age of 35 to score his first WRC victory.

He's in good company, though. We found several other drivers who obtained their maiden win at a 'mature' age: Jorge Recalde (37), Franz Wittman (37), Joginder Singh (42), Kenjiro Shinozuka (43 ) and Pentti Airikkala (44 ). There could be others...

''Yes the road has been very long,'' acknowledges Meeke. ''I often thought everything would come to a stop but I have been able to count on people who believed in me, like Colin who helped me when I was younger and who taught me eveything. I dedicate this victory to him. I mustn't forget Yves Matton, either. I owe him a great deal. He gave me a chance when I was at a low point. I hadn't driven for two years and there were no prospects on the horizon.''

It has to be said that the Ulsetrman's career has been somewhat up-and-down. It started at M-Sport where Kris, a recently qualified mechnical engineer, was a CAD-CAM designer. His rallying career got off the ground in the early Noughties, initiatlly in a diminutive Peugeot 106, then – with McRae's assistance – in the British Junior championship, in a Ford Puma. He won the title at first attempt.

Still with the Scott's backing, he had JWRC programmes, in an Opel Corsa, then in a Citroën in 2005 and 2006. They were two difficult seasons yet he bounced back when Peugeot UK helped with an IRC campaign in 2009, which he won. After that, he was recruited by Prodrive for what turned out to be a mini Mini programme in the WRC.

He received the phone call from Citroën's Yves Matton before Rally Finland in 2013…

''It's been a tough start to this season,'' he admits. ''I've been overdoing it and putting pressure on myself. The long break between Mexico and Argentina did me good. I stepped back, did some sport and arrived in Villa Carlos Paz feeling refreshed.

''Okay, I was helped by the problems that affected my rivals but I was fast on SS2 which is when I took the lead – by 30 seconds...''

He was then faced with having to manage that lead, something he hasn't always been good at, the most obvious example being last year's Rallye Deutschland...

In Argentina, he kept a cool head, however, to become the first British driver to win a WRC round since his mentor Colin McRae on the 2002 Safari Rally 2002, a wait of 12 years, 9 months and 12 days!

 

GT TOUR ; Sébastien Loeb Racing au Mans : Après le podium, des envies de victoire !

Le Sébastien Loeb Racing a rendez-vous ce week-end dans l’antre mythique du circuit du Mans, théâtre de nombreuses victoires Audi. Aux 24 Heures du Mans, bien entendu, mais également sur le Bugatti, en Championnat de France FFSA GT, où la structure de Sébastien Loeb et Dominique Heintz aligne justement deux Audi R8 LMS ultra pour ses équipages Mike Parisy / David Hallyday / Philippe Gaillard et Lonni Martins / Christophe Hamon / Christian Bottemanne.

La première étape à Lédenon, mi-avril, a été synonyme de mise en route d’ores et déjà auréolée d’un podium. Nul besoin de préciser que la victoire sera l’objectif premier en terre sarthoise, où le championnat adopte cette fois un schéma de trois courses d’une heure chacune.

Passée tout proche du sacre l’an passé avec Mike Parisy, et après avoir bien entamé l’exercice 2015, l’écurie alsacienne est ainsi prête à poursuivre sur sa bonne dynamique avec le Palois – auquel il faut associer David Hallyday et Philippe Gaillard. « La première étape nous a permis de découvrir le nouveau format des courses, de rôder notre équipage et, je dois l’avouer, cette mise en route a été plutôt réussie », confie Mike, pilote de l’Audi #3. « David a montré la vélocité qu’on lui connaît, quant à Philippe, qui revient à la compétition, il monte en puissance et il est encore loin d’avoir affiché tout son potentiel ! »

Le circuit Bugatti, première piste visitée par le championnat en 2014, demeure un très bon souvenir pour Mike et pour le Sébastien Loeb Racing qui en étaient repartis aux commandes du championnat après avoir ouvert leur palmarès de victoires avec la R8 LMS ultra. « Il correspond bien aux caractéristiques de l’Audi car les courbes nécessitent pas mal d’aéro et c’est la force de notre voiture », explique-t-il. « Le terrain de jeu semble donc idéal, sur piste sèche et humide. Cependant, ne sous-estimons les Ferrari qui sont bien représentées, bien préparées et bien pilotées. Nous devons redoubler d’efforts pour combler notre petit déficit en vitesse de pointe. Comme toujours, nous allons faire en sorte de définir un réglage châssis précis et ainsi nous battre une nouvelle fois devant pour reprendre la tête du championnat. »

Sur l’Audi R8 LMS ultra #5, Lonni Martins, Christophe Hamon et Christian Bottemanne, le trio de débutants dans le championnat mais à la sérieuse expérience en sport automobile, a d’ores et déjà affiché ses prétentions de podiums en réalisant une entrée en matière positive dans le Gard.

« Je me sens de mieux en mieux au volant de cette R8 LMS ultra et je suis confiant pour l’avenir », souligne en effet Christian. « Nous accusons encore un léger retard en qualifications, mais en course nous avons montré notre régularité et sans un problème pendant notre dernier pit-stop, nous pouvions déjà prétendre au podium. On s’entend très bien avec Lonni et Christophe. Nos échanges sont constructifs. Pour ma part je ne suis pas encore à 100% avec l’auto : je ne sur-pilote pas et me concentre sur la régularité car je dois ramener la voiture intacte pour mes petits camarades. Régularité et constance, ce sont les clés en endurance. Un podium au Mans ? Je ne livre jamais de pronostic, mais pourquoi pas ! Nous allons montrer ce dont nous sommes capables ! »

A cette occasion, les concurrents ne s’affronteront pas lors de deux courses, mais de trois ! Trois épreuves de 60 minutes avec deux arrêts au stand obligatoires, entre les 18e et 23e minutes, puis entre les 38e et 43e. Pour la première fois cette saison, les équipages devront par ailleurs composer avec les handicap-temps et celui de l’Audi #3 sera de 12 secondes.

Notez désormais sur vos agendas que l’armada du Sébastien Loeb Racing entrera en scène à 11h43, samedi 2 avril, pour les qualifications. Le départ de la première des trois manches sera donné l’après midi à 17h45, puis les deux dernières, réunies sur la journée du dimanche 3 mai, à 10h00 et 15h55. Pour ne rien rater de l’action, en direct, vous connaissez maintenant le principe : rendez-vous sur le site officiel du Sébastien Loeb Racing !

FULLER MOTO’S MINTY FRESH NORTON COMMANDO 750

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The Handbuilt Motorcycle show rocked Austin, Texas earlier this month. As the name implies, the show was filled to the brim with custom motorcycles—including this show-stopping Norton Commando 750 from Fuller Moto.

Fuller Moto is an Atlanta, Georgia-based shop run by Bryan Fuller. When Bryan’s not presenting Velocity’s Naked Speed, he builds one-off hot rods and motorcycles.

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As builders go, he’s pretty versatile. The last Fuller build we featured was a raw, retro-futuristic Ducati Scrambler—a stark contrast to the clean, immaculately-finished Norton we’re looking at here.

Kyle Frey is the owner of this Norton, nicknamed ‘Misty Green.’ Once a resident of New York and part of the hustle of the Financial District, Kyle decided to leave the city behind—choosing a life in the Texas hill country in the aftermath of 9/11.

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Bryan picks up the story: “Kyle had seen our café racers and was interested in transforming his Norton Commando. He’d inherited it from his uncle, Fred Heistand.

“Fred had come across this Norton as a matching numbers unit, with a frame and four milk crates full of parts. But it’d been sitting for years. The spokes were junk and the kicker was stripped, so it was unusable.”

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When the Fuller team began stripping down the bike, they found a solid piece of two-inch round stock holding the frame backbone together. It was no doubt a fix for the famously flexible frame of the 1968 Commando—so Fuller built a brand new cromoly frame from scratch.

The Commando uses an oil-carrying frame, so the process wasn’t without its challenges. The tail section bodywork hides a small reserve tank (as well as the battery and regulator), with lines running from the frame to the oil pump. And there’s an ingenious new crankcase venting system, with a vent tube hidden inside the frame downtube. It exits to a hidden slot in front of the steering neck.

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One of the goals of the project was weight saving. At 464 pounds or so, the Commando is not too heavy—but it only has 58 hp to push it around in stock form. So Bryan swapped the heavy forks out for a much lighter (and shortened) CB550 setup. NYC Nortonsupplied new, custom-drilled triple trees to hold the CB forks.

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A set of dirtbike hubs found at a swap meet went to Buchanan’s, where they were laced to aluminum rims—19” at the front and 18” at the back. The swingarm was lengthened two inches, with a new righthand side designed to accommodate the new rear wheel. The all-new brakes are from Beringer and the shocks are from Fox.

While the suspension was being fettled, the engine was rebuilt by Beno Rodi, an English bike expert. “He’s in his 70s, and still enters a hundred motorcycle races a year,” says Bryan.

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“He knows these old Nortons inside out, and has a stash of old and new parts to fill the gaps where necessary. The motor wasn’t in too bad a shape, so Beno did a basic ring, hone, valve and port job.”

Beno also gave the transmission a good once over, and installed a new open primary drive kit and clutch. “It works really smooth—light to the touch, and doesn’t slip.”

Bryan Heidt (AKA ‘Super B’) cut the original drive cover to leave the system exposed, while still offering a little protection for the stator (and Kyle’s foot). Most of the fasteners on the bike were replaced with ARP 12-point, stainless steel units.

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With the chassis and engine sorted, Bryan could move onto his favorite phase of the build: bodywork. “I’ve been wanting to do a fairing forever,” he says, “and this was the right bike for it.”

He started by making a buck, in a shape reminiscent of the old Manx racers, but more streamlined. The bodywork was then beaten, English-wheeled and hammered out of alloy, before the tops and sides were rolled and finished. The windshield is a trimmed reproduction Ducati ‘double bubble’ item.

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An old English lantern was cut up to make the head and tail lights. “It sounded like a good idea,” says Bryan wryly. “But the vibration from the parallel twin broke both glasses.” They started over, but this time the hot H4 bulb threatened to melt everything. Switching to LEDs ultimately solved the problem.

With the finish line in sight, Wes Hines (Fuller Moto’s ‘mechanical whizz kid’) and Super B assembled all the mechanical components, while Bryan planned the graphics.

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The rims and Beringer brakes were anodized red out of the box. As beautiful as they looked, they didn’t match Kyle and Bryan’s vision for the Commando. “We just felt like Norton Green was called for.” So the wheels were stripped and re-coated; the rims went green, and the brakes were anodized satin black.

The bodywork was polished before being painted by Atlanta-based Joe Patterson. Chastin Brand then handled pinstriping duties, adding highlights matching the green on the Smiths rev counter. John Whitaker crafted the leather for the seat, tank and tail.

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All that was left to do was give the Norton a decent shakedown. So Bryan spent a month riding it back and forth to work and around town. “She starts first kick nearly every time and hits with a rumble out of the Cone Engineering stainless steel mufflers. The Beringers stop perfectly, the clutch is smooth, it sounds good, the seat is comfortable… proud papa!”

The whole project took the Fuller crew a couple of years to complete—but the ‘Misty Green’ moniker was only chosen at the very last minute. Bryan picked it when he joined ace photographer Matthew Jones in the misty Georgia countryside early one morning, to shoot the bike before it was shipped off to the show.

A new dawn for an old classic—just the kind of build we like around these parts.

Fuller Moto website | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Matthew Jones — Instagram