Pol Espargaró opéré d’un syndrome des loges / Successful compartment syndrome surgery for Pol Espargaró

Le pilote du team Monster Yamaha Tech3 a subi une intervention chirurgicale afin de soulager son avant-bras droit.

Alors que son frère aîné Aleix se faisait opérer du pouce droit mardi, Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3) a lui aussi dû subir une intervention chirurgicale afin de soigner un syndrome des loges à l’avant-bras droit. L’Espagnol avait commencé à souffrir d’une perte de force dans le bras droit dès le septième tour de la course du Mans et à ressentir une douleur dont il n’avait que rarement été gêné jusqu’ici.

L’Espagnol avait cependant déjà noté quelque chose après le Grand Prix d’Espagne le 3 mai dernier et a donc décidé de se faire opérer afin de s’assurer de ne pas avoir de problème le semaine prochaine au Mugello.

L’opération a été réalisée par le Dr Angel Villamor à l’Hôpital Nisa Pardo Aravaca de Madrid.

Pol Espargaró :
« J’avais déjà noté une gêné après certaines courses et je pensais que ça allait vite s’estomper après la course mais ça n’a pas été le cas. J’ai donc consulté quelqu’un et nous nous sommes vite rendu compte que je devais voir un spécialiste. Nous avons décidé avec le Dr Angel Villamor de réduire le délais entre la consultation et la chirurgie afin de mettre autant de temps que possible entre l’opération et la prochaine course. J’avais déjà eu cette sensation avant mais je n’avais pas trouvé ça grave. Après les deux dernières courses, c’est devenu plus sérieux. »

« J’avais ressenti une douleur à Jerez en raison du type du circuit et de l’effort que j’avais fait pour suivre Lorenzo et Márquez sur les premiers tours puis ensuite Rossi et Crutchlow. Au Mans ça a empiré et j’ai souffert dès le début de la course, à tel point que je ne pouvais quasiment plus piloter la moto. L’opération s’est heureusement bien passée et je vais pouvoir reprendre le travail afin de me préparer au mieux pour les prochaines courses. »

Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Pol Espargaró has undergone surgery on his right forearm.

Espargaró experienced a large amount of discomfort in his arm during the previous Grand Prix race in France and suffered a loss of force that began during the 7th lap. This pain is not habitual and had just sporadically affected him before. Already after the race at the Grand Prix of Spain on the 3rd of May, the Spanish rider was experiencing pain and so a recovery process using physiotherapy was undertaken. However, the persistence of these symptoms signalled that a medical review was needed. Following this, it was decided that the rider should receive surgery immediately to begin his recovery process as soon as possible to arrive in the best condition for the next round of the MotoGP World Championship which is on May 31st in Mugello, Italy. The operation took place at the Hospital Nisa Pardo Aravaca (Madrid) and was successfully performed by Dr. Angel Villamor. Espargaró will be reviewed later this week.

Pol Espargaró:
"I had noticed this discomfort in my arm after some events before and I thought that it would get better quickly after the end so the race, but it didn’t. Therefore I went to visit a physical therapist about the discomfort I had in my right forearm after Le Mans and we quickly discovered that I needed to see a specialist. We decided to reduce the time between consultation and surgery, with the doctor Angel Villamor, in order to have as much time as possible between the operation and the next race. The truth is that I had experienced that sensation before but I did not consider it important, but unfortunately in these last two races it has been a little more serious. In Jerez, I believed that I suffered pain due to the type of circuit and the effort that I made during the first few laps trying to follow Lorenzo and Marquez and then Rossi and Crutchlow. Yet, in Le Mans it was even worse because I struggled very early in the race being nearly unable to ride the bike. Fortunately, the operation went well and I can now start working again in order to get in the best possible physical condition for the upcoming races.

Road to Le Mans : Rebellion Racing

Aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015, Michelin est partenaire de 20 teams que nous présenterons jusqu’au début de la semaine mancelle. Double champion du monde des teams LM P1 privés, Rebellion Racing va débuter sa saison 2015 au Mans.

Fin 2009, l’entité Speedy Racing / Team Sebah, née de l’association de deux équipes suisses engagées en Endurance avec Spyker C8, Lola LM P2 et Lola-Aston Martin LM P1 en 2008, devient Rebellion Racing, nom d’une prestigieuse marque horlogère.

En 2010, Rebellion Racing aligne deux Lola B10/60-Judd LM P1 chaussées par Michelin en Le Mans Series et aux 24 Heures du Mans (double abandon).

L’année suivante, c’est un moteur Toyota qui équipe les châssis Lola engagés en LMS et en ILMC. Rebellion Racing remporte le titre LMS 2011 avant de s’engager en championnat FIA WEC 2012 avec deux nouveaux châssis développés par Oreca.

L’ancien pilote de F1 Nick Heidfeld renforce l’équipe qui a également fait rouler de jeunes talents comme Marcel Fässler, Nicolas Prost, Neel Jani, Jonny Kane, Mathias Beche…

Bien esseulé dans une catégorie LM P1-L (non hybride), Rebellion Racing gagne les titres mondiaux des teams « privés » en 2012, 2013 et 2014, et signe deux podiums. L’équipe suisse brille également aux USA, en American Le Mans Series, avec deux victoires au général à Petit Le Mans.

Cette année, c’est un nouveau changement de moteur qui a retardé le programme de Rebellion Racing. Absentes à Silverstone et à Spa, les R-One propulsées par de nouveaux moteurs AER V6 bi-turbo débutent donc leur campagne mondiale aux 24 Heures du Mans après un premier roulage mi-mai seulement.

At the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours, Michelin will have 20 partner teams which we will be introducing one by one up to race week. Rebellion Racing has won two LM P1 Privateer Team world titles and will kick off it 2015 campaign at Le Mans.

At the end of 2009, Speedy Racing/Team Sebah – the result of a merger between two endurance racing teams (Spyker C8, Lola LM P2, Lola-Aston Martin LM P1) – was renamed Rebellion Racing after the prestigious watchmaker.

In 2010, the team ran two Judd-powered, Michelin-equipped Lola B10/60 LM P1 prototypes in the Le Mans Series and at Le Mans. Both cars retired.

The following year, it switched to a Toyota engine for its Lola chassis which raced in the LMS and ILMC series. Rebellion Racing won the LMS title before switching to the FIA WEC in 2012 with two new Oreca-developed chassis.

Former F1 driver Nick Heidfeld was brought in to reinforce the line-up which has also employed the likes of Marcel Fässler, Nicolas Prost, Neel Jani, Jonny Kane and Mathias Beche.

With no real competition in the LM P1-L non-hybrid class, Rebellion Racing won the Privateer world crowns in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and finished twice on the podium. The Swiss outfit has also enjoyed success in the USA’s American Le Mans Series, including two Petit Le Mans victories.

This season, another engine change delayed the start of its WEC programme. Now powered by the new twin-turbo AER V6, its R-Ones missed Silverstone and Spa. The combination will consequently make its debut at Le Mans after an initial track test mid-May.

Voitures engagées aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015

Rebellion R-One-AER N°12 – LM P1 : Nicolas Prost / Nick Heidfeld / Mathias Beche

Rebellion R-One-AER N°13 – LM P1 : Alexandre Imperatori / Dominik Kraihamer / Daniel Abt

Palmarès aux 24 Heures du Mans

2008 : Speedy Racing / Team Sebah - Lola B08/80-Judd LM P2 (Zacchia/Belicchi/Pompidou) abandon – Speedy Racing Spyker C8 Laviolette GT2 (Chiesa/Alexander/Leuenberger) abandon

2009 : Speedy Racing / Team Sebah – 14^e, Lola B08/60-Aston Martin LM P1 (Belicchi/Prost/Jani) – 2^e LM P2 Lola B08/80-Judd (Leuenberger/Pompidou/Kane)

2010 : Rebellion Racing – Lola B10/60 LM P1 (abandons)

2011 : Rebellion Racing – 6^e LM P1 Lola B10/60-Toyota (Prost/Jani/Bleekemolen)

2012 : Rebellion Racing – 4^e LM P1 (1^er LM P1-L) Lola B12/60-Toyota (Prost/Jani/Heidfeld)

2013 : Rebelllion Racing – 39^e et 40^e Lola B12/60-Toyota LM P1-L

2014 : Rebellion Racing – 4^e LM P1 (1^er LM P1-L) R-One-Toyota (Prost/Heidfeld/Beche)

WRC, Portugal : Il y a 14 ans, l’apocalypse…

Le Rallye du Portugal est de retour dans la région de Porto depuis 2001 et cette fameuse 35e édition marquée par des conditions météo apocalyptiques. Parmi les ténors du WRC, un copilote s’en souvient encore : Ola Floene.

Aujourd’hui navigateur d’Andreas Mikkelsen, le Norvégien était en effet engagé sur une Toyota Corolla WRC aux côtés d’Henning Solberg, Comme nombre de concurrents, ils s’étaient englués dansOliveira de Hospital (ES11).

« Je n’avais jamais vu des pistes aussi glissantes », se rappelle Ola, « et le brouillard était si épais. Le virage est arrivé plus vite que prévu et on est partis en tonneaux. Aucun spectateur. La voiture est restée engluée dans un fossé et on a dû sortir par le pare-brise. C’est arrivé dans la matinée, on est restés là toute la journée, sous la pluie et dans le froid, avec juste un peu d’eau. »

Le 35^e TAP Rallye du Portugal s’est déroulé du 8 au 11 mars 2001. Il pleuvait déjà depuis plusieurs jours sur le nord du Portugal et la région de Porto avait les pieds dans l’eau. L’avant-veille du départ, un pont traversant le Douro s’était effondré à une trentaine de kilomètres de Porto, emportant les 67 passagers d’un autocar tombé dans la rivière en crue.

Malgré ce drame, de nombreux villages et plusieurs quartiers de Porto inondés, et des pluies continues, les organisateurs du TAP Rallye du Portugal ont maintenu leur épreuve, bon an mal an. Le premier jour, deux spéciales ont dû être annulées, dont le second passage dans Fafe, les pistes étant devenues impraticables.

Le lendemain, c’est sous une pluie battante et dans le brouillard que les concurrents ont parcouru les spéciales du côté d’Arganil. Lors du second passage, les voitures ouvreuses et de nombreux concurrents (2-roues motrices et mêmes 4x4) se sont enlisées. L’ES19 dut être annulée, ainsi que l’ES20, dimanche matin, les pistes ayant été partiellement détruites.

La pluie s’est enfin arrêtée pour les dernières spéciales, laissant Tommi Mäkinen (Mitsubishi) et Carlos Sainz (Ford) s’expliquer pour la victoire. En retard de 0s3 au départ de l’ultime spéciale, le Finlandais s’est imposé avec 8s6 d’avance, notamment grâce à un judicieux retaillage de ses pneumatiques Michelin à l’assistance de Ponte de Lima.

Parmi les pilotes de WRC de l’époque, il n’en reste qu’un au départ de la 49^e édition, Henning Solberg. Son frère Petter est en Rallycross, Carlos Sainz est en Rallye Tout-Terrain, les Finlandais Marcus Grönholm, Tommi Mäkinen et Harri Rovanperä sont rangés des voitures, de même que Didier Auriol.

En revanche, les copilotes sont plus nombreux à avoir connu l’édition 2001. Outre le Norvégien Ola Floene, Stéphane Prévot, Maciej Baran, Chris Patterson ou encore Kaj Lindström sont toujours en activité. Il y a 14 ans, ils étaient au Portugal aux côtés de Bruno Thiry, Leszek Kuzaj, Ioannis Papadimitriou ou encore Tapio Laukkanen…

FORMULA 750 : Looking back at the tire-shredding, chassis-flexing monsters that led to the modern superbike.

 By Kevin Cameron (cycleworld.com)

Formula 750 was a happy accident. Nobody planned it. After Harley-Davidson’s KR performance upgrade of 1968 made the painstakingly developed 500 Triumphs obsolete, at the winter AMA Competition Congress,Triumph proposed raising the OHV displacement limit from 500cc to 750. To its surprise, Harley countered with a proposal to set the OHV limit at 750, and the motion passed. While Triumph/BSA readied its triples,Honda made a cameo appearance at the 1970 Daytona 200 with a big team of CB750-based racers and won. That is, the experienced and realistic Dick Mann was able to keep his Honda running when big-name teammates did not. Triumphs were second and third.

The next year, the Triumph/BSA steamroller was ready, but in a reprise of 1970, Dick Mann wisely endured while others raced. He was there at the end.

Now Kawasaki and Suzuki announced big 750 two-stroke triple-powered streetbikes, and AMA removed the last restriction, making its big class a straight 750 formula. As the 1970s got rolling, the US was clearly the biggest motorcycle market in the world, and a Daytona win was a key to that market. While Giacomo Agostini on his MV continued to win European 500 GPs by minutes, not seconds, from fields of 1962 British Manx Nortons and Matchless G50s, Daytona made them look small-time. The AMA’s new 750 class offered the fastest riders in the world, on the fastest bikes in the world, on the fastest track in the world.

Oops. The new 100-horsepower two-stroke monsters from Japan chewed up their tires in 1972 Daytona practice. And in the 200-miler, Don Emde on an over-the-counter Yamaha 350cc two-stroke production racer, had the speed and endurance to win. Where were the four-strokes? Other than Phil Read down in fourth on a Norton, nowhere. Triumph/BSA’s R&D dollars had leaked away. Harley saw this was no longer their game, and Honda, the “GM of motorcycling,” held aloof.

Now began the dynamic process by which the new 750 class reinvented the motorcycle. The year 1972 showed that existing tires, suspension, and chassis were completely inadequate. New solutions were essential.

In 1973, Yamaha’s little 350 twin scored at Daytona again, this time in the hands of European rising star Jarno Saarinen, first in a Yamaha 1-2-3.

Kawasaki, who had not participated in the GP racing of the 1960s, saw innovation as a way to catch up. Its US team had a choice of stock H1R (500) frames, frames from Japan, and frames made in California by C&J in direct consultation. Mechanics building for a given race could pull parts from a big assortment—swingarms, forks, brakes, chassis. Suzuki worked in a more controlled way and focused on horsepower, soon pushing its liquid-cooled TR750 to 125 hp. As we know, the higher power is pushed, the narrower its delivery gets, causing the late Gary Nixon to say, in his Marlon Brando mumble, “That’d be a pretty good little engine, if it wasn’t so damned hard to ride.”

Another turning point came in 1974, when Yamaha released its big bike, the four-cylinder TZ750A, and Agostini won Daytona on it, shod with Dunlop’s new, super wide, round-section Speedway tire. At the same time, Goodyear released its first slick tires. And borrowing from off-road racing, roadrace teams began to adopt long-travel rear suspension, implemented as a monoshock or with cantilevered or angled twin suspension units.

Buried in every success are the elements of eventual failure. Yamaha showed it could design a production racer—for sale to any qualified rider—that was faster than the factory bikes of the competition.

Suzuki continued to improve its TR750 Triple, achieving tremendous top speeds. Constructor Erv Kanemoto put Gary Nixon’s factory Suzuki engine into his own chassis (fabricated by C&J in California) and Nixon responded by doing the impossible—winning at twisty, 10-turn Loudon, New Hampshire.

In 1975, Kawasaki sought to end the problems of its air-cooled 750 H2R by building its own water-cooled machine—the brutal KR750. This was not, as some thought, “a liquid-cooled H2R.” This was a from-the-ground-up race engine, built in high-strength sand-cast cases, its three cylinders in a single block, and with an all-new six-speed gearbox.

Seeing Daytona’s success, Europe fostered the Imola 200 in 1972. Japanese machines were invisible as Agostini led lap after lap, on a shaft-drive MV. When Ago was out, Paul Smart (hired for the race by a phone call) won on Ducati’s new bevel-drive desmo 90-degree V-twin. This started a separate development that would one day become Ducati’s endlessly evolving ottovalvole twins.

Norton strove to substitute ideas for R&D money. Peter Williams brought a wonderfully clever and streamlined bike to Daytona in 1972, which reached remarkable speed before suffering a blocked intake. A stainless monocoque frame followed, and Cosworth, having revolutionized F1 engine design, was called upon to morph two DFV F1 cylinders into a 750cc parallel-twin for motorcycles. Cosworth’s ideas would be successfully imported into motorcycling by Massimo Bordi, father of the Ducati eight-valve twins. Those ideas now find near-universal application in motorcycle and auto engine design.

The more successful Yamaha’s TZ750 became, the more criticism it drew. The FIM, reportedly at one time ready to adopt a 750 GP class, dropped the idea. Despite the fact that Yamaha offered its 750 racers for sale (322 of them were built) while Triumph, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and the others never did, pundits complained that the TZ was not derived from a production bike. In fact Yamaha had presented the production bike at the Tokyo Motor Show, but owing to emissions-control trends in the US, it was never built.

The four-strokes-only people dismiss Formula 750 as “the forgotten era,” but in fact technologies of today were forced into being by F750’s collision of tire-shredding horsepower and tradition. When lightweight, high-power four-stroke engines at last appeared in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the chassis, tire, and suspension solutions of F750 were ready for them.

BMW Apollo Streamliner concept is a retro Tron bike

Conceptualised by an Istanbul-based industrial designer, the BMW Apollo Streamliner is a celebration of the brand’s heritage, influenced by futuristic design and a quest for speed…

Although existing only in concept form and with no formal ties to the German auto-maker, industrial designer Mehmet Doruk Erdem has penned what we think is one of the most striking land-speed-style motorcycle designs to appear in recent times. Named the 'Apollo Streamliner' and built for outright top speed, the machine’s fairing is highly reminiscent of vehicle bodywork produced during the Art Deco period, ensuring very low wind-resistance. Other classic and custom-inspired styling cues include the exposed engine, spoke wheels and purposeful brown leather saddle.

Photos: Mehmet Doruk Erdem

View all the BMW bikes for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

Yamaha RX135 – Bull City Customs

Written by Marlon Slack

The little two-stroke Yamaha RX135 is a mainstay of India and South East Asia. It’s often the bike you’ll see buzzing away underneath a mountain of groceries, kids and terrified-looking livestock as it picks its way through traffic. It’s simple, reliable and isn’t the kind of bike that gets much attention – beyond the occasional replacement of a blown shock or collapsed fork. But this time the brave little Yamaha has been sculptured into a gorgeous backstreet café racer by Bull City Customs – a New Delhi based workshop that specializes in good-looking custom bikes that are also fun and practical to ride.

The workshop is relatively new to the scene, headed by a man with the disappointingly western name of Reginald Hilt. After a career in the textile design industry, Reginald shifted from chopping up his own Royal Enfield 350 Electra to working on other people’s bikes – and Bull City Customs was born. But truthfully the seeds were sown far earlier than that – his youth was spent watching bikes like the RX100, Suzuki 125 and Rajdoot RD350* roll in and out of his father’s garage.

Reginald states that the bike was “…built with an attempt to make a city street ripper that is easy to handle and ride as well as looking edgy. Our inspiration for this build was Steampunk style bike that looked like it just got outta the garage, not a showroom. We wanted this build to tell that greasy, noisy story.” I’m not so certain about the steampunk angle, but I think that with its clean lines and raw, unfinished metal he’s certainly built something special – and something I hope he doesn’t take out into the rain too often.

The project wasn’t an easy one, with the bike being purchased from a metal scrapyard. And it struggled to meet the definition of motorbike at all. It didn’t have wheels, a fuel tank and the frame was as beaten and battered as a stray street  dog – so much so that Bull City Customs thought about making a new frame from scratch. They put that aside for a while and instead focused on rebuilding the engine – an easy task considering how ubiquitous parts for the Yamaha are in India. A new carburettor was sourced, the inlet valve was ported and with that finished, Reginald began picking through parts from other bikes.

The twin-shock frame was modified for a monoshock set up, running a FZ rear shock, FZ front forks and rearsets. The wheels were taken from the deceptively-named Honda Extreme and mated to some highwall Nylogrip Moto-C dual purpose tyres. Brakes were fitted from a Honda CBR250 and clip-on mounts were made on a milling machine. The wiring loom was stripped back too, with the electric start thrown out and the remaining wires hidden under the seat and seat hump.

For me, the highlight of the bike is the fuel tank, which was also fabricated from scratch at Bull City. It matches the rest of the bike perfectly – being a great blend of traditional lines and some more aggressive angles that help it match its more modern features like the mag wheels. It’s a bike that straddles the line between a product of the café scene in the 1960’s and something much more recent.

Bull City Customs have created a gorgeous little runabout that, while it might not be able to carry 200 kilos of produce and a petrified goat, is far more exciting and beautiful than the original. It’s lines are sharp and consistent throughout, and while the mix of brown leather and raw steel certainly has become a bit of a trope in the custom scene, works terrifically on this fun little back street blaster.

*As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the angry little RD was produced under licence in India between 1983 and 1989, many years after it was pulled from sale by Yamaha. It had a reputation for burning through fuel and while it never challenged Royal Enfield in terms of sales, it remains a sought after performance bike in India.

via PIPEBURN

These multi-million-pound Ferraris are about to become lifesavers

As part of its 14 October sale at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, Cambridgeshire, British auction house H&H will auction off a pair of multi-million-pound V12 Ferraris – with all proceeds being donated to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution at the behest of their late owner…

The two cars – a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB and a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 – come from the estate of the late Richard Colton, a respected Northamptonshire-based businessman. At his request, the prancing pair will fund a new RNLI lifeboat to be named Richard and Caroline Colton, taking the name of the prominent Ferrari V12 collector and his late wife. “We are deeply grateful and humbled by Mr Colton’s generous gift and his decision to benefit the RNLI in this way,” said RNLI legacy manager Guy Rose. “Six out of every 10 lifeboat launches are only made possible because of gifts left to us in Wills.”

Seahorses on a special mission

The SWB – chassis 1995 GT – is in largely original condition, and was ordered by Colonel Ronnie Hoare and used to launch the UK Ferrari distributor Maranello Concessionaires. As such, it included every option available, effectively making it a semi-competizione model, with a comp-spec motor, gearbox, fuel tank and limited-slip differential. Meanwhile, the four-cam GTB – chassis 10177 GT – began life as the Maranello Concessionaires demonstrator, before being acquired by Colton in exchange for a Bentley Speed Six in the mid-70s. Like the SWB, Colton fully exploited its touring credentials, with many European trips contributing to the 78,000 miles it displays on the odometer today.

Photos: Neil Fraser for H&H

Snapshot, 1964: For me, it’s raining motocross trophies

In September 1964, Steve McQueen travelled to Erfurt for the Motocross World Championship and to take part in the ‘International Six Days Trial’. But the Hollywood star seems rather unhappy with the damp East German weather. Is the ‘King of Cool’ asking for assistance from above?

It doesn’t matter if you’re a Hollywood icon, one thing you can’t control is the weather. Even a realist like McQueen must look to the heavens for dry weather. We know from first-hand accounts that for the first two days of the Erfurt trial, it rained heavily. Although more used to dry, desert conditions, the rain didn’t seem to affect McQueen’s team of fellow American riders Cliff Coleman, Bud Ekins and brother Dave Ekins too much, for they were leading their class at the end of the second day. Sadly and quite ironically, the team was eliminated on the third day following a spate of crashes and mechanical failures, once the rain had stopped. Coleman and Dave Ekins continued to ride for an individual Gold Medal however, which they both achieved.

Photo: Francois Gragnon/Paris Match via Getty Images

Rally de Portugal Preview - Hyundai Motorsport 2015

Hyundai Motorsport is ready for its next event in the 2015 FIA World Rally Championship (WRC), the completely renewed Rally de Portugal – round five of thirteen this season. 

Check out our official preview clip featuring comments from Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo, Hayden Paddon and our Team Principal Michel Nandan.

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