On the beach - Concept Path 22

For the Wheels and Waves festival, what better idea could we have come up with than to turn the RnineT into a scrambler? The Concept Path 22 was designed to express freedom and the name comes from one of Europe’s most hidden surf spots. “Path 22” is a stretch of beach inaccessible to cars, located on the Atlantic coast of southern France, half an hour’s walk through one of Europe’s biggest pine forests.

OUR MANIFESTO: Wake up to life every morning with your engine running. Because everything you discover along the way will be yours forever. And that’s how you make life a ride.#MakeLifeARide

BLANCPAIN GT SERIES Paul Ricard : 63 GT3 pour une manche de 6 heures qui s’annonce chaude

par Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Pas moins de 63 GT3 sont attendues samedi prochain au Paul Ricard pour une course Blancpain Endurance Series longue de 6 heures avec une arrivée en semi-nocturne. Le championnat monte encore d’un cran avant les Total 24 Heures de Spa. La catégorie la plus fournie sera la Pro-Cup avec quasiment la moitié du plateau.

Audi ne mettra pas tous ses oeufs dans le même panier en alternant R8 LMS ultra et la nouvelle R8 LMS. Fort d’une magnifique victoire aux 24 Heures du Nürburgring, Audi Sport Team WRT fera rouler Mike Rockenfeller, René Rast et Laurens Vanthoor dans la #1. Le Phoenix Racing ne sera pas en reste avec Marcel Fässler, Christopher Mies et Christopher Haase.

Les Italiens du ROAL Motorsport viendront préparer la classique ardennaise avec une BMW Z4 GT3 partagée par Alex Zanardi, Timo Glock et Bruno Spengler. Attention également au BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS et son trio composé de Maxime Martin, Markus Palttala et Lucas Luhr. Une seule auto en revanche pour le Team Brasil.

Dans le camp Ferrari, le Team AKKA-ASP aura de quoi briller avec une Ferrari 458 Italia pour Morgan Moullin-Traffort, Alessandro Pier Guidi et Tristan Vautier. Moins d’une semaine après sa victoire en LM P2 aux 24 Heures du Mans, Nicolas Lapierre sera à nouveau chez Von Ryan Racing pour épauler les lauréats de Silverstone, à savoir Kévin Estre et Rob Bell.

Le plateau Pro-Am n’évolue guère avec ses 18 GT3. Il y a un peu de mouvement en Am-Cup avec le renfort d’une Ferrari pour le Team AKKA-ASP confiée à Maurice Ricci, Jean-Luc Beaubelique et Philippe Giauque. AF Corse aura en charge une troisième auto pour préparer les 24 Heures de Spa. A noter que la BMW Z4 GT3 du Team Russia by Barwell passe en Am-Cup du fait de l’absence de Cocker.

PRO-CUP (30)
1	Audi Sport Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS	Rockenfeller-Rast-Vanthoor
2	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Stippler-Ortelli-Richelmi
3	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Frijns-Vernay-Müller
5	Phoenix Racing	Audi R8 LMS	Haase-Mies-Fässler
6	Phoenix Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Winkelhock-Tong-Lee
7	Bentley M-Sport	Bentley Continental GT3	Smith-Kane-Meyrick
8	Bentley M-Sport	Bentley Continental GT3	Soucek-Soulet-Buhk
9	ROAL Motorsport	BMW Z4 GT3	Zanardi-Glock-Spengler
19	Grasser Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	Babini-Palmer-Mul
20	Team AKKA-ASP	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Vautier-Moullin Traffort-Pier Guidi
21	Black Falcon	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Al Faisal-Haupt-Buurman
23	Nissan GT Academy Team RJN	Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO	Buncombe-Reip-Chiyo
26	BMW Team Marc VDS	BMW Z4 GT3	Martin-Luhr-Palttala
33	Car Collection Motorsort	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Seyffarth-Toril-Heyer
35	Saintéloc Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Guilvert-Sandström-TBA
44	Oman Racing Team	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	Al Harthy-Adam-Llyod
54	Attempto Racing	McLaren 650S GT3	Alvarez-Borches-Yazbik
55	Attempto Racing	McLaren 650S GT3	Thuner-Gitlin-Ramos
58	Von Ryan Racing	McLaren 650S GT3	Bell-Estre-Lapierre
59	Von Ryan Racing	McLaren 650S GT3	Parente-Hobbs-Senna
63	Grasser Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracan GT3	Zaugg-Bortolotti-Venturini
66	Black Pearl by Rinaldi	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Kaffer-Parrow-Schwager
73	MRS GT Racing	Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO	Walkinshaw-Plowman-Dolby
74	I.S.R.	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Fjordbach-Onidi-Roda
75	I.S.R.	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Salaquarda-Bonanomi-Vervisch
77	BMW Sports Trophy Team Brasil	BMW Z4 GT3	Bueno-Jimenez-Brito
84	Bentley Team HTP	Bentley Continental GT3	Primat-Abril-Parisy
98	ROWE Racing	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Juncadella-Dontje-Sylvest
99	ROWE Racing	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Dusseldorp-Graf-Bastian
333	Rinaldi Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Siedler-Seefried-Salhikov

PRO-AM CUP (18)
4	Belgian Audi Club Team WRT	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Bottemanne-Koebolt-Schothorst
11	Kessel Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Broniszewski-Bonacini-Lyons
12	TDS Racing	BMW Z4 GT3	Hassid-Dermont-Perera
14	Emil Frey Racing	Emil Frey Jaguar	Barth-Frey-Gardel
17	Insight Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Andersen-Jensen
18	Black Falcon	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Engel-Morley-Johnston
22	Nissan GT Academy Team RJN	Nissan GT-R GT3 NISMO	Sanchez-Paletou-Shulzhitskiy
32	Leonard Motorsport AMR	Aston Martin Vantage GT3	Leonard-Wilson-Meadows
34	Car Collection Motorsport	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Matschull-Ehret-Van der Zande
41	Sport Garage	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Guibbert-Vannelet-Santamato
51	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Cameron-Griffin-Guedes
52	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	De Leener-Sbirrazzuoli
53	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Perazzini-Cioci-Potolicchio
70	GT Russian Team	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Karachev-Schneider
71	GT Russian Team	Mercedes SLS AMG GT3	Asmer-Vasiliev
79	Ecurie Ecosse	BMW Z4 GT3	Modell-MacCaig-Bryant
100	DragonSpeed	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Julian-Hedman-Kemenater
888	Triple Eight Racing	BMW Z4 GT3	Mowle-Osborne-Ratcliffe

AM CUP (15)
10	Team AKKA-ASP	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Beaubelique-Ricci-Giauque
15	Boutsen Ginion Racing	BMW Z4 GT3	Ojjeh-Grotz
16	AKKA-ASP	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Pons-Barthez
24	Team Parker Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Loggie-Westwood
25	Glorax Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Mastronardi-Birzhin-Mancini
28	Delahaye Racing	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Bordet-Viron-Orgeval
30	Classic & Modern Racing	BMW Z4 GT3	Hirschi-Kelders-Blanchemain
36	Saintéloc Racing	Audi R8 LMS ultra	Buffin-Cabannes-Sourd
42	Sport Garage	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	TBA-TBA-TBA
48	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Van Glabeke-Lanting-Soenen
49	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Mallegol-Blank-Bachelier
50	AF Corse	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Moiseev-Kondakov-Ragazzi
56	Attempto Racing	Porsche 911 GT3-R	Schmickler-Häring-Konstantinou
78	Team Russia by Barwell	BMW Z4 GT3	Sardarov-Machitski
111	Kessel Racing	Ferrari 458 Italia GT3	Talbot-Earle-Zanuttini

SHINYA KIMURA’S ‘FASTER SON’ YAMAHA MT-07

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EXCLUSIVE Shinya Kimura is probably the world’s most famous custom motorcycle builder right now. But despite this fame, he’s a somewhat enigmatic figure.

He studied insects at college, but chose motorcycle mechanics as a career. It was a smart move: he quickly shot to fame in the 90s building ‘samurai choppers’ at Zero Engineering, a company he founded with backing from the aftermarket parts giant Plot Inc.

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Several hundred low-ridin’ choppers later, Shinya Kimura left Zero, left Japan, and moved to the small town of Azusa in California. In 2006 he set up Chabott Engineering and now builds three or four bikes a year, reputedly costing $100,000 or more. The waiting list is well over a year.

Kimura works on his own terms. He doesn’t build bikes to order, and doesn’t follow trends. So it was a surprise to hear that he’s just built an ‘official’ custom for Yamaha Europe. But digging deeper, maybe it’s not such a surprise: his very first bike was a Yamaha.

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“I have an emotional attachment to Yamaha,” Shinya says. “The first large motorbike I bought was the DT-1. I also loved the SR series, and I’ve always owned one or two of the SR400, SR500 or the XT500 since I was a teenager.”

Yamaha’s product manager Shun Miyazawa set the wheels in motion for the build. “We have been discussing with many custom builders, including Shinya, what role Yamaha should be taking in this growing custom world,” Shun reports.

“We had some ideas in mind already, and Shinya Kimura proposed exactly the same starting point—our modern 700cc liquid cooled twin engine.”

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An MT-07 (AKA the FZ-07 in the USA and Canada) was delivered to Shinya’s workshop. The middleweight roadster has garnered rave reviews from journalists and owners alike, and Shinya was similarly impressed.

Despite his focus on traditional metalworking and craftsmanship, he doesn’t believe manufacturers should revisit past glories. “It wouldn’t be right if you replicated the old designs and started selling them just because they look cool.

“Respecting old design and assimilating it, and then creating something new, should be the way to go for those who create and build today, including me.”

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The bike is called ‘Faster Son.’ It’s the first in a planned run of high-end customs mixing modern technology with vintage style—forging a connection between Yamaha’s current products and the iconic machines of the past.

So Shinya has completely reworked the MT-07 without diluting its usability. “I wanted to express my own taste without spoiling the important functions, such as riding, stopping, speeding and cornering,” he says.

“The engine is the latest technology from Yamaha; it’s not like the vintage engines with beautiful cooling fins. But the overall design of ‘Faster Son’ does not obstruct the newer design elements, or the nostalgic element, but rather flows and blends the two together.”

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There’s a hint of green on the tank that harks back to the classic Yamaha XS1. “To me the XS1 and XS650 are very symbolic, they represent Yamaha’s design philosophy,” Shinya says.

“They are bikes that never look dated, and continue to look beautiful in everyone’s eyes. That’s what I hope to inspire in current motorbikes…I was aiming to create a line for the bike that flows. In another words, a harmony, just like the XS1.”

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It sounds like a hard task given the MT-07’s ultra-modern hardware, but Shinya has made it work. ‘Faster Son’ was revealed at the Wheels & Waves festival in France, and immediately stood apart from all the other customs on display. The metalwork is extraordinary, and it doesn’t wear any influences on its sleeves.

It’s not a cookie-cutter “café racer.” It has fenders, a functional mirror and exhaust system, full instrumentation, and grippy Pirelli Phantom Sportscomp tires.

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“I looked within myself to make sure the function, form, and my personal design philosophy did not conflict with each other,” says Shinya.

“Always at the front of my mind is making motorbikes that I want to see, that I want to ride, and that I can have fun with. It makes me happy to create timeless beauty without following trends and fashions.”

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According to Shun Miyazawa, there will be more Faster Sons to come from Yamaha.

But Shinya Kimura has set the bar high. We can’t wait to see the next offspring.

Yamaha Europe | Chabott Engineering

via BIKEexif