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    dimanche 5 juillet 2015

    Indian Motorcycle Inaugural Ride

    Coral Motorsports joins Indian Motorcycle for their Inaugural Ride from Nashville to Lynchburg, Tennessee. 


    Relive the 2015 Goodwood Festival of Speed


    Towered over by Gerry Judah’s magnificent central sculpture, this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed might have been the most action-packed yet…

    Flat-out and fearless

    This year’s theme was ‘Flat-out and Fearless’, and what motor sport ‘moment’ encompasses that more than Moss and Jenks’ 1955 Mille Miglia victory? It was marked in signature Goodwood style, with seven of the nine Mercedes 300 SLRs built, including both Uhlenhaut Coupés and chassis number one (fitted with an experimental air-brake for Le Mans). Moss drove ‘722’ – as well as a W196 Grand Prix car – throughout the weekend, while Hans Herrmann and Jochen Mass piloted ‘704’ and ‘658’ respectively – a sensational sight.

    Hillclimb highlights

    In fact, several highlights aptly summed up ‘Flat-out and Fearless’, such as the really rather poignant line-up of Gilles Villeneuve’s Ferraris, Mark Walker and his driving mechanic spectacularly sideways in his 1905 Darracq, and the Bentley ‘Blue Train’, named after Woolf Barnato's famous race against the night express train from Cannes to Calais in 1930 (that he duly won).

    Cacklefest

    The variety of cars was, as usual, unparalleled, with classes stretching from pioneering ‘Edwardian Leviathans’, through ‘Classic Endurance Racers’ and ‘The Cosworth Years’, to contemporary F1 and sports cars. Our hillclimb highlights were, naturally, the selection of cackling rotary-engined Mazda prototypes, including the 1991 Le Mans-winning 787B, David Sydorick’s utterly beautiful Alfa Romeo TZ2 (the last of just 12 built), and the Fiat S76 ‘Beast of Turin’, a thunderous 28-litre monster whose flame-belching engine almost set this writer’s eyebrows alight as it made its way back to the paddock.

    The boy done good

    And on the subject of singed eyebrows, Derek Bell drove the Ecurie Francorchamps Ferrari 512M in which he endured a pit stop fire – suffering minor burns – during his very first sports car race at Spa, as well as many other cars from his career, as part of an entire class celebrating 40 years since his maiden Le Mans win (and, incidentally, 50 years since his racing debut, at Goodwood no less). The list of cars (and names assembled to drive them) was astounding – think Porsche 917, 908, 936 and 956/962, McLaren F1 GTR and BMW 3.0 CSL… Bell was almost moved to tears while talking about his career and the cars present, some of which he had forgotten he even drove.

    Sweeping statements

    The selection of cars on the Cartier Style et Luxe lawn, adjacent to Goodwood House, was certainly diverse. With select classes such as ‘Coach and Horses’, for ’50s and ’60s coach-built Ferraris, and ‘Sweeping Statements’, for Figoni et Falaschi-bodied cars of the ’20s and ’30s, the judges had the unenviable choice of awarding ‘Best in Show’, which this year went to the voluptuous Talbot-Lago T150-C-S ‘Goutte d’Eau’, or ‘Talbot Teardrop’, as it's otherwise known. Elsewhere, we were taken with the experimental V12 Jaguar XJ220 prototype, the gorgeous Ferrari 250 GT Lusso by Fantuzzi, and the Citroën DS 19 Le Paris.

    Pinch me, I'm dreaming...

    It’s the scarcely-believable ‘pinch me’ moments, though, that mount up and make the Festival of Speed simply unforgettable; such as walking past the collection of Steve McQueen’s cars lined up at the entrance to the Drivers' Club, Porsche’s first Le Mans winners, Richard Attwood and Hans Herrmann, shooting the breeze as the Eurofighter Typhoon thundered overhead, or a beaming Valentino Rossi hustling a Martini-liveried Lancia Delta S4 on the Forest Rally Stage. It’s been said a thousand times before, but there really isn’t anywhere else like it.

    A Stirling summary

    'Mr Motor Racing' himself, Sir Stirling Moss, summarised it perfectly while chatting to us over the weekend: “I’m always thrilled and excited to see how wonderfully well run it is. Everybody comes together for a fabulous class reunion, and you encounter cars you’d never see otherwise. In my time, you had to race in Europe – I never saw all the cars that were raced in Asia or North and South America. Goodwood is the home of motor racing, where it's not taken too seriously. The people here understand what it was we were doing all those years ago.” Hear, hear...
    Photos: Peter Aylward for Classic Driver © 2015

    The race - 2015 WRC Rally Poland


    BLANCPAIN GT SERIES 24H Spa : Le Team Marc VDS Racing roulera pour la lutte contre le cancer


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    Sous l’impulsion de Pascal Witmeur, un vieil ami du Team Marc VDS et qui vient de se sortir de deux cancers, l’équipe carolo se mobilisera pour la lutte contre cette maladie. Les sommes récoltées iront à la Fondation contre le Cancer.
    L’Ecurie a donc engagé trois BMW Z4 GT3 pour l’épreuve : les deux “habituelles” qui visent clairement la victoire avec des pilotes de l’usine BMW (dont notre compatriote Maxime Martin) et une 3ième un peu plus “show bizz”.
    Cette dernière cherchera tout particulièrement à faire parler du cancer, à lever des fonds, à faire vivre l’événement à des malades (dont des enfants) et à communiquer le message “Never Give Up” de Pascal Witmeur.  Cette troisième BMW est engagée sous le nom “Marc VDS & Friends Racing Against Cancer”.
    Pascal et les 24h de Spa, c’est une longue histoire : il y a participé 26 fois et y a travaillé sur une douzaine d’éditions. C’est lors des 24h de Spa de l’an dernier que les médecins du circuit lui ont annoncé qu’ils soupçonnaient un cancer (le lendemain les cancérologues en confirmaient deux). C’est après l’édition des 24h de l’an 2000 qu’il a raccroché son casque, suite au décès de sa jeune épouse, emportée par…un cancer.
    Aujourd’hui il a finalement vaincu ses “crabes” et s’est mis en tête de revenir “en tant que pilote” pour l’édition 2015. Pour communiquer sur son action Never Give Up, récolter des fonds et se prouver qu’à 60 ans, après 15 ans sans toucher un volant de course, on peut encore produire de l’adrénaline.
    Le Team Marc VDS l’a accueilli.  Il mettra à sa disposition une 3ième BMW Z4 et offrira pas mal d’espaces sur ses deux voitures vedettes pour récolter des fonds.
    Cette BMW-là sera pilotée par Jean-Michel Martin, Eric Van de Poele, Marc Duez et Pascal lui-même. A eux quatre, ils totalisent plus de cent participations, 12 victoires et 42 podiums, la grosse majorité sur BMW.
    Cette voiture, qui se qualifiera tout à fait dans les règles ne fera par contre en course que…4 relais symboliques de… 24 minutes chacun !  Un par pilote. Le départ, une « sortie » le samedi soir, une autre le dimanche midi et un dernier pour l’arrivée. Cela permettra de faire une économie énorme par rapport aux coûts d’une course complète.  Et cette différence sera versée par le Team à la Fondation Contre le Cancer.
    Il y a 24 moyens de s’impliquer et d’aider cette action Racing Against Cancer. Il y a des opportunités pour les sociétés et les particuliers, pour ceux qui assisteront aux 24h et ceux qui n’y seront pas… Cela va de zéro à 2400 euros.
    L’arrivée des 24 heures, c’est dans 24 jours. Ce sera le moment de communiquer les montants récoltés pour la lutte contre le cancer…
    Pour recevoir par mail la “carte des opportunités”, écrivez à  pascalwitmeur@gmail.com. Le site et les pages Facebook suivent dans les 24h.

    WRC, Rally Poland : Une 5e victoire pour Ogier / Ogier scoops fifth win of the year


    Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) a remporté sa 5e victoire de l’année au Rallye de Pologne devant Andreas Mikkelsen (+11s9). L’Estonien Ott Tanak (Ford/Michelin) monte sur le podium final devant Jari-Matti Latvala. Le groupe Volkswagen et Michelin ont également signé un doublé en catégorie WRC-2 avec les Skoda Fabia R5 de Lappi et Tidemand.
    Comme l’an passé, Sébastien Ogier et Andreas Mikkelsen ont offert un doublé à la VW Polo R WRC/Michelin sur les pistes ultra-rapides du Rally Poland. Le Français s’est imposé à 121 km/h de moyenne. Hormis les trois Superspéciales, les autres secteurs chronométrés ont été avalés entre 115 et 131 km/h de moyenne.
    Les températures exceptionnellement élevées au nord de la Pologne, près de 35°C et de 50°C au sol en milieu de journée, ont rendu les choix très compliqués. Avec une telle chaleur et les hautes vitesses, certains pilotes ont opté pour des pneus LTX Force H4 (hard) d’an l’après-midi, d’autres ont privilégié la gomme S4 soft et de nombreux ont panaché soft/hard.
    Soutenu par ses fans venus d’Estonie, Ott Tanak (Ford/Michelin) a profité de sa 11e position au départ et de pistes balayées pour dominer le début de rallye. Après trois meilleurs temps d’affilée, le pilote Ford comptait 9s3 d’avance sur Mikkelsen au parc de regroupement de Goldap, vendredi. Premier en piste, Sébastien Ogier avait bien limité les dégâts et pointait sur le podium provisoire à 16s7.
    Un mauvais choix de pneus, et des soucis de freins ont relégué Tanak à la 4e place vendredi soir, derrière les trois Volkswagen Polo R WRC avec dans l’ordre Ogier, Mikkelsen et Latvala. A l’issue de la première journée, les quatre premiers étaient groupés en moins de 20 secondes.
    Toujours contraint de balayer les routes, mais épargné par la poussière qui restait en suspension dans les sous-bois, Sébastien Ogier a augmenté son avance au cours de la deuxième étape, passant de 2s1 à 5s6 sur un Mikkelsen très pugnace. Derrière ce duel pour la première place, un autre duel, pour la troisième place entre Tanak et Latvala, a enthousiasmé les dizaines de milliers de spectateurs présents au bord des spéciales. Samedi soir, Tanak précédait Latvala d’1s5 !
    Très courte (29,20 km), la troisième et dernière étape a consacré Sébastien Ogier, également vainqueur de la Power Stage. Le Français a remporté sa seconde victoire d’affilée en Pologne et son 29e succès mondial. Séparés par 1s1 au départ de l’ultime spéciale, Jari-Matti Latvala et Ott Tanak ont tout donné, mais le Finlandais a effectué une touchette, laissant Tanak monter sur podium WRC pour la seconde fois de sa carrière (Italie 2012).
    Après sa magnifique prestation en Sardaigne, Hayden Paddon a confirmé en Pologne. Le Néo-Zélandais a conclu à la 5e place et terminé une nouvelle fois meilleur pilote Hyundai devant Neuville (6e), Sordo (10e) et Abbring (15e). Le constructeur sud-coréen engageait pour la première fois quatre i20 WRC ce week-end.
    Le héros national Robert Kubica (Ford) a réalisé une belle course pour conclure à la 8e place après une crevaison dans la dernière spéciale. Prié de ramener sa DS3 WRCà l’arrivée après ses tonneaux au Shakedown, Kris Meeke a pris la 7e place. Son équipier Mads Ostberg (9e, Citroën) a connu des hauts et des bas, mais il a maintenu Sordo à distance.
    Le Groupe Volkswagen a également signé un doublé en catégorie WRC-2 avec les Skoda Fabia R5 d’Esapekka Lappi et de Pontus Tidemand qui ont dominé l’épreuve. Les partenaires de Michelin en WRC-2 disposaient des nouveaux pneus Latitude Cross S80 (soft) et H90 (hard) particulièrement performants sur les spéciales rapides.

    Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) claimed his fifth victory of the year in Poland where he beat Andreas Mikkelsen by 11.9s. Estonian Ott Tanak (Ford/Michelin) was third, ahead of Jari-Matti Latvala. The Volkswagen group and Michelin enjoyed one-two success in WRC2, too, with Skoda Fabia R5 pair Lappi and Tidemand.
    As in 2015, Ogier and Mikkelsen earned a one-two finish for the VW Polo R WRC/Michelin on the ultra-fast stages of Rally Poland. The Frenchman’s average speed was 121kph and, with the exception of the three super-specials, all the tests were won at averages of between 115kph and 131kph.
    The exceptionally high temperatures in northern Poland (up to almost 35°C/air and 50°C/ground) made tyre choices complex, with some drivers choosing the hard-compound Michelin LTX Force H4 for the afternoon runs, others opting for the softer S4, and several mixing the two.
    Tanak (Ford/Michelin) was boosted by his fans from nearby Estonia and he took advantage of his start order (11th) to dominate the early part of the rally. Three straight fastest times took him 9.3s clear of Mikkelsen by Friday’s midday regroup in Goldap. Ogier limited the damage, however, and was third at this point (+16.7s).
    A poor tyre choice and brake trouble dropped Tanak to fourth at the end of play, but still in contact with the Volkswagen Polo R WRCs of Ogier, Mikkelsen and Latvala, in that order. These four drivers were covered by less than 20s.
    Saturday saw Ogier run first on the road again, but at least he wasn’t handicapped by hanging dust as he extended his lead over the combative Mikkelsen from 2.1s to 5.6s. Meanwhile, the battle for third between Tanak and Latvala entertained the big crowds and the Ford driver completed Day 2 with a margin of just 1.5s!
    The short final day (29.20km) crowned Ogier’s fifth win of the year, his second in a row in Poland, and his 29th in total. The Frenchman also won the Power Stage. Tanka and Latvala were split by 1.1s before the final stage but a small off by the Finn allowed the Estonian to finish on the podium for the second time after Italy 2012.
    Hayden Paddon followed up his strong run in Sardinia with another in Poland where he harvested fifth place, making him Hyundai’s best finisher, ahead of Neuville (6th), Sordo (10th), and Abbring (15th).
    Local hero Robert Kubica (Ford) had to settle for eighth after a puncture on the last stage, while Kris Meeke, who rolled his DS3 WRC on the shakedown, reached the finish in seventh spot. Mads Ostberg (9th, Citroën) had a seesaw event but kept Sordo at bay.
    The Volkswagen group also came first and second in WRC2 with Skoda Fabia R5 drivers Esapekka Lappi and Pontus Tidemand who dominated the class. Michelin’s WRC2 partners benefited from new Latitude Cross S80 (soft) and H90 (hard) tyres which were perfectly suited to the fast terrain.

    Disciples of dirt – Sunday Slide


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    Photos and words by NinetyNineCo.
    Optimism reigned supreme this week as backyard workshops across New South Wales occupied pre 90’s home-builds and excitedly tentative owners, standing hopeful that the weather would hold out for Sunday’s slide fest.
    As the weekend came into focus, the only evidence of the midweek downpour was a lake of muddy water, smack-bang in the center of the Nepean Raceway. But lucky for us, that lake was surrounded by a halo of glorious dirt, just begging to be kicked up – this Sunday wasn’t going to be a day of rest.
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    The morning began with a thick mist and a bitter chill, soon subsiding as the sun eventually crept over the trees whilst bikes were lifted off of trailers and out of the back of vans across the carpark. The cold start didn’t deter the crowd which was out in force with prominent figures of the local scene all in attendance showing their support, and many donning jerseys and joining in the action.
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    After the obligatory riders briefing, head Jerkyl Andy Baker said the now infamous prayer to kick off the second Sunday Slide:
    Our father who art Mert Lawwill
    or Gene Romero be thy name

    Thy Kinchrome come,
    Thy top end rebuild done

    On dirt as that is in heaven
    Give us this day, one lap ahead
    And forgive our bad passes
    As we forgive those that bad pass against us
    Lead us not into temptation
    Deliver us from moderns
    For thine is the 2 stroke
    The power band and the oily
    Dirt track for ever and ever.
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    Hosted by The Jerkyls, 90+ riders of all shapes and sizes were brought together to hit the track. Categorised into three groups, Wombats, Camels and Kangaroos, (or beginner, intermediate and advanced) they took their turns to give their 2-strokes all they’ve got.
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    A notable participant was the Sol Invictus Mercury café racer come flat tracker, that was chopped up a couple of weeks ago at the Jerkyls Slide Night. It was great to see this tough little thing zipping around the track, and you could definitely pick out the violently distinctive sound of its sawn off pipes as it brapped past.
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    The Sol Invictus Mercury being pushed hard by Champo.
    The good guys from Rising Sun Workshop were on hand to fill people’s bellies, and after quick stop for lunch and re-watering of the track, it was straight back to it. A warm and sunny afternoon of harmless, but exhilarating fun.
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    After lunch, Yamaha decided it was time get their post-apocalyptic FZ1 dirty. The bike was built for the movie Mad Max Fury Road and as we soon discovered, it was also built to get sideways. Ridden by Dave McKenna who was riding this beast madder than Max, constantly sliding in and out of corners and even getting sideways on the straight – this bike was obviously a crowd pleaser.
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    Photo by Johnny at Fluke Shot.
    It was great to see all the people get behind this day of dirt worship. It wouldn’t have been made possible without all the sponsors. Big thanks to Sol Invictus, Deus, Ducati, Yamaha and Rising Sun Workshop. The day was an absolute blast and let’s pray there’s another one planned soon. Amen.
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    via PIPEBURN

    Blancpain Sprint Series ; Moscow main race highlights (vidéo) -


    The Triple Nickel is More Than a Motorcycle


    In the latest from Petrolicious, founder of female motorcycle club East Side Moto Babes Stacie B London gives us her account of what it means to be a vintage motorcycle racer.
    PetroliciousCo Triple Nickel 01
    When you think of girls and motorcycles, a spandex covered lady sprawled over a bike is probably the first thing to come to mind. Well, not London. She not only rides, she works on her bike herself. Hot, right?
    London’s passion for riding started when she attended the closest vintage race to her, in Willow Springs, in 2010. She fell in love, saying it “blew her mind,” and she knew she “needed” to race. What she didn’t know was that it entailed going in the shop every night from three to four hours and every single weekend, to work on her bike.
    London’s choice of bike was a Honda CB160 (due to the centre of gravity), and she even built the engine herself with help from her mentor, Ralph Hudson. The CB160 was supposed to be finished for Willow, but London was in a serious car accident, resulting in a broken collarbone, whiplash and a large hematoma on her shin the size of a papaya.
    Nevertheless, she describes the drive to ride as what pulled her through – that possibility of riding again helped her in the healing process as something to look forward to.
    Source: Petrolicious

    The Rallye Breslau Poland 2015 has finished!


    The Rallye Breslau Poland 2015 has finished! Most competitors have crossed the finishline near the camp, we are waiting for a few cars and trucks and then the timing crew can start their work. Tonight the pricegiving ceremony will be held, and all final results will be available.
    'Endlich geschafft!' says Frank Stensky after crossing the finishline as the first Cross Country car. 'We have competed more than eight times and finally we have managed to win!' Even though the final results come tonight, Frank and Stephan Stensky had 20 minutes lead at the start. 




    The battle between bikers Henno van Bergeijk and Rico van der Sanden was incredible, with Henno making the final push today. He was 6 minutes behind Rico this morning, but finished 19 minutes ahead of him and way ahead of the calculated average time: the organisation was surprised to see this kind of speed on the stages in Drawsko Pomorski.
    Jim Marsden is on a roll and wins the Rallye Breslau after eight tough stages. 'We did it! Excellent race!' he cheers at the finish. 'I tried so hard to win here, and it took me four times to get ahead of the competition in this event. I love it. The dust this year made it particulary hard, but we are now well trained for desert racing!' 


    Remi Kusy wins the Quad Extreme category for the fourth time, he is happy with the Rallye Breslau. 'It is navigation that counts,' he says. 'To be fast is one but to navigate well and to choose the right strategy makes all the difference in the Rallye Breslau Poland.' 




    Tom Heuer managed to beat his father with the fast Tatra in Cross Country trucks, and he is the first truck to cross the finishline. Directly after him we see Ton Stoker, who is racing a fast Iveco in Truck Extreme but is a careful pilot. 'On the open field of the Polygon we had to find an Azimuth and when we found the right track we were ahead and out of the dust of our competitors!' Even though Ton did not reach the podium he is one of the winners of the honourable 'Klaus Leihener Pokal', the trophy for the winner of todays' stage, driven in name of the founder of the Breslau, Klaus Leihener. 


    In the small truck category we see Alfred Wemhoff, flying with his Unimog. He has been working on it for many years. 'If you look at pure driving quality, there are many pilots who are faster than me,' according to a very surprised Alfred. 'I still have to understand and believe what is happening here!'