Michael Laverty succède à Melandri chez Aprilia / Michael Laverty replaces Melandri for German GP

Michael Laverty prendra la place laissée par Marco Melandri dans l’Aprilia Racing Team Gresini dès ce week-end au Sachsenring.

Michael Laverty sera de retour sur la grille MotoGP™ à partir du Grand Prix GoPro d’Allemagne et prendra la place laissée par Marco Melandri chez l’Aprilia Racing Team Gresini suite à ce que l’Italien et le constructeur de Noale aient décidé de mettre fin à leur partenariat. 

Frère aîné de John et de Eugene, qui dispute sa première saison en MotoGP™ cette année avec l’Aspar MotoGP Team, Michael a déjà couru deux saisons en catégorie reine, avec Paul Bird Motorsport, et pilotait un prototype équipé d’un moteur Aprilia avant de prendre un rôle de pilote d’essais pour la RS-GP.

Le Nord-Irlandais courait cette année dans le British Superbike Championship, sur la S1000RR de Tyco BMW.

Michael Laverty :

« Je suis heureux d’être de retour sur la grille pour le GP d’Allemagne. Courir contre des pilotes qui ont déjà couru la moitié de la saison en MotoGP va être difficile mais je veux profiter à fond de cette opportunité. J’ai travaillé en piste assez régulièrement avec l’Aprilia test team cette année et je suis donc déjà à l’aise sur la moto comme avec les pneus Bridgestone. Je vais tout d’abord devoir m’habituer à la moto en conditions de course et puis essayer de progresser au long du week-end. Álvaro (Bautista) a très bien piloté sur la première partie de la saison et j’ai pu constater le travail réalisé avec le test team. Maintenant je suis impatient de rejoindre l’équipe des week-ends de course. »

Laverty will be a permanent replacement for Marco Melandri with effect from this Grand Prix.

Michael Laverty will rejoin the MotoGP™ class for the GoPro Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland this weekend and continue to be a permanent fixture in the Aprilia Racing Team for the rest of the season. So far this year, the Northern Irishman has been racing in the British Superbike Championship for Tyco BMW onboard an S1000RR.

With Aprilia & Marco Melandri having decided through mutual consent to part ways, Laverty was a logical choice as a replacement having served as a test rider for the RS-GP.

Michael Laverty: “I'm excited to be back on the MotoGP grid this weekend for the German GP. Competing against the regular guys racing MotoGP is a tough task, but I am relishing the opportunity. I have been riding with the Aprilia test team so I am comfortable with the Aprilia RS-GP machine and the Bridgestone tyres. Firstly I must adapt the race bikes to suit me and then look to keep progressing throughout the weekend. Álvaro has been riding strongly in this first half of the season and I have witnessed some great development work through the test team. I now look forward to being a part of the racing team."

Michael is one of three Laverty brothers who race professionally: he is the oldest, followed by John and Eugene Laverty. Eugene already races in MotoGP™ for the Aspar MotoGP team, making the lavertys the second pair of brothers in this year's championship, alongside Aleix and Pol Espargaró.

4CYL

When Orlando Bloom began collaborating with BMW Motorrad on a new custom ride, he knew exactly whose number to call: close friend and bike guru Michael “Woolie” Woolaway (DeusExMachina /Venice, CA).

The result is the stunning “4cyl”, a S1000 R transformed by their shared passion to Orlando’s exacting specifications.

4CYL from Arthur & Clement on Vimeo.

HOW TO RIDE BITCH

A throwback poke at 1960's instructional videos... a time where things were just a little bit macho and a lot more ridiculous.

featuring the honda ct110, the classic australian 'postie'.

HOW TO RIDE BITCH from Alex Vivian on Vimeo.

Kimura’s ‘Faster Son’ encompasses Yamaha’s past and present

Custom-bike-building legend Shinya Kimura’s ‘official’ Yamaha MT-07 – named ‘Faster Son’ – is a brand-new motorcycle, utilising the latest technology but with styling that tips its hat to famous Yamahas of old...

A synchronous blend

Kimura rarely does ‘new’ builds but, given that his very first bike was a Yamaha, the ‘Faster Son’ seems an apt creation for the renowned figure in the custom world. Keen to emphasise that this isn’ta replica of an icon (though certain aspects hark back to certain bikes, the green highlights from the classic XS1, for example), ‘Faster Son’ was designed to respect the past, but with a philosophy that’s right in the present. It’s old and new in a synchronous blend...

Photo: Yamaha Europe

You can find several classic Yamahas for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

‘78 Suzuki GS400 – Vida Bandida Motocicletas

There’s not many things in the custom bike scene that instantly prove a builder has big cojones. So it’s hard to argue with someone who picks to build up a renown ugly duckling, combines five different styles in the design and then rolls out a gorgeous all-purpose machine with no front brake to speak of. Welcome to the world of Vida Bandida Motocicletas from the picturesque city of Córdoba, Argentina, in the foothills of the Sierras Chicas and on the banks of the majestic Suquía River. This is where they tossed aside the idea of a Honda CB, detoured around the fabled Kawasaki Z’s and picked the late to the party 4 stroke of the decade, a 1978 Suzuki GS400 from which they’d fashion something truly special.

If Suzuki was playing catch up to the Honda CB’s and Kawasaki Z’s the one area they undoubtedly failed to match their rivals was in the looks department. On classic bikes the tank can make or break any build and the GS item is not a thing of beauty, but rather than swap it out Vida Bandida chose to use it as an opportunity to display their fabricating skills. The first step taken was to lower the tank on the frame to improve the lines of the entire machine; the front is then notched to meet the neck while the bottom of the tank is trimmed to run parallel to the ground. The top is further flattened to give an even lower look and the sides are pumped out for a more aggressive profile and to restore some of the lost volume.

The new tank sports some of the many brass elements added to the build and the T logos can be explained by the name of the bike, “Tocho” which means Billet. The brass T logos on the tank are complimented by a stunning brass gas cap with another T cut into the headlight support that is held down by a drilled brass wing nut. The headlight itself is a small, heavily grilled, yellow-lensed item while custom clip-ons with minimal controls and brass foot pegs keep the clean looks of the build. The tank has been sprayed in a matte brown that was laid over a black base coat to give a truly vintage look. To match the classic metal finishes the seat, which makes a perfect junction with the tank, is stitched in slightly weathered look classic brown leather.

One of the advantages of the GS400 over its contemporary commuter bikes was the engine development that it shared with the flagship 750 model. Having been late to the twin cam 4 stroke market compared to their Japanese rivals, Suzuki learnt from the mistakes of others and technology like the gear driven counter-balancer, cam design and near square bore make it a smooth little 398cc motor that loves to rev.

The popular CV style carburettors have been rebuilt and jetted to suit the rest of the engine build and breathe through a pair of foam pod filters. But the pièce de résistance of the mechanicals is the beautiful lobster cut full length exhaust system, both pipes are internally baffled to avoid the need for mufflers. The pipe work snakes its way through the frame to avoid pipe burn and the tips are finished off with two brass outlets that look like the mouth pieces from giant Tubas.

If Suzuki got the engine right they made an absolute mess of the wheels on the GS, a weird cross between a five-pointed star and what could possibly be the symbol of a strange 70’s cult. Antonio had a better idea, his boardtracker/café/rat/bobber/tracker would wear traditional spoked wheels and in the Vida Bandida tradition of doing things differently they wear matching rubber front and rear, heavily treaded 130/80/18’s.

Then comes the part that proves Antonio has the minerals, the rear brake remains the barely adequate 160mm standard drum while the lack of brake lever is yes, perfectly normal, because this here bike has no front brake at all. It certainly keeps the front end tidy, it’s in keeping with the boardtracker elements of the build and the bike definitely gets ridden hard… Ladies and Gentleman don’t try this at home!

Then there are the clever touches that you notice the more you study this machine, the cut out that exposes the sprocket cover, the front on view of the clip-ons that gives a single bar look, the fact nothing from the motor extends out past the frame allowing the mechanicals to be viewed as a solid unit and the clever clear cover that lets you witness the points in action. Because what’s the point of having a big set if you don’t have the brains to design a machine you can ride like a mad man in style. It’s loco, it’s muy peligroso but ultimately Vida Bandida’s little Suzuki is perfecto!

[Photos by Romina Bianchi] via PIPEBURN

These automotive screen prints let the cars speak for themselves

These striking automotive screen prints are the work of Ella Freire, whose love for the medium saw her give up a career in interior design to become a fully-fledged artist…

Simple yet distinctive

“I went to art college years ago, and ended up working in the interior design industry,” recalls Freire. “I enjoyed doing that for many years, but I always wanted to go back to screen-printing, because I loved it so much when I was at college.”

So Freire bit the bullet and decided to retrain… “I got my studio at Wimbledon Art Studios about four years ago now, and sort of haven’t stopped since,” she says. Having always been passionate about cars (her grandfather raced Bugattis at Brooklands in the 1930s), it was a pleasant turn of events when her work started to feature them more and more. “I try to keep them really simple, and let the cars speak for themselves,” she says. The process – involving photography and the extensive layering of colours on the computer – is long, especially the experimentation with silver inks to get the highlighting of the chrome details just right, but we think the simple yet distinctive prints are more than worth it.

Photos: Ella Freire

Do you want your classic immortalised by Ella Freire? You can find more information here. 

BLANCPAIN GT SERIES 24H Spa : Une déco spéciale pour la BMW Z4 GT3 du Marc VDS & Friends Racing Against Cancer

Marc VDS engagera une troisième BMW Z4 GT3 aux 24 Heures de Spa. L’écurie belge engagera Pascal Witmeur, un vieil ami de la maison Marc VDS et du sport automobile belge. L’opération s’appellera Marc VDS & Friends Racing Against Cancer – Marc VDS & Friends courent contre le cancer. Witmeur sera accompagné dans cette aventure par ses compatriotes Marc Duez, Eric Van De Poele et Jean-Michel Martin, le père de Maxime qui pilotera également pour Marc VDS bien sûr. (In English)

Le format de leur course sera sensiblement différent de celui du reste de la meute. Chaque pilote accomplira un seul relais de 24 minutes pendant la course : un au départ, un le samedi soir, un le dimanche midi, et le dernier à l’arrivée, pendant les 24 dernières minutes de course. Cette course volontairement réduite dans le temps aura pour effet de limiter les coûts de roulage, tandis que cette opération aura pour principal effet de rassembler des fonds qui iront directement à la Fondation Belge contre le Cancer.

Witmeur a déjà pris part à cette épreuve à 26 reprises ! Il s’était cependant retiré de la course automobile après les 24 Heures de Spa 2000, alors que sa jeune épouse venait de décéder du cancer. Ensuite, il a lui-même été frappé par le cancer en 2014 ! On lui avait diagnostiqué deux cancers différents ; il les a vaincus tous les deux. Il s’agira de son premier retour à la compétition depuis 15 ans.

Les supporters de cette opération pourront s’impliquer de différentes manières. Ils peuvent contacter directement Pascal Witmeur afin de lui faire part de leur intérêt : pascalwitmeur@gmail.com

Bas Leinders, Team Principal:
“Cela fait très longtemps que je connais Pascal. C’est un personnage fantastique, et la détermination dont il a fait preuve ces derniers mois lui a permis de gagner son combat contre la maladie. Dès que je l’ai entendu parler de cette voiture, je savais que nous devions l’aider à ce que ce projet aboutisse. C’est une cause extrêmement importante, et je suis heureux que nous ayons pu trouver le moyen de maximaliser la rétrocession de moyens à l’attention de la Fondation Belge contre le Cancer. Je sais que cela va représenter un gros effort. Les quatre pilotes impliqués sont extrêmement populaires ici, et j’espère que leurs fans témoigneront de leur soutien tout au long du week-end !”

Pascal Witmeur:
“J’ai disputé cette course 26 fois, je l’ai terminée sur le podium, et puis en 2000, j’ai décidé d’arrêter la course lorsque mon épouse est décédée. L’an dernier, je contribuais à l’organisation de la course. Et j’avais ressenti un drôle de sentiment dans le cou. Trois docteurs m’ont alors conseillé d’aller consulter, et c’est ainsi que l’on m’a découvert deux cancers. Mais je les ai vaincus ! Et j’ai eu envie d’apporter au sport automobile ma volonté de ne jamais renoncer. Je veux également aider le plus de personnes possibles, et donc tenter de rassembler le plus d’argent possible au profit de la Fondation Belge contre le Cancer. Eric, Marc, Jean-Michel et moi-même sommes de vieux potes. Nous avons vécu pas mal de choses ensemble – et maintenant, j’ai envie d’en faire plus, et d’aider les gens qui en ont besoin dans ce long et difficile combat !”

Danish Delights - A day exploring the incredible Frederiksen Collection

Bonhams has announced the consignment of a significant, single-owner collection, curated over several decades by Henrik Frederiksen, a respected Danish businessman. Classic Driver was exclusively invited to inspect the 48-car fleet, and talk to the owner about his reasons for selling…

A self-made man, Mr Frederiksen was able to steadily build the collection over several decades, as a result of numerous successful business moves. “I went to the bank as a young man, and got a loan for £10,000. With this, I bought some shares in a company for the equivalent of £300 each, and ultimately sold them for £3.5 million apiece,” he tells us. This, along with success in medicinal, shipping and automotive concerns, has allowed him to not only amass a stunning and diverse collection of cars, but also to take up residence in an idyllic 16th Century country estate originally built for the Danish Royal Family, larger in size than Monaco. It will be here that Bonhams hosts the sale of the 48-car collection, the auction house’s first ever to be held in Denmark.

Predominantly pre-War

The lotlist is largely made up of pre-War cars, although there’s the odd post-War delicacy in there, too – including two 1970s Citroëns, a unique Frua-bodied Rolls-Royce Phantom VI, and a rare Bentley S1 Drophead that we’ll present to you in more depth in the coming weeks. Elsewhere, numerous cars from the first half of the 20th Century are split among themed storage barns, divided into American, German, and other European classics. Altogether, the cars are estimated to be worth around $40m.

A slew of Best in Show winners

“The majority of the cars were acquired through personal contacts,” says Frederiksen, “and, of course, I go to all the auctions. Some of them were bought from other collections – I bought three cars from the collection of Mr Key [a prominent American collector], and all three were Pebble Beach Best in Show winners,” he continues. Other highlights include a 1939 Lagonda LG6 Rapide Drophead, a pair of Spohn-bodied Maybachs, and a Mercedes 500K Roadster. Oh, and there are no fewer than five variants of the Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost, seven Phantoms, and two V16-engined Cadillacs. And a fire engine.

Freedom of expression

Why the preference for pre-War vehicles, you might be asking? “There’s a kind of art to the cars of that time,” explains Frederiksen. “Once manufacturers started creating cars in a wind tunnel, they started to look the same – in the 1930s, people could make their own choices about how the cars looked.” Wandering around the collection proves his point – many examples have intricate, yet entirely superfluous details, the Art Deco influence of the time particularly apparent on the Silver Ghosts and V16 Caddys.

An invitation to the club

While the majority of the cars are bracketed by the first and second World Wars, their diversity within this time period is staggering – and also easily justified, as Frederiksen explains. “When you are a car collector, it’s as much about the social aspect as the automotive passions you share. When you are among good friends, the car isn’t as important as the friendship – it is literally a vehicle by which you are brought together. It’s like if you have a dog, you talk with other people in the street that have one.”

A tough decision...

Frederiksen claims never to have sold a car in his life, modern ‘daily drivers’ aside. The mass sell-off is due to the recent passing of his wife, Vivi, with whom he built the collection and enjoyed the cars during countless road trips. “I have been through the full-circle process of owning these cars, and I’m not married to them. In selling them, I close one door and hopefully open another. I’m not sad about it, because I know the buyer of every single one will be a satisfied new custodian – there are no problems with any of them, they are in top condition.”

...born from a serious affliction

We grab a few minutes with Frederiksen’s long-serving resident mechanic, who sports a wristful of tattoos, wears a nice vintage Rolex, and has a rather dry sense of humour. “Will I miss the cars? No, not at all – the day they are sold, I can finally retire.” Despite his witty nonchalance, he has been meticulously servicing these cars for years, even decades in some cases. Managing them all has also taken its toll on Mr Frederiksen, apparently: “Collecting cars is like a disease. I asked my doctor for a cure, but he couldn’t help me. I have always bought them with my heart, not for a profit – even though it might turn out that way.”

Travel is the next chapter

So with this chapter closed, and his ‘disease’ on the verge of being cured, what’s next for Henrik Frederiksen – a new fleet? “No, I might buy a few more cars, but I am not looking for that. I would quite like to travel the world. I have some friends in Hawaii, some in India – I think it’s time for me to go and spend some time with them.” We’re sure the new custodians of his fleet will wish him a safe trip.

Photos: © Amy Shore for Classic Driver

The Frederiksen Collection will be auctioned by Bonhams at Lyngsbækgaard Manor, in Mols Bjerge national park, Denmark, on Saturday 26 September 2015.

‘60 Matchless 3GLS – Rock Solid Motorcycles

‘A Bobber built for a tattoo shop owner.’ Those words could have started a thousand motorcycle articles over the years, but this time it is something completely unique. Rock Solid Motorcycles from Portugal are back and they’ve gone from a Harley Racer to a Matchless Bobber because when you are this good, reinventing the wheel is all in a day’s work.

The pictures alone hint at the perfection that Rock Solid constantly strive for, but history also shows what a great choice of bike for a bobber build this 1960 Matchless G3LS is. Bobbers were the earliest of customs, created by ex-military men from ex-military machines. This was the start of Harley Davidson custom bike building – G.I.’s using World War II surplus HDs, stripping them down and riding them hard.

On the other side of the Atlantic, the British Military had used the Matchless G3/L in the war effort and the G3LS was the military version for the post war period. What better bike for a European Bobber build? Well, this G3 that was delivered to Rock Solid Motorcycles was indeed the right model; by all accounts it looked as if one of those WWII bombs had gone off right next to it.

Having previously plied their trade for a well-known British custom builder, the Portuguese brothers behind Rock Solid Motorcycles were well placed to tackle a Matchless build of this scale. Which is lucky for the owner, as it required a full frame-off rebuild. Definitely not a job for a first-timer, as parts and know-how aren’t just a click away. For the bobber look, the frame was given a hardtail conversion and the neck was redesigned and then fabricated for an improved stance. The backbone was also redesigned and brilliantly crafted by Rock Solid from steel, something they are very proud of and that is largely unique to the Portuguese scene.

By 1960, if the G3 was known for one thing it was less than satisfactory front forks. And although they’d been upgraded since the war, they still trailed their competitors by a sizeable margin. With this in mind, part of the redesign of the neck was to allow for a new front end. Honda forks were used with some Triumph triple trees holding the whole thing together.

It’s a clever conversion given that the few hardtailed Matchless bobbers around use the stock front end. Needless to say, the original ride was less than pleasant. The original hubs and associated components have been totally rebuilt, relaced to the stock rims and wrapped tight in some classic rubber.

The single cylinder 347cc air-cooled engine, like the rest of the bike, required a full rebuild and Rock Solid made sure it looked as good as it ran. The original wartime unit punched out just 16bhp, but factory improvements steadily increased both the power and the torque of the thumpy single.

Being of pre-unit construction, the gearbox is separate from the engine. By the time this G3 rolled off the production line, the crunchy CP-type gearbox had been replaced by the stronger and more user-friendly B52. Keeping it classic, Rock Solid maintained the original Amal 376 carburettor with a tasty filter for that essential bobber look.

Finally it was down to the looks department and you can see why this machine looks so good out the front of a Portuguese tattoo shop. Absolutely everything on the visual side of things screams bobber, starting with the rare for Portugal rigid Triumph Speed Twin oil tank sitting under the seat. That seat is an under-sprung item beautifully covered in Portuguese cork leather, with the hand grips wrapped in the same material.

The front fender is so bobbed it’s not there at all, while the rear is traditional in size, colour matched to the tank and held up by custom-fabricated round bar struts. Then there’s that tank. The final touch of any bobber build, it’s small, perfectly painted and pinstriped to boot. Heavy flaked green paint is broken up by a black stripe that runs around the cap. Gold pinstripes break up the colour combination and the same gold is used to perfectly replicate the Matchless logo.

The request from the owner was a simple bobber, unique and yet useable. Once again, Rock Solid Motorcycles have exceeded expectations. They didn’t fall for the all-too-common ‘Harley with a Springer front end’ to get the job done. Instead, these Portuguese builders took everything they learnt in the UK, introduced their own fabrication prowess and added a touch of continental European design to create a Matchless Bobber like nothing the motorcycle world has seen before.

[Photography by Nuno Ferreira Santos]

via PIPEBURN