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    samedi 18 juillet 2015

    Total 24 hours of Spa in 1 word - Blancpain Endurance Series 2015





    Sparkling spectacle at the Total 24 Hours of Spa

    The 67th running of the Total 24 Hours of Spa promises to be one of the highlights of the international motorsports season. With over a dozen candidates vying for the win, representing a plethora of prestigious manufacturers, the spectacle during the Ardennes endurance classic will be of the highest level.

    Sparkling spectacle at the Total 24 Hours of Spa 
    Whoever thought that last year’s gap at the end of the Total 24 Hours of Spa – a mere seven seconds separating the winning Belgian Audi Club Team WRT car from the BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS machine – would be hard to beat, might be in for a surprise come Sunday July 26th. The 2015 edition of the Total 24 Hours of Spa, the highlight of the Blancpain GT Series, will probably produce a very open race, with an unprecedented number of candidates for the win.
    With three different winners in the first three races of the Blancpain Endurance Series, it is clear that there is little or nothing between this year’s teams and drivers in the Pro Cup division. The driver standings are led by Wolfgang Reip, Katsumasa Chiyo and Alex Buncombe – the winners of the previous round at Le Castellet with the #23 Nissan Academy Team RJN car – but the gap towards the competition is almost non-existent.
    The Bentley Boys Smith, Meyrick and Kane are only one point behind, while the Audi-trio of Vernay, Frijns and Vanthoor just two. All of them are among the candidates for the win in Spa, but it is worth noting that reigning Blancpain Endurance Series champion Laurens Vanthoor has new team-mates for his home race, as he will be teaming up with René Rast and Markus Winkelhock to reunite the winners of last year’s Total 24 Hours of Spa.
    Nissan Eau Rouge at Spa
    Vanthoor, Rast and Winkelhock will be driving a new Audi R8 LMS, entered by Audi Sport Team WRT. There are four of those at the start in Spa, two in the Audi Sport Team WRT camp and two in the Audi Sport Team Phoenix garages. Among the drivers of the latter are threefold Le Mans-winners Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer. The German-with-Belgian-roots is competing in Spa for the fifth time in his career and would love to add an almost home win to his tally.
    The Audi R8 LMS is not the only car making its debut in the Total 24 Hours of Spa. The same goes for the Lamborghini Huracàn and the McLaren 650S. Both showed massive potential during the previous races of the 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series – the VonRyan Racing McLaren taking the win in Silverstone – so keep an eye out for them as well.
    That does not mean that the older generation of GT3 cars will not have their say during the Ardennes weekend. The previous generation of the Audi R8 – three times the winner in the last four editions of the Belgian classic – still has got a lot going for it, as shown by the cars of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Saintéloc and ISR.
    The Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 – that car that crossed the line in first in 2013 – is the weapon of choice for Rowe Racing and Black Falcon in the Pro Cup, and with Black Falcon having local specialist Nico Verdonck in its driver line-up, they are expected to be among the frontrunners as well.
    Late night Spa 24
    One of the advantages Verdonck and his team-mates Christodoulou and Simonsen will have is that they do not have to worry about the points after six and twelve hours to establish their strategy, as they are not competing in the whole of the 2015 series. The same goes for two other teams who have come to Spa with the clear intention to finish on the podium. Both entering one or more BMW Z4 GT3 cars, Roal Motorsport and BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS will do their utmost best to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Bavarian brand’s first win in Spa in style.
    The Italian squad will almost certainly be in the spotlight for the whole of the weekend, since Alex Zanardi is among its drivers. The former F1-driver, IndyCar-champion and Olympic champion has chosen the Total 24 Hours of Spa to be the next in his long line of challenges and together with DTM stars Timo Glock and Bruno Spengler the Italian is certainly aiming for a top finish.
    A top finish might not be enough for the troops of Count Marc van der Straten. The BMW Sports Trophy Team Marc VDS has been chasing a win in its home race for so long now, that anything less will probably be a disappointment for Belgian squad. With Martin-Farfus-Werner and Palttala-Catsburg-Luhr, they arguably have their best line-up ever, and the preparations for the Ardennes race week were nigh on perfect, so everything seems to be into place for that elusive first win. But only the race itself will decide whether 2015 will be Marc VDS’s year or not.
    #84 BENTLEY TEAM HTP (DEU) BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT3 MAXIMILAN BUHK (DEU) VINCENT ABRIL (FRA) | OLIVIER BEROUD / VISION SPORT AGENCY
    Pro-Am Cup: class win or overall podium?
    Do not, however, think that the Pro Cup has the exclusive rights on overall podium candidates within its ranks. Some of the Pro-Am Cup line-ups are mighty impressive as well. The #333 Rinaldi Racing Ferrari must certainly be a candidate for the Pro-Am Cup class win, but also for a good result overall. With Rinat Salikhov and Norbert Siedler at the wheel, the car became the first Pro-Am Cup car to ever win a Blancpain Endurance Series race overall, claiming the win in the 2015 opening round in Monza. After having spent two races in the Pro Cup, the mean green machine is now back in Pro-Am with Marco Seefried and Belgian Stef Vancampenhoudt joining Salikhov and Siedler.
    Another Belgian having set his eyes on – at least – a top-5 finish overall, is Stéphane Lémeret. Lémeret – twice runner-up in Spa – has Thai youngster Pasin Lathouras as one of his team-mates, but also Ferrari aces Alessandro Pier Guidi and Gimmi Bruni. Do not be surprised to see the #47 AF Corse Ferrari on the front row on Saturday afternoon, because that is exactly what Pier Guidi accomplished during the two most recent editions of the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
    Sporting Telenet covers Total 24 Hours of Spa
    With nine Ferrari 458 Italia in the Pro-Am Cup entry list, one might be tempted to only consider the Prancing Horses as a candidate for the class win, especially since three of them have a Platinum driver in their line-up. But that would be a mistake. Last year’s class winner Louis Machiels has switched to the Bentley Team HTP and the team’s experience (overall winner in 2013) will certainly help the Belgian to aim for another choice result.
    And then there are the teams who have managed to get a Platinum driver on their rosters: together with full-season entrants Maro Engel (Black Falcon Mercedes SLS) and Marko Asmer (GT Russian Team Mercedes SLS), Mathias Beche (TDS Racing BMW Z4), Olivier Pla (Nissan GT Academy Team RJN), Stefan Mücke (Leonard Motorsport Aston Martin), Dirk Müller (Triple Eight Racing BMW Z4) and Christophe Bouchut (GT Russian Team Mercedes SLS) will not only try to get their cars high up the starting grid, but will also push hard to keep it among the frontrunners all through the race.
    Spa pits McLaren
    Am Cup: Ferrari against all
    The Am Cup might be the smallest of the three categories in the Blancpain Endurance Series, but that does not mean that the fight for the win is any less fierce. The three races of 2015 have seen three different winners and of those, the Boutsen Ginion BMW Z4, will certainly be the most closely followed by the Belgian fans. The Brussels squad have been unlucky in their home race during the most recent editions, but the reliability of the Z4 might be the key to success this year.
    The orange and black Boutsen Z4 will not be the only BMW the local crowd will notice. At the wheel of the Classic & Modern Racing machine, Frédéric Bouvy will try to claim another win in Spa, after having taken two overall wins during the Touring Car era. It is Bouvy’s 21st start in the endurance classic, making him one of the most experienced drivers at the start.
    BMW has two representatives, but so do Porsche (Attempto Racing and the Belgian Delahaye Racing) and Audi (Saintéloc and last year’s runner-up Team Parker Racing). The majority of the cars in the Am Cup are Ferrari though, with Akka ASP, Sport Garage, AF Corse, Kessel Racing and Duqueine Engineering all choosing Italian horsepower. Will that strength in numbers be enough to claim a third consecutive class win in Spa for Ferrari? Only time will tell.

    Stephane Ratel (CEO and founder SRO Motorsports Group): “It is great to see that we have seven manufacturers giving factory support to one or more teams. That makes for more than a dozen of possible winners! And not only will the racing in Pro Cup be exciting, as the drivers and teams of the Pro-Am Cup and the Am Cup will do their best as well and I would not be surprised if a couple of those cars would be among the frontrunners overall come Sunday afternoon. We are obviously disappointed that a small number of our regular Blancpain Endurance Series Pro-Am and Am teams are absent at the Total 24 Hours of Spa, mostly because of circumstances out of their control. But that does not alter the fact that the Total 24 Hours of Spa is still the biggest GT race in the world, with a very impressive number of candidates for victory. This will be a classic!
    START OF THE MAIN RACE | OLIVIER BEROUD / VISION SPORT AGENCY
    _____

    Practical information - Total 24 Hours of Spa
    When: 21-26 July 2015
    Tickets: from 15 €
    General Entrance : 30 € (includes free entrance on Thursday and Friday)
    General Entrance + paddock : 60 € (includes free entrance on Thursday and Friday)
    VIP packages : from 180 €
    Children aged 12 or under, accompanied by an adult, enter for free
    Sales on : www.ticketmaster.be

    Race Week
    Tuesday July 21st
    Bronze test 15:00 – 18:00
    Wednesday July 22nd
    Parade Spa 16:00
    Autograph session 17:00-18 :00
    Thursday July 23rd
    Free Practice 12:00-13:30
    Pre-Qualifying 18:10-19:10
    Qualifying 20:30-21:45
    Night Qualifying 22:15-23:45
    Friday July 24th
    Super Pole 15:30-15:55
    Saturday July 25th
    Warm Up 09:05-09:25
    Starting procedure & Grid walk 15:45-16:30
    Start of the Total 24 hours of Spa 16:30
    McLaren in the rain night Spa

    Lukyanuk leads flat-out ERC battle on auto24 Rally Estonia



    10 out of 10 sees Lukyanuk lead ERC2


    Alexey Lukyanuk leads the auto24 Rally Estonia by 2.4 seconds overnight, after an incredible drive in his Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X – despite receiving a 10s penalty for jumping the start on SS6.
    Co-driven by Alexey Arnautov, the Russian rally champion had been leading by 1.3s, but dropped to third once the penalty had been applied. Lukyanuk then set a stunning time over the Ristimäe stage, which at 34.91 kilometres is the longest stage of the event, to retake the lead by 0.1s – which he extended to 2.4s by the end of the day.
    The ultra-fast gravel stages around Otepää in southern Estonia are well suited to the ERC2 cars, with four Mitsubishi Lancers in the top six overnight, with Rainer Aus third, Egon Kaur fifth and Siim Plangi sixth.
    Kajetan Kajetanowicz is delighted to be holding second position overnight on his first attempt at the auto24 Rally Estonia – and the Polish driver is one of only three non-Estonian drivers in the top eight, and the top-placed newcomer. He has been flying in his LOTOS Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5, and keen to strengthen his ERC title challenge and score big ERC Gravel Master points.
    ERC leader Craig Breen had been as low as 9th after SS2, but has dug deep to climb up to fourth by the end of leg one. A flat-out “tank-slapper” on one of the fastest sections of SS7 illustrated his commitment behind the wheel of his Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16, as he aims for at least third place by the finish tomorrow.
    Timmu Kõrge is seventh after a solid day in his Saintéloc Junior Team Peugeot 208 T16, one place ahead of Raul Jeets, who has enjoyed a trouble-free day in his Ford Fiesta R5. Jarosław Koltun overshot a junction on SS5, and completes tonight’s top 10 in his Fiesta R5.
    Juha Salo’s hopes of victory disappeared when he had a slight off on SS7 in his 208 T16. Unfortunately, that caused a rear left puncture and the eight-time Finnish champion lost almost nine minutes getting to the end of the stage. Salo is in 34th position tonight, while Radik Shaymiev lost time after stopping to replace a rear left puncture on SS8 in his MM-Motorsport Fiesta R5, and is 31st. Antonín Tlusťák had a better day in his ŠKODA Fabia S2000, but is still down in 18th place.
    There were some key retirements during leg one, beginning with Robert Consani, who had engine problems in his Citroën DS3 R5 and stopped on the road section after SS2. Just 0.8s had separated Karl Kruuda (Citroën DS3 R5) from Martin Kangur (Fiesta R5) at the top of the leaderboard after SS2, although neither Estonian driver was to complete leg one. Kruuda, who had been slowed with pop-off problems, stopped on SS8 with a broken radiator, while Kangur, who was contesting his first rally in eight months, crashed on SS6. Tomasz Kasperczyk parked his Fiesta R5 on SS7.
    Sirmacis lifts SRT spirits with stunning ERC Junior drive

    Sirmacis lifts SRT spirits with stunning ERC Junior drive


    With his ERC Junior team-mate Vasily Gryazin in hospital, following a serious road accident, Ralfs Sirmacis is lifting the spirits of the Sport Racing Technologies team with a truly outstanding performance in his Peugeot 208 R2.
    Having taken the lead on SS2, the 21-year old Latvian driver has gradually increased what was initially a 0.4s lead to reach the overnight halt with a 25.1s advantage. He is also 12th overall. ERC Junior newcomer Miko Niinemäe led after SS1 in his 208, but has been running with a crankshaft sensor that intermittently cuts the power under acceleration. A small mistake on tonight’s final Elva City Stage cost him second place, and the Estonian driver is now third, just 0.8s behind Emil Bergkvist. The ERC Junior leader had enjoyed a good day in his ADAC Opel Rallye Junior Team Adam R2, but was given a 10s penalty for arriving one minute late at the first time control.
    Steve Røkland is fourth in his 208, after an excellent mistake and problem-free day. Set-up changes have largely worked for Chris Ingram, as early understeer and oversteer was dialled out of his Peugeot UK-supported 208. He is fifth tonight, ahead of Sweden’s Mattias Ledin, who is enjoying a great international rally debut in his Peugeot. Marijan Griebel’s confidence and speed is growing rapidly as he gains experience on gravel, and he is sixth overnight in his Adam, ahead of Diogo Gago in his Peugeot Rally Academy 208.
    Mattias Adielsson lost less than a minutes on SS5, despite rolling his 208 “four or five times”. His mechanics worked miracles to repair the car, as he continued in typically hard-charging fashion, despite clouds of dust coming into the cockpit via a missing side window.
    Florin Tincescu retired near the start of SS2 (the first stage this morning) with a broken water pump belt in his Napoca Rally Academy 208. Ypres Rally winner Aleks Zawada hit a stone on SS4, which had been pushed out onto the road by the cars running ahead. Unluckily, the impact broke his Adam’s suspension, a part of which punched the stump and caused a loss of oil pressure.

    Last Night in the City

    What better way to test ride one of the Bonesheart Specials, than a late night blast through London with Alex and the MK4.



    R60 6 Umbau

    R60 6 Umbau - erste Schritte #002 from Roman Haenicke on Vimeo.

    Bring out your inner eccentric with these barmy Britcars


    The British are often regarded as somewhat eccentric and, looking at the selection below, it’s easy to see why. These 10 British oddities could allow you to embrace your idiosyncratic side...

    Artcurial to auction friend of Maria Callas’s collection in Monaco


    So, it’s not Maria Callas’s own cars that Artcurial is offering on 20 July in Monte Carlo, but those formerly owned by ‘a friend’ of the illustrious soprano. What we can say is that said friend had a marvellously eclectic taste in cars…

    Variety is the spice of life...

    Just 11 cars form the ‘Estate of a Friend of Maria Callas’ sale, but we couldn’t think of 11 more diverse vehicles if we tried. The auction’s curious name is warranted somewhat by the fact that two cars, a brace of silver Mercedes 600s, did once belong to Maria Callas. Both boasting just two owners from new and, naturally, fascinating histories, the cars ­–1966 and 1971 model years respectively – are each estimated to fetch 60,000-100,000 euros.
    Elsewhere, the lots range from a 1908 Cadillac Type S (est. 30,000-60,000 euros) to a low-mileage1989 Aston Martin Lagonda. There are several Rolls-Royces, including a relatively tidy Corniche III (40,000-60,000 euros), and a bright yellow Lamborghini Diablo, the sale’s sole supercar (if wecould have just one supercar, it would probably be a Lamborghini, too). The ultra-low mileage in this case will either entice or repel, but it looks to be in okay condition. It’s estimated at 40,000-60,000 euros. 
    Photos: Artcurial
    You can find all 11 cars from Artcurial’s ‘Estate of a Friend of Maria Callas’ sale listed in the Classic Driver Market.  

    WRENCH ‘N’ WHEELS WIND 10



    Wind 10 1 THUMB
    The Honda CX500. Remember when these first exploded onto the custom scene? The Wrenchmonkees stunning effort over four years ago was one of the first to blow our collective minds and in the time since both Pro and Shed builders have created ever more lust worthy machines from the humble CX. But for Pedro Caçote it was not the custom efforts of others that piqued his love of the transverse twin but a childhood memory of images seen in a magazine at his grandmother’s house.
    “That was the first time I ever saw a racer, and that was a cx 500. I do not remember the name of that magazine, but it was a goal that I could fulfil today.”
    Lucky kid, the only magazines I remember kicking around my gran’s house were about gardening…
    Wind 10 2
    Now a 25 year old P.E teacher Pedro had finally gathered the skill, time and money to realise that childhood vision and build his own CX. He describes the lure of freedom felt when the wind touches your face as you ride as the tonic that propelled him through many a dark night spannering in his shed.
    “I have this feeling since I started riding my Casal Boss II (a Portuguese motorcycle very popular in the 80’s for youg people) and it never stopped. The cafe racer became my culture because of its values and the bikes composition: the lived art, that part of us that we leave in every project.”
    Wind 10 3Pedro sourced a 1984 donor CX in very poor condition, fire damage had even added a good carbon crust to most of the machine, but spending his formative years in the garage tinkering with his father’s bikes had given Pedro the confidence to tackle the mess.
    Pedro stripped out the air box and tidied the frame before the engine and carbs received a thorough service, new K&N filters and a refreshing coat of paint. Next he set to work beefing up the Honda running gear. The forks were consigned to the scrap pile and with the help of the guys at Custom Made 74 some box fresh items from a 2007 GSXR 1000 were installed in their place. Adaptations were made to the swing arm and transmission to run the rear brake from a Kawasaki ZX9 and the new 18′ wheel. The same ZX9 also donated it’s front brake to haul back the matching 18′ hoop up front. The Firestone Deluxe tyres are no doubt the only limiting factor for stopping this CX on a sixpence.
    Wind 10 4
    With a solid runner Pedro turned his attention to the cockpit. A Motogadget clock was fitted into the bespoke top yoke leaving plenty of space for the mobile phone bracket in the standard dash location. New clip ons, Biltwell thruster grips, levers from a CBR 1000RR, a headlight from a Lamborghini tractor and a rear from a Ktm crosser complete the wide ranging collection of parts.
    Wind 10 5The seat was made from the ground up with a new base topped in dense foam and plush brown leather, it wraps neatly around the custom rear mudguard while complementing the classic black and white palette of the Correia Painted tank.
    Wind 10 6
    Pedro had such a good time building his CX and the strength of reaction has been so positive that along the way his solo build has morphed into a brand, named Wrench ‘n’ Wheels, through which he intends to expand his motorcycle endeavours. Like many before him, Pedro was inspired by the wanderlust spirit and harmonica melodies of short film “It’s Better in the Wind” . He took the quote below to heart and has set about infusing his start up with the same ideology and pleasure.
    “When we started this project, our goal was to start something new, out of our comfort zone, that would make us understand where would we go in life… And a simple machine like a bike can take you out of you comfort zone and make you focus on what matters the most, ending up finding out something about yourself.”
    Wind 10 7
    Teaming up with the likeminded friends he has made through the build process Pedro is confident that Wrench ‘n’ Wheelswill become a “dream factory” building café racer style bikes. “We already have two projects on the way: a Kawazaki z650 and a Yamaha XS400 and we believe that there is more work coming our way…”
    Wind 10 8
    With only three CX builds making it onto the Bike Shed so far this year it is fantastic to be reminded just how well the old faithful Honda can scrub up, Pedro’s dream CX is a knock out from every angle. We have no doubt that if those next builds maintain the standards he has set with this machine he will see Wrench ‘n’ Wheels thrive, and Portugal shall have yet another builder to add to its stellar roster.
    via PIPEBURN

    Snapshot, 1968: ‘No room for the dog, Richard?’


    Who needs an air-conditioned SUV in the summer months? As French singer Richard Anthony shows, you can chauffeur your loved ones to the beach astride a small Yamaha. It saves walking the dog, too…
    We had always admired the French rock-n-roller Richard Anthony for his collection of Ferraris. However, while he was spotted in St. Tropez tinkering with his Ferrari 250 GTE in 1964, four years later he had traded it in for something a little more modest. With his red summer outfit, hair blowing in the wind, he roared around the Côte d’Azur on his little Yamaha, sometimes with wife Michèle and their two children on board. If it weren’t for the fierce heat in the South of France, the dog would probably have enjoyed the chase. 
    Photo: Philippe Le Tellier / Getty Images

    Weekend.........