the stylish world of Cafe Racers and the vintage motorcycles they love.
lundi 10 août 2015
WRC Rallye Deutschland 2015 Les pilotes liment l’asphalte / Serious asphalt testing
A quelques jours du premier rallye « pur » asphalte 2015, l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland, la plupart des teams officiels sont en essais dans le vignoble mosellan et du côté de Baumholder.
Les préparatifs à l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2015 s’intensifient pour les teams officiels du WRC. Volkswagen Motorsport roule actuellement près de Trèves, où se trouvera M-Sport à partir du milieu de semaine. Citroën Racing et Hyundai Motorsport ont achevé leurs essais.
Citroën et Hyundai avaient programmé deux sessions d’essais préparatoires au Rallye d’Allemagne : une première début juillet et une seconde après la Finlande. En juillet, Kris Meeke, Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo et Kevin Abbring avaient roulé sur les routes du vignoble mosellan et dans le camp militaire de Baumholder.
La semaine dernière, Mads Ostberg a parcouru plus de 400 km en une journée lors d’une séance organisée dans l’Est de la France. Le lendemain, ce fut au tour de Stéphane Lefebvre de découvrir la DS3 WRC qu’il pilotera pour la première fois au Rallye Deutschland.
Depuis la fin de semaine dernière, les pilotes Volkswagen Motorsport sont à pied d’œuvre sur les pistes cimentées de Baumholder et dans les coteaux mosellans où ils seront rejoints dès mercredi par Elfyn Evans et Ott Tanak.
L’ADAC Rallye Deutschland est le premier rallye asphalte de la saison, Monte-Carlo mis à part. S’ensuivra deux autres épreuves sur tarmac, le Rallye de France-Tour de Corse et le Rally Catalunya (2 étapes sur 3).
Cette année, ces tests asphalte sont très importants car les World Rally Cars ont beaucoup évolué et Michelin, qui équipe les quatre teams officiels, lance une toute nouvelle gamme de pneumatiques Pilot Sport.
Les teams-partenaires de Michelin ont contribué à leur processus de validation au mois d’avril dernier. Lors de ces tests pré-Allemagne, il s’agit désormais de définir les set-up des véhicules pour ce rallye très spécifique en accord avec ces nouveaux pneumatiques.
Les résultats sont très positifs en termes de performances et de longévité. La spéciale de Baumholder et ses 45,61 km de mélange asphalte/ciment très agressif est un véritable défi proposé aux manufacturiers de pneumatiques. Il prépare aux longues spéciales corses qui attendent les concurrents dans quelques semaines…
With just over a week remaining until the year’s first proper asphalt clash in Germany, the teams have been or are testing in the Mosel valley and near Baumholder.
Teams are busily preparing for the 2015 ADAC Rallye Deutschland and Volkswagen Motorsport is out testing at the moment near Trier. M-Sport will do the same from the middle of the week, while Citroën Racing and Hyundai Motorsport have both completed their pre-Germany programmes.
The French and Korean makes had a week in the region at the beginning of July, followed by another test after Rally Finland.
Early last month, Kris Meeke, Thierry Neuville, Dani Sordo and Kevin Abbring all spent time in the Mosel Valley vineyards and on the Baumholder army ranges.
Last week, Mads Ostberg covered more than 400km in a single day in the east of France before handing over to Stéphane Lefebvre who will drive the DS3 WRC competitively for the first time in Germany.
Since the end of last week, Volkswagen Motorsport’s drivers have been in action on the concrete tank tracks near Baumholder, then on the flanks of the Mosel Valley where they will be joined on Wednesday by Ford’s Elfyn Evans and Ott Tanak.
If you don’t count the Rallye Monte-Carlo, Rallye Deutschland is the first of the season’s three ‘real’ asphalt rounds, along with Corsica and Catalonia (two asphalt legs from three).
This year’s asphalt testing is particularly important since the World Rally Cars have evolved significantly and Michelin, which works with all four factory teams, is introducing a brand new range of Pilot Sport tyres.
The French firm’s partner-teams all contributed to the approval process in April and the pre-Rallye Deutschland tests are aimed at setting up the cars on the new rubber for this highly specific event.
Results so far have been very positive in terms of both performance and longevity. The 45.61km mixed-surface asphalt/concrete Baumholder stage will be an especially big challenge and is expected to provide a valuable indication ahead of the visit to Corsica at the beginning of October.
Nasser Al-Attiyah will start with a Skoda Fabia R5
MINI PACEMAN: Urban Travel (An Exploration of China's Beauty)
Teterow 2015 ; Rust'N'Dust Jalopy
Already to the 7th time “Rust'N'Dust Jalopy” takes place on the “Bergring”. This weekend orientates itself by American racing-events of the 40s and 50s, and this means not only the vehicles, it’s also for the evening and supporting programme.
The race is an in Germany, unique combination of Hillclimb and DirtTrack for American vehicles, built before construction year 1959!
For the entertainment in the evening we’ve booked various Rock'n'Roll Bands and Dj 's, click this to find out more!
Beside the pure racing on the Track there also is our popular “DirtTrack test oval” in the middle of the driver's camp! A trader's mile with all the authentic stuff all around Rock'N'Roll, HotRod and so on exists at the driver’s camp.
Besides, we even have some hairdresser for the suitable look in 50ies style for You.
You don’t have to think about food and drinks, everything you requires; from the American-Burger about flaming cake as well as vegetarian up to the ice, is there.
We got a big festival tent, the bands are playing in, for all the guy’s which don’t like sun or rain.
photos Thomas Szudobaj
Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, the ‘secret’ first Ferrari
As any Ferrari tifoso can tell you, the first car to wear the Ferrari badge was the 1947 125 S; but seven years before, Enzo Ferrari created the Auto Avio 815. It never bore his name, but it could be called the very first Ferrari. Photographer Rémi Dargegen visited the castle where it now lives…
When Enzo left Alfa Romeo in 1939, he had to agree not to use the Ferrari name nor be involved in motor racing for four years. While the official line these days is that Enzo “quit… to set up his own company”, he was in fact (as he himself admitted) fired. As Brock Yates wrote in his seminal biography of Enzo Ferrari, the firing became “something of a cause célèbre in the Italian sporting press” and led to a minor palace revolt at Alfa Corse, with other top names, such as Enrico Nardi, joining Enzo as victims of the bloodletting.
A child of the palace revolt
But this was 1939. There was bloodletting of an altogether more serious kind spreading across Europe. To again quote Brock Yates, “Even as the acrid smell of cordite drifted slowly south over the Alpine peaks, Enzo Ferrari had one final gesture of defiance in mind before Italy plunged into the fighting.” This was the car you see pictured here – the Auto Avio Costruzioni Tipo 815.
Enzo’s act of defiance was the result of a visit, in December 1939, from the young Alberto Ascari, who wanted Ferrari to build two sports cars for the 1940 Mille Miglia – one for himself (the pictured car), and one for his friend, who went by the wonderful name of Marchese Lotario Rangoni Macchiaveli di Modena. Enzo agreed; and his decision was a gesture aimed not only at Alfa, but also at Maserati – which thanks to the Orsi family’s cash injection was being shifted to Modena, Enzo’s home territory. It was a move that must have infuriated Ferrari.
Built in four months
Since the Mille Miglia was scheduled for 28 April, they had just four months to create two racing cars from scratch. For this reason – and also because the regulations demanded that a production car chassis form the basis of the racer – the new cars were based on the Fiat 508C Ballila. The main problem was that the Ballila’s engine was far too small. So Alberto Massimino, a highly experienced designer and another victim of the Alfa revolt, came up with the plan of building a straight-eight engine block and topping it with a pair of modified Fiat Ballila cylinder heads. The new car’s name, 815, refers to the engine’s 8 cylinders and 1.5-litre capacity.
Meanwhile, the open-topped, large-grilled bodywork with its ultra-modern Plexiglas windscreen was styled by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, and the cars rode on Borrani wire wheels.
A Wartime break
The potential of the cars was proved in the Mille Miglia itself, as both led the 1500cc class in turn, before suffering mechanical problems that forced them to withdraw – hardly surprising when only four months previously, the two racers had been nothing but a twinkle in Enzo’s eye.
They were clearly worthy of further development, but Italy’s rapid entry into the on-going war put paid to any such plans. By 1945, Enzo was free to develop cars with his own name – the first being the famous Ferrari 125 S. While the official first Ferrari, the 125 S, was far more sophisticated than the 815, there’s little doubt that Enzo learnt a great deal from his act of defiance and the ‘secret’ Ferrari of 1940.
Sole survivor
Only one of the two Auto Avio 815s still survives: the very first car, built for Ascari. It now resides in the outstanding Righini Collection, housed in a 15th Century castle near Modena, where Rémi Dargegen was invited to take these stunning photographs.
Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2015
You can find hundreds of classic Ferraris for sale in the Classic Driver Market.
Your chance to buy a brand-new Shelby Daytona Coupé
Back in January 2014 we reported Shelby American’s plans for a factory-built continuation of the 289 Cobra – followed a year later by a series of 50 examples of the 427 Cobra. Now, the company has announced a series of 50 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes – of which only six were originally made.
The rarity of the Shelby Daytona Coupe has led to its becoming one of the most sought-after and desirable historic race cars in the world. “Worth millions of dollars each, ownership of one is almost impossible,” according to Shelby American.
Says CEO Joe Conway, “The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe helped a small American team beat a racing giant. The tenacious Shelby American team fielded six sleek Cobra Coupes against the Ferrari juggernaut, winning the FIA Sports Car Championship on July 4, 1965. That is still the only time that an American team has captured the crown. To celebrate that achievement, we're launching a limited series of anniversary cars that bring the legendary Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe back to life.”
The Coupes will be available in either aluminium or glassfibre, and are expected to debut at events in California this coming August.
Photos: Shelby American
You can find several Shelbys for sale in the Classic Driver Market.
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