CAFÉ RACER 76: 09/01/15

mardi 1 septembre 2015

Yard Built Goes Racing at Dirt Quake IV

This year’s annual Dirt Quake event in the UK, Dirt Quake IV proved a great opportunity to prove this theory and give one of Yamaha’s latest Yard Built creations a proper work out. Yamaha teamed up with recent collaborators Deus Ex Machina to bring the Yard Built ‘D-Side’ trackside for some dirt track action.

FIA WEC Nurburgring 6 Hours; Au tour de la N°17…/ The N°17 Porsche’s turn!

Après la Porsche N°18 (14 à l’époque) aux 6 Heures de Sao Paulo, la N°19 aux 24 Heures du Mans, la Porsche 919 Hybrid N°17 a enfin gagné ce week-end, aux 6 Heures du Nürburgring.

Le marketing de Porsche aurait sans doute préféré que la N°17 offre la 17^e victoire de Porsche au Mans 17 ans après son dernier succès. Oui, mais voilà… Si le marketing est omniprésent tout autour de la piste, il ne l’est pas encore (trop) sur la piste. La N°17 restera comme celle qui a gagné pour Porsche en Allemagne.

La Porsche 919 Hybrid N°17 et son équipage hybride composé d’une superstar, d’un surfeur et d’un passionné, méritent amplement cette première victoire après trois pole-positions et beaucoup de malchance en course. Ce week-end, on a bien cru que la N°17 allait encore passer à côté quand elle est rentrée moucher son nez au 24^e tour, mais non… Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley et Timo Bernhard l’ont enfin conduite sur la plus haute marche du podium.

Les ennuis se sont concentrés sur la N°18 avec un capteur-moteur défectueux. A quatre reprises, le 2.0-Litres V4 turbo a excédé la consommation maxi autorisée d’1,423 kg d’essence par tour. La Porsche N°18 a dû observer trois stop&go de 5, 30 et 60 secondes.

Quatrièmes à environ une minute des Audi, Marc Lieb, Neel Jani et Romain Dumas ont effectué un double relais pneumatiques et ont cravaché pour doubler les deux machines d’Ingolstadt. La N°18 était incontestablement la plus rapide ce week-end avec pole, meilleur tour absolu (1min36s036, Lieb) et meilleur tour en course (1min37s955, Jani).

Les Audi ont été battues dans tous les secteurs du Grand-Prix Strecke (parties lentes et même en Vmax). Le package aéro, proche de la version spadoise, n’était sans pas assez performant sur ce tracé. Et puis la N°7 doit soigner le dernier moteur qu’il lui reste cette saison…

Grâce à leurs succès à Silverstone et Spa, et à leur 3^e place ce week-end, Marcel Fässler/Benoît Tréluyer/André Lotterer sont toujours en tête du championnat Pilotes. Audi Sport va-t-elle mettre un terme à la domination naissante de Porsche en FIA WEC ? Les R18 e-tron quattro ont gagné les deux dernières courses à Austin…

En revanche, on se demande si on va revoir les Toyota TS040 Hybrid sur un podium cette année, tant l’écart avec les autres prototypes hybrides est important. L’équipe Toyota Gazoo Racing est tournée vers 2016 et de nouvelles solutions techniques. La fin d’année 2015 risque d’être longue pour les pilotes.

Les 6 Heures du Nürburgring ont confirmé la suprématie de l’Oreca05-Nissan KCMG et de la Ferrari 458 SMP Racing depuis Le Mans en LM P2 et LMGTE Pro. Les voitures sont fiables et performantes, et les deux équipages comptent chacun un pilote de pointe (Tandy, Bertolini) et deux pilotes-amateurs très rapides (Bradley/Howsson et Shaytar/Basov).

Les Porsche 911 RSR n’avaient plus réalisé de doublé depuis Shanghai 2014. Comme leurs grandes sœurs en LM P1, elles ont dominé la catégorie LM GTE Pro. Comme la N°18, la N°92 (Makowiecki/Pilet) a été retardée par deux stop&go (départ anticipé et collision), mais elle a repris la Ferrari N°71 pour assurer le doublé avec la N°91 (Christensen/Lietz). L’équipe Team Manthey a joué une bonne stratégie de pneus en n’utilisant qu’un train pour les qualifs.

Following the success of the N°18 Porsche (N°14 at the time) in Sao Paulo last year, and the N°19 car’s triumph at Le Mans, the N°17 Porsche 919 Hybrid got its first taste of victory at last at the 6 Hours of Nürburgring.

Perhaps Porsche’s marketing boffins would have preferred to see the N°17 car clinch Porsche’s 17^th win at Le Mans 17 years after its last success, but marketing doesn’t yet dictate what happens on the race track…

The car will at least have notched up the 919 Hybrid’s first win on home soil in Germany. Its three drivers – a world superstar, a surfer and a true-grit endurance racer – fully deserved their maiden victory together after earning three pole positions, but they have frequently been unlucky on race day.

At one moment on Sunday, it looked as though it would lose out again when the N°17 car had to pit for a nose change on Lap 24. But Mark Webber, Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard bounced back to spray the champagne at the end of the afternoon.

This time, the gremlins focused on the N°18 car in the form of a faulty engine sensor which, on four separate occasions, allowed the two-litre turbocharged V4 to consume more than its allocated 1.423kg of petrol per lap. The penalty was three Stop&Go penalties of five, thirty and sixty seconds each.

Marc Lieb, Neel Jani and Romain Dumas consequently found themselves back in fourth place, a minute short of the Audis. The trio fought back, however, and, assisted by a double stint on the same tyres, took the chequered flag in second place. The N°18 car also won pole position, posted the fastest lap of the meeting (1m36.036s, Lieb) and also the fastest race lap (1m37.955s, Jani).

The Audis were dominated over every sector of the Nürburgring’s grand prix course, as well as in terms of top speed. The Ingolstadt make’s aerodynamic configuration – similar to that seen in Spa – was no doubt ill-suited to the German track. On top of that, its N°7 car needs to take care of the only remaining engine it can use this season.

Thanks to their wins at Silverstone and Spa, and their third place on Sunday, Marcel Fässler/Benoît Tréluyer/André Lotterer still top the Drivers’ classification, though, and the R18 e-tron quattro has won the FIA WEC’s last two visits to Austin, the next clash on the calendar.

Meanwhile, it’s unsure whether we will see a Toyota TS040 Hybrid on the podium again this year as Toyota Gazoo Racing focuses on developing new technical solutions for 2016. It could be a long autumn for its drivers.

In the other classes, Nürburgring confirmed the supremacy of KCMG’s Oreca05-Nissan and SMP Racing’s Ferrari 458 in LM P2 and LMGTE Am respectively. These cars are reliable and fast and both teams benefit from a quick number one driver (Tandy, Bertolini) and two talented amateurs (Bradley/Howsson and Shaytar/Basov).

In LM GTE Pro, the Porsche 911 RSR hadn’t secured a one-two finish since Shanghai 2014 but the car dominated its class at the Nürburgring. Mirroring the N°18 car’s fate, the N°92 (Makowiecki/Pilet) was delayed by two Stop&Go penalties (jump start and collision) but still finished clear of the N°71 Ferrari to finish behind the winning N°91 car (Christensen/Lietz). Team Manthey benefited from a shrewd tyre strategy by only using a single set of rubber per car for qualifying.

Lords of Atlas - Alcan 5000

The Baja 1000 was a challenge for our Triumph Tigers, the Alcan 5000 was a on a whole different plane. Rocks replaced sand, cold replaced heat, bee stings and river crossings replaced peace and quiet. And we crushed it.

Team ICON RAIDEN turned Alaska inside out and upside down - traversing glaciers, blasting roads, and experiencing the grandeur and scope Alaska has to offer.

Cafe Noir

What happens when a Moto Guzzi, a Triumph, a BMW and a Ducati meet in the night?

Cafe Noir from Max Daines on Vimeo.

World-class classics at the 2015 Concours of Elegance in Edinburgh

With the Edinburgh-based Concours of Elegance only a fortnight away, the official entry list has been revealed. We look at a selection of the cars that will be on display – which include some of the most beautiful and significant collector cars in the world...

An automotive beauty pageant

As one of the most prestigious concours events of the year – think the United Kingdom’s answer to Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este and Chantilly – it’s no surprise that the Concours of Elegance attracts some of the world’s most important cars. This year, the ex-Innes Ireland Ferrari 250 GTO (the most expensive car in the world when it changed hands in 2012) will be joined by several golden-era stablemates, plus a host of other blue-chip beauties such as the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato better known as ‘2 VEV’.

Business and pleasure

A number of Classic Driver dealers will be showing cars from their personal collections. Gregor Fisken will bring his 1929 Bentley 4½ Litre Short Chassis and a lightweight Jaguar E-type; Tom Hartley Jnr. will show his Lamborghini Miura S; James Cottingham of DK Engineering will take the ex-Jim Clark Tojeiro-Jaguar he raced at the Goodwood Members’ Meeting earlier this year; andSimon Kidston will display his 1938 Bugatti Type 57C Gangloff Drophead Coupé. Private owners will populate the remainder of the 60-car list, with entries from the McCaw, Mullin and Bamford collector dynasties a particular highlight. Finally, Touring will show off its latest coachbuilt rarity, the Ferrari F12-based Berlinetta Lusso.

Photos: Concours of Elegance / Tim Scott

Smørrebrød with Peter Iversen, the Porsche prince of Denmark

Based in a sleepy Danish town, Peter Iversen is one of the go-to specialists if you own a Porsche 356, in particular a Carrera-engined model. We spent a day looking around his modest premises, and asked him why he still finds Porsche’s progenitors so fascinating after three decades restoring them...

King of the Carrera

We might have labelled Peter Iversen the Porsche prince of Denmark (well, his business is based in a Danish hamlet...) but, on second thoughts, ‘Carrera king’ is more appropriate. The friendly Dane has dedicated his career to breathing new life into cars with the legendary four-cam Carrera engine, establishing a reputation as one of the foremost global specialists along the way.

Perfect timing

Our visit is well timed: Peter recently discovered a collection of no fewer the eight 356s – all Carrera models – and is preparing the cars for their new owners, as he was able to sell them all to his long-standing customers before putting them on the open market. Among them is a 1957 Carrera GT, one of two such cars built that year, essentially making it one of the first in a legendary line of successors.

Exploring ‘The Fuhrmann Room’

We’re given a tour of the Iversen premises, tucked away in a quiet Danish town. There are two main showrooms – one containing cars for sale, the other home to Peter’s personal collection that includes 356s, an Elva-Porsche sports-prototype, a 906… and a few Ferraris – along with the engine workshop (nicknamed ‘The Fuhrmann Room’ after the marque’s legendary engineer), and a space to hand-craft the bodywork.

We’re invited into the adjacent family house, where we talk to Peter and his wife Mette over a Smørrebrød – a traditional Danish platter of rye bread they often serve to visiting clients – before joining him for an evening drive in his personal Porsche, a 1956 356A Carrera 1500 GS.

How did the Carrera fascination come about?

My father was a fanatical Beetle restorer and collector, so I guess I was sort of born into it. I’d been driving and working on Beetles with my father since I was around eight years old, and I first discovered the 356 when I was 17. At the time, I was restoring a Karmann-Ghia for myself – I thought it was very nice, but I hated the long tail it has. Then I saw pictures of a 356 and I said to myself: ‘Wow, that’s my car.’

So what did you do then?

I started in 1986 with the 356s, mainly the special Carrera models. After training as a mechanic, I immediately started a 356 restoration business. I was 19 years old, so it was quite unusual at the time – 356s weren’t as popular then as they are today, so everyone thought I was crazy. I began restoring the bodywork of cars that had been imported back to Europe from the US, then learnt how to work on the other mechanical aspects.

What is it about the 356 that interests you?

I like the form: the shape is so clean, so organic. Due to the bodywork, it’s an expensive car to restore: it’s a welded body, so everything needs to be hand-finished to make it all fit together like a jigsaw. Then you have the quality of the engineering – it was the most advanced car on the market at the time. A Carrera engine can take 200 hours to restore from scratch, and you need to have the necessary experience to time every single cam perfectly. There are probably only three or four places left in Europe that can do this properly. A lot of these guys are now maybe 80 years old, so I guess that, since I’m 50, that makes me one of the young ones!

The Carrera engine has its roots in racing – do you do much yourself?

I have raced quite a lot in the last 10 years, and have also prepared customer cars for various events. Last year I raced my Elva-Porsche at Laguna Seca in the Rolex Monterey Motorsport Reunion, and this year I took my 356 Speedster to the Nürburgring. We had a race team in the past, but now I just do it for fun and to see old friends.

Your business is very obviously a family-orientated one; was it your intention to keep it this way, rather than expanding?

At one point we had six people working here. Now it’s myself, two good mechanics and a bodywork guy, plus my wife of nearly 30 years who handles the business side. That way, I don’t need to spend much time supervising; I can spend the time using my hands, which is the part I enjoy most. We try not to take on more work than we can handle, but at the moment there is roughly a two-year waiting list. My wife and I are not really sales-minded; we are genuine enthusiasts who love to meet like-minded people, and people seem to appreciate that. If you call, it will be one of us that answers the phone, rather than a salesperson. When customers visit us from abroad, we invite them to stay in our guest room. We would prefer to eat dinner and have a few drinks with you than to send you to a hotel.

After a day with Peter Iversen and an evening spent driving through scenic Nordic landscapes in one of his beloved Porsche 356s, it becomes clear: this is a man truly living his childhood dream. Should you find yourself in Denmark with some free time, be sure to stop by – whether it’s for a newly restored Carrera engine, or just some good conversation and a sampling of Smørrebrød.

Ferrari legends return to historic Road Race route after 59 years

Between 1950 and 1956, the Pebble Beach Road Race saw the forest-lined roads of Monterey come alive to the sound of road-legal sports-racers at full song. On the Friday of the 2015 Monterey Car Week, a gaggle of 1950s Ferrari berlinettas retraced what remains of the route…

In the second year of the Pebble Beach Road Race – dubbed the Del Monte Cup due to the company’s ownership of much of the surrounding land – a 166 MM piloted by Jim Kimberly became the first Ferrari to be raced along the serpentine route. Ultimately, Phil Hill would win the event three times (becoming the only man to win both here and at the Pebble Beach Concours), so it was a poignant moment when his widow Alma Hill brought down the green flag on 2015’s celebration race, with the ex-Kimberly 166 leading away a half-dozen Ferrari barchettas that raced there in period.

Although, as you might expect, there have been some changes to the route since the race was shut down almost 60 years ago, it’s remarkably intact considering. Three laps were undertaken, albeit at a slightly more sedate pace than in period – understandable, really, given the value and significance of the cars today.

Among them were two entered by American collector Les Wexner: a 1955 857S and a 1954 340 Mexico Vignale Spider driven by the owner of Copley Motorcars, Stu Carpenter. On Sunday, all six will regroup to battle each other again, this time for class honours in the dedicated category (and perhaps more?) at the Concours.

Although the chequered flag came down with the cars in the same order as they started (it really was more of a parade than a race), the reunion was truly mesmerising – if not for the sight of the colour-matched Ferraris, then for the mental imagery it conjured of Hill battling the likes of Carroll Shelby along the switchbacks.

Yard Built SR400 ‘Stallion’ and ‘Bronco’ by KEDO

The German parts company’s first independent collaborations with Yamaha have resulted in two SR400 Yard Built creations that showcase some similarities but deliver two very different animals. The first, the ‘Stallion’ is dominated by sharp lines and rounded edges, hinting at its vintage genes.

The second, the ‘Bronco’ is a street tough machine designed for everyday urban use with a blended mix of vintage style and current technology topped off with some serious flair.

CAFÉ RACER 76

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