samedi 3 octobre 2015
Haslam décroche la Tissot-Superpole sous la pluie à Magny-Cours / Haslam splashes his way to wet Tissot-Superpole win
Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team - Red Devils) s’est emparé de la Tissot-Superpole pour l’avant-dernière manche du Championnat du Monde eni FIM Superbike sur une piste trempée samedi après-midi à Nevers Magny-Cours, alors que toutes les séances d’essais libres avaient eu lieu sur le sec.
Le Britannique a fini sa séance dans le bac à gravier suite à sa chute mais a finalement été confirmé en pole position, en ayant été 0.004s plus rapide que le nouveau Champion du Monde, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team).
Parmi les surprises amenées par la pluie, Niccolò Canepa (Althea Racing) a réussi une belle opération et sera en première ligne avec Haslam et Rea après avoir signé le troisième temps (+0.508s).
En lice pour le titre de vice-Champion, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) ne sera donc pas le premier pilote Ducati sur la grille. Tombé lors de sa dernière tentative, alors que ses temps intermédiaires laissaient entrevoir une possible pole position, le Gallois se contentera de partir en tête de la deuxième ligne, en compagnie de Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), qui avait lui aussi chuté un peu plus tôt, et de Luca Scassa (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team), qui avait réalisé le meilleur temps en Superpole 1 et a ensuite profité à fond de son opportunité en Superpole 2.
Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), l’autre pilote promu de la Superpole 1, s’est quant à lui installé en septième position, devant Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) et Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), qui était parmi les pilotes à être tombés.
Markus Reiterberger (VanZon Rehema BMW), Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki), autre pilote à être tombé, et Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) formeront la quatrième ligne.
Tombé en Superpole 1, Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) ne sera malheureusemenr que 19e sur la grille pour ses premières courses WorldSBK à domicile tandis que Christophe Ponsson (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) partira en 21e position.
Suivez toute l’actualité sur le compte Twitter officiel : @WorldSBK
Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) has taken the penultimate Tissot-Superpole of the 2015 season, the first fully wet qualifying of the year after the heaven’s opened at the Circuit Nevers de Magny-Cours shortly before Superpole 1 began. The British rider ended the session in the gravel after crashing in the final moments of SP2, edging out the newly crowned World Champion Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) by 0.004s.
With no wet practice, the 15 minute Superpole sessions provided the first opportunity for the 20 riders seeded to lap in the tricky conditions.
Superpole 1 saw Luca Scassa (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) and Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) progress to the final 15 minute shoot-out after the pair displaced Matteo Baiocco with their respective final laps.
Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team), Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) and Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) all crashed, Lowes’ incident bringing out the red flags. The session restarted with 2.46s remaining meaning that it was a one lap shoot-out to decide the grid.
Joining Haslam on the front row of the grid for tomorrow’s 21 lap races will be Rea and for the second consecutive race Niccolo Canepa (Althea Racing) after the wet conditions threw up some surprises at the front of the grid.
Row two will see Davies, Guintoli and Luca Scassa while a solid qualifying session sees Leon Camier head up a third row that also comprises Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Tom Sykes.
10th on the grid was Markus Reiterberger (VanZon Rehema BMW) with Alex Lowes and Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) rounding out row 4.
Row 5 will be filled with the riders placed 13th to 15th during Superpole 1. Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing), Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team) and Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) therefore just missing out on a Superpole 2 start.
Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) will start his first WorldSBK race at home from 19th after crashing with 7 minutes to go in Superpole 1. David Salom (Team Pedercini) didn’t take to the track at all and will therefore start 20th.
Both races will be over 21 laps of the 4.411km French circuit and you can follow all of the action as it happens via the championship’s official Twitter: @WorldSBK
WRC Rallye de France - Tour de Corse Latvala leader, Evans s’accroche / Latvala leads, Evans still in contention
Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin) a conclu la deuxième étape du Tour de Corse 2015 en tête, mais il ne compte que deux secondes d’avance sur l’ancien leader du rallye, le Gallois Elfyn Evans (Ford). Andreas Mikkelsen est 3e à plus d’une demi-minute.
La journée du samedi est déjà terminée au Tour de Corse après l’ES6, Muracciole-Col de Sorba (48,46 km) disputée sur des routes pratiquement sèches après la tempête d’hier.
« Le pilote en tête au col de Sorba a beaucoup de chances de gagner le rallye », nous avait dit l’organisateur Christian Leca avant le départ.
Et c’est Jari-Matti Latvala qui a pris les rênes au point culminant du rallye (1311 m) avec deux secondes d’avance sur le pilote M-Sport Elfyn Evans. « J’ai un problème de boîte de vitesses », a pourtant déclaré le Finlandais. Est-ce le même problème qu’a connu son équipier Sébastien Ogier hier soir ? « Je n’avais pas confiance avec le sélecteur alors je suis passé en mode manuel et j’ai perdu le rythme. Heureusement, il n’y a plus de spéciales aujourd’hui. »
Après avoir vu son avance de 18s7 fondre ce matin dans l’ES5, Evans n’a pas faibli cet après-midi. Le jeune Gallois a terminé les 48,46 km à seulement 3s4 de son rival pour la victoire. Une fois de plus, il semblait surpris d’avoir réalisé cette performance. « Je ne suis pas trop déçu d’être 2e ce soir », rigolait le pilote ford. « Je vais me coucher heureux. Il n’est pas questions de faire de bêtises demain, mais je vais attaquer. »
Tous les pilotes étaient unanimes : cette spéciale était magnifique : « Une des plus belles du championnat », a assuré Thierry Neuville (Hyundai).
« Pour une fois, les conditions était constante sur tout le parcours » a poursuivit Kris Meeke qui a rendu 7 secondes à Mikkelsen. Le Norvégien est sur le podium provisoire.
Après un mauvais choix de pneus ce matin, Kevin Abbring (Hyundai) était déçu à l’arrivée de l’ES5. « Les set-up étaient trop soft ». Mais le Néerlandais est toujours 5e ce soir, à minute du leader, avec Mads Ostberg (Citroën) à seulement 4 secondes.
En WRC-2, Julien Maurin (Ford) est confortable leader avec plus de 2 minutes d’avance sur les pilotes Skoda Esapekka Lappi (tête-à-queue ES6) et Armin Kremer. Craig Breen (Peugeot) a crevé dans l’ES6 : « Cette année, s’il y a le moindre caillou sur la route, il est pour moi ! »
François Delecour (Porsche/Michelin) mène toujours la catégorie R-GT, alors que Quentin Gilbert est passé en tête en Juniors où la bagarre pour la 2e place s’annonce très intense.
Today’s two stages have tipped the balance in favour of Jari-Matti Latvala (Volkswagen/Michelin). That said, the Finn is only two seconds clear of this morning’s leader Elfyn Evans who has been on form again in his Ford Fiesta WRC/Michelin. The chasing pack, led by third-placed VW’s Andreas Mikkelsen, is more than half-a-minute behind.
Saturday’s action in Corsica is already over and concluded with the magnificent SS6 from Muracciole to Co de Sorba: 48.46km of sweeping, nearly all-dry roads that brought a smile back to the faces of the crews after the week’s earlier horrors stories.
“The driver who is first after Col de Sorba has every chance of winning the rally,” predicted organiser Christian Leca in our interview before the start.
Latvala will be hoping that the Corsican’s forecast is correct, since he emerged from the magnificent pine-forest at the end of the test with a two-second advantage in the standings over Friday’s star Evans. The Finn wasn’t entirely at ease at the finish, however. “I had a problem with the gearbox,” he told reporters who immediately recalled Ogier’s transmission issue of yesterday evening. “I didn’t have confidence with the downshift so I switched to manual mode and I lost the rhythm. I got through it, though, and there aren’t any more stages today.”
After seeing most of his overnight margin evaporate on the tricky SS5, Evans showed no signs of weakness on the next test and completed the distance just 3.4s short of his Volkswagen rival. Once again, he seemed surprised to have posted such a quick time, the third fastest behind Latvala and the stage-winner Ogier who is no longer in contention for victory.
“I’m not too disappointed to be second this evening,” smiled the Ford youngster. “I will go to bed happy tonight. This isn’t the place to take stupid risks, but for sure I’m going to push tomorrow…”
All the drivers agreed that the stage was superb. “One of the finest in the championship,” said Thierry Neuville (Hyundai) who is back in the event after his curtailed attempt at SS1 yesterday.
“For once, the conditions were pretty consistent all the way,” added DS3 WRC driver Kris Meeke, despite dropping seven seconds to Mikkelsen in his scrap with the Norwegian for third place.
After a poor tyre choice this morning, Kevin Abbring (Hyundai) was disappointed with his time on the last stage. “The set-up was too soft,” he reported. He is still fifth overall, though, a minute off the leader, but Mads Ostberg (6th, Citroën) is only four seconds behind.
Paddon (Hyundai), Ford privateers Bouffier and Sarrazin, and Tanak (Ford) round out the top 10.
In WRC2, Julien Maurin (Ford) leads comfortably with cushions of two and three minutes over Skoda drivers Esapekka Lappi (spin on SS6) and Armin Kremer respectively. Craig Breen (Peugeot) has disappeared from contention after picking up a puncture. “This season, whenever there’s been a rock on the road, it’s been for me. Why is that?” he quizzed.
Porsche/Michelin driver François Delecour is comfortably clear in RGT, while Quentin Gilbert (Citroën/Michelin) has emerged on top in the WRC3/Junior class. Simone Tempestini, Yohan Rossel and Terry Folb are more than 20 seconds adrift but covered by only 10s in the fight for second place.
Sunday Ride Classic 2015 - Club 14 Champions
Lors de la Sunday Ride Classic 2015, qui se déroulait les 4 et 5 avril 2015 au circuit Paul Ricard, a eu lieu le Club 14 Champions !
Cette course unique réunissait 14 pilotes de légende sur leurs motos d'époque.
Étaient au rendez-vous :
- G.Agostini, Italie : 15 titres Mondiaux
- Ph.Read, Angletterre : 8 titres Mondiaux
- K.Ballington, Afrique du Sud : 4 titres Mondiaux
- F.Spencer, USA : 3 titres Mondiaux
- J.Cecotto, Venezuela : 2 titres Mondiaux
- C.Sarron, France : 1 titre Mondial
- S.Baker, USA : 1 titre Mondial
- O.Jacque, France : 1 titre Mondial
- JF Baldé, France : Vice Champion du Monde 350
- Guy Bertin, France : Vice Champion du Monde 125, seul pilote à avoir gagné le GP de France, le Bol d’Or et les 24 Heures du Mans !
- Bernard Fau
- Patrick Plisson 2 fois 3 ème Mondial en 125
- Hubert Rigal
Original footage unearthed to celebrate 20th anniversary of Caterham Academy
MODERN MUSCLE: VICTORY GUNNER BY TATTOO PROJECTS
At just eighteen years old, Victory Motorcycles is one of the youngest marques on the planet. And their current cruiser range has a distinctly modern aesthetic—a hard sell for potential owners looking for the American heritage vibe.
“But it’s something that we at Tattoo have gotten Victory to embrace. It’s modern American muscle.”
Rudy Banny is the founder of Tattoo Projects, the ad agency that handles Victory’s marketing. “One of the issues we deal with on a regular basis, is Victory’s youth,” he says. “It seems a lot of consumers out there find Victory’s futuristic, modern design quite polarizing.”
“But it’s something that we at Tattoo have gotten Victory to embrace. It’s modern American muscle.”
When Tattoo aren’t working on campaigns for some of the US’s top brands, they build custom motorcycles. And when Rudy managed to get a Victory Gunner onto his bench, he couldn’t resist the urge to roughen it up.
“I took it upon myself to take all of that awesome, bad-ass modern American muscle, and package it up in an old-school bobber-café.”
Custom aluminum gussets were made to support the seat, and to box in the simplified ECU and fuse box setup. The battery was swapped for a smaller Ballistic unit, but this (and a few electrical components) needed a new home. So local leather specialists Colsen Keane were roped in to make up a one-off battery pouch.
The biggest visual hit is the new tail section. Tattoo wanted to fit one of their favorite brat-café-style seats: a Nitroheads. This meant that they could trim off most of the subframe—opening up the rear end and giving the stock swingarm a stretched look.
Custom aluminum gussets were made to support the seat, and to box in the simplified ECU and fuse box setup. The battery was swapped for a smaller Ballistic unit, but this (and a few electrical components) needed a new home. So local leather specialists Colsen Keane were roped in to make up a one-off battery pouch.
To complement the new back-end, Suzuki GSX-R forks and custom-made triple trees were fitted up front. A 3.5×16 rim was laced up with stainless steel spokes, and upgraded with a dual braking disc setup. And yes, the tires are Firestone’s infamous Deluxe Champions. (“We haven’t given up on them yet,” Rudy smiles.)
The cockpit’s been finished with a mix of parts. Arlen Ness teardrop mirrors hint at the bike’s origins, while dual headlights give it a touch of streetfighter style. The handlebars are Biltwell Tracker units, and the speedo is Motogadget’s tiny MotoScope Mini LED model.
The team modeled a smaller, simpler tank, and had Brendon Thompson from Elite Metal Designs ‘Frankenstein’ the stock tunnel onto the new tank. A Monza filler cap was installed, but other than that the tank’s been left unfinished. Rudy’s still deciding whether or not he wants to paint it.
The last stop was the engine—but with the Victory already pushing out a respectable 97 horses, and weighing 100lbs less now, the mods were minimal. There’s a Lloydz Torque Tube intake to help it breathe, adjustable timing gear and a new fuel control unit. Custom exhaust headers capped with stainless steel Cone Engineering mufflers round things out.
Rudy says he “deliberately took a very modern American motorcycle and distressed the hell out of it.” Tattoo’s stark Victory Gunner is certainly a departure from the factory version, and a muscle bike we wouldn’t mind owning.
The cockpit’s been finished with a mix of parts. Arlen Ness teardrop mirrors hint at the bike’s origins, while dual headlights give it a touch of streetfighter style. The handlebars are Biltwell Tracker units, and the speedo is Motogadget’s tiny MotoScope Mini LED model.
Tattoo’s biggest challenge was switching out the Victory Gunner’s wide, teardrop-shaped fuel tank. “A big reason these tanks are difficult to modify,” explains Rudy, “is that the tunnel is very unique, due to the split, wishbone-style backbone of the frame.”
The team modeled a smaller, simpler tank, and had Brendon Thompson from Elite Metal Designs ‘Frankenstein’ the stock tunnel onto the new tank. A Monza filler cap was installed, but other than that the tank’s been left unfinished. Rudy’s still deciding whether or not he wants to paint it.
The last stop was the engine—but with the Victory already pushing out a respectable 97 horses, and weighing 100lbs less now, the mods were minimal. There’s a Lloydz Torque Tube intake to help it breathe, adjustable timing gear and a new fuel control unit. Custom exhaust headers capped with stainless steel Cone Engineering mufflers round things out.
Rudy says he “deliberately took a very modern American motorcycle and distressed the hell out of it.” Tattoo’s stark Victory Gunner is certainly a departure from the factory version, and a muscle bike we wouldn’t mind owning.
via BIKEexif
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