Enduro GP France 2015 : Remes, Meo, Bellino et McCanney champions du monde / 2015 glory for Remes, Meo, Bellino and McCanney

Eero Remes (TM), Antoine Meo (KTM), Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna – Michelin) et Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna – Michelin) ont été sacrés Champions du monde d’Enduro dans leur catégorie respective, E1, E2, E3 et Juniors lors du Grand Prix de France à Requista, dernière épreuve de la saison.

Avec dix points de retard sur Eero Remes au départ de la dernière journée, Christophe Nambotin (KTM) ne se faisait que guère d’illusions pour enlever un quatrième sacre.

En s’imposant lors des deux journées, Remes a décroché son premier titre mondial. Une superbe consécration pour ce pilote de 30 ans, spécialiste des petites cylindrées depuis toujours et qui court après ce titre mondial depuis neuf saisons.

Christophe Nambotin et Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco – Michelin) ont complété le podium final.

En E2, Antoine Meo a coiffé sa cinquième couronne pour sa dernière saison en mondial d’Enduro. Le Français va désormais s’orienter vers les Rallyes.  Meo a terminé deuxième et a été contraint à l’abandon lors de la seconde boucle dimanche.

Les victoires sont revenues à Alex Salvini (Honda). L’Italien est monté sur la deuxième marche du podium final devant Pierre-Alexandre Renet (Husqvarna – Michelin), forfait pour son GP national.

Devant son public, Mathias Bellino est sacré en E3 dès la journée de samedi à l’issue de laquelle il a terminé deuxième avant de conclure cette saison par une victoire. Matthews Phillips (KTM), champion 2014, a dû se contenter de la deuxième marche devant Matti Seistola (Sherco – Michelin).

Une quatrième place acquise samedi  a permis à Jamie McCanney d’empocher le titre chez les Juniors. Le britannique s’affirme comme un futur grand de l’Enduro Mondial à l’issue d’une saison particulièrement bien menée.

Steve Holcombe (Beta – Michelin), grand pilote en devenir, a signé le doublé et grimpe sur la troisième marche mondiale derrière Giacomo Redondi (Beta – Michelin).

             

Eero Remes (TM), Antoine Meo (KTM), Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna-Michelin) and Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna-Michelin) respectively pocketed the E1, E2, E3 and Junior crowns at the 2015 Enduro World Championship’s final gathering at Requista, France.

Eero Remes pushed home his 10-point advantage ahead of the final day to prevent Christophe Nambotin (KTM) from claiming a fourth title.

Smaller bike specialist Remes, 30, won both races to seal his first world crown after chasing it for nine years. Nambotin and Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco-Michelin) took silver and bronze.

In E2, Meo concluded his last world class Enduro season by clinching his fifth title. The Frenchman now intends to focus on rallying. He was second on Saturday but failed to finish on Sunday.

The class wins in France went to Italy’s Alex Salvini (Honda) who came second in the championship, ahead of Pierre-Alexandre Renet (Husqvarna-Michelin) who missed his home grand prix.

Present for his home meeting, Mathias wrapped up the E3 crown on Saturday by finishing second, before celebrating his success with Sunday’s victory. The 2014 champ Matthews Phillips (KTM) had to settle for runner-up honours, ahead of Matti Seistola (Sherco-Michelin).

Fourth place on Saturday was enough for McCanney to seal the top Junior prize. The Briton enjoyed a particularly strong season and stands out as a bright hope for the future.

Steve Holcombe (Beta-Michelin), another rising star, won both the weekend’s races to clinch third in the championship, behind Giacomo Redondi (Beta-Michelin).

WRC Rallye de France - Tour de Corse 2015 ; Quentin Gilbert, Champion du monde ! / 2015 Junior World Champion!

Le Français Quentin Gilbert (26 ans) a remporté le titre de Champion du monde Juniors des Rallyes FIA après sa quatrième victoire de la saison, au Tour de Corse. Son avenir passera par le WRC-2 avec Citroën et Michelin en 2016.

Monte-Carlo, Portugal, Finlande et Corse : Quentin Gilbert et son copilote Belge Renaud Jamoul ont gagné quatre « monuments » du rallye mondial cette saison avec leur DS3 R3/Michelin.

Ce week-end, sur les routes sinueuses de l’Ile de Beauté et dans des conditions délicates, ils ont une nouvelle fois devancé leurs concurrents pour conclure avec plus d’une minute d’avance sur leurs compatriotes Terry Folb et Yohan Rossel.

« C’est une sensation incroyable et l’aboutissement d’un rêve ! », confiait Quentin. « À l’arrivée du rallye, je ne réalisais pas trop. J’étais centré sur notre performance du week-end. Nous avons bien roulé, nous avons attaqué quand il le fallait, quand la route était sèche, dans la longue spéciale du samedi. Notre équipe a été parfaite et nous avons fait les bons choix de pneus. C’est une très belle victoire, qui m’assure le titre de Champion du monde. »

Quentin est le 5^e Français à inscrire son nom au palmarès du J-WRC après Sébastien Loeb en 2001, Brice Tirabassi en 2003, Sébastien Ogier, sacré comme lui à l’issue du Tour de Corse 2008, et Stéphane Lefebvre l’an passé. Comme Loeb et Ogier, Quentin est issue de la filière française Rallye-Jeunes (vainqueur en 2009).

« Nous avons énormément travaillé pour parvenir à ce résultat. C’est une récompense pour toutes les personnes impliquées autour du projet. Remporter des épreuves aussi mythiques que le Monte-Carlo, le Portugal, la Finlande et le Tour de Corse, des monuments du Championnat du monde, c’est incroyable ! C’est un titre qui nous rend fiers car nous sommes allés le chercher. Nous n’avons pas fait d’erreur cette saison. L’équipe nous a donné une DS 3 R3-MAX toujours performante. Désormais, nous irons parachever le travail en Espagne, avant de penser à la saison 2016. »

La saison prochaine, Quentin Gilbert pilotera une Citroën DS3 R5/Michelin sur des manches du championnat WRC-2. Une catégorie qu’il connaît déjà pour y avoir roulé en 2014 sur une Ford Fiesta R5. Une saison auréolée par une victoire au Rallye de France, mais hélas gâchée par de nombreux soucis mécaniques.

                     

Twenty-six-year old Quentin Gilbert wrapped up the 2015 FIA Junior World Rally Championship with his fourth win of the year, in Corsica. For 2016, he can look forward to a WRC2 programme with Citroën and Michelin.

Quentin Gilbert and his Belgian co-driver Renaud Jamoul topped the JWRC standings in four of the 2015 championship’s most prestigious events (Monte Carlo, Portugal, Finland and Corsica) in their DS3 R3/Michelin.

Last weekend, they overcame tricky conditions in Corsica to outpace class rivals Terry Folb and Yohan Rossel by more than a minute.

“It’s an incredible feeling to have won the title; a dream come true,” said Quentin. “I didn’t fully realise at first because I had been so focused on the Tour de Corse. We went well and pushed when we had to, when the roads were dry on Saturday’s long stage. Our team performed faultlessly and we got our tyre choices right. It was a nice victory and it’s earned me the title…”

Quentin is the fifth Frenchman to win the J-WRC after Sébastien Loeb in 2001, Brice Tirabassi in 2003, Sébastien Ogier, who clinched the 2008 title in Corsica, and Stéphane Lefebvre last year. Like Loeb and Ogier, Quentin came up through the ranks of France’s Rallye-Jeunes grooming scheme which he won in 2009.

“We worked hard to achieve this result which is a great reward for all those who have been involved in the project. To have won such huge world class events as the Monte Carlo, Portugal, Finland and the Tour de Corse is incredible! We are proud to have taken the title because we had to dig deep and our team provided us with a DS 3 R3-MAX that was always competitive. We now want to round off the job in Spain before thinking about 2016…”

Next season, Quentin Gilbert will drive a Michelin-equipped Citroën DS3 R5/Michelin on rounds of the WRC2 championship, a class he knows well after contesting it in 2014 in a Ford Fiesta R5. The year bagged a victory in France but was troubled by a high number of mechanical problems.

THE RANCH

Valentino Rossi's MotoRanch in Tavullia surely is a special place. Situated on the Hills near The Doctor's hometown, it includes a dirt track with multiple layouts where the Italian legend can train alongside the students of his own VR46 Riders Academy. Along the years, Rossi has invited many of his friends and fellow riders to have some fun at his private track, and this is well-documented by several videos and pictures. 

In the sixth and newer Webisode of the Dainese Series, The Doctor himself takes you beyond the gates of his famed house and explains what's the story behind the track and how it became so popular with his mates. 

Toyoda Model AA: Finding the world’s oldest Toyota

Only 1,404 examples of Toyota’s first passenger car, the Toyoda Model AA, were built in the six years of production from 1936 to 1942.

Until recently it was thought that none of these cars had survived to this day. Even Toyota itself had been forced to fabricate a ground-up replica of the Model AA because an original example could not be found to exhibit at the Toyota Automobile Museum in Japan.

So when news of a 1936 car, one of only 100 units built in the very first year of Model AA production, suddenly surfaced from within Russia, the discovery was met with a degree of scepticism. Nevertheless, even the most remote opportunity to uncover an example of the world’s rarest production Toyota had to be followed up.

Further investigation by specialists at the Louwman Museum revealed that the car was indeed genuine. The Model AA had been owned by a Siberian farmer since World War II.

During more than 60 years in the family’s ownership it had been used extensively on the land and been heavily modified. At some undetermined time it had also been moved from deep within Siberia to the outskirts of Vladivostok, where the farmer’s grandson now lived.

The video below, kindly given to us by its new custodians at the Louwman Museum, documents some of the arrangements surrounding the purchase and transportation of the vehicle. It marks the culmination of a protracted, seven-month negotiation process with the owners and Russian Ministry of Culture in Moscow, which eventually granted approval for its exportation.

Now with the necessary documentation the Toyoda Model AA was secured safely in a container and transported by train from Vladivostok to Moscow. The final leg of its journey to Western Europe was on the back of a container lorry.

This 1936 Toyoda Model AA is now part of the private car collection at the Louwman Museum in The Hague, Netherlands.

Click the following link to read a more extensive report on the discovery and incredible unrestored condition of this Toyoda Model AA on the official Toyota (GB) website.

La vidange by Darwin et CRMC

 By Laurent Chazoule 

La Vidange par Darwin Custom et CRMC c’est ce week-end à Bordeaux sur 3 jours et ça commence vendredi soir à partir de 19h. L’année dernière l’événement avait rencontré un fort succès et du coup, ils remettent ça cette année avec encore plus d’animations et d’expositions.

Le programme est assez chargé et à l’air bien sympathique.
Vendredi 09 Octobre

LE CATERING (4 rue des Ayres 33000 BDX)
19H – 23H
– Bagels & DJ’S Party
– Exposition Yohan Colin / Rémi Bédora / Cosmic Medusa
– Briefing de la ride moto du Samedi

Samedi 10 Octobre 

Accueil des participants 9h au Hangar Darwin (87 quais de Queyries) avec un café bio par l’Alchimiste Torréfacteur

Le ride photographié par David Marvier, filmé par Studio Paps et avec en plus un drone piloté par Guimball Prod, vivement les images.

La soirée :
Entrée 3€ (Gratuit pour les motards de la Ride)
– 18h retour Ride, lancement Vide-Garage
– 19h course de futs de bière poussés à moto 1 contre 1
– Photo Booth MAN vs MACHINE réalisé par Lucky Studio
– FOODTRUCKS Sok Bordeaux
– LIVE TATTOO Matt Captain Chaos
– LIVE BARBER La Boucherie

CONCERT LIVE

Decheman & The Gardenner
Libido Fuzz
He Dedicated Nothing

Dimanche 11 Octobre

VIDE GARAGE
– 10h-18h au sein du skate park Hangar Darwin
MOTO / SURF / SKATE / STREET WEAR / ART

– Expo photo David Marvier
– Expo Deus Ex Machina
– VISSLA demo de shape avec TAZ
– The Sailor live shape

16h-18h
SESSION SKATEBOARD
-Photographié par David Manaud

Plus d’informations sur la page Facebook de l’événement : La Vidange

Pour vous donnez envie d’y aller, voici deux vidéos de l’année dernière lors de la première édition.

Splash-n-Dash – Paintings depict Shelby Daytonas conquering Sebring

The gathering of all six Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes was arguably the star attraction at the Goodwood Revival earlier this year. So inspired was artist Klaus Wagger, that he has painted two pictures depicting the famous cars at the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring…

Aptly named ‘Splash-n-Dash’, the two 55x35-inch paintings are moody and atmospheric, just as Sebring was that weekend in 1965. In fact, it was one of the wettest races on record – a stark contrast to the sunny, late summer weather we enjoyed at the Goodwood Revival just a few weeks ago. We’re sure ‘Ol’ Shel’ would approve...

Photo: Klaus Wagger/Automotive Fine Arts Society

The Ultimate Fun Haver

What is a fun haver? Better yet, what is the ultimate fun haver? Drifting is fun, jumping trucks is fun, shooting up sick dirt roosts is fun as well, so why not combine all of those things into one? That’s exactly what Vaughn Gittin Jr. did when he set out to build his ultimate fun haver. He started with a 2015 Ford F-150 EcoBoost and it just went kind of nuts from there…

Officially dubbed as the ‘Ford F-150 Ultimate Fun Haver’ the truck sits very nicely, thanks in part to air suspension. Because, why not?

This is the perfect demo vehicle in that you can experience a little bit of everything while on board – check out the video above to see what I mean.

I don’t really know what goes on in Vaughn’s head when he’s thinking of these new ideas, but seeing as the RTR brand has taken off in the Mustang world, I am guessing he wanted to try a shot at the biggest market in North America.

After all, USA is the land of the free and the home of pickup trucks.

I had a chance to check out the Ultimate Fun Haver for the first time at Hoontown, USA, which is a ranch in Southern California.

Hoontown is basically a big dirt lot with a few jumps, and it’s an automobile killer.

That, of course, makes it the perfect location for a quick video shoot.

The director? None other than Andy Laputka, one of the key brains behind pretty much all of Vaughn’s video projects.

The truck itself was built by Kibbetech Offroad, which engineers race trucks for desert-running or whatever else you fancy in the off-road world.

The motor is a Ford 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, which of course is twin turbocharged and direct injected.

With some mild power adders including a Magnaflow exhaust and a K&N intake, the truck has some serious grunt. It also sounds awesome.

With the addition of a Full-Race intercooler and an ECU tune from Revolution Automotive, you can hoon all day long without interruption.

While the power was impressive for a near-stock truck, what really impressed me was how it handled in the dirt and on the road. Since I shot this feature though, the RTR team has installed some larger turbos for development purposes, and Vaughn said he is aiming for over 500ft-lb of torque at the wheels.

The airbags were made by Airlift Performance, but Kibbetech mated those with King Shocks dual bypass shock absorbers in the front and triple bypass shock absorbers in the rear.

This has resulted in 12 inches of travel when fully lifted, which is more than enough to do some serious off-roading.

In addition to the massive King shocks and Airlift airbags, Kibbetech also built a beefy custom radius arm with panhard bar rear suspension.

To handle all the power and abuse at the rear wheels, a Currie Enterprises full-floating F9 rear end was also installed.

Vaughn went out of his way to make sure the exterior reflected the theme of the truck as well, first commissioning Auto Explosion Custom Auto Body to create some one-off flares, then wrapping the F-150 in XPEL Stealth protection film and adding custom RTR 18×10-inch wheels fitted with 35-inch Nitto Terra Grappler tires.

The interior has form and function as well with five Recaro Sportster seats flanked by Takata Racing harnesses. Because you don’t want your passengers to flop around all over the place when you’re giving them the ride of their lives.

Aside from the seats, the only other interior modification is an Autosport Dynamics handbrake, which of course is perfect for initiating drifts on or off-road.

So what was it like to ride in the Ultimate Fun Haver?

With Vaughn behind the wheel, very smooth.

He easily transitioned between drifts and basically linked-up every single corner that Hoontown had to offer.

While kicking epic roosts whenever he lay on the throttle. It was interesting to hear turbo noises from a pickup truck too.

So what about the jump? Well, we went off it a few times and the big Ford landed very flat every time.

Although, I do have to say that it was an uneasy feeling being in the air.

I guess it’s just something that you have to get used to, but aside from a funny feeling in my stomach each time we took flight, you really couldn’t tell that the pickup truck was four wheels up.

That’s it for another successful day at Hoontown, USA, but no dead vehicles this time around.

And why not finish the day with a little sunset burnout!

It was a fun video shoot, but more importantly I had a chance to experence the Ultimate Fun Haver myself. Which makes me wonder what Vaughn Gittin, Jr. is going to come up with next…

Larry Chen
Instagram: larry_chen_foto
larry@speedhunters.com

2015 Ford F-150 Ultimate Fun Haver

Engine
Ford 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6, Magnaflow custom exhaust system, K&N intake system, Full-Race intercooler, Revolution Automotive custom ECU tune

Suspension/Brakes
Kibbetech custom suspension with 12″ of travel, Airlift Performance airbags, King Shocks dual bypass shock absorbers (front),King Shocks triple bypass shock absorbers (rear), King Shocks air bump stops, Camburg Engineering front upper & lower control arms, Currie Enterprises full-floating F9 rear end, custom radius arm with panhard bar (rear)

Wheels/Tires
RTR 18×10-inch custom wheels, Nitto Tire Terra Grappler G2 35×12.50R18 tires

Exterior
Custom flares by Auto Explosion Custom Auto Body, XPEL Stealth protection film wrap, Raptor retrofit custom lighting, VLEDS LED conversion

Interior
Recaro Sportster seats, Takata Racing harnesses, Autosport Dynamics handbrake