61 crashes between MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 at Sachsenring

The Sachsenring weekend was characterized by a unusually high number of crashes, which kept the circuit medical center and Clinica Mobile very busy patching up banged up riders.

There were 61 crashes overall at Sachsenring - with some riders binning their bikes more than once - like MotoGP’s Cal Crutchlow and Nicky Hayden.

Just the MotoGP class saw 20 crashes that resulted in Dani Pedrosa, Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Iannone beign forced to skip the race.

Last season saw 42 crashes, while in 2011 there were 51, and even if there were a few wet sessions in 2012, most of the crashes occured on a dry track due to the circuit’s layout.

Many MotoGP riders blamed their tires, requesting that Bridgestone bring asymmetric front tires to tracks that have a succession of corners going in the same direction and tires have problems keeping the heat on the less used side.

Moto2 and Moto3 rider use Dunlop tires, but they didn’t fare any better in the German GP, but in the lower classes riders make a lot less noise about any issues, and most crashes are chalked up to over eager and ambitious teenagers, even if Pol Espargaro, Scott Redding, Xavier Simeon and few others all suffered from extremely degraded tires (check out the photo on gpinside.com or this image posted by journalist Tammy Gorali on Twitter.

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

VUHL 05 SUPERCAR – AUTOMOTIVE SPLENDER FROM MEXICO

WOW great photography and presentation of the all new 2014 VUHL 05 Supercar straight from Mexico. It has been the brainchild of two brothers with a family history in racing with the 05 being there fathers racing number. It’s a beautiful very functional looking car with it’s stall clearly put out for the track and driving enthusiasts. VUHL stands for “Vehicles of Ultra High Performance and Lightweight” so this gives you an idea of what the cars intentions are straight away, a two seater racing car with a monocoque chassis that is perfectly road legal.

It’s powered by a Ford 2.0 turbocharged engine producing a huge 285 BHP and with it only weighing 1532 pounds it’s not surprising that it will hit 60 in just 3.7 seconds. It’s estimated that the cost will be around £50,000 to £60,000 and limited to only 50 cars being built. This just shows you that you don’t need to be a huge manufacturer to be able to launch a new car, the whole package looks fantastic and probably presented better than any of the big names in the business!

Photography & BrandingAs you can probably tell the photography is awesome done by Moto Verso’s favourite automotive photographer Laurent Nivalle. The branding was undertaken by Canadian design studio Blok who said “To capture the visceral quality of the driving experience, we chose a photographic style that is at once gritty and stylish, nostalgic and contemporary” Blok started on the branding for VUHL and have achieved a modern contemporary look with a beautiful choice of font and branding. You can checkout the branding on thereBehance page. The said “Our involvement began before any bolts were riveted or steel welded. Working with the designers, we helped shape the brand, from the story to the identity to the art direction, the interior graphics, the helmet and all communications. The identity reflects the subtleties of high-end design that are a hallmark of the car.”

from Moto Verso

BSA Lightning 650 - La Raiz Motorcycles

It's a truism of sorts, but in many ways customising bikes is as much about what you remove and where you cut the bike as it is about what you add. Many builds that are hailed as ‘miraculous transformations’ turn out to be mostly about the builder's skill in seeing past all the external frippery and into the core beauty of the bike's design. As Michelangelo famously put it, ‘I simply saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.’ And if ever there was a bike the personified that approach it would have to be this, the latest build from Spain's La Raiz (or The Root) Motorcycles.

The rather enigmatically named ‘Le Gons’ from La Raiz helped us fill in the details on the build. “We did some changes from the original BSA design. We reduced the subframe a few centimeters and we changed the shocks for new ones, which were quite a lot harder than the old ones."

As the donor bike was a pain to get started, the boys also exchanged the old electrics system for a new one with a smaller coil and skillfully hidden electrics. They also took the time to fabricate themselves a bespoke pipe set from their own design.

And time is something that the La Raiz boys are obviously in short supply of. “We spent more than a year to complete this project because we can only dedicate our free time. We all have to work in other jobs,” notes Le Gons. I'm not sure about that, but I know if I was given the choice between a dark, greasy garage and enjoying a jug of Sangria in the Parque del Retiro, I'd be choosing the red-wine-and-sunshine option every time.

“This motorbike is for a customer called ‘Nortes’, a tattoo artist living in Vigo, Spain. His passion is traditional tattoos and classic bikes. He already has a Norton Commando, Triumph Bonneville, a Harley XL1200 and now a BSA Lightning, too.”

And for the purists amongst us, Le Gons is quick to point out that they spared the grinder on the bike. “We tried not to change the geometry of the motorbike, preserving the original style as much as we could. To balance it out we put some more personality into it with a race plate and dirt tyres. We then simplified the rear of the bike with a single-seater configuration.” Works for us.

In parting, Le Gons did the right thing and tipped his hat in thanks. “Now we have finished this project, we’d like to thank everyone who cooperated and supported this restoration. And we also have to mention our clients, who are the ones who let us do what we love and improve our skills with their bikes.” Amen to that.

from Pipeburn

BCCM 2013: The British conquer the Engadine

Conquering the famous passes of the Engadine can be a real challenge for both man and machine – particularly when the latter is an unmolested British classic. Classic Driver joined the 20th annual parade, taking place at 7,500 feet...

The Swiss are a reserved people but when it comes to their Engadine, and St. Moritz, modesty takes a back seat. Here, their confidence could be described as ‘top of the world’. Those who have taken a summer drive through the famous curves of the Albula Pass (or even enjoyed a coffee on the terrace of the famous Hauser Hotel, absorbing its stunning views of the lake) will understand the logic behind their passion.

In summer, the Engadine is a paradise for classic car enthusiasts. Every July, the owners of 300 of Britain’s finest automotive fruits gather here to embark on a demanding three-day journey. In effect, you tread in British nobility’s bygone footsteps for their summer vacation – the first guests would have travelled by train, but as the car later became the chosen method of transport, even aristocrats would brave the long, tiring journey to St. Moritz’s characterful mountain village.

The anniversary edition of the BCCM is not only a ‘timewarp event’ for the participants, but the crowd, too. Particularly when the sonorous roar of a 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom I breaks the early-morning silence, and the silhouette of the elegant saloon sweeps into the distance, Via Serlas its destination.

The BCCM is much more than just a classic rally; it also provides a fascinating insight into the history of the British car. Two particular highlights of this year's events were the Aston Martin DB2/4 with a special body by Bertone, and the Austin-Healey 100/4 'Le Mans' BN2.

To round it off, the weather gods signalled their approval of the 20th Anniversary BCCM, meaning the drivers of the open cars could enjoy the stunning scenery just as much as their better-sheltered companions.

Photos: Philip Rathgen / Swiss-Image

via Classic Driver

A STATION WAGON UNLIKE ANY OTHER

When I hear the words ‘homebuilt car’ I can’t help but conjure up images of poorly-put-together open-wheeled kit cars that never really end up being properly finished by their usually over-enthusiastic owners. However in Scandinavia a homebuilt car is something entirely different. When I asked Henrik Mattsson a few questions about his white Volvo V70 I was instantly confused. He kept using the term homemade while pointing at details of his project that so obviously couldn’t have been created in one’s garage.

After asking him for the third time if he really had put this one of a kind station wagon together by himself, he replied, “Ok not everything – my brother made the carbon parts and painted the body in his garage”. Alright then! Henrik works at a Volvo dealership as a mechanic so you can begin to see the possible connections…

… that led him to create this V70 – a car that is very well known in the show and performance scene in Sweden. If you like the idea of a sleeper then you will definitely appreciate what’s been done with this car’s exterior, and that is close to absolutely nothing. Aside from the set of 19-inch BBS wheels…

… Henrik has kept the V70′s body completely stock, concentrating on getting rid of everything else underneath.

And when I mean everything, I really do mean every single bit of metal from the chassis. Henrik’s fabrication skills really came in handy here as he designed and welded up his very own space-frame with bespoke suspension pick-ups. The floor, firewall and roof are all made from carbon fiber that his brother put together for him. Above, you can see his brother spraying the completed chassis in the same ice white that the exterior was painted it.

The result is unlike anything I have ever seen: a station wagon that thinks it’s a bit of race/drift/street car. But it isn’t until you open up the rear gate and really begin to look at this V70 in detail that another thing becomes pretty obvious. Henrik must have a mild case of OCD because the attention to detail is second to none. From the quality of the welding or the beautifully tubbed rear wheel arches, to how the fuel system and custom fuel cell have been laid out. You can also get a glimpse of the carbon roof from inside the car…

… as well as outside where those hand-laid fibers have been left exposed rather than hidden by paint.

There are no rear seats so when you open the rear doors all you are confronted with is a whole lot of roll cage…

… and the side exit exhaust, which takes us to the performance side of things.

Under that stock unsuspecting hood, suspended on custom engine mounts fabricated onto the front section of the space-frame, is the five-cylinder Volvo lump that Henrik wanted to use in order to give the car a true Scandinavian feel. First thing that you notice is the engine’s position – sitting longitudinally and as far back as possible now that the car is no longer front-wheel drive.

The motor has been built up with a forged bottom end, and everything finely balanced and finished off with a fully ported and polished head running 270 degree camshafts with an 11.5 mm lift.

The 1.4 bar of boost that is force fed to the engine is provided via the SC61 Precision turbo, controlled by a 50mm external wastegate. Presentation, like on the rest of the car, has been at the top of the list in the overall execution and includes a long list of parts that Henrik fabricated himself starting with the headers and exhaust system as well as the aluminum intake plenum. Nuke Performance billet parts help make up the fuel system which picks up fuel in the custom tank we saw further up above, and sends it to the five  1000 cc/min injectors.

The copious amounts of purple anodized aluminium clamps to hold various piping together, from the intake, radiator top and lower feeds as well as the fuel filler in the tank aren’t actually Wiggins clamps. These are very special aerospace-certified items that Henrik has sourced from his friend that works for the Swedish airforce. Each one costs hundreds of dollars and is a perfect example of just how fanatical the attention to detail is. “Only the best”‘ as Henrik puts it!

And then of course there’s the suspension, made up of beautifully machined custom links, all anodized blue to match the rest of the detailing in the engine bay. Everything sits on pillow ball links to eliminate any slack and as a finishing touch, adjustable swaybars were also integrated into the set-up.

An E36 BMW M3 transmission along with an upgraded clutch sends the 450hp the engine develops to the rear wheels via a custom propshaft; yet another homemade part that Henrik created. Thanks to the above image you can see how the Corvette C4 rear end has been positioned in the custom chassis and you also get a good view of the axles, shortened by 4 cm on each side to fit the narrower dimensions of the track. We find yet more custom blue suspension arms and the yellow adjustable knife-type sway bars, just like you would find in a proper race car. Oh and sealing off the underside of the car is the carbon fiber floor!

Behind the 19-inch BBS CH wheels…

… lies a brake system borrowed from AMG, made up of massive front 8-pot calipers, and more compact 4-pots at the rear. These are mounted on CNC-ed brackets and finished off with a similar skull design as can be found on the engine’s covers.

For grip Henrik has gone for a set of Yokohama Neova AD08, 235/35R19 at the front and a nice and chunky set of 295/30R19 rears.

This is one build that couldn’t possibly have been more dictated by function…

… down to the smallest of details. The interior is minimalistic to say the least: the bucket sets are fitted directly onto the square piping that makes up the floor section of the chassis and are separated by…

… the tall transmission tunnel…

… from which the long gear lever sprouts from.

A V70 series II dashboard, flocked to eliminate reflections, houses a series of Auto Meter gauges coherently laid out in carbon fiber panels.

The carbon door cards are just another great touch as are the billet window winders.

Where the rear seats would be on a regular production V70, Henrik has fitted a suede-clad box, useful for holding his helmet and race suit when he’s going to the race track.

Henrik has easily created the most bonkers V70 Station Wagon known to man; a car put together with an admirable mix of skill and imagination, and executed with pure passion. It’s yet another car that perfectly demonstrates what a wonderfully crazy place Scandinavia is – a quirky corner of the world where nothing seems impossible.

Dino Dalle CarbonareInstagram: speedhunters_dino

Henrik Mattsson’s RWD Volvo V70

Numbers450hp / 1.4 bar

EngineSteel conrods, forged pistons, RN crank, ported head, 270° cams with 10.5 mm lift, solid pivots, PP SC61 turbo, 50 mm waste gate, 90 mm throttle, home made manifold and intake, 1000cc injectors, homemade fuel system with Bosh 044 pump, MS ECU

DrivelineSintered clutch, 707 pressure plate, lightened flywheel, BMW E36 M3 transmission, Corvette C4 differential, individual pumps and oil coolers for transmission and differential, axles shortened 4cm each side, home made propshaft.

Front end: Volvo 960 wheel spindle, Volvo 960 servo, D2 coilovers, homemade control arms with uniballs, knife-type sway bars.

Suspension/BrakesMercedesBenz AMG 8-pot front calipers with 355 mm discs front, 4-pot with 355 mm rear, Jaguar handbrake calipers

Wheels/TiresBBS CH-R 8,5Jx19″ front 10.5Jx19″ rear, Yokohama Neova AD08 235/35R19 front, 295/30R19 rear

ExteriorEverything taken from V70R to make it look as original as possible, Volvo 614 ice white body color, homemade carbon roof

Interior/ChassisTubular chassis made in 40x40x2,5 pipes, roll cage made in 40×2,5 pipes, V70 Series II dashboard, Grunt seats, OMP harnesses, Auto Meter gauges, floor, door cards and firewall all homemade carbon fibre.