Casey Stoner's second test a washout

Casey Stoner can’t catch a break. The second day of the second programmed development test at the Twin Ring Motegi with the former two time MotoGP champion was another washout.

Wet conditions on both test days in Motegi prevented Stoner from completing his testing duties for HRC.

The test team will stay at Motegi with All Japan Superbike leader Takumi Takahashi testing in the wet conditions.

Takahashi, one of this year’s Suzuka 8 Hours winners with HARC-PRO Honda, was also present at the first test last August.

Stoner is scheduled to test again on October 2-3 (the MotoGP race is scheduled for October 27) after which he’ll be racing in the V8 Series at Bathurst - October 15th to 17th.

from TWOWHEELSBLOG

Fat is Fuel: The Road to La Ruta

By DIRK SHAW

on 9.5.13

Photo by DIRK SHAW

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth part of an eight-part original GP series, The Road to La Ruta, in which contributor Dirk Shaw chronicles his training for the Fool’s Gold 100 and La Ruta de Los Conquistadores — one of the toughest mountain bike races in the world. Check back throughout the summer to watch the story unfold.

For the last six months my dietary goal has been fairly simple: use more fat and less glycogen (stored carbs) for fuel during long rides. There is a direct correlation between using more fat to produce energy and increasing aerobic fitness. This is essential for the type of endurance racing I do.

Road to La Ruta is a series of dispatches, essays and features captures the intense journey of a cyclist as he trains for a mountain biking race across Costa Rica and what many consider one of the toughest in the world: La Ruta de Los Conquistadores. Read the series »

Using fat as fuel? You’re probably wondering why I’d do that when I could just carbo-load the night before and suck down a few gels to get through the day. A new school of thought is emerging, though, that debunks the myth that a diet rich in starchy carbohydrates is the best way to fuel during training and racing. Dr. Allen Lim, the guy behind Skratch Labs and former physiologist and nutritionist for the Garmin-Slipstream racing team, goes so far to say that there’s nothing nutritious about it.

Let’s look at the fuel the body uses. Most abundant is fat, which serves as the primary energy source for your muscles during low- to moderate-intensity exercise; then there are carbohydrates, which fuel moderately high- to high-intensity exercise. Fat is generally stored under the skin, and we can store a lot of it (obviously, in some cases). Carbohydrates are stored only in small amounts, as glycogen, in the muscles. This creates tension for endurance athletes. Your body has anywhere from 2,000 to 2,500 calories of carbohydrates available for use during an event. During an intense workout, my body burns anywhere from 900 to 1,000 calories per hour. That means I can rely on carbs for a couple hours of intense riding, but once I burn though the stored calories, I will hit a wall.

WHAT WE’RE EATING

Call me Luddite. Or just cheap curmudgeon. You can keep your fancy, schmancy gels (snot), your sticky energy gummies (boogers) — I eat food when I ride. Bananas are a staple, of course, but so are nuts, dried fruits, and my favorite quick energy food, boiled potatoes. They’re cheap, they’re easy, and they convert to blood glycogen faster than your laboratory concoctions. Boil up some baby reds or some Yukon Golds, pop them in a small plastic baggy and you are good to go. Another plus — I know what I’m ingesting. It’s called “food”. Any idea what’s in your gel block? I didn’t think so.
– Scott Packard

My favorite snacks usually revolve around comfort food, especially on long rides. The best for me areHoney Stinger waffles (especially the lemon and strawberry) because they remind me of the pastries we used to buy growing up while riding bikes along the canals of Amsterdam. They may not taste exactly like a good Dutch stroopwafel, but they’ve gotten me through a couple Ironmans and more road and mountain races than I can remember.
– Austin Parker

I’m a sucker for sausage, but don’t ever quote me on that. If I’m just out for a recreational cruise with friends I take a few landjäger, German-style dry-cured beef and pork sausage. It’s like a better Slim Jim. Otherwise, I rely pretty heavily on a revolving door of supplements, which right now includes whatever bars or gels I have on hand — a custom blend fromINFINIT and Osmo Active Hydration.
– Jeremy Berger

Conventional wisdom might tell you to just keep loading up on carbs to avoid bonking. But this approach has consequences. Your body cannot digest carbs fast enough to keep up with what you’re burning, and on a long endurance ride you can easily feel bloated and nauseous just from what’s being stuffed down your throat. The ideal is balance: a combination of fat and carbs that fuels you for the long haul and provides energy when you need it. A better balance also allows carbohydrate-based calories to be used over longer periods of time.

The challenge from a planning perspective is that most people have no clue about the rate they burn carbs or fat. Until I had my F.U.E.L. testing done, I had no idea. It turns out I’m a huge carb burner. Tests showed that of 1,000 calories burned in an hour, about 650 came from stored carbs, and only 350 from fat. A better balance would be more like 50/50. This insight helped me understand why I felt miserable on long rides in the past, and it proved the catalyst for making different decisions about what I eat.

Early this season I rode into a deficit on purpose. Not smart. I grew delusional, light-headed and considered poaching a banana from a food stand. But I wanted to see how long I could go in my “tempo” and “sub-threshold” zones before I totally depleted my stored carbohydrates. This was far from my best day on the bike. I set out for what would be a 3.5-hour ride, which consisted of me leaving my house on the mountain bike and pedaling about 12 miles to a local trail. On the way home, I was grinding back up a paved hill that is aptly titled “Johnson Ferry Grunt” on Strava when I started to feel the symptoms. Within minutes, I had totally bonked. After about 15 minutes of delusion, I felt my body begin to regulate. It was as if it stopped seeking carbohydrates and decided to use fat for energy. The fog cleared, and I found a second wind for the last 40 minutes home.

Fast-forward four months. I have obviously added significant volume in my training but have also eliminated many foods with processed wheat, which has actually been quite easy given that my daughter has Celiac disease and we often eat gluten-free as a family. In addition to removing wheat, each meal or snack includes small portions of good fats like almonds, avocado, olive oil and even dark chocolate.

I’ve also radically altered what I eat on the bike. The jersey used to be stuffed with several packets of GU, a sports bar and a milky sports drink. After five to six hours of racing on this kind of food, I would get a serious stomach ache and my body would stop accepting food; my body simply couldn’t process carbohydrates fast enough to convert them to fuel. Now, I prefer to bring gluten-free whole grain oat bars, bags of dried fruits with almonds, and Justin’s almond butter. For fluids, I switched from high-calorie drinks to lighter options with lower calories.

This weekend is the Fool’s Gold 100, a serious test of how well I have been able to balance carbohydrates and fat in my new diet. Stay tuned for a race report.

Dirk Shaw is the Group Director at WPP / Ogilvy & Mather. His pursuit of two-wheeled adventure includes training for long distance mountain bike races, commuting to work and ripping through canyons on his Daytona. Follow Dirk’s musings about cycling on Tumblr or his blog for insights and observations on media. @dirkmshaw.

from GEAR PATROL

Enduro : deux titres en jeu à St Flour

C’est à St Flour, dans une région dédiée à la moto que va se conclure ce weekend le Championnat du Monde d’Enduro 2013. Si deux titres ont d’ores et déjà été décernés à Antoine Meo (KTM) et Christophe Nambotin (KTM), il reste deux couronnes à attribuer ; Matthew Philips (Husqvarna Michelin) chez les juniors et Alex Salvini (Honda) en E2 sont en position favorable , comptant une trentaine de points d’avance sur leur plus proche rival.

It’s in St Flour, a region where people like motorcycles that the World Enduro Championship will end this weekend. Antoine Meo (KTM) and Christophe Nambotin (KTM) have already claimed the E1 and E3 titles, but there are still two more crowns to deliver in France; Matthew Phillips (Husqvarna Michelin) in the Junior class and Alex Salvini (Honda) in the E2 category are strongly leading their rivals, and are the favourites.

Ayant annoncé voici peu qu’il stoppait la compétition au soir du GP de France, Juha Salminen (Husqvarna Michelin) aura à cœur de terminer sa brillantissime carrière sur un bon résultat ; monté à sept reprises cette saison sur le podium d’une catégorie dominée par Meo, le Finlandais va devoir contenir jusqu’au bout son compatriote Matti Seistola (Husqvarna Michelin) qui ne compte que deux petits points de retard ! Et il ne déplairait pas aux Finlandais de battre sur ses terres Antoine Méo, victorieux cette année de onze des douze journées de course !

Champion du Monde E2 en titre, Pierre Alexandre Renet (Husaberg Michelin) sait que sauf coup du sort il laissera dimanche soir sa plaque de numéro 1 à Alex Salvini. Le Normand s’est battu avec brio, montant à neuf reprises sur le podium, mais l’Italien avait d’autres arguments et s’est révélé cette saison en ne quittant jamais le podium ! Si le titre lui semble acquis d’avance, la lutte pour la place de vice champion va faire rage puisque Renet, Ivan Cervantes et Johnny Aubert (KTM) ne sont séparés que par onze points.

Impérial jusque là en catégorie E3, Christophe Nambotin (KTM) à comme Meo reconduit son titre lors du dernier GP en Grèce, et aborde cette finale sans pression. Il n’en est pas de même pour Aigar Leok (TM ) et Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg Michelin), qui vont se disputer la place de vice champion du Monde. Ayant perdu toute chance suite à son absence aux deux premières épreuves, le champion junior Mathias Bellino (Husaberg Michelin) reste sur cinq podiums consécutifs et jouera les outsiders ce week-end.

Pour le jeune Australien Matthew Phillips (Husqvarna Michelin) le plus dur est fait, puisque sa série de onze podiums consécutifs (incluant sept victoires) lui a permis de se forger une avance de 29 points sur Giacomo Redondi (KTM).

A few days ago legendary Juha Salminen (Husqvarna Michelin) officially announced his retirement from racing after the French GP, and for sure the Finn is motivated to stop his career on a top result. He already clinched seven podium results in this class dominated by Meo, but Juha will have to contain his fellow countryman Matti Seistola (Husqvarna Michelin) who is only two points behind him in the standings. And for sure the two Finns would like to beat in his home GP Antoine Meo, who won eleven of the twelve previous rounds!

Reigning E2 World Champion, Pierre Alexandre Renet (Husaberg Michelin) knows that apart a thunderstorm, he will have to give his number one plate to Alex Salvini on Sunday. The Frenchman did his best this season and clinched nine podiums, but the Italian had more arguments and finished all the races on the podium! It will be very difficult to beat him for the title, but the competition for the second place will be tough as Renet, Ivan Cervantes and Johnny Aubert (KTM) are tight within eleven points.

Again very strong this season in the E3 class, Christophe Nambotin renewed his title during the last GP in Greece, and has no pressure for this final round. It’s not the same situation for Aigar Leok (TM ) and Joakim Ljunggren (Husaberg Michelin) who both want to be vice champion. Losing all his chances as he missed the first two races, the Junior champion Mathias Bellino (Husaberg Michelin) got five consecutive podiums in the previous races and will be a strong outsider this weekend.

Young Australian Matthew Phillips (Husqvarna Michelin) got eleven consecutive podiums (including seven wins) so far, and has a strong lead over Giacomo Redondi (KTM) who is twenty nine points behind the Aussie before this final round.

Classements provisoires :

E1 : 1.Meo (FRA, KTM), 231 (champion); 2.Salminen (FIN, Husqvarna Michelin), 169 ; 3.Seistola (FIN, Husqvarna Michelin), 167 ; 4.Remes (FIN, TM), 143 ; 5.Guerrero (ESP, KTM), 124….8.Boissière (FRA, Sherco Michelin), 94…10.Oldrati (ITA, Husaberg Michelin), 85 ; etc…

E2 : 1.Salvini (ITA, Honda), 223 ; 2.Renet (FRA, Husaberg Michelin), 190 ; 3.Cervantes (ESP, KTM), 183 ; 4.Aubert (FRA, KTM), 179 ; 5.Guerrero (ESP, KTM), 121 ; 6.Mena (ESP, Husaberg Michelin), 116 ; 7.Santolino (ESP, Husqvarna Michelin), 108 ; etc…

E3 : 1.Nambotin (FRA, KTM), 230 (champion) ; 2.Leok (EST, TM), 171 ; 3.Ljunggren (SUE, Husaberg Michelin), 161 ; 4.Correia (POR, Beta), 143 ; 5.Bellino (FRA, Husaberg Michelin), 113….7.Planet (FRA, Sherco Michelin), 99 ; etc…

Juniors : 1.Phillips (AUS, Husqvarna Michelin), 215 ; 2.Redondi (ITA, KTM), 186 ; 3.McCanney (GBR, Gas Gas), 151 ; 4.Roman (ESP, Husaberg Michelin), 149 ; 5.Larrieu (FRA, Husaberg Michelin), 134 ; etc…

Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa play with remote control bikes

Before last week’s Silverstone GP, Repsol Honda riders Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez visited the Honda Motor Europe’s head office near London for a little PR tour.

Part of the tour included playing with a pair of remote controlled bikes with their personal racing numbers in the parking lot of the company.

Check out the video of the two having some wholesome fun.

VIA Twowheelsblog

VOX VOLVO AMAZON WITH 788 BHP BY MATTIAS VÖCKS

• 

• POSTED BY MOTO VERSO

I’m a huge fan of classic Volvo’s, they have never been known for there good looks but actually they made some stunning looking cars back in the 60′s. This is the stunning VOX Volvo Amazon built by Mattias Vöcks’s an engineer at Koenigsegg is based on a 1967 model. One of the first thing that they did was to convert the Volvo from a 5 door to a 3 giving it a much cleaner look. “Volvo is the make that I like most and I have actually customised several Amazons previously. It all began when I was given an old Amazon by my grandmother, and it’s continued ever since,” said Vöcks.

This Amazon has been round since 2006 when it produced 592hp (600PS), but just in case that wasn’t enough it’s had further development from Vöcks and pushed it to 788hp (799PS) with a peak torque to 980Nm (723 lb-ft) when running on E85. It is powered by a heavily modified 2.8 litre turbocharged inline-six sourced from Volvo. He also added a new 6-speed transmission from Getrag, a new rear differential, brakes from the Koenigsegg CC8S, adjustable front and rear suspension and numerous other upgrades. Not bad when you have a parts bin from Koenigsegg, I’b be like a kid in a sweet shop.

At the 25th jubilee of the Vallåkra Custom Car Meet outside Landskrona, Sweden last summer, Mattias Vöcks’s classic Amazon estate was voted best car to represent Sweden and its car-customisation enthusiasts at the annual SEMA tradeshow in Las Vegas. SEMA is the venue for the world’s largest custom-car show.

It’s a beautiful looking car and one that I have always wanted to restore and customise. I don’t think I’d go down the whole 600bhp route but I love the dropped hot rod look. I think the VOX Volvo is perfect and can’t wait to see his latest creation which is a modern P1800 concept that he’s working on.

from MOTO VERSO

IMSA PERFORMANCE MATMUT A ASSURÉ À SAO PAULO.

IMSA Performance Matmut est passée très près d'un deuxième podium en championnat du monde après sa victoire de classe aux dernières 24 heures du Mans. La Porsche GT3 RSR tricolore a livré une fin de course époustouflante pour finalement n'échouer qu'à trois dixième du podium brésilien. L'équipe rouennaise assure toutefois l'essentiel en conservant sa place de leader du championnat du monde en catégorie GTE-Am.

Si Christophe Bourret connaissait déjà le circuit d'Interlagos, c'était une totale découverte pour Raymond Narac et Jean-Karl Vernay. Les essais se déroulaient néanmoins sans problème avec une probante deuxième place lors de la seconde séance d'essais libre. En qualification, le duo Vernay-Narac terminait à la septième place d'une catégorie plus serrée que jamais, à seulement sept dixièmes de seconde de la pôle position de la catégorie. En course, Jean-Karl Vernay prenait un bon départ et se retrouvait rapidement en cinquième position, place qu'il conservera tout le long de son relais.

Lors du premier safety-car suite à l'accrochage entre la Toyota n°8 et une Lotus LMP2, le team choisira d'anticiper son premier arrêt. Au restart, Christophe Bourret conservait la cinquième place qu'il maintiendra tout au long d'un double-relais rendu très éprouvant par la chaleur regnant sur le circuit.

Raymond Narac puis Jean-Karl Vernay conserveront cette même position jusqu'à ce que l'Aston Martin de tête ne perde une roue et ne fasse grimper tous les concurrents d'un rang dans la hiérarchie.

A l'entame de la dernière heure, la Porsche GT3 RSR 76 se retrouvait au pied du podium avec une minute de retard. Raymond Narac, chargé du dernier relais, lança toute ses forces dans la bataille, récupérant jusqu'à trois secondes au tour sur son rival. D'une minute à 52 minutes de la fin, l'écart passait à 35s à 27 min du terme, la 76 améliorant son temps quasiment à chaque passage. A 11 minutes de l'arrivée, l'écart avait encore fondu, il ne restait plus que 14s à récupérer. Ce sera finalement avec l'infime écart de trois dixième de seconde, mais toujours à la quatrième place, que la Porsche normande franchira la ligne d'arrivée. Au championnat par équipe, IMSA Performance Matmut conserve sa place de leader avec deux points sur la Ferrari 8 Star Motorsports et Aston Martin Racing.

Raymond Narac : « Mon premier relais a été rendu difficile à cause de la chaleur, mais l'équipe a bien réagi et pour le dernier relais la voiture était parfaite. J'ai attaqué autant que j'ai pu, mais remonter une minute en une heure n'est vraiment pas facile vu le niveau du championnat du monde. J'ai tout tenté, l'équipe a fait du super boulot, on a vraiment rien à regretter. Rendez-vous à Austin ! »

Christophe Bourret : « En arrivant ici, j'étais le seul à connaitre la piste mais l'équipe a une nouvelle fois montré sa réactivité et s'est vite adaptée. Avec le safety-car, l'équipe a changé sa stratégie et a décidé de me faire faire un double relais. Ce n'était vraiment pas facile avec cette chaleur, mais c'était la bonne stratégie. Le niveau est vraiment très élevé cette année et je suis satisfait d'avoir pu ramener la voiture sans perdre de place. Il faut continuer sur notre lancée du Mans. »

Jean-Karl Vernay : « Les essais se sont bien passés et j'ai vite pris mes marques sur le circuit. En course, j'ai rapidement pu remonter en cinquième position, mais il était difficile de rattraper sur la tête de course. Il nous a manqué un rien pour accrocher un deuxième podium. Je vais maintenant prendre la direction de Monza pour la Porsche Supercup le week-end prochain, puis de la Hongrie pour la manche ELMS toujours avec IMSA Performance Matmut. Je n'ai vraiment pas le temps de m'ennuyer ! »

Franck Rava : « L'équipe a encore une fois fait du bon travail ce week-end. La voiture a affiché un bon niveau de performance, même s'il reste encore des domaines à améliorer. Nous avions le handicap de découvrir la piste contrairement aux autres équipes mais nous nous en sommes bien sortis. Un podium aurait été une super récompense pour tout le team, mais c'est la course. Echouer si près du but va ressouder encore plus l'équipe pour la prochaine course. Nous conservons la tête du championnat, même si ce n'est que pour deux points, c'était le but en arrivant ici. Le championnat est long, il reste encore quatre courses à disputer, c'est important de scorer à chaque fois. Le team s'était une nouvelle fois dédoublé ce week-end avec les 12 heures d'Aragon en V de V. Tout s'est parfaitement déroulé avec la victoire en GT et une belle quatrième place au général au milieu des protos. »

Source : IMSA Performance Matmut

via Endurance-Info

TOYOTA BUILDS A 420HP YARIS HYBRID

Although Toyota’s hybrids have a strong reputation for being fuel efficient and eco-friendly, understandably they’ve never had much appeal for the red-blooded performance enthusiasts out there. But with the debut of the Yaris Hybrid R Concept at Frankfurt next week, it appears that may soon be changing.

Drawing inspiration from Toyota’s TS030 LMP1 car, the Yaris Hybrid R is out to show what could happen if Toyota put its hybrid technology to use in a performance street car.

The concept is based on the standard issue Yaris three-door hatchback, but beneath the skin it bears little resemblance to any Toyota you’ll currently find on a showroom floor.

Under the hood is a 300hp turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with direct injection, mated to a six-speed sequential transmission. Additionally, the car features a 60hp electric motor on each rear wheel for a combined total of 420hp. A third electric motor powers the traction control system.

While I imagine it’s unlikely that a 420hp all-wheel drive Toyota Yaris Hybrid will ever see production, it’s definitley cool to see the automaker at least toying with the idea.

Who wouldn’t want something like this for a daily driver?

Mike Garrett

1948 NORTON ES2

This 1948 Norton 490cc ES2 is one of those timeless, classic motorcycles that I could actually afford. This leaves me in the precarious position of having to explain to the Mrs why this would be a good purchase, whilst focussing on the investment and appreciation in value the bike is sure to continue enjoying in coming years. As with most women, she only likes to spend large sums of money on uncomfortable, red-soled shoes and slightly absurd looking handbags – both of which decline in value faster than a used tube of herpes cream.

Now that my little rant is over we can get down to business talking about the specifications and history of the Norton ES2 – the model started life all the way back in 1927 when its pushrod 490cc single cylinder engine was a marvel of then-modern engineering. The ES2 survived the great depression which kicked off just 2 years later and saw a production run that would last unabated until 1964 – a staggering 37 years.

Over the years the bike became known colloquially as the “Easy 2″ due to its remarkable reliability and impressive performance despite its older design. The ES2 was capable of 78mph from its 21hp engine, the bike’s wet-weight was 170kgs (380lbs) and the 1948 model pictured here was only the second generation to be fitted with hydraulically damped telescopic front forks and race-developed rear plunger suspension.

This Norton is due to sell at the upcoming Paris, The Grand Palais Motorcycles Auction by Bonhams on the 7th of February 2013, the estimated sale price of this beautifully restored ES2 is between $5,300 and $6,700 USD – check out the official lot listing here.

All images courtesy of Bonhams

via Silodrome

Scott’s Divine Cafe Racer

The day Scott finished this two-stroke Yamaha cafe racer he managed to back over a nun. Yes you did read that right. A proper nun. Having thankfully resurrected the Lord’s angel of mercy he decided to name the bike after his holy victim, so the RD was christened, Christine.

Scott’s been a chef by trade for over twenty years, an engineer in the military and – as he describes – a ‘tinkerer’ for many more. He currently lives in New Orleans running a resort hotel, but in his free time he builds bikes and rides fast.

The RD was Scott’s first build and belonged to a friend who’d kept it stored away in bits in boxes in the corner of his garage. He gave it to Scott for next to nothing – and the rest of the story you can see from these photos, as Scott didn’t trouble us with technical spec, and with a raw two stroke like this, it’s all right there in full colour. What matters more is how he feels about the fruits of his labour.

“Having been obsessed with cafes ever since seeing a vintage Ducati in a restaurant parking lot near home I always said I would have something like that one day, and I damn sure did. It is going to be hard with future builds because I will compare all of them to this one. I love riding this bike.”

Just looking at those expansion chambers brings up virtual sounds and smells that a certain generation just can’t resist, and the cafe styling and clipons work surprisingly well on an RD. Love it. Cheers for sharing Scott.

from THE BIKE SHED

Bulleta Motors RF22

Bulleta Motors has released the first images and indo of its RF22, a ultra-light sportscar based on the Lotus Evora - as you might have guessed at first glance - and sporting an even more aggressive and modern design with a different layout for the bi-xoenon head lights, front lip spoiler, large diffuser with integrated dual exhaust system, roof scoop, carbon ceramic brakes and 19-inch carbon fiber wheels fitted with Michelin Super Sport tires.

Named after Lockheed Martin’s F-22 Raptor, the RF22 comes with a unique composite body - although a carbon fiber variant is also available as an optional - that was created by Samir Sadikhov, a highly rated young designer from Azerbaijan who has previously worked on the Aston Martin DBC and Cadillac C-Ville concepts as well as many other projects.

The Bulleta Motors RF22 comes with a 3.5-liter V6 engine with an in-house developed supercharger delivering 505 horsepower and 555 Nm of maximum torque coupled to a six-speed manual transmission. Weighing in at just 1,363 kg, this new sports car accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96 km/h) in just 3.6 seconds - which is the sort of performance you would expect from a Ferrari - and should be able to reach a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h). As for now, no word on price and actual production plans.

via EUROCARBLOG

TELLING PORKIES

2013 seems to be the fashionable year to have a big birthday. It’s been 50 years since Bruce McLaren founded his racing team, Aston Martin is celebrating its 100th anniversary, Lamborghini is honouring the 50th year of the raging bull, the all-American icon of the Corvette is definitely not showing its age at 60, and the Porsche 911 has hit its half-century mark. It’s time to crack out the champers. Just don’t step foot in any of the aforementioned cars afterwards.

So to help celebrate the 911 launching back in 1963, we thought what better way to mark the occasion than to have a Porsche mini-theme. So whether it be a Gatebil track car…

… a tour around the workshop of the hugely successful Porsche race team, Manthey Racing…

… or perhaps something a little less conventional, we’re aiming to celebrate the anniversary of the 911 in true Speedhunters style.

We won’t be restricting ourselves to just the cars bearing the 911 badge though. No, we want to share the love around. From Dino’s Dream Drive with the Cayenne S…

… to some content which, at times, less loosely reflects Stuttgart’s original vision – we welcome all-comers. The celebration will be starting on the 11th, so make sure you tune in to satiate all of your Porsche desires.

Elsewhere on the site, Ben and Jonathan will be bringing you coverage from the ever-popular VW show, Edition 38…

… while Jonathan and myself head to Silverstone this weekend for a dose of track action at TRAX.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Larry and Mike will be heading to Sonoma Raceway this weekend to bring you full coverage from the WTCC…

… for some full-on door-to-door racing…

… as well as conducting a full #FeatureThis photoshoot at the on-site Slammed Society Showcase.

Our viking friend Egil Håskjold bravely heads back to Rudskogen for another weekend of tyre slaying at the Gatebil fall festival.

Back in the UK, we’ll have a team of Speedhunters heading to the Players Show on 15th September at North Weald.

Showcasing everything from tuned Japanese machinery to slammed VWs, we’ll be there in force to bring you coverage from the day as well as shoot the finest selection of cars as part of our second #FeatureThis program this month.

Not to mention put on a second showing of the #JoyOfMachine exhibition that we first ran at DMPD. So if you missed it then, head over to the Players show to get a glimpse.

Larry’s Formula Drift coverage will be spanning the globe, from the FD Asia event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia…

… to the penultimate FD event at Fort Worth in Texas.

In Australia, Brad will be getting up close and personal with some of wildest sport compact machines on the planet at the annual Brisbane Jamboree…

… while over in Japan, Dino will be bringing us coverage from the R’s Meeting at Fuji Speedway.

Of course, we wouldn’t reserve all of our love for the more recent models of GT-R.

Meanwhile, out in the woods of Japan, something lurks…

Mike’s come over a bit rotary this month with a visit to the Mazda museum…

… and a tour of legendary rotary tuner RE Amemiya’s premises.

As usual, we’ll be bringing you the hottest car features around, from some of the finest machinery on offer in Europe at DMPD…

… to a world exclusive feature on one of the hottest time attack machines around.

Back at Speedhunters HQ, we have something new brewing. Something secret. Something soon to be revealed. Want to know more? Then make sure you stay tuned…

Suzy Wallace