SuperMoto : two wins for Thomas Chareyre (TM-Michelin) at Rivesaltes / doublé de Thomas Chareyre à Rivesaltes

Thomas Chareyre (TM Racing Factory-Michelin) won both races at the opening meeting of the 2014 SuperMoto World Championship at Rivesaltes, France. Both times, he finished clear of his brother Adrien (Aprilia Fast Wheels-Michelin). The defending champion Mauno Hermunen (SHR-TM-Michelin) was third and fourth.

Thomas Chareyre (TM Racing Factory – Michelin) a remporté les deux premières manches du Championnat du monde SuperMoto à Rivesaltes (France). Il devance à deux reprises son frère Adrien (Aprilia Fast Wheels – Michelin). Mauno Hermunen (SHR - TM – Michelin), champion du monde en titre, se classe troisième et quatrième.

Thomas Chareyre kick started his 2014 programme with pole position and two victories at Rivesaltes. The dominant TM Racing Factory rider, who is now competing on Michelin tyres, also led both races from start to finish.

He began the first race with a sequence of quick times which earned him the fastest lap fourth time round (1m29.409s). Similarly, he posted the fastest time of the second race on his third lap (1m29.712s).

Adrien Chareyre completed the two races five and 10 seconds adrift of his brother respectively. In the first clash, he managed to ward off the 2013 champion Mauno Hermunen who was only fifth after Lap 1 before fighting his way back to third, his grid position. The result was an all-Michelin podium, while Ivan Lazzarini (L30 Racing-Honda) and wild card entry Sylvain Bidart (Team Luc1-Honda-Michelin) rounded off the top five.

Hermunen started the second race poorly, too, when he fell to seventh. By Lap 6, he was back up to fourth but then dropped to ninth before recovering a podium position on Lap 13… when the race was red-flagged. The final positions were consequently those at the end of Lap 12, however, and the Finn ended up fourth, behind Ivan Lazzarini.

Thomas Chareyre unsurprisingly tops the championship standings on 50 points, ahead of Adrien Chareyre (44). Lazzarini and Hermunen are equal third (38).

Thomas Chareyre débute la saison 2014 de la meilleure des manières en signant la pole position et remportant les deux premières courses. Le pilote TM Racing Factory désormais chaussé en Michelin a largement dominé ce week-end en menant les deux manches de bout en bout. Jamais inquiété, il a enchaîné une série de tours rapides dès le départ où il est crédité du meilleur temps au quatrième tour de la première manche (1.29.409) et au troisième de la seconde course (1.29.712).

Adrien Chareyre, relégué respectivement à cinq et dix secondes sous le drapeau à damier, assure la deuxième place. Dans la première manche, il résiste au retour du champion du monde en titre, Mauno Hermunen, cinquième dès le premier tour. Le Finlandais remonte à la troisième place, position qu’il occupait sur la grille de départ. Il offre à Michelin le premier triplé de la saison. Ivan Lazzarini (L30 Racing – Honda) et Sylvain Bidart (Team Luc1 – Honda – Michelin), wild card, complètent le top 5.

En seconde manche, Hermunen rate une nouvelle fois son départ et se retrouve septième. Revenu à la quatrième place au sixième tour, il chute à la neuvième position au tour suivant avant de remonter troisième au 13^ème tour. La course est alors arrêtée sur drapeau rouge et selon le règlement, le classement final de la course est figé sur les positions du tour précédent. Hermunen termine donc au pied du podium derrière Lazzarini.

Thomas Chareyre prend logiquement la tête du Championnat avec 50 points. Adrien Chareyre est deuxième (44 points) alors que Ivan Lazzarini et Mauno Hermunen se partagent la troisième place avec 38 points.

Résultats :

Course 1 : Chareyre T. (TM-Michelin) – 2. Charyere A. (Aprilia-Michelin) – 3. Hermunen (TM-Michelin) – 4. Lazzarini (Honda) – Bidart (Honda-Michelin) - ….

Course 2 : Chareyre T. (TM-Michelin) – 2. Charyere A. (Aprilia-Michelin) – 3. Lazzarini (Honda) – 4. Hermunen (TM-Michelin) – 5. Travnicek (Yamaha) - …

Championnat : Chareyre T. 50 pts – 2. Chareyre A. 44 pts – 3. Lazzirini et Hermunen 38 pts -…

Prochaine course : Roumanie, 18 mai

Natasha - Final Build

Natasha is an 1981 Suzuki GS450E that I found on Craigslist for $400. Only seven thousand miles on the clock, but with some thirty-odd years of neglect, there was obviously going to be some issues. Miracle of miracles, with some fresh gas in the tank and a new battery, she actually started up and ran. Yes, the carbs were a mess, various rubber items had turned solid, and there were a few million spider webs to clear out, but underneath all that there was an awesome bike waiting to be rediscovered.

Natasha - Final Build from The Four Forty on Vimeo.

Read the full build at thefourfifty.com

Motorbeach Fest 2014

WTCC Circuit Paul Ricard : MULLER and LOPEZ winners

RACE 1 – MULLER’S FIRST WIN WITH CITROËN

The reigning champion, who had inherited pole position after technical scrutineering yesterday, did not have the best of starts but took the lead in lap 3 after passing Michelisz and Tarquini and flew away to the chequered flag. 

Sébastien Loeb completed Citroën’s 1-2 after storming throughout the field from the last row in the grid. Honda took its first podium of the season, thanks to a great race by Gabriele Tarquini, who came ahead of Pechito López and a very inspired Rob Huff, who took fifth for LADA after a great race. In the TC2T class, Liqui Moly Team Engstler’s Franz Engstler and Pasquale Di Sabatino signed another 1-2.  

Key momentsStart – Tarquini takes a perfect start ahead of Michelisz, Mulller, Valente, Huff and Borković. Lap 1 – Muller passes Michelisz for second, while there is a contact between Loeb (already 7^th) and López; Loeb has another contact with Morbidelli as he takes 6^th. Lap 3 – Muller passes Tarquini at first corner and takes the lead. Lap 4 – Loeb passes Huff and Valente and climbs to 6^thLap 5 – Huff passes Valente for 7^th Lap 6 – Loeb (who has fastest lap in 1.44.389) takes third from Michelisz. Lap 7 – López passes Huff at the chicane after a short duelLap 8 – Muller leads with 4.5 seconds on Tarquini and posts fastest lap (1.43.801). Lap 11 – López passes Michelisz in turn 2 after a contact that puts both cars sideways. Lap 12 – Loeb is attacking repeatedly Tarquini for second but the Italian resists. Lap 14 – Loeb eventually manages to outpower Tarquini, while Michelisz, Huff and Valente fight fiercely for 5^th with the Brit brilliantly taking the advantage. Lap 16 – Valente also passes Michelisz for 6^th

RACE 2 – LÓPEZ RECOVERS TO VICTORY

The Argentine preceded his team mate Yvan Muller, winner of Race 1, in another 1-2 win for Citroën after the C-Elysées bent the resilience of the Honda of Tiago Monteiro, who led for most of the race. The Portuguese offered to Honda its second consecutive podium finish. Tarquini, Bennani and Loeb completed the top 6. The Frenchman had a more difficult Race 2 after an early contact with Muller and hitting the chicane tires later on. Franz Engstler won again the TC2 race despite being hit by Filippi at mid-race. 

Key momentsStart – Monteiro takes a great start and takes the lead ahead of Bennani, Münnich, Tarquini and Borković. Lap 1 – Chilton pushes Morbidelli into a spin and Muller is also involved.Lap 2 – Chilton is passed by López and Muller who slams the door on Loeb; the two tangle. Lap 4 – Valente fights with Chilton and Michelisz for tenthLap 5 – Monteiro leads from Tarquini who has passed Bennani.Lap 6 – López and Muller pass Tarquini after a small mistake of the Italian.Lap 7 – Loeb hits the tire pile at the chicane, prompting the exit of the safety-car. Lap 8 – Chilton is given a drive-through for the incident at the start.Lap 9 – At the restart, Monteiro keeps the advantage on López and Muller; but it’s safety-car again, as Filippi T-bones Engstler at turn 1. Lap 14 – The race restarts and López and Muller outpower Monteiro; Borković and Loeb pass ValenteLap 16 – Loeb moves up to fifth Bennani ahead of BorkovićLap 17 - Loeb passes Bennani for fourthLap 18 - López wins from Muller; Michelisz and Morbidelli pip Valente and Huff for 8^th and 9^th Lap 18 – Engstler retakes TC2T lead from Di Sabatino.

^{via fia wtcc}

ERC : An emphatic victory for Lappi in Northern Ireland / Nette victoire de Lappi en Irlande

An assertive drive from Skoda Motorsport’s Esapekka Lappi on the Circuit of Ireland, round four of the 2014 FIA European Rally Championship, saw him lead a Skoda/Michelin one-two, along with Sepp Wiegand. The two Peugeot 208 T16s both retired.

Le pilote officiel Skoda Motorsport Esapekka Lappi a dominé et remporté le Circuit of Ireland Rally, 4e manche du Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA 2014. Sepp Wiegand a offert un doublé à Skoda/Michelin, alors que les deux Peugeot 208 T16 ont abandonné.

After winning the Rally Liepaja earlier in the season, Finland’s Esapekka Lappi added a second victory to the list by triumphing in the 2014 ERC’s first asphalt fixture, the Circuit of Ireland.

Esapekka’s pace was rewarded with seven stage wins on Day 1 which he completed with cushions of 12.6 seconds and more than a minute-and-a-half over Irishmen Craig Breen (Peugeot 208 T16) and Robert Barrable (Fiesta R5). Meanwhile, Kevin Abbring (Peugeot 208 T16) retired from a footing on the provisional podium with a radiator problem, as in Greece.

It looked as though Saturday’s action would provide spectators with a fierce fight between Lappi and Breen on Ulster’s notoriously narrow and bumpy stages. Unfortunately, the latter was eliminated by an engine sensor problem three kilometres after the start of the leg’s first stage. That took the pressure of Lappi who was able to cruise home to his second win of the year and move to the top of the championships standings.

The battle for the other two steps of the podium between Wiegand and Barrable lasted to the end when the German passed into second spot on the penultimate test to beat the Ford driver by 7.5s. In doing so, he secured Skoda’s first one-two finish since 2012.

Robert Consani was fourth after a strong drive in his Peugeot 207 S2000, ahead of veteran Neil Simpson (Skoda). Daniel McKenna won the two-wheel drive class in his Citroën DS3 R3 and came sixth overall, while the Production winner Josh Moffett (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) was seventh.

The Junior victor was Jan Cerny (Peugeot 208 R2/Michelin) following the ‘off’ of the earlier pace-setter Chris Ingram on SS13. The result consolidates the Czech driver’s lead in the provisional standings.

Vainqueur du Rally Liepaja en début de saison, le Finlandais Esapekka Lappi a ajouté une nouvelle ligne à son palmarès en remportant le Circuit of Ireland Rally, 1^ère épreuve asphalte de la saison européenne.

En véritable patron, Esapekka a remporté les 7 premières spéciales du rallye pour conclure la 1^ère étape en tête avec 12s6 d’avance sur l’Irlandais Craig Breen (Peugeot 208 T16) et plus d’une minute et demie sur Robert Barrable (Fiesta R5). Au volant de la seconde Peugeot 208 T16, Kevin Abbring a été contraint à l’abandon (radiateur), comme en Grèce, alors qu’il était sur le podium provisoire.

Samedi, on s’attendait donc à un combat féroce entre la Skoda Fabia S2000 officielle et la nouvelle Peugeot 208 T16 sur les spéciales étroites et bosselées d’Irlande du Nord. Hélas, Craig Breen dut abandonner à son tour, après 3 km parcourus dans la 1^ère spéciale du jour (mécanique). Un boulevard s’ouvrait donc devant Esapekka Lappi pour remporter sa seconde victoire de la saison. Le Finlandais prend également les commandes du championnat Pilotes.

Derrière, la bagarre pour les deux dernières place du podium a duré jusqu’à l’ultime spéciale entre Sepp Wiegand (Skoda) et Robert Barrable (Fiesta R5). Le pilote allemand a pris la 2^e place dans l’avant-dernière ES et résisté à l’Irlandais pour 7s5. Il offre le 1^er doublé à Skoda depuis 2012.

Robert Consani a échoué au pied du podium après une belle prestation au volant de sa Peugeot 207 S2000. Il devance le vétéran Neil Simpson (5^e, Skoda). Daniel McKenna a remporté la catégorie 2-roues motrices sur sa Citroën DS3 R3 (6^e) et devance le vainqueur de la catégorie Production Josh Moffett (7^e, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX).

En Junior, la victoire est revenue à Jan Cerny (Peugeot 208 R2/Michelin) après la sortie de route du leader Chris Ingram (ES13). Le Tchèque conforte sa 1^ère place au championnat.

Prochaine épreuve ERC, le SATA Rally Açores (15-17 mai)

Indian !

VIRAGO XV535 BY OLD EMPIRE MOTORCYCLES

This Yamaha Virago XV535 custom, dubbed “Bulldog”, is the latest two-wheeled release from Old Empire Motorcycles – a British custom motorcycle workshop that’s become famous for their work with Royal Enfields over the past 2 years.

The Virago has become a popular target for custom bike builders in recent years, largely due to the eye catching work of Classified Moto and Doc’s Chops. The solidly built Japanese V-Twin was originally released in 1981 and over the course to its life it’s been offered in engine capacities of 250, 500, 535, 750, 900, 920, 1000 and 1100.

The most popular target for customisation has traditionally been the 1100cc model although in stock trim it produces a relatively low 61hp and weighs in at 221kgs, the 535 produces 42.3hp and weighs in at a lighter 188kgs – potentially making it a far better bike for tight twisty British roads.

The completed bike makes use of steel mesh around the headlight as well as on the fuel tank, its a unique look and works well on this bike and I can imagine that the look will be emulated by other builders – especially that headlight cowl.

If you’d like to read more about Bulldog or Old Empire Motorcycles in general, you can click here to visit their website.

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1966 BRABHAM-REPCO BT20 FORMULA 1 CAR

The 1966 Brabham-Repco BT20 Formula 1 car is a testament to old fashioned Aussie ingenuity, the Australians (and New Zealanders) have always been so far away from the large manufacturing industries of Europe and North America that they’ve had to learn to adapt, repurpose and invent things rather than just walk down the road and buy them. Great examples of this inventiveness are men like New Zealander John Britten and Australian Jack Brabham – the man who’s name adorns this race winning Formula 1 car.

In 1965 it was announced that the engine size in Formula 1 would be limited to 3 litres – this left the teams scrambling to find engines that could hold their own on the race track and form the rear load-bearing structure of an F1 car. Most of the teams opted for the Coventry Climax inline 4-cylinder engine but Jack Brabham and his partner Ron Tauranac decided to go down a different path and instead chose to work with Australian parts supplier Repco on developing the Oldsmobile F85 V8 into a 3000cc F1 engine.

It was a risky move but the real benefit came from the fact that the engine had been engineered to tolerate an original capacity of 5.4 litres, this meant that once the block had been downsized to 3 litres the internal components could be tuned for performance without fear of catastrophic failure.

The decision paid dividends almost immediately, the Brabham-Repco BT20 was introduced for the 1966 season and the chassis you see here saw its first race at French Grand Prix on 3 July 1966. It was piloted by New Zealander Danny Hulme to a strong 3rd place finish, followed by a 2nd place finish at the British Grand Prix shortly thereafter, Hulme then took another 3rd at Monza on 4 September. Two more podium places were taken by the car before the end of the season, landing the 1966 constructors trophy for Brabham-Repco and validating their gamble on the reworked American V8.

The car had been so successful during the ’66 season that it was rebuilt and raced again throughout 1967, winning the hotly contested 1967 Monaco Grand Prix and once again landing the Constructors Championship for Brabham-Repco. The chassis passed on to a series of privateer owners throughout the ’60s and ’70s where it was raced in hill climb events and local club races, by 2010 it had fallen into disrepair and a full €200,000 nut and bolt restoration was undertaken by Peter Rosenmayer of Stuttgart.

The Brabham-Repco BT20 is now in race ready condition and will be offered at the Monaco Auction held by RM Auctions on the 10th of May 2014 – within meters of the circuit that it took its 1967 race win.

Click here to visit the official listing.

Photo Credits: Tim Scott ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auction

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Magnificent Mercedes-Benz 540K to star at Bonhams' single-marque sale

Bonhams’ inaugural Mercedes-Benz auction will see a 540K Cabriolet “with a swinging Parisian past” go under the hammer, heading up a roster of 40 other important cars from the marque…

The majestic pre-War Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet A is a rare delight, and this example is confirmed to be one of only 10 made to this particular specification (more powerful 5.4-litre engine twinned with traditional bodywork).

Unique Parisian provenance

Its first owner, the proprietor of Parisian nightclub 'La Roulotte', would proudly park it at the venue entrance while A-listers such as Edith Piaf and Django Reinhardt unwound inside. Employed in such a role, the car’s undoubted touring abilities appear to remain untested: the car has never left French soil since its delivery to Mercedes-Benz Paris in 1936. The original owner (who kept the car for 70 years) completed a full restoration, albeit retaining the original engine and bodywork, and it is now expected to achieve €1.8m - €2.4m when it crosses the block at Bonhams’ single-marque auction on 12 July at the Mercedes Benz Museum, Stuttgart.

Photos: Simon Clay for Bonhams

Hundreds of vintage, classic and modern Mercedes-Benzes can be found for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

AUCTION : 1974 HESKETH 308 FORMULA 1 CAR

few Formula 1 cars from the ’70s are remembered as fondly as the 1974 Hesketh 308, it was the first car built by the Hesketh Formula 1 Team – a team that could only have thrived in the decade of big sideburns, big tires and big disco.

After having used a March 731 chassis throughout the 1973 season (their first in F1), Lord Hesketh tasked Harvey “Doc” Postlewaite with the job of designing the team their own car for the 1974 season. Largely based on the March 731, the Hesketh 308 was first tested in Brazilian at the Interlagos circuit after the 1974 Grand Prix – many of the teams had stayed on after the race to test new cars and components so when the 308 was rolled out of the garage for the first time engineers from up and down the pit lane looked on with interest.

Stopwatches were removed from pockets and thumbs hovered over chronograph buttons, few in the paddock expected the new Hesketh to be competitive – the team was renowned for being fuelled by champagne more than gasoline and if it wasn’t for the talents of James Hunt it was widely felt that the team would be hovering at the bottom of the time sheets.

Hunt eased the car down the pit lane and out in the first corner, his warm up lap was slow and deliberate – he weaved the car left and right across the track to heat the tires, braked hard into corners to get the discs up to temperature and accelerated hard enough to spin the rear wheels – boosting rear tire pressure. As he came out of the final corner he planted the throttle, the car crossed the start/finish line at over 160mph and the chronograph buttons on the pit wall were all simultaneously struck by oil-stained thumbs.

Less than 110 seconds later, the lowly expectations held for the Hesketh 308 had been obliterated. Hunt’s first hot lap was a second faster than Emerson Fittipaldi’s pole-qualifying time in the McLaren and a full four seconds faster than his own qualifying time in the old March 731. A gauntlet had been thrown down and eyebrows were raised in garages along the pit lane and around the world.

Formula 1 cars with heritage like this don’t often come up for sale, and when they do the interest is significant. Surprisingly, the estimated hammer price on the Hesketh 308 is somewhere between €350,000 to €650,000 – I suspect that the white hot nature of the current classic car market and the halo effect of the recent movie “Rush” will lead to the 308 selling for closer to €1,000,000, if not a smidge higher.

If you happen to have a large wad of Euros burning a hole in your pocket and a penchant for Formula 1 history, you can click here to visit this car’s listing via RM Auctions. It’s due to be sold on the 10th of May 2014 in Monaco, the assumption being that if you’re going to bid in these amounts you probably own a hotel there already.

Photo Credits: Tom Wood ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions

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la fièvre du samedi soir :-))

Message sur le mur by Prinz Marcus von Anhalt.