Shakedown - 2014WRC Rally Poland

Le Rally Poland a débuté ce matin avec le Shakedown remporté par Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin) devant les Norvégiens Mads Ostberg et Andreas Mikkelsen. La cérémonie de départ est programmée à 15h30 sur les rives du lac Mikolajki avant les trois premières spéciales du rallye.

Après trois jours de reconnaissances pour les concurrents, le rallye a commencé ce matin avec le Shakedown tracé tout près du parc d’assistance de Mikolajki. Les 4,3 km de cette spéciale-test seront également à parcourir dans l’autre sens lors de la Power Stage (14,90 km) dimanche à midi.

D’ici là, il devrait s’en passer des choses sur ce parcours très rapide et, il faut le dire, un peu dangereux, du Rally Poland. « Ce n’est pas seulement super-rapide, c’est aussi technique et étroit avec des arbres ou des poteaux très près de la piste. Certains sont protégés par des ballots de paille, mais la plupart ne le sont pas », expliquait Kris Meeke entre deux runs au Shakedown. « Nous étions limités à 70 km/h en reconnaissances, et on va passer à 200 km/h en course. La prise de notes sera déterminante. »

Sur ce terrain ultra-rapide, les pilotes nordiques pointent déjà aux avant-postes. Jari-Matti Latvala a réalisé le meilleur chrono du Shakedown (1min59s3) devant Mads Ostberg (1min59s8) et Andreas Mikkelsen (1min59s9). Sébastien Ogier n’a effectué que deux passages pour signer un 2min00s1. Leader du championnat, il va ouvrir la piste cet après-midi et demain, en Lituanie, où la spéciale n°5/7 a été raccourcie de 26,60 à 12,92 km après les pluies récemment tombées sur la région.

Kris Meeke a signé le 5^e chrono (2min00s7) devant Robert Kubica et Thierry Neuville, ex-aequo (2min01s5). La Hyundai i20 WRC de Juho Hanninen a connu un petit souci de direction assistée lors de son 1^er run.

La cérémonie de départ est prévue à 15h30 sur le port de plaisance de Mikolajki. Ensuite, les concurrents disputeront deux spéciales, Milki (14,54 km) et Kruklanki (17,24) avant le retour à Mikolajki pour la Superspéciale tracée près du parc d’assistance. Le ciel est nuageux et les températures relativement fraîches (14°C) aujourd’hui en Mazurie. Le temps devrait se gâter demain.

Rally Poland action started with this morning’s shakedown which was won by Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin), ahead of Norwegians Mads Ostberg and Andreas Mikkelsen. The start ceremony follows at 3:30pm on the shores of Lake Mikolajki before the event’s first three stages later in the day.

After three days of recce, the rally programme proper kicked off this morning with the shakedown very near to the service park in Mikolajki. The 4.3km test will also feature on Sunday, in the opposite direction, as part of the Power Stage (14.90km).

Between now and then, we are likely to be treated to a great show on the rally’s ultra-fast, awesome stages. “Not only are they very fast but they are also narrow and lined by trees and posts. Some are protected by straw bales, but not all of them,” noted Kris Meeke between two attempts at the Shakedown. “We couldn’t go any faster than 70kph during recce, but we will reach 200kph during the event in places. The quality of the pace notes could be decisive.”

The Nordics gravitated to the top of the order on shakedown, with the best time going to Jari-Matti Latvala (1m59.3s), ahead of Mads Ostberg (1m59.8s) and Andreas Mikkelsen (1m59.9s). Sébastien Ogier, who only did two runs (2m0.1s), will be first on the road this afternoon and in Lithuania, where SS5/7 has been shortened from 26.60km to 12.92km as a result of recent heavy rain in the region.

Kris Meeke was fifth (2m0.7s), ahead of Robert Kubica and Thierry Neuville (equal on 2m1.5s). The Hyundai i20 WRC of Juho Hanninen had a power steering problem on his first attempt.

The start ceremony starts later at 3:30pm on the harbour side in Mikolajki. After that, competitors face two stages (Milki, 14.54km / Kruklanki, 17.24km) before returning to Mikolajki for the super-special near the service park. The weather is cloudy and quite cold (14°C) and is expected to worsen tomorrow.

Moto GP : Aleix Espargaró démarre fort à Assen / NGM Forward’s Espargaro delighted with Assen lap time

Le pilote du team NGM Forward Racing a signé le meilleur temps du jeudi à Assen et a battu le record du circuit qu’avait établi Casey Stoner en 2012.

Aleix Espargaró avait impressionné dès jeudi matin puisqu’il avait terminé la première séance d’essais en seconde position, à 0.189s de son frère cadet Pol (Monster Yamaha Tech3).

Le pilote espagnol a ensuite réalisé un superbe chrono d’1’33.653 l’après-midi et battait ainsi le record de Casey Stoner de six centièmes de seconde, grâce au pneu tendre de la catégorie Open mais aussi au travail réalisé à Barcelone lors du test post-GP.

« Je ne m’attendais pas à ça et à tourner dans les 1’33 dès le premier jour, ce qui est très rapide, » a affirmé Espargaró. « J’adore cette piste, c’est l’une de mes préférées sur le calendrier. J’ai déjà eu de bons résultats ici. »

« Nous sommes un peu perdus avec le pneu avant. Nous avons essayé les trois mais nous ne savons toujours pas dans quelle direction avancer. A l’arrière je peux être rapide avec les deux pneus mais c’est étrange parce que le pneu tendre baisse moins en performances que le dur. Peut-être que nous pourrons courir avec le tendre parce que j’étais troisième quand j’étais sur un pneu qui avait 15 tours. »

Concernant ses tests de châssis, Espargaró a ajouté : « Je cours avec le cadre Yamaha. Le cadre Forward est meilleur que ce à quoi je m’attendais mais nous avons besoin de passer plus de temps dessus. »

Aleix Espargaro topped the first day of practice at the Iveco Daily TT Assen, going under Casey Stoner’s 2012 lap record time at the historic Dutch venue.

FP1 saw NGM Forward Racing’s Espargaro come in second to younger brother Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech 3).  The older of the brothers was one of the six riders in the 1’34s during the first session and he missed out on top spot by just 0.189s.

Later in FP2 a staggering 1’33.653 was 0.06s under Stoner’s record from 2012. The combination of a softer rear tyre and extra knowledge from the post-race Barcelona test allowed Espargaro to take over at the top on his penultimate lap.

Espargaro is continuing to use his original chassis for 2014 while teammate Colin Edwards has been running a new Forward-made version.

Regarding his record pace he said, “I was not expecting that. To go in the 1’33s on the first day is really fast. I love this track, it’s one of my favourite on the calendar. I’ve had good results here before.”

On his set-up challenges for the rest of the visit he added, “With the front tyre we are a little bit lost. We tried all three front tyres and we still don’t know which direction to go. With the rear I can be fast with both, but it’s strange, the soft tyre drops less than the hard. Maybe we can race with the soft as I was third with a 15-lap rear tyre.”

On his chassis choice Espargaro concluded, “I am racing the Yamaha frame. The Forward frame was better than I expected, but we need more time with it.”

DAUPHINE-LAMARCK TW125

Ever get that feeling you should never have sold something? Yup, thought so. I met FCL Motorcycles owners Phill and Graham at the BSMC Event III and it reminded me to ask what happened to my old TL125 I sold them years ago, for £80, ouch! Turns out it had a tuned motor with hot cam, bespoke frame a host of trick parts. I was young, and needed the money, I’m now old-ish and still need the money, damn it! (Bear with here, this tangent is relevant).

The welcome inundation that is the BSMC inbox offers flashes of images that inspire us to read particular build stories. A fleeting glimpse of the TL tank on Dauphone-Lamark’s TW125 got my pulse racing. There we go, got there, tenuously! Phil from Dauphine-Lamrack, Paris has continued his winning recipe of modding diminutive Japanese Trailies, Stepthroughs and Monkey-bikes, as seen previously in The Shed.  If the donor bike’s piston will fit into a glass of Pernod, he’ll be happy to build a bike around it.

Californian desert racers and BMXs from the 70s & 80s were the inspiration for this dual-breed creation, that and Phil’s penchant for no-fuss city hacks. Something that will never ever happen on a race circuit, Yamaha and Honda have been forcefully conjoined.

Once stripped right down, the Yamaha TW frame received the obligatory de-tabbing and weld grinding before the rear was adapted to accept the single piece Honda TL tank and seat unit. The fibreglass was reworked and given a proper period paint job and machined fuel cap. The seat pad looks to offer a touch more comfort than the original TL thats for sure

The Kitico parts catalogue was raided for understated indicators and lights, with most of the wiring requiring a tidy and hiding where possible. Apart from the HT lead and matching red fuel hoses.

The engine is stock and was in perfectly good condition so didn’t need opening up. To cope with the open filter and handmade stubby exhaust the 24mm Kehin carb received a bigger main jet. Rolling burnouts might be off the cards but with such a stout rear Bridgestone wheelies should be possible.

Wide, laid-back bars, with old school grips look the business and will make filtering in the Parisien traffic a doddle, if not Phil could practice his bunny hops, or just pull over and admire his creation.

With Yamaha’s cheap pressed steal tank binned and this sleek one piece Honda unit taking centre stage the sand-spec tyres look purposeful rather than silly and would probably have the designers at Yamaha wishing this is how they’d designed their bike in the first place.

Thanks to Hugo Michaudel for the moody photography, really makes the red pop, as they say in Cali.

via The Bike Shed

Inside Andy Green's 1,000mph office

No one likes going to the office. There, I’ve said it. I’m on my fourth cup of coffee and the week has barely started… If I had Andy Green’s Bloodhound SSC seat though. I wouldn’t be complaining.

There are exceptions to every rule, and the same applies here. You see, when your office moves at a 1000 mph, you’d have to make a VERY compelling case not to go to work. Enter Wing Commander Andy Green. An RAF pilot by profession, he is better known for his extra-curricular activities. Like attempting to break the land speed record.

Everyone is fascinated by land speed records, especially due to the numerous attempts – sometimes successful – to push the boundaries of speeds that can be attained with all four wheels on the ground.

Green set the last record at Black Rock, Nevada in 1997 with the Thrust SSC, under the direction of Richard Noble, the previous record holder. Green managed to reach speeds of 763 mph, creating a new and yet unbeaten land speed record.

Thus, it is only fitting that Green should try to break his own record. With the attempt scheduled for late summer 2015, Green has just been shown his new ‘office’, the Bloodhound SSC. Rolex instrumentation, multiple computer systems and numerous fail-safes are part of the cockpit, which has been made, or molded rather, to Green’s exact dimensions.

So sit back and let Andy Green show you around his office, while I try and work out how to fit a jet engine to my swivel chair.

HOBIE’S GN400

28 year old ‘Hobie’ from Orange County, California, has a pretty ironic way of paying the bills. He makes prosthetic limbs, so predictably once a month he’ll be knocking up a leg or an arm for one of us lot. But this hasn’t deterred him from pursuing his life long love of riding and now building motorcycles. In fact, it doesn’t put the patients off either, most of them are keen to get back on two wheels as soon as possible – if it’s in the blood…

This Suzuki GN400 is his first custom build, and after getting some great feedback from friends in the industry and people on our forum, he decided to come out of the shadows and show the world his creation. We’re glad he did.

Being from Southern California, everything Hobie had built in the past revolved around off road desert racing, motocross and Baja style race cars, so he wanted to build something designed to stay clean for once. The bike started out as a non running, stock 1981 Suzuki GN400 found on craigslist, but after a simple carb clean and valve adjustment she was up and running. Hobie rode it stock for two weeks to get a feel for what he wanted (always a good idea) before then tearing into it.

He stripped the bike and cut the back half of the frame off. When rebuilding the subframe, he took some of the rake out of the rear shocks and detabbed the entire frame for a clean look. The rear was raised a few inches and the front forks were lowered 4 inches to get the right stance. Everything was then sent away for coating and paint.

After aesthetics came the engine. It was treated to a new top end and a valve job before being painted, polished and dropped back in. The stock rims were powdercoated and wrapped in Bridgestone Trail Wing TW40′s  (120/90r16)(130/80r17). A custom seat pan and seat were also done to finish off the bike, and all the electronics are tucked away between the seat pan and a vanity plate. The rear end has two small integrated brake lights and a small taillight. The battery was removed so it’s kickstart only – as if a bike like this should be started any other way!

Hobie tried to keep the bike as light and simple as possible, as a result there really isn’t much to it, but what there is looks just right. He says this bike is also a right laugh to ride. In the two weeks since he finished it it, Hobie has been on several rides up and down the Pacific Coast Highway, he’s slid up some dirt roads in the Ortegas, and has even hit a few of his local bicycle jumps (see above). Hang on, thought you said this one was built to stay clean mate?

via The Bike Shed

SCORE Baja 500: New TT-truck from Brenthel Industries victorious at Baja 500

Development of the new Spec TT/6100 class truck design from "Brenthel Industries" continues to proceed with excellent results. In one of the toughest Tecate "SCORE Baja 500" in years, Jonathan Brenthel and co-driver Jordan Brenthel overcame brutal terrain and a tough field of competitors to take the win. Brothers Jonathan and Jordan drove the entire distance without relief from teammate Jamie Galles.

The truck performed perfectly during the race despite having over 1000 miles on the clock. The team’s prerunner was sidelined with a mechanical issue during the ever important course reconnaissance leaving them without a ride. They were forced to run the entire course in the race truck the week of the race.

"It was not the best thing to do but it was our only option," says Jonathan Brenthel, "The crew changed the 3rd member and replaced the air filter after the prerun, that’s all it needed after running 500 miles. During the race it was flawless."

Their Falken Tires made the win possible. Jonathan was forced to run one of the toughest sections of the course with no spare tire. While stopped on the course at one of the numerous bottlenecks that developed in the silt, vandals stole their spare tire off the back of the truck. "Not only did they steal the spare but they cut the strap costing us time to repair it when we reached the pits," said Jonathan.

Falken Tires are just one of the great sponsors chosen by Brenthel Industries for their great products but more importantly their strong customer support. "We are doing intense R&D on this truck," says Jonathan. "We rely on our sponsors to respond to our needs during development and Falken Tires, King Shocks, Rigid Industries, Method Race Wheels, CBM Motorsports, Rancho Performance Transmissions and Jamar Performance Products have all worked closely with us to improve the truck. Don at Jamar made two trips back to the shop for parts to increase our brake pressure before the 500 and has even more mods in mind build more pressure."

In only a few short months, this same Spec TT truck from Brenthel Industries has run over 3,000 race miles and was rolled a couple times with no significant damage, earning Jonathan the nickname of "Crash". Despite the accelerated pace of development it continues to get faster every race. They reached the podium at the Silver State 300 and have now taken a huge victory at the Baja 500. 
via marathonrally.com

1964 FERRARI 250 LM BY SCAGLIETTI

As far as I’m concerned, the Ferrari 250 LM by Scaglietti is the single most beautiful Ferrari of all time. Some will disagree with this, preferring Enzo’s front engined models but the mid-engined 250 LM was a precursor of Ferraris to come, as well as the last Ferrari to win at Le Mans.

Based on the Ferrari P (for “prototype”), the 250 LM was intended to be homologated as a GT car by the FIA, then raced in the GT class at Le Mans. A minimum of 100 units had to be built for homologation and Enzo was about 70% short of this target, as a result the FIA refused to homologate the model – forcing it to race in the much quicker “prototype” category.

The North American Racing Team (NART) bought, prepared and entered a Ferrari 250 LM in the 1965 24 Hours of Le Mans, it was driven by the dream team of  Jochen Rindt and Masten Gregory and despite being entered into the far more competitive Prototype Class, the men landed the mid-engined V12 on the top spot of the podium.

Ferrari clients could order a hand-built 250 LM and a small number did, the cars weren’t designed to be all that comfortable and Ferrari’s “official” GT cars were far more suitable for prolonged use on the road. As a result of this, only 32 250 LMs were built - making them rare and highly sought after by collectors, a recent auction saw one sell for $14.5 million USD.

The beautifully presented Ferrari 250 LM you see here is due to be offered at the Monterey Auction on the 15th of August 2014, it’s in immaculate condition throughout, so you can be your bottom dollar that it’ll sell for a price high enough to raise the eyebrow of even the most most wealthy of collectors.

Click here to read more via RM Auctions.

Photo Credits: Pawel Litwinski ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auctions via SILODROME

TT Assen - Pourquoi le samedi ? / TT Assen’s unique status as only round to host Saturday racing

L’Iveco Daily TT Assen est un évènement particulier dans le calendrier MotoGP™ puisqu’il s’agit du seul Grand Prix dont les courses ont lieu le samedi plutôt que le dimanche. Les raisons de cette particularité remontent à la première moitié du 20e siècle.

Assen est aussi le seul rendez-vous qui ait figuré sur le calendrier des Grands Prix chaque année depuis la première édition du Championnat du Monde en 1949. Bien avant ça, le premier Grand Prix des Pays-bas eut lieu un samedi, en 1925.

« Le premier Dutch TT eut lieu en 1925, mais pas à Assen, » explique Egbert Braakman, Secrétaire de Course à Assen de 1970 à 2006. « C’était dans un village nommé Rolde, à sept kilomètres à l’est d’Assen. »

« La raison pour laquelle les courses avaient lieu le samedi était qu’il y avait une église à proximité de la ligne de départ/arrivée. Le conseil municipal ne voulait pas d’une situation où les gens qui souhaiteraient aller à la messe le dimanche ne puissent pas le faire en raison de routes fermées pour la course. C’est pour ça que la course a lieu le samedi. Ça a marché et nous avons donc maintenu le samedi. C’est maintenant une véritable tradition d’avoir le Grand Prix le samedi mais toutes les autres courses au circuit ont lieu le dimanche. »

La tradition allait cependant se poursuivre durant des décennies, à la plus grande joie des spectateurs venant de l'étranger.

« Dans les années 1970 et 1980, nous avions beaucoup de spectateurs venant de Scandinavie et du Nord de l’Allemagne, » continue Braakman. « A cette époque, nous avions aussi la ‘Speed Week’, qui commençait avec le Championnat d’Europe les lundi et mardi et continuait avec le Grand Prix le reste de la semaine. Beaucoup de spectateurs restaient donc toute la semaine, au camping ou non. La plupart arrivaient le dimanche et restaient toute la semaine. Ils rentraient ensuite chez eux le dimanche et avaient donc toute une journée pour leur voyage avant de reprendre le travail le lundi matin ! »

En 2013, le TT Assen fut remporté par Valentino Rossi. Il s’agissait de la 80e victoire de l’Italien en catégorie reine.

The Iveco Daily TT Assen is unique on the MotoGP™ calendar in that it is the only Grand Prix at which races take place on a Saturday, as opposed to the usual Sunday. The reason for this stems back to midway through the first half of the 20th century.

Also, Assen is the only venue on the calendar to have hosted a Grand Prix every single season since the World Championship was inaugurated in 1949. Furthermore, the Dutch Grand Prix event itself was first hosted on a Saturday, in 1925.

"In 1925 was the first Dutch TT, but not at Assen," explains Egbert Braakman, who was the Race Secretary at Assen between 1970 and 2006. "It was in a village called Rolde, seven kilometres east of Assen."

"The reason why it was on the Saturday is that the church was near to the start/finish area. The town council didn’t want to have a situation in which people who wanted to go to church on a Sunday could not, as all of the roads were closed for the race. That is the reason the race was staged on the Saturday. That proved a success, so we continued to do it on the Saturday. It is now a real tradition to have the Grand Prix on the Saturday, but all other races at the circuit on a Sunday."

However, this tradition would continue to benefit fans for decades to come.

"In the 1970s and 80s, we had a lot of spectators from Scandinavia and the northern part of Germany," Braakman continues. "At that time we also had the so-called ‘Speed Week’, starting with the European Championship on Monday and Tuesday followed by the Grand Prix for the rest of the week. Many spectators would therefore stay here for a week, at campsites and so on. Most arrived on Sunday and would stay for the whole week. They would then go back home on the following Sunday, allowing them a full day to travel in order to go back to work on Monday morning!"

Assen has hosted a Grand Prix every year since 1925, with the exception of the six from 1940 to 1945 because of the Second World War.

In 2013, the legendary TT Assen was won by Valentino Rossi: an 80th premier class victory for ‘The Doctor’.

Message sur le mur by MotoGP.

Icons of Hollywood: Can you guess all 50?

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these simple graphic interpretations of 50 iconic big- and small-screen moments should give you enough clues to be able to guess their source…

Since we're focusing on the art of playing truant this week, the first image in the gallery should be obvious – but in case it isn’t, we will tell you that it’s from the build-up to the legendary scene from the 1986 cult classic Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Scroll through the gallery above and see if you can identify the remaining 49, each of which is available as a print from California-based graphic design company DKNG Studios. 

Photos: DKNG Studios

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