TBA SuperMoto : une première en Pologne / a debut visit to Poland

Le Championnat du monde FIM SuperMoto met le cap au Nord de l’Europe pour la quatrième épreuve de la saison. La Pologne accueille pour la première fois une manche du Mondial. L’hippodrome de Poznan sera le terrain de jeu des pilotes ce week-end.

Le Championnat du monde FIM Supermoto se déplace pour la première fois de son histoire en Pologne, à Poznan, pour marquer le cap de la mi-saison. Poznan, cinquième ville la plus peuplée de la Pologne, avec plus de 500 000 habitants, se situe àun peu plus de 160 kilomètres de la frontière allemande, à l’ouest du pays.

La course pour la victoire devrait être encore très disputée entre Mauno Hermunen (SHR – TM) et Thomas Chareyre (TM – Michelin). Auteur de deux doublés lors des Grands Prix d’Espagne et d’Europe, le Finlandais a repris la tête du championnat et compte quatre points d’avance sur son grand rival, Thomas Chareyre.

Le Français, qui a laissé filer la victoire à deux reprises lors de la dernière épreuve, débarque en Pologne plus que jamais déterminé pour reprendre les commandes du classement général.

Deux fois troisième lors du GP d’Europe, Ivan Lazzarini (L30 Racing – Honda) a conforté sa troisième place au général. Il dispose de 11 points d’avance sur Lukas Hoellbacher (Husqvarna) qui reste sous la menace de Pavel Kejmar (Husqvarna). Les deux pilotes Husqvarna, séparés seulement de deux points, tenteront d’accrocher un podium pour se rapprocher de la dernière marche du général.

 FIM SuperMoto World Championship competitors head to northern Europe for the year’s fourth round, the first to be hosted by Poland. Poznan’s hippodrome is 

providing the backdrop to this weekend’s action.

For the first time in SuperMoto World Championship history, teams will travel to Poland this weekend for the final meeting of the calendar’s first half. The host city Poznan – situated a little more than 160km from the German border – is the country’s fifth biggest with a population of more than 500,000.

The battle for victory is likely to oppose Mauno Hermunen (SHR-TM) and Thomas Chareyre (TM-Michelin). Thanks to double-whammies at the Spanish and European Grands Prix, the Finn has recovered the championship lead, four points clear of arch-rival Chareyre.

The latter squandered chances to claim both races at the last round and will be especially keen to retrieve control in Poland.

Ivan Lazzarini (L30 Racing-Honda) pocketed two third places at the European GP to consolidate his third place on the standings, 11 points ahead of Lukas Hoellbacher who is under threat from fellow Husqvarna runner Pavel Kejmar. The two latter riders are split by just two points and a strong result this weekend could put them back in the chase for the year’s medals.

Timetable:

Saturday, June 6:

11:25am: Free Practice

2:10pm: Free Practice

4:10pm: Timed Practice

4:45pm: Super Chrono (six fastest riders)

Sunday, June 7:

11:00am: Warm-up

1:30pm: Race 1

4:30pm: Race 2

ERC ; BREEN REMPORTE UNE EXCITANTE BATAILLE AUX AÇORES / BREEN WINS EXCITING ERC BATTLE IN AZORES

Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) a remporté le SATA Rallye des Açores, empochant ainsi son 3e succès consécutif en Championnat d’Europe FIA des Rallyes.

Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) a remporté le SATA Rallye des Açores, empochant ainsi son 3^e succès consécutif en Championnat d’Europe FIA des Rallyes.

Copiloté par Scott Martin, l’Irlandais a livré une très belle bataille avec Kajetan Kajetanowicz pour la victoire. Kajto, qui accusait 11,9 secondes de retard sur Breen avant la dernière boucle, devait opter pour un choix de pneus différent s’il voulait avoir une chance de l’emporter. Le pilote de la LOTOS Rally Team Fiesta R5 a donc chaussé des pneus tendres tandis que son adversaire Breen a décidé de conserver ses gommes dures. Mais le pari n’a pas été payant pour le Polonais puisque Breen a pu accroître son avance.

« Je suis venu aux Açores avec un objectif et j’ai gagné ce rallye, a déclaré Breen. Je suis au sommet de ma forme en ce moment . Le week-end s’est bien déroulé. Nous avons été rapides et propres quand c’était nécessaire. »

Ricardo Moura a été victime de problème de frein tout particulièrement sur les longues spéciales. Le Portugais devait appuyer sur la pédale de frein à plusieurs reprises pour ralentir sa voiture à l’approche des virages. Cette mésaventure lui coûte de précieuses secondes… encore une fois le septuple Champion des Açores laisse échapper la victoire. Mais il termine tout de même 3^e, inscrivant ainsi de gros points au championnat Portugais.

Craig Breen has won the SATA Rallye Açores, making it three FIA European Rally Championship victories in a row for the Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16 driver.

 

Co-driven by Scott Martin, the Irishman had been in a close battle for the win with Kajetan Kajetanowicz, with both drivers leading three times. Kajto was 11.9s behind Breen with the final loop of three stages remaining, and felt he had to take a different tyre compound to Breen, regardless of his rival’s choice, if he was going to have a chance of victory. While Breen kept his hard Michelins on, the LOTOS Rally Team Fiesta R5 driver took soft Pirellis. The gamble didn’t pay off, and Breen was able to extend his lead to a healthy winning margin.

“I came to the Azores with one objective, and that was to win the rally,” said Breen. “I’ve got one extra year to prove I deserve to move forward in this sport, and I’m on top of the world at the moment. This weekend has been good for us. We have been fast when we needed to be fast and clever when we needed to be clever, so I’m chuffed to bits.”

Ricardo Moura suffered from brake pressure problems on the longer stages in his Ford Fiesta R5 and had to pump the brake pedal two or three times at each corner to slow down. It cost the seven-time Azorean rally champion a lot of time, and his first Rallye Açores victory still eludes him, as he finished third – but scores maximum points in the Portuguese championship.

Cluzel s’empare de la pole Supersport à Portimao / Cluzel steals WSS Pole Position at Portimao

Le Français s’est installé devant son rival Kenan Sofuoglu sur la grille portugaise.

Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) a décroché la pole position pour la septième manche du Championnat du Monde Supersport 2015 à l’Autodromo Internacional do Algarve et partira donc devant Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), qui mène le classement général avec 45 points d’avance sur le Français.

PJ Jacobsen s’est assuré la troisième position pour rejoindre Cluzel et Sofuoglu en première ligne pour ses débuts avec CORE Motorsport Thailand.

Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) et Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) seront respectivement quatrième et cinquième sur la grille, devant Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25).

Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing) mènera la troisième ligne après avoir obtenu sa meilleure qualification de l’année et aura derrière lui Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) et Roberto Rolfo (Lorini Honda).

La course a lieu dimanche à 11h40, heure locale.

Cluzel and Sofuoglu once again in command of WSS qualifying.

The World Supersport Pole Position ahead of tomorrow’s 18 lap race was taken in style by Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), the Frenchman getting the better of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) with the fastest lap of the weekend. For Cluzel it is his 15^th career WSS Pole.

Alongside Cluzel and Sofuoglu on the front row, PJ Jacobsen grabbed 3^rd on his debut for the CORE Motorsport Thailand team.

Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) and Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance Honda) kept themselves very much in contention in 4^th and 5^th positions, as did Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) who completes row number 2.

Row 3 will see Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing) who produced his best qualifying result of the year so far, Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Roberto Rolfo (Lorini Honda).

Round 7 of the World Supersport championship will take place at 1140 local time.

Deuxième Tissot-Superpole de l’année pour Giugliano à Portimao / Portuguese Tissot-Superpole won by Giugliano

L’Italien partira devant Tom Sykes et Chaz Davies au Portugal.

Après avoir manqué le début de la saison 2015 suite à un accident survenu juste avant l’épreuve de Phillip Island, Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team) avait fait un retour tonitruant à Imola, où il s’était qualifié en tête de la grille WorldSBK, et a décroché une deuxième Tissot-Superpole pour sa troisième épreuve cette année ce samedi à l’Autodromo Internacional do Algarve, à Portimao.

Giugliano sera donc en tête de la grille de départ pour la cinquième fois de sa carrière en WorldSBK après avoir battu Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) et son propre coéquipier Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team) de respectivement 0.116s et 0.359s.

Pilote le plus rapide en Superpole 1, Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) a fait une fulgurante remontée pour s’assurer la quatrième position devant Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) et Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing), qui plaçait une troisième Ducati dans le Top 6.

Le Champion en titre Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) a de son côté pris la septième position devant Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), le leader du classement général, qui est tombé dans le virage 3 dès son deuxième tour lancé et a donc manqué tout la seconde partie de Superpole 2.

Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) complètera la troisième ligne après avoir fini devant Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Team) et David Salom (Team Pedercini).

Randy de Puniet (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) partira quant à lui seizième, devant Nico Terol (Althea Racing) et Christophe Ponsson (Team Pedercini Kawasaki), pour la septième manche de la saison 2015.

Grids for tomorrow’s 20 lap races decided in 15 minute thriller.

The 7^th Pole Position of the 2015 season has been won by Davide Giugliano (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati SBK Team) who claimed the 5^th Pole Position of his career in this afternoon’s Tissot-Superpole session, after overhauling Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) and team mate Chaz Davies by 0.116s and 0.359s respectively on his way to the fastest lap of the weekend (1.41.764s). Giugliano was last on Pole Position at Imola.

Behind the top 3, row two will see Alex Lowes, Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) and Matteo Baiocco (Althea Racing) who made it 3 Ducati machines on the front two rows.

Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) achieved his best qualifying result of the season in 7^th while championship leader Jonathan Rea crashed at turn 3 at the start of his second flying lap, and will start tomorrow’s two 20 lap races from the middle of row 3 in 8^th alongside Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) who will start 9^th.

Row 4 has the BMW Motorrad Italia entry of Ayrton Badovini, Leandro Mercado and David Salom (Team Pedercini).

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) and Roman Ramos (Team Go Eleven) make up row 5 in positions 13 to 15 respectively.

Superpole 1 saw Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) and Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing) progress to the final shoot-out, courtesy of being the fastest two riders in the first 15 minute session. Lowes’ time of 1.42.499s in Superpole 1 was, at that point, the fastest lap of the weekend!

1969 Triumph Bonneville by Origin8or Cycles

Words by Martin Hodgson.

If you had to name your bike after a Beatles song “Here Comes The Sun” would suit this Bonnie Bobber to a Triumph T. Both the bike and song are ’69 models but Rob Chappell of the famous Chappell brothers bought this bike into the 21st century without losing any of the 60’s charm. What you might not know is that although they often build bikes together, Chris is in the USA under the Chappell Customs brand while Rob resurrected his forum username of old to brand his Toronto Canada operation Origin8or Cycles. “This makes it easier to distinguish who is building what” says Rob.

A Toronto business owner emailed Rob regarding a 1968 Daytona T100R he wanted turned into a bobber, but after some discussion on direction the customer mentioned he would like to make the engine a 650 which of course turned into looking for an actual 650 instead. As luck would have it a quick internet search turned up this particular 1969 Bonnie just a short drive away, although it was in less than stellar condition. Rob and the client emailed back and forward, with a design idea sketched before the client sent one final message “I’m just going to back off and let you build the bike you want – I trust your vision!”

With the Bonnie completely torn down Rob set about turning the frame into a classic bobber style and nothing says bobber like a springer front end and hard tail rear. Factory Metal Works supplied the hard tail rear end which measures 4″ stretch and 2″ drop and also provided the perfect rear fender to match.

The Springer front end is a Moto-Iron 4″ under stock length Harley items that are fitted with custom bearings to work with the Triumph frame and both mods give the wee ole Bonnie a killer stance. The bars, clamps and cables to work with the new front end all come courtesy of Lowbrow Customs and if you want one of those cool chain tensioners then you’ll need to know it was sourced from Monster Craftsman.

With parts out to paint and powdercoat, Rob got stuck into the engine build to bring the heart of the Bonnie to life. Builder and client discussed the idea of going to a big capacity 750cc kit, but with a nice clean engine in their possession the decision was made to stick with the stock item. The cylinders were honed, before new rings and a complete gasket kit were installed.

New plumbing lines and manifolds were fitted up before Rob decided to ditch the gummed up Mikuni’s in favour of the classic favourite Amal’s. Tri-Spark electronic ignition provides the spark, while a 200watt stator and new coils, plugs and wires take care of the electronics. Exhausts can make or break a bike and Rob chose perfectly fitting right side high pipes from TFMW. Now the owner has Classic Triumph power without the hard starts and constant oil leaks, Chappell never takes a short cut!

With the build having taken place through the Canadian winter Rob was longing for the thawing sun to brighten the finishing part of the build. Look back at the paint job; it was exactly that imagery that inspired the paint work on the build. Normally Rob paints all his builds but he’d recently met young spray gun slinger Mat Tobin from Jensen’s Customs, over a couple of beers they thrashed out Rob’s idea and set a timeline. The job is simply remarkable, brutal white like the Canadian snow adorns the frame and hits all of the tins. The bobber perfect peanut tank shows off the rising sun bringing light to the end of the build, with waves of orange and gold, while clever sunspots are incorporated along the top.

The theme flows all the way back to the rear fender, stopping along at the custom vertical oil tank that also features a neat replication of the Origin8or Cycles logo. White on a bobber can be a risk, but with the metallic laden orange and gold and the skill of the painter the finished product is absolutely stunning! Then the seat was stitched up by Rob and his brother Chris over at Tuffside – made from custom tweed and leather.

To finish out the perfect bobber look the front is fitted with a 21″ wheel from TC Bros while the stock 19″ rear remained and to match the narrow look of the bike Metzeler Lazertec’s were chosen. One request from the owner was the panther (Cat) tail light which the owner said was original from the 70’s and it strangely works amazingly well.

With the build finished and the owner truly blown away by what Rob had achieved in fulfilling his desire for an incredible Triumph Bobber he had one final request. That ’68 Daytona that first brought the client to Rob, he wants that one bobbed now too, because why have one incredible Origin8or Cycles bobber when you can have two!

Photos by Mat Manser.

via PIPEBURN

Everything you wanted to know about automotive investments...

...but were too afraid to ask, will be taught at The Classic Car Symposium on 8-9 June 2015, in Cologne. Tickets are still available...

The English-language symposium is organised by the Historic Automobile Group International – which publishes the prestigious HAGI Index – in co-operation with Mercedes-Benz Classic. The focus of the event is the cultural heritage of the automobile and its modern status as an investment, as well as the latest developments in the field of restoration. Among the speakers at the lecture event are Fritz Cirener of Bosch Mobile Tradition, who will be joined by HAGI expert Dietrich Hatlapa, Prof. Dr. Frank Herrmann from Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Andrea Dragoni from Carrozzeria Touring, Richard Keller of the Musée National de l'Automobile, and Michael Bock of Mercedes-Benz Classic.

The Classic Car Symposium Cologne will be held on 8-9 June 2015 in the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Tickets are priced at €450; applications should be directed toconference@historicautogroup.com. You can find further information here.

The road to Le Mans: Nissan Motorsports

Aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015, Michelin est partenaire de 20 teams que nous présentons jusqu’au début de la semaine mancelle. Nouveau venu dans la catégorie LM P1, Nissan Motorsports sera l’une des attractions de cette 83e édition.

Le Japon adore Le Mans et si, pour l’heure, seul Mazda est parvenu à s’imposer (1991), Toyota et Nissan essaient depuis de longues années. Entre 1986 et 1999, Nissan n’a pas ménagé ses efforts.

En 1986, Nissan se lance dans l’aventure avec deux prototypes (R85V et R86V) à moteur V6 3000 cm³ bi-turbo et châssis March, un modèle qui évoluait en championnat d’Endurance japonais. La Nissan de Weaver/Hasemi/Wada prend la 16^e place finale, à près de 100 tours de la Porsche victorieuse ! L’année suivante, les Nissan R87E N°23 et N°32 abandonnent.

C’est un peu mieux en 1988 avec une 14^e place finale pour Allan Grice, Mike Wilds et Win Percy sur une Nissan R88C propulsée par un V8 3000 cm³ turbo. En 1989, la R89C est équipée d’un nouveau châssis Lola et d’un V8 3500 cm³ turbo. Les trois prototypes officiels Nissan abandonnent.

En 1990, Nissan est champion du championnat JSPC avec la R90CP et décroche la pole position et la 5^e place pour Hasemi/Hoshino/Suzuki. Les deux autres prototypes usine ont abandonné. Nissan stoppe son engagement officiel au Mans.

Nissan revient néanmoins en 1995 dans la catégorie GT1 avec deux Skyline GT-R engagées sous la bannière Nismo. La N°22 (Fukuyama/Kondo/Kasuya) prend la 5^e place de catégorie.

Nissan est de retour en 1997 avec de grandes ambitions. Le développement des trois R390 GT1 a été confié à l’équipe de Tom Walkinshaw. Hoshino/Comas/Kageyama terminent 12^e, alors que les deux autres voitures abandonnent (surchauffe boîte de vitesses). En 1998, c’est carrément quatre Nissan R390 GT1 – fiabilisées et encore plus performantes - qui sont engagées aux 24 Heures du Mans. Après 18 heures de course, deux Nissan figurent dans le top-five.

Nissan décroche enfin son 1^er podium manceau avec la R390 de Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama, 3^ederrière deux Porsche 911 GT1. Les quatre Nissan R390 GT1 officielles terminent dans le top-ten.

Après la 8^e place, en 1999, d’une Courage C52 à moteur Nissan et l’abandon de la R391 engagées par Nissan Motorsports, la marque nippone ne revient dans la Sarthe que comme motoriste en 2011. En 2012 et 2014, Nissan est impliqué dans les projets futuristes DeltaWing et Zeod RC, les fondations d’un retour officiel cette année avec trois prototypes à moteur avant.

We’ll be counting down the days to the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours by presenting each of Michelin’s partner teams at this year’s race. Nissan Motorsports is the big newcomer to the LM P1 class and is one of the 83rd edition’s main attractions.

The Japanese are huge fans of Le Mans and, although Mazda is the country’s only carmaker to have won the race to date, Toyota and Nissan have both been trying for years. Nissan made an especially concerted attempt between 1986 and 1999.

In 1986, it brought two prototypes (the R85V and the R86V) which were March chassis powered by a twin-turbo 3,000cc V6 and which were active in the Japanese endurance championship. The Weaver/Hasemi/Wada car came 16^th, but almost 100 laps behind the winning Porsche!

The following year, both Nissan R87Es retired.

Things improved slightly in 1988 when Allan Grice/Mike Wilds/Win Percy came 14^th in a three-litre turbocharged V8-powered Nissan R88C. The 1989 version (R89C) featured a new Lola chassis and a 3.5-litre turbo V8 but all three factory prototypes retired.

In 1990, Nissan won the JSPC with the R90CPwhich qualified on pole position and finished fifth in the hands of Hasemi/Hoshino/Suzuki. The two other factory cars retired and Nissan ended its Le Mans programme.

Even so, it returned in 1995 with two Nismo-entered Skyline GT-Rs. The N°22 car (Fukuyama/Kondo/Kasuya) came fifth in the GT1 class.

Nissan returned with high hopes in 1997. Development of the three R390 GT1s was subcontracted to Tom Walkinshaw and Hoshino/Comas/Kageyama came 12^th. The two other cars retired with an overheating gearbox issue.

The following year, the armada was expanded to four cars which were more competitive and more reliable. After 18 hours of racing, two of them were in the top five. The Japanese make went on to claim its first Le Mans podium with the R390 of Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama who finished behind two Porsche 911 GT1s. All four cars reached the top 10.

After the eighth place in 1999 of a Nissan-engined Courage C52 and the retirements of the Nissan Motorsports-entered R391, the Japanese make didn’t return to Le Mans until 2011, as an engine supplier. In 2012 and 2014, it was involved in the avant-garde DeltaWing and ZEOD RC projects which laid the foundations for its comeback this year with three front-engined, front-wheel drive prototypes.

Cars entered for the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours

N°21 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (LM P1): Tsugio Matsuda / Mark Schulzhitskiy / Lucas Ordonez

N°22 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (LM P1): Harry Tincknell / Michael Krumm / Alex Buncombe

N°23 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (LM P1): Olivier Pla / Jann Mardenborough / Max Chilton

Le Mans record

1986: 10^th C1, Nissan R85 V (Weaver/Hasemi/Wada)

1988: 13^th C1, Nissan R88 C (Grice/Wilds/Percy)

1990: 5^th C1, Nissan R90 CP (Hasemi/Hoshino/Suzuki)

1995: 5^th GT1, Nissan Skyline GT-R LM (Fukuyama/Kondo/Kasuya)

1997: 5^th GT1, Nissan R390 GT1 (Hoshino/Comas/Kageyama)

1998: 3^rd GT1, Nissan R390 GT1 (Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama)

1999: 5^th LMP, Courage C52 (Cottaz/Goussens/Ekblom)

LA BUSCA JAWBONE

Someone once said “Live life as if you were riding a motorcycle”. Presumably they meant just get on with it, keep moving and don’t look back, or you might fall off. Jez from La Busca Motorcycles up on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales is doing what he enjoys and is enjoying what he is doing. This is reflected in his recent builds which have not only sold quickly but have led to further projects. This Triumph Bonneville was the result of successful sale of a Honda VRX based custom, El Cangrejo. We’ll let Jez take over from here.

“This bike was commissioned by ex pro cyclist Tim Merrell and the story goes back to my second build, El Cangrejo, which was purchased by Tim’s wife Katja. While delivering the bike Tim and I discussed an idea for a machine he was after, namely a Triumph Bonneville T100 in a desert sled style that would be capable of taking Tim to the far reaches of the globe. The concept for this was too good to pass up and within a short space of time the ball was rolling on the design”. 

We’ve heard that one before, a customer yearning for the sprawling Mongolian-esque landscapes of EwanBoormanland, but read on as this is one scrambler destined for the real deal.

“The brief was fairly straightforward, high quality parts and real world usability, the looks and finish would draw from the spirit in which the early sleds were built, merging with performance parts while retaining a hand finished feel. The wheels were built by Doug Richardson and sport Mitas tubeless enduro tyres; this set up drops the bikes weight considerably and gives good all terrain capability. To really move the ride on, Ohlins TR538’s were fitted to the rear with Hyperpro progressive springs installed in the front forks to balance out the shift in suspension performance. The ride and handling are superb and on this front alone the bike delivers in a way that never fails to raise a smile”.

“Right from the start Tim expressed the desire for luggage capability so the rear sub frame had to undergo some changes. A new loop was fabricated, sleeved and welded in place with the length of the sub frame allowing room for gear. I wanted to give the bike an old scrambler style solo seat and knew that anything too low profile would compromise the ride position, especially the leg room. With this in mind, an old Harley sportster seat that had real depth to it was re upholstered in diamond stitch leather with a low profile pillion pad sitting behind it. The pad can be swapped out for a rack and for longer journeys, pannier frames are added to keep luggage clear of the shocks”.

“To get the straight through look on the exhausts some simple slash cuts with some seriously re-engineered baffles give the bike a really nice exhaust note, and again, keep the weight low. This system involved re-jetting the carbs and running a Pipercross filter in the original air box, a decision of functionality over form as there are some hard miles planned ahead for this bike”.

“The headlight is from an early Aermacchi, hand finished with built-in LED dash lights and a protective grill. Stopping power up front is thanks to a Nissin 3-pot caliper which is well matched to the master cylinder, a huge improvement on the OEM set-up. The rear brake has been kept as standard. The bike is hand finished in a clear coat epoxy which is then lacquered to provide UV resistance, it’s not the easiest method to employ but it does provide excellent protection to the bare metal finish”.

“All in all Jawbone has been a very rewarding project, the challenge of getting high end parts to merge with a home-made desert sled feel and have them sit well together proved both satisfying and testing, at times in equal measure. Tim picked the bike up at Bike Shed London 2015 and from there he’s off to Wheels and Waves on it, then LA and next year a full South American tour. The knowledge that the bike will be hitting the roads and doing these kind of distances is testimony to a machine that was made to be ridden”.

“And the name? Most La Busca builds seem to have a soundtrack so here’s a clue, if you cross the great divide, eventually you get there”.
Keep an eye out for this bike as we’ll be following Tim’s progress around the world and hopefully he’ll be taking some decent photos to document the trip. In the meantime Jez has a workshop full of builds and we have news of another VRX in the making. For more details and to get in touch with Jez, the La Busca Motorcycles Facebook page is here.

via The Bike Shed

Looking forward to a weekend in the Porsche...

We all know the dynamic merits of a classic Porsche 911 – but rarely are they visualised quite as well as in this new video by Cool & Vintage, which stars an RS-look road racer with numerous modifications...

You can view the full Cool & Vintage stocklist – including this 1969 Porsche 911 – in the Classic Driver Market.

BREEN ET KAJETANOWICZ AU COMBAT AU RALLYE DES AÇORES / BREEN AND KAJETANOWICZ IN HUGE FIGHT FOR SATA RALLYE AÇORES VICTORY

La bataille était incroyablement serré entre Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) et Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Lotos Rally Team Fiesta R5) lors de la première journée. Le duel s’est poursuivi ce vendredi aux Açores, avec Breen qui repasse en tête dans la toute dernière spécoale pour 2,3 secondes.

La bataille était incroyablement serré entre Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) et Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Lotos Rally Team Fiesta R5) lors de la première journée. Le duel s’est poursuivi ce vendredi aux Açores, avec Breen qui repasse en tête dans la toute dernière spécoale pour 2,3 secondes.

Breen avait dû céder les commandes à cause d’un tête à queue lors de son premier passage par Sete Cidades mais une grande adresse de sa part sur cette même spéciale quelques heures plus tard, lui a permis de reprendre l’avantage sur Kajetanowicz. « Je n’ai pris aucun risque. J’ai fait en sorte de maintenir la voiture au milieu de la route, a déclaré Breen. Dès qu’on sort de la trajectoire on s’expose à des risques de crevaison ou de touchette.

Avec une expérience assez faible de ces routes, Kajetanowicz a tout de même été brillant, preuve en est ce meilleur temps sur Sete Cidades I, où le pilote polonais a admis : « mon cœur battait à toute allure ! » 1’18’6 le sépare du 3^e qui n’est autre que Ricardo Moura. Le septuple champion des Açores était en proie à des problèmes de frein mais il reste confortablement installé sur la 3^e marche du podium.

Le double vainqueur de l’épreuve Bruno Magalhaes a dû changer le turbo de sa Peugeot 208 T16. Il était sorti en pneus soft ce matin mais probablement les gommes dures auraient été plus efficaces. Il a également dépassé une jonction sur Sete Cidades, ce qui l’a obligé à faire marche arrière. Une 4^e place n’est donc pas si mauvais résultat dans ces circonstances. Il devance de 1’21’’1 un de ses compatriotes José Pedro Fontes, qui a perdu le pare-chocs arrière de sa Citroën DS3 R5 après une petite touchette.

Le rallye de Robert Consani continue de bien se dérouler. Classé 6^e, le Français a pourtant été quelque peu retardé par Giacomo Costerao (Peugeot 207 S2000) qui bloquait l’ES9 après un incident. Sam Moffett (Fiesta RRC) pointe à la 7^e place. Son frère Josh, occupait la 4^e place, jusqu’à ce crash à la fin de l’ES4 tandis que Jean-Michel Raoux, qui avait terminé 3^e l’an passé, est sortie de la route au départ de la spéciale 7. Joao Barros est parti à la faute dans l’ES11, bloquant temporairement la route. C’est sur cette même portion qu’Antonin Tlustak (Skoda Fabia S2000) a été contraint à l’abandon.

Jaroslav Orsak (Skoda Fabia S2000) était ravi de rallier pour la première fois l’arrivée de Sete Cidades. Bien qu’il ait tapé un mur dans l’ES9 (endommageant ainsi une des roues arrière) il complète le top 10 ce soir, derrière les deux premiers pilotes de l’ERC2.

The incredibly close battle between Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) and Kajetan Kajetanowicz (LOTOS Rally Team Fiesta R5) continued on day two of the SATA Rallye Açores – with Breen regaining the lead on the day’s final stage to lead overnight by just 2.3 seconds.

 

Breen lost the lead when he spun on the first run over the signature Sete Cidades volcano stage, but a great drive saw him chip away at Kajetanowicz’s advantage until the Irishman regained first place on the second run through Sete Cidades. “I’m not taking any silly risks and keeping the car in the middle of the road,” said Breen. “It’s so easy to get a puncture or to go off line and knock a tyre off a rim.”

With very little experience of the challenging São Miguel island gravel roads, Kajetanowicz has driven brilliantly – including setting fastest time on the first run over Sete Cidades, during which the Polish driver admitted, “my heart rate must have been close to maximum!” He is now 1m18.6s ahead of third-placed Ricardo Moura (Fiesta R5) – the seven-time Azorean rally champion running out of brakes on Sete Cidades, yet still maintaining a strong podium position.

Two-time event winner Bruno Magalhães changed the turbo for today in his Peugeot 208 T16, but went out on soft Pirellis in the morning, when he felt harder ones would have worked better. He also overshot a junction on Sete Cidades and had to reverse, but wasn’t too unhappy to finish the day in fourth – 1m21.1s ahead of fellow Portuguese driver José Pedro Fontes, who lost his Citroën DS3 R5’s rear bumper after a close encounter with a bank on the day’s final stage.

Robert Consani’s first gravel rally in his stunning Citroën DS3 R5 continues to go well – the Frenchman lying sixth, despite being delayed after Giacomo Costenaro (Peugeot 207 S2000) crashed and blocked SS9. Sam Moffett (Fiesta RRC) was also held up in the same incident, and is seventh tonight. Sam’s brother Josh Moffett was fourth until he crashed his Fiesta RRC at high speed after the flying finish of SS4, while Jean-Michel Raoux, who finished third on SATA Rallye Açores last year, crashed his Ford Fiesta R5 near the start of SS7. João Barros crashed his Fiesta R5 and temporarily blocked SS11, while the same stage saw the retirement of Antonín Tlusťák (ŠKODA Fabia S2000).

Jaroslav Orsák (ŠKODA Fabia S2000) was delighted to reach the finish of Sete Cidades for the first time in three Rallye Açores starts. He hit a wall and broke a rear wheel near the start of SS9, but completes the top 10 tonight, behind the two leading ERC2 drivers.

virée ......