y a pas photo !

Battery protest falls flat…

After the finish ceremony of the 2013 Acropolis Rally, Citroën Total Abu Dhabi lodged a protest against the three Volkswagen Polo R WRCs. The protest was dismissed, however, which means that Jari-Matti Latvala has not been deprived of his victory.

Après la cérémonie du podium du Rallye de l’Acropole 2013, l’équipe Citroën Total Abu Dhabi a porté réclamation contre les trois Volkswagen Polo R WRC. La réclamation a été jugée recevable mais non fondée. Jari-Matti Latvala conserve sa victoire.

Citroën’s protest concerned the spare batteries that the French make believed were carried by the three Volkswagen Polo R WRCs during Friday evening’s stages. Effectively, the regulations only permit a spare to be in the car for ‘parc fermé’, before it is removed after the day’s first service halt.

An initial protest was drawn up against the N°7, N°8 and N°9 Polos, but this was rejected by the stewards on the basis that it did not comply with the correct procedures. Another two, separate protests targeted more directly the Volkswagen Motorsport ‘I’and Volkswagen Motorsport ‘II’ teams and were accepted. The stewards deliberated late into evening night but, shortly after midnight, the protests were dismissed as unsubstantiated.

Thanks to his victory in Greece, Jari-Matti Latvala (74 points) has moved into second place in the provisional Drivers’ standings, behind his team-mate Sébastien Ogier (126). Loeb (who won this weekend’s Rallye du Chablais in Switzerland with his wife) is still on the podium ahead of Mikko Hirvonen (60) and Thierry Neuville (50). Qatar M-Sport WRT’s Mads Ostberg (46) and Evgeny Novikov (31) are respectively seventh and eighth, behind Dani Sordo (47).

In the Manufacturers’ championship, Volkswagen Motorsport has extended its lead over Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRC from 14 to 18 points.

La réclamation de Citroën portait sur des batteries de secours qui auraient été transportées dans les Volkswagen Polo R WRC pendant les spéciales du vendredi soir. Or, le règlement autorise la présence de batteries de secours à bord uniquement en parc fermé. Elles sont retirées à la première assistance matinale.

Une première réclamation dirigée contre les équipages des Polo R WRC n°7, 8 et 9 a été rejetée par le collège des commissaires pour vice de forme. Une seconde, à l’encontre cette fois des équipes Volkswagen Motorsport I et Volkswagen Motorsport II, a été acceptée. Les commissaires ont délibéré jusque tard dans la nuit. Il était minuit passé lorsque la décision est tombée : réclamation jugée recevable mais non fondée.

Grâce à cette victoire, Jari-Matti Latvala (74 points) se hisse à la 2^e place du championnat Pilotes derrière son équipier Sébastien Ogier (126 points), solide leader avec 52 points d’avance. Loeb (vainqueur du Rallye du Chablaisce week-end avec son épouse), est toujours sur le podium provisoire devant Mikko Hirvonen (60 points) et Thierry Neuville (50 points). Les deux pilotes officiels Qatar M-Sport WRT, Mads Ostberg (46 points) et Evgeny Novikov (31 points) sont respectivement 7^e et 8^e derrière Dani Sordo (6^e, 47 points).

Au classement Constructeurs, Volkswagen Motorsport augmente son avance sur Citroën Total Abu Dhabi WRC : l’écart était de 14 points avant la Grèce, il est désormais de 18 points.

Leaf-Blower Supercharging a 1978 Chevrolet Monza Spyder!

On this episode of Roadkill, it's fun with Leaf Blowers. Experts on the Internet said it would never work. That's never stopped Freiburger and Finnegan, and this time on Roadkill the guys put the theory to the test: can hardware-store leaf blowers supercharge an engine and make power? Step one was buying a '78 Monza Spyder with a 305 V8 and a four-speed stick. Step two was to take it to the shop of HOT ROD Drag Week racer Jeff Lutz to tune it up, swap the engine to a 350, dyno test it with five leaf blowers, and do a whole bunch of needless burnouts. Step three was to drive the Monza to Willmington, Ohio, for the East Coast Timing Association's Ohio Mile event, a standing-mile race where they'd find out if leaf-blower power adds up to more speed in the real world. The outcome? Who really cares? Because on Roadkill, it's always about the adventure. And more burnouts.

Suzuki has problems finding an exsisting MotoGP team

froùm TWOWHEELSBLOG
Randy de Puniet gave the Suzuki MotoGP a two-day shakedown test at Motegi and the Hamamatsu manufacturer will be testing in MotoGP’s Monday’s post-race test in Barcellona, before heading to Aragon for further testing.
Davide Brivio is reportedly to become the team manager behind the effort and apparently has already found a couple places in Italy where to run the team from, the only thing missing - besides the burning question of who will be riding the new bike - is the ‘exsisting team’ that Suzuki will need in order to return to the championship in 2014, but this quest seems to turning out to be more difficult than one would have expected.
According to Spanish website motocuatro.com Dorna suggested that Suzuki offer 1.6 million euros to buy their place into one of the private teams, but apparently no team - even if most of them are cash strapped and some aren’t even competitive - are willing to accept that price and are asking between five and six million euros.
Supposedly trying to shaft Suzuki has not gone down well with Dorna - who subsidizes all the teams in various amounts - and could be thinking of increasing the MotoGP grid in in order to allow Suzuki to partecipate, which no doubt would make the Japanese manufacturer much happier because they would have more control and be on the same level of Honda, Yamaha and Ducati.