Australia – Day 1: Ogier takes an early lead / étape 1 : Ogier devant

The first leg of the Coates Hire Rally Australia saw Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) take an early advantage ahead of Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën DS3 WRC) and Thierry Neuville (Ford Fiesta RS WRC).

Au terme de la première journée, Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) est leader du Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013 devant la Citroën DS3 WRC officielle de Mikko Hirvonen et la Ford Fiesta RS WRC de Thierry Neuville.

Volkswagen got its maiden trip to Rally Australia off to a flying start thanks to a score 10 stage wins from 10.

Andreas Mikkelsen – with Paul Nagle now calling out the notes – was quickest on Thursday’s Coffs Harbour super-special. His team-mate Sébastien Ogier then claimed the next eight tests in the local forests. The slippery surfaces meant there was little grip in the morning but conditions improved for the afternoon’s run, although the presence of big stones caused problems among the front-runners. The majority of the Michelin drivers chose the hard-compound Latitude Cross H2 tyre.

Sébastien Ogier completed the day with a lead of 19.7 seconds over three-time rally Australia winner Mikko Hirvonen. The consistent Citroën number one is 18.1s clear of Thierry Neuville (3^rd) who can still prevent Ogier from securing the 2013 crown. The Belgian managed to ease past Kris Meeke (Citroën, +39.3s) after Friday evening’s super-special.

Jari-Matti Latvala’s day kicked off with a spin on SS3 but ended with a fastest time on SS10. The Finn inherited fifth overall after Mads Ostberg (6^th) and Andreas Mikkelsen (7^th) clouted a rock and a bank respectively on SS8. The two Norwegians are split by 2.1s.

Evgeny Novikov, Nathan Quinn and Khalid Al-Qassimi round off the top 10. Ukraine’s Yurii Protasov (Ford Fiesta R5) took control in the WRC-2 class after Yazeed Al-Rahji was halted on SS8. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Ford Fiesta RRC) and Arman Smailov (Subaru) figure on the provisional podium. Hayden Paddon (Skoda) was eliminated by an electrical problem. Indonesia’s Subhan Aksa (Ford Fiesta R5) has also stopped.

Saturday’s action will start with a 49.90km stage which could be decisive.

Volkswagen a réalisé un début de course parfait en remportant les dix spéciales du Coates Hire Rally Australia 2013 disputées jusque-là. Andreas Mikkelsen, copiloté par Paul Nagle, avait signé le meilleur temps hier soir dans le premier passage de la Superspéciale de Coffs Harbour.

Puis son équipier Sébastien Ogier a enchaîné huit meilleurs temps consécutifs au volant de sa VW Polo R WRC/Michelin, remportant toutes les spéciales du vendredi tracées dans les forêts australiennes. Les pistes offraient peu de grip ce matin. L’adhérence était mieux l’après-midi, mais de grosses pierres ont causé quelques dégâts parmi l’élite. Les pilotes Michelin ont majoritairement évolué en pneu Latitude Cross H2 (hard).

A l’issue de cette première étape, Sébastien Ogier est leader avec 19.7 secondes d’avance sur Mikko Hirvonen, triple vainqueur sortant, toujours aussi régulier. Le pilote n°1 Citroën devance Thierry Neuville, qui peut encore repousser l’échéance du sacre d’Ogier, de 18.1 secondes. Le Belge a chipé la 3^e place à Kris Meeke (Citroën) à l’issue de la Superspéciale (ES10) pour 0.5 seconde.

La journée s’est mieux terminée qu’elle n’avait commencé pour Jari-Matti Latvala (tête-à-queue ES3, puis meilleur temps ES10). Le Finlandais termine au 5^e rang après avoir profité des ennuis de Mads Ostberg (6^e) et d’Andreas Mikkelsen (7^e) dans l’ES8 qui ont respectivement touché une grosse pierre et un talus. Les deux Norvégiens sont séparés par 2.1 secondes.

Evgeny Novikov (8^e), Nathan Quinn (9^e) et Khalid Al-Qassimi (10^e) complètent le top-ten. L’Ukrainien Yurii Protasov (Ford Fiesta R5) est leader en WRC-2 après l’arrêt de Yazeed Al-Rahji dans l’ES8. Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Ford Fiesta RRC) et Arman Smailov (Subaru) sont sur le podium provisoire. Hayden Paddon (Skoda) a dû se retirer en raison de problèmes électriques. Abandon également de l’Indonésien Subhan Aksa (Ford Fiesta R5).

Demain (samedi), la deuxième journée débutera par une spéciale de 49,90 km qui s’annonce déterminante.

Moto GP ; Marc Marquez edges out Pedrosa in FP2 at Misano

Marc Marquez lowered his best morning time by just a few thousanths of a second after just eight minutes into the second practice at Misano and then lowered it again by almost two tenths and closing on top of the timesheets in 1.34.200 and making a clean sweep of Friday with an enviable race pace in the 1.34.3s.

The Rookie of the Year also had a big moment after the front of his Honda closed up on him, but he managed to save it with his elbow and knee.

Dani Pedrosa put his Honda right on the tail of his team mate and was just +0.033 adrift. Valentino Rossi managed to take third and probably would have been able to shave off an extra tenth or two, as would have Marquez if they didn’t find a slower Lukas Pesek in front of them on their last flying laps.

Jorge Lorenzo was clearly angry after his final lap as he finished fourth ahead of extraordinary Aleix Espargaro who put his ART into fifth, a little more than half a second from Marquez and ahead of Honda rider Alvaro Bautista. Michele Pirro turned out to be the fastest Ducati rider in sixth. The Ducati test rider was faster than factory rider Andrea Dovizioso (7th) and a struggling Nicky Hayden in 12th, even Pramac’s Andrea Iannone finished ahead of the American in 11th.

Stefan Bradl was 9th while Cal Crutchlow who is still suffering from his forearm injury - picked up at Silverstone - closed out the session in an uncharacteristically low 10th place. His Yamaha Tech3 team mate Bradley Smith lowsided out at turn 1 that left him in 14th.

Karel Abraham also crashed and he was seen holding his left hand, which could indicate a collarbone or shoulder injury.

2013 MotoGP Misano FP2 results:

01- Marc Marquez – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – 1’34.200
02- Dani Pedrosa – Repsol Honda Team – Honda RC213V – + 0.033
03- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.258
04- Jorge Lorenzo – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 0.295
05- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP13 – + 0.532
06- Alvaro Bautista – GO&FUN Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – + 0.658
07- Michele Pirro – Ignite Pramac Racing – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.689
08- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP13 – + 0.701
09- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.907
10- Cal Crutchlow – Monster Yamaha Tech 3 – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 1.008

from Twowheelsblog

Ducati S2R 800 - ‘Duc Soup’

What's the opposite of a motorcycle? Have a think about it. Bikes are small, nimble, rebellious, noisy, spiritual and exciting. Now think of something monolithically large, very conservative, whisper quiet, painfully intellectual and about as exciting as a book by Martin Heidegger. That's right, i'm talking about Universities. Naturally, you'd think that the two would have absolutely nothing in common. But you'd be wrong. The bike you see before you exists because of a university. Namely, Madrid's Instituto Católico de Artes e Industrias, which accepted a request from one of its students to build a bike for a final year project. That student was Manuel Ayllón, and the bike is probably the most amazing Ducati you'll see all year.

“My name is Manuel Ayllón and I'm 23 years old. This past June I managed to graduate as Mechanical Engineer from ICAI in Madrid, which is one of Spain’s most prestigious engineerign universities. Right now, like many other graduates, I’m looking for a job abroad without anything too specific in mind, at least in something related to engineering. I basically want to move away from home and discover as much of the world as I can before having to settle down.

I have been passionate about cars and motorcycles since I can remember and that is the reason why I chose mechanical engineering and the reason this bike now exists. We are asked to do an engineering project during our last year and I had the idea of designing and building a motorcycle. The university accepted the idea and it was up to me to make it happen so I started asking literally everywhere I knew related to motorcycles for help, from Yamaha or Ducati and even small builders I found featured in your site.”

“Finally, a mechanic from Roland Sands pointed me to Todd Silicato, owner of Todd’s Cycle, formerly in Huntington Beach and currently located in Hawaii. He agreed to help me with the project without charging me, so I flew over there the summer of 2012 with the bike modeled in 3D on my computer.

I bought the cheapest single-sided Ducati Monster I could find. With the help of everyone at Todd’s Cycle, who managed to answer all my questions and Todd’s friend Anthony Keeling, owner of Chassis Design Co. in Riverside, California, I completed the bike just in time and shipped it to Spain in boxes. I had some basic knowledge about fabrication that I was taught in university and I learnt a lot more. I have to say that both of these companies work to an extremely high standard with every single product; I was very impressed with the quality and effort they put into everything they were doing while I was there.”

“The idea behind the project is to ask the question, ‘why are bikes so heavy and complicated when it is not strictly necessary?’ Using the same ingredients as the original bike: power plant, suspension and swing arm and by using only a minimalism structure to keep everything together, I wanted to end up with a different motorcycle, one that was faster and more enjoyable to ride.

The new bike weighs 155kg with a full tank of gas versus the 195kg it did originally. It's true that the fuel range has decreased considerably and the seat could be softer, but I have ended up with a bike that easily outperforms the original bike in any road and conceptually, I consider I have succeeded in making my point about unnecessary elements in current motorcycles.”

“My future plans for this bike are to paint it and upgrade everything on it to new or better with a proper budget since it is a little rough around the edges. At the same time, I will definitely continue to build bikes with conceptual ideas like this one for myself.

After all of this, I have learnt a lot more about motorcycles and how to build them. Specifically, I have learnt the importance of sharing your passion with others without worring too much about money. Todd, Anthony and their staff clearly are an inspiration to me, as I found two very good people really passionate about what they do and who taught me a very valuable lesson by being willing to share and help other people with the same passion that made their dreams come true.”

“Oh, the name of the bike is Duc Soup, which Todd jokingly suggested to me as a mix of DUCati and soup, as I was always adding a little something here or there.” Like what you've learned so far? Then why not check out a walk-around and start-up video of the bike here.

from Pipeburn

THE 911 THEME

When you hit 50, do you expect to be in the best shape you’ve ever been in? Do you expect to be loved and revered the world over? Me neither. But when we’re talking about Porsche’s 911, this is very much the case. Their iconic sports car has been through seven generations to reach its current status and shows no sign of slowing down, nor declining in popularity. In order to celebrate this anniversary, we’re dedicating the next few days not just to the 911, but to the entire Porsche marque, so we’ll hope you’ll join us in celebrating all that’s great about the brand.

When dealing with a shape as familiar as the 911, you would think that every conceivable angle and every detail has already been covered. But as new generations of photographers emerge, so do new ways of seeing things. Like the 911 itself, it’s a constant evolution. With a little over a week from announce to reveal, the 911 theme has of course continued the trend of re-adjusting my preconceptions of what you are capable of. But enough waffle – let’s get to it shall we?

(Above) The featured image for this theme was a straightforward choice. By combining so many elements into one photograph – a 911, Mount Panorama circuit, a beautiful landscape and a setting sun – David was always onto a winner.

It’s easy to overlook the details but Zach was quick to catch the air scoops on the rear of this wingless GT3 RS. Using a shallow depth of field, along with thoughtful composition, he has created something that is both a true representation and visually interesting.

When working with a location that has varied lighting, it’s always tricky to balance things just right. Younes has done a great job here. The car is perfectly exposed despite lying in both shadow and light.

A simple detail, simply presented. The shadows from the hard light source create a great sense of depth to the badge.

It’s not often you see a 911 jumping, let alone with the nose pointing downwards. This is a great capture considering the car appears to be arriving into frame unsighted.

By shooting with a fast shutter speed, Steven was able to capture the debris being kicked up as this 911 drives away from his camera. The shallow depth of field is often a by-product of a fast shutter speed on a sunny day.

This abstract submission from Roger Egea depicts a Porsche Cup Car entering the famous tunnel in Monaco’s harbour. The super slow shutter speed has created an almost painterly effect.

This shot really jumped out at me. The semi-silhouette nature of the car being lit by a chasing car is dramatic enough, but when you notice the glowing exhaust behind the rear wheel and the dart of flame out the back, you can’t help but be impressed. A shot to be proud of.

The repetition of colour in this one really caught my attention. It’s simple but very effective and required the foresight to see it long before it happened.

The pale blue tones and contrasting orange and black make this something pleasing to look at.

A great capture from Maurice here, peeking through the trees. A shallow depth of field has thrown the foreground out of focus, concentrating your attention on the car.

A strong black and white conversion, with wide dynamic range,  allows us to see all the nitty gritty detail in this shot. Fabulous texture too.

Another black & white, but a completely different approach. The contrast between light and dark areas creates a dynamic across the image, with the shapes being unmistakably 911.

Another shot through the trees, but another way of presenting a point of view.

This shot is all about the composition and contrast between the bodywork and dark ground.

Subtle colour grading and the choice of a cinematic aspect ratio results in an image with a lot of impact.

Beautifully lit, perfectly aligned. How enjoyable is this to look at?

Another superb black and white conversion. Simple framing but allowing strong contrast to do the hard work.

I really quite like how stand out the orange of this GT3 RS is against its surroundings. Plenty of texture and detail too.

And finally we have the last submission for this theme. The leading lines, the colour grading, the portrait aspect. It’s all good and combined makes something even better.

That’s it for this theme, I’ll be back next week with a regular ol’ #IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER. Make sure to get your submissions in and be sure to stay tuned for plenty more Porsche content over the next few days.

Safe shooting.

Paddy McGrathTwitter: @PaddyMcGrathSHInstagram: speedhunters_paddypaddy@speedhunters.com

#IAMTHESPEEDHUNTER

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