BMW R1200 BY GIULIO PAZ DESIGN

Tucked away in a corner of one of the gigantic EICMA halls is a small booth belonging toGiulio Paz. It’s in the no-mans-land of Chinese component manufacturers, but it’s attracting a steady throng of awed visitors.

In the middle of the booth is this BMW R1200-based custom. Paz is an industrial designer with a passion for motorcycles, and he’s created one of the most original BMWs we’ve seen since El Solitario revealed the R75/5 Baula.

Giulio Paz’s ambition was to “create something unique—to upset the aesthetic balance of the last decades, without compromising ergonomics, handling and reliability.” And he’s certainly done that. His inspiration came from the first two decades of the twentieth century, when function dictated design. Paz also aimed to keep the profile of the BMW low, with the tank below the seat line.

‘Diva’ is a ground-up build: Only the 110-hp, 1170-cc boxer engine and the electrics remain stock, for ease of servicing. The frame was created by Bonamici Racing, which helps to build the BMW superbike racers. Bonamici has also created the aluminum components to Paz’s designs.

The bodywork and non-load-bearing components are made of carbon fiber, produced byPro-Lite Advanced Composites. The colors are impregnated into the fabric before it’s cooked in the autoclave, and the finishing is sublime.

Although there is a lot of WSBK-grade componentry in this machine, Paz describes Diva as a ‘fast bike’ rather than a race bike. “It’s built for a sense of freedom, and to gratify the senses,” he says. “It’s something unique and exclusive, in the way that only a handmade product of high quality can be.”

Paz is planning to build more of these machines, and can personalize them down to the smallest detail. A reasonably deep wallet is obviously called for, but then again, quality and artistry never came cheap.

from BIKEEXIF

Marquez registers fastest ever Valencia lap / Márquez signe un nouveau record avant les qualifications

Despite the cloudy conditions Marquez put in his fast lap at the end of the morning practice, going quicker than Dani Pedrosa’s 2012 pole record of 1’30.844 at the Spanish track.

World Champion Lorenzo was also on the pace and his late best effort put him just 0.1s behind his title rival on the timesheet.

Lorenzo’s Yamaha Factory Racing colleague Rossi was third fastest, lapping 0.23s behind Marquez and 0.25s ahead of fourth placed Dani Pedrosa. Repsol Honda man Pedrosa was marginally slower than he went on Friday afternoon, though he can relax this weekend and let the title candidates take the pressure.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Cal Crutchlow was fifth, a second down on Marquez and unable to match his own best time from Friday.

The top ten on the combined timesheet from free practice so far sees Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) and Ducati Team pair Andrea Dovizioso and Nicky Hayden go through to Q2.

Hiroshi Aoyama pulled up at trackside on the Avintia Blusens FTR with an engine fault and required a lift back to the pits on a scooter, ending up 20th overall.

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) continue d’imposer son rythme et a pour l’instant dominé chacune des trois premières séances du Grand Prix Generali de Valence. Avec un nouveau record du Circuit Ricardo Tormo, le leader du Championnat du Monde MotoGP™ abordera les qualifications avec le statut de favori à la pole position mais aussi en confiance puisqu’il conserve l’avantage sur Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing), seul pilote qui pourrait empêcher son sacre dimanche après-midi.

Lorenzo était cependant en progrès et n’est plus qu’à un dixième de seconde du Catalan. Valentino Rossi (Yamaha Factory Racing) a lui aussi fait un important pas en avant lors de cette troisième séance d’essais et s’est hissé à la troisième position, à seulement 0.230s du nouveau record et avec près de trois dixièmes de seconde d’avance sur Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda).

Les autres concurrents sont loin derrière. Performant vendredi après-midi, Cal Crutchlow (Monster Yamaha Tech3) se retrouve à une seconde du temps de référence, en cinquième position, devant Álvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda), Nicky Hayden (Ducati), Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) et Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3), qui complétaient le Top 10 de la séance et sont qualifiés d’office pour la Q2.

Aleix Espargaró (Power Electronics Aspar) et Andrea Iannone (Ignite Pramac Racing) devront quant à eux d’abord passer par la Q1, tout comme Randy de Puniet (Power Electronics Aspar), auteur du dix-septième temps de la séance.

Vasiliy Gryazin: not even 20 years old! / Vasiliy n’a pas 20 ans…

Russian driver Vasiliy Gryazin will be 20 on Monday. He is driving a Michelin-equipped Ford Fiesta S2000 on this weekend’s Rallye International du Valais, the third asphalt event of his career. He is currently 4th overall.

Le Russe Vasiliy Gryazin aura 20 ans dans deux jours. Il est au volant d’une Ford Fiesta S2000/Michelin et pointe actuellement à la 4e place du Rallye International du Valais, le troisième rallye asphalte de sa jeune carrière.

The 2007 Russia Rally, which counted towards the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, brought a certain 17-year old Russian Evgeny Novikov to the attention of the sport’s observers. He is now a Qatar M-Sport driver in the WRC. Six years ago, he was co-driven by Dmitriy Chumak who is now sitting alongside Gryazin in Switzerland.

Although Russian, Vasiliy holds a Latvian competition licence. “I passed my driving test in Latvia. It was much cheaper that way than at home,” he explains. “So I set up my rally team – Sport Racing Technologies – as well. I bought the Ford Fiesta S2000 Martin Prokop used in 2012.”

He made his debut on the 2010 Rally Latvia in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, before contesting around 15 events in the Baltic region the following season. His cars included a Mitsubishi, a Subaru and a Fiesta R2. In 2012, initially in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4, then a Ford Fiesta S2000, he took part in 17 events, including an IRC outing in Cyprus.

“My programme this season features 20 rallies, but this is only the third on asphalt, after the Mille Miglia and the Tour de Corse [in an R2 car]. We were also in Sweden and Finland – our first WRC events – with the Fiesta S2000 I have here. Unfortunately, I retired both times.” One of his most impressive results was second place in Group R4 on the Rally Liepaja-Ventspills in his Lancer.

“I am surprised by how hard the Rallye du Valais is,” he adds in fluent English. “The stages are fast and the surface changes all the time, so you need to be very concentrated. I was mentally exhausted after yesterday’s leg. My aim is to gain experience on different types of event and make my way up the ladder little by little.”

His 2014 programme is expected to focus on the European Championship, plus selected WRC-2 appearances.

As we said about Evgeny Novikov a few years ago: he’s well worth keeping an eye on!

En 2007, le Russia Rally, qui comptait pour l’Intercontinental Rally Challenge, avait révélé sur la scène internationale un jeune russe de 17 ans, Evgeniy Novikov, aujourd’hui pilote officiel Qatar M-Sport en Championnat du monde des Rallyes. Novikov était alors copiloté par Dmitriy Chumak, assis ce week-end au côté de Gryazin.

Même s’il court sous licence lettone, Vasiliy Gryazin est Russe. « J’ai passé mon permis de conduire en Lettonie, c’est beaucoup mon cher qu’en Russie », nous explique cet ado, tout frêle dans sa combinaison noire. « Du coup, on a monté une structure de course, Sport Racing Technologies, en Lettonie, et rachetée la Ford Fiesta S2000 de Martin Prokop en 2012. »

Vasiliy a débuté au Rally Latvia 2010 sur une Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX, avant de disputer une quinzaine d’épreuves l’année suivante dans les pays baltes, sur des Mitsubishi, Subaru, Fiesta R2. En 2012, au volant de Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4 puis Ford Fiesta S2000, Vasiliy a enchaîné 17 rallyes, dont une première participation en IRC au Rallye de Chypre.

« On a participé à 20 rallyes cette année, mais c’est seulement notre 3^e épreuve sur asphalte après les Mille Miglia et le Tour de Corse (sur une R2). On a aussi disputé le Rallye de Suède et le Rallye de Finlande, nos premiers rallyes mondiaux, avec cette Fiesta S2000, qui se sont malheureusement terminés par deux abandons. » Vasiliy avait impressionné au Rally Liepaja-Ventspills avec une 2^e place R4 sur sa Lancer.

« Le Rallye du Valais est très difficile, je suis surpris. Les spéciales sont rapides, le revêtement changeant, et ça demande beaucoup de concentration. Hier soir, j’étais lessivé, pas physiquement, mais mentalement », poursuit Vasiliy dans un bon anglais. « L’objectif est d’acquérir de l’expérience sur différentes surfaces et de monter en puissance petit à petit. »

Son programme 2014 devrait s’articuler sur le Championnat d’Europe et quelques manches WRC-2.

Comme on avait écrit pour Evgeniy Novikov à l’époque : à suivre…

THE RAG & BONE MAN

This short film covers the day to day working life of Paul Firbank, AKA ‘The Rag & Bone Man’. Paul spends his days creating truly beautiful lamps from discarded items he finds buried in East London’s scrapyards. The film is just 4:20 long and so is well worth taking the time to watch, it’s encouraging that there are men like Firbank out there still creating unique, handmade stuff that we’d all love to have sitting next to the couch.