Romboni passes away after Supermoto accident / Romboni s’éteint suite à un tragique accident à Latina

Reports indicate that Romboni was struck by another rider after suffering a crash in the second practice session of the Sic Supermoto Day, before being immediately evacuated by helicopter to intensive care.

Despite the best efforts of the staff at the Santa Maria Goretti hospital, Romboni succumbed to his injuries later in the afternoon.

A six-time Grand Prix winner in the 1990s across the 125 and 250 classes, Romboni was one of the many stars taking part in this weekend's Sic Supermoto Day event held at the Latina circuit in memory of the late Marco Simoncelli.

Everyone at motogp.com and Dorna Sports SL wish to pass on our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Doriano Romboni.

Les premières informations issues du circuit indiquaient que Romboni avait été percuté par un autre pilote après avoir chuté en piste lors de la seconde séance d’essais du Sic Supermoto Day et avait immédiatement été transféré à l’hôpital par hélicoptère afin de recevoir des soins intensifs.

Malgré tous les efforts du staff médical de l’hôpital Santa Maria Goretti, Romboni a succombé à ses blessures en fin d’après-midi.

Vainqueur de six Grands Prix en 125cc et 250cc dans les années 1990, Romboni était l’une des stars qui participaient ce week-end au Sic Supermoto Day, un évènement organisé au circuit de Latina en hommage au défunt Marco Simoncelli.

Toute l’équipe de motogp.com et de Dorna Sports SL adresse ses plus sincères condoléances à la famille et aux proches de Doriano.

Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama: Bond girls live twice

As 'Aki' and 'Kissy Suzuki', they ensnared Sean Connery in the Bond film 'You Only Live Twice'. But even before the 007 adventure, the two divas Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama had appeared together in Woody Allen's dubbed spoof of a spy thriller...

She was the first Bond actress to drag eternal bachelor James Bond to the altar (though things happened differently in the novels...). As the exotic  'Kissy Suzuki', Mie Hama promises eternal fidelity to Sean Connery's Bond in 'You Only Live Twice' - even if it is only to deceive supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his criminal organisation SPECTRE. The Japanese Secret Agent Aki, played by Akiko Wakabayashi, was also friendly with 007: and showed skill both in bed, and in driving her Toyota 2000 GT equipped with enough 'extras' to impress even Bond.

Godzilla and the hunt for egg salad

The film brought Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama international stardom, although Mie Hama had already appeared in more than 60 movies and Akiko Wakabayashi was a star in Japan. As a dynamic duo, they had acted together in several other films, including 'King Kong vs. Godzilla' and 'What's Up Tiger Lily' - Woody Allen's 1966 spoof film about the hunt for an egg salad recipe, which is purely a dubbed version of an entirely different Japanese spy movie. 

THE HESKETH 24

Hesketh Motorcycles is a small British company that most of us had forgotten about, the company was first created by Formula 1 team owner and close friend of James Hunt – the 3rd Lord Hesketh in 1980.

The mission was commendable although the sheer number of new technologies they tried to implement at once led to the bike being unreliable and having a number of teething problems, this combination meant that it wasn’t a huge seller and production ceased after just 139 bikes had been sold.

Skipping forward 33 years to the present day, Hesketh Motorcycles are back with a bang and have just introduced their 1,950cc V-twin monster-sportbike, the Hesketh 24. Only 24 are scheduled to be made with an initial delivery date of February 2014, Hesketh have announced that they’re developing a 2-seater version which will be made available for sale after the Hesketh 24 has sold out – which I don’t imagine will take very long.

Sadly we don’t yet have pricing information, however I can tell you that the Hesketh 24 has a race-spec 22.7 litre fuel cell mounted below the engine, overhead air intakes, a 56 degree, air-cooled V-twin producing 120bhp, Öhlins suspension, Beringer brakes and Brock’s performance BST carbon fibre wheels.

I included the full press release below for those who want further information, if you’d like to register your interest you can click here to visit Hesketh Motorcycles.

Hesketh 24 – Full Press Release
The first new model from Hesketh Motorcycles in the 21st century will be the Hesketh 24. Taking inspiration from Hesketh’s illustrious Formula 1 roots, the Hesketh 24 uses James Hunt’s F1 Grand Prix winning ‘24’ car as the basis of the bikes’ styling.

However, underneath the red, white and blue is a completely modern interpretation of a Hesketh machine with a massive 1950 cc 56 degree V-twin engine putting out around 120 bhp. The Hesketh 24 features top quality branded components such as Ohlins suspension (track and road), Beringer brakes and Brock’s performance BST carbon fibre wheels.

Available from February 2014, the new Hesketh 24 will be the first model to be released under Paul Sleeman’s ownership and serves as a clear indication of the new direction of the brand.

Sleeman said: “The design of the bike itself is centred around the big V-twin muscle at the heart of the bike, with overhead air intakes inside the tank above and a 22.7 litre fuel cell mounted below the engine. To stay true to some original Hesketh features the front light offers a modern half cowel and the top tank follows the distinctive Hesketh shape.

The Hesketh 24 is a nod to the F1 success of James Hunt and the Hesketh Racing team and we tried to incorporate this is in subtle touches, such as the small Scottish and English flags on the tail as seen on the original F1 24 car and the outline of the Zandvoort circuit that offered Hunt the famous 1975 victory.

The limited edition Hesketh 24, of which only 24 will be made, is available from February and we will go on to develop and release a 2 seat version of this model shortly after.”

Hesketh Motorcycles will also soon be moving from their current home in Kingswood to larger premises in Redhill, Surrey allowing the team to concentrate on the manufacture of the Hesketh 24 and further models.

via SILODROME

Ecurie Ecosse: They came a long way...

Got a spare £8 million knocking about and fancy buying a set of toys that will have the organisers of major historic motoring events around the globe falling over themselves to beg for your attendance?

If the answer's in the affirmative, you're exactly the sort of person who should be heading to Bonhams’ London auction on December 1 for the sale of the remarkable Dick Skipworth Ecurie Ecosse collection. Skipworth, who made his fortune in semiconductor distribution, was a childhood fan of Ecurie Ecosse. Having bought and raced a replica of one of the team cars during the 1980s, he set out to assemble a comprehensive collection of vehicles redolent of the team's 'golden era ' from its formation in 1951 until the early '60s.

Getting there is half the fun

That included purchasing the famous 1960 three-car race transporter built by Falkirk's Walter Alexander coachworks on the chassis of a seven-ton Commer truck. Restored by Skipworth during the 1990s and, in recent years, a regular sight at many classic car gatherings, the transporter is being offered on a 'refer department' basis – meaning it is likely to fetch a high, six-figure sum.

The star of the collection, however, is set to be the short-nose 1956 Jaguar D-type driven under the Ecurie Ecosse colours by stars such as Ron Flockhart, Ninian Sanderson and Jock Lawrence. It's tipped to make as much as £3.5 million, while a 1952 C-type raced by Sir Jackie Stewart's late brother, Jimmy, could realise £2 – 3m. The other Ecurie Ecosse cars on offer are a 1962 Tojeiro Buick that was raced by Sir Jackie (£180,000 - 240,000); a 1959 Tojeiro Jaguar (£300,000 - 500,000); a 1969 Cooper Monaco Climax (£200,000 - 300,000); a 1951 XK120 (£200,000 - 400,000) and finally a 1961 Austin-Healey Sprite (£30,000 - 50,000).

Just turn up and race

Ecurie Ecosse epitomised the racing spirit of the 1950s, having been established in Edinburgh by less-than-successful driver David Murray. He decided to base the model for his 'Team Scotland' on that of Scuderia Ferrari – meaning he offered privateers the chance to have their cars maintained, prepared and delivered to races. All they had to think about was turning up on the day.

The celebrated W.E. 'Wilkie' Wilkinson was chief spannerman and, for a decade, the system proved highly successful – not least when Ecurie Ecosse drivers Ron Flockhart and Ninian Sanderson took the laurels at Le Mans in 1956, with the team achieving a one-two victory there the following year.

Hothouse for young talent

Ecurie Ecosse helped to nurture such exceptional talents as Sir Jackie and Jim Clark in Formula One, Two and endurance racing until the original team was disbanded in 1971. It has since been twice revived, first during the late 1980s by enthusiast Hugh McCaig and again by him in 2011.

And, should you want to declare your allegiance to Ecurie Ecosse without buying one (or all) of the vehicles from the Skipworth collection, you could settle for one of the special versions of the Bremont ALT1-C wristwatch made to honour the team. They are available directly from Ecurie Ecosse only: e-mail Oliver Bryant on OB@ecurieecosse.com

The Bonhams sale of the Dick Skipworth collection forms part of a 35-lot auction taking place at 2pm on 1 December 2013 at the recently opened saleroom at 101 New Bond Street, London W1. You can view all lots in the Classic Driver Market.