La 8e « Nuit des Lions » partira du Neubourg (27)

Dix Porsche au départ !

Samedi 11 janvier prochain, 58 équipages prendront le départ du rallye Historique « La Nuit des Lions ». Pour la première fois, les bolides en lice s’élanceront de la place du Vieux Château au Neubourg. C’est Vincent Legenne au volant de son Opel Commodore GS de 1974 (double vainqueur) qui aura l’honneur d’ouvrir la marche.

Le plateau pour cette huitième édition est très varié avec en lice 10 Porsche de modèle différents, plusieurs Lancia dont la très désirable Lancia Fulvia HF, 3 superbes et performantes Triumph TR6 et un « gros cheptel » de Mini et Austin de tous les modèles.

Assurément les amateurs de belles mécaniques seront ravis. Les voitures seront stationnées sur la Place du Vieux Château entre 10 heures et 14 heures. Cette épreuve est organisée par le Rétro Rallye Sport et les Rétros du Plateau.

> Site internet : www.retro-rallye-sport.com

Squadra Corse on ice: Farewell trip with the last Lamborghini Gallardo

The Gallardo arrived 10 years ago, at the dawn of a new era for Sant’Agata. Now, the most successful Lamborghini of all time is to be replaced – and we have a farewell rendezvous with its last and most radical incarnation, the Gallardo LP 570-4 Squadra Corse…

Not even the schoolchildren of Sant’Agata could differentiate between all the different Gallardos

A certain melancholy creeps over us. The last V10 roar; the final feel of the grippy Alcantara between your fingers while the tachometer nervously twitches at idle. It’s a familiar, yet no less special, feeling for us: we’ve fittingly sampled a cocaine-white Spyder in Miami; pitched the very first Superleggera against a 911 GT3 RS; and tested the LP 570-4 Super Trofeo on the road. The entire editorial staff was rather taken by the ‘little bull’, so uncompromisingly edgy and charismatic.

Requiem for a V10

The last Gallardo is the most radical: the Squadra Corse is derived from the LP 570-4 Super Trofeo racing car, reduced to its elements to compete in a one-model racing series, as well as GT3 racing. This equates to reduced weight (to 1,370kg), more power (562bhp), and racing addenda such as a quick-release bonnet and giant carbonfibre rear wing. But the close allegiance to the racing car offers us little more than a hint at its potential, as Switzerland at this time of year is under a carpet of snow, with a blanket of fog obscuring vision for each upcoming curve. Unleashing the bull’s full force in these conditions is not a wise idea, even taking the four-wheel-drive system into account. We instead practice moderation and use our journey as a mental requiem, even though any associations with Wolfgang Amadeus must be renounced due to the lack of a sound system.

The last of its kind?

The first design by Luc Donckerwolke was a manifestation of pure yet extreme lines. Then, the names became longer, the spoilers became bigger, and by the end of its career, not even the schoolchildren of Sant’Agata could differentiate between the different Gallardos. Now, after 10 long years – and far too many special editions – it’s due for replacement. The stubborn bull is still as brutal and uncompromising as it was the day the first model left the factory, but it no longer has the same everyday driveability or practicality as its new-school rivals, the Ferrari 458 or McLaren 12C. Its replacement will lock horns with them from next year’s Geneva show onwards but, until then, we’ll enjoy the rough and raw Lamborghini experience for possibly the last time – as it might be the last of its kind.

Photos: Jan Baedeker

Numerous classic and modern Lamborghinis can be found for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

police !!

Dakar,Leg 5: Roma back in control / étape 5 : Roma retrouve son rang

Spanish rule of the 2014 Dakar continues after Nani Roma (Mini/Michelin) toppled compatriot Carlos Sainz from the top of the leaderboard after a stage marked by a variety of misfortunes. Sainz, Peterhansel and Terranova were among those who lost ground.

C’est la valse des Espagnols en tête du Dakar 2014. Dépossédé du leadership hier par Carlos Sainz, Nani Roma (Mini/Michelin) a retrouvé la première place ce soir, à l’issue d’une étape marquée par des ensablements, égarements et pépins mécaniques. Sainz, Peterhansel, Terranova ont perdu beaucoup de temps.

Situated some 1,000km from Buenos Aires, San Miguel de Tucuman is the capital of the Argentine province known as the Garden of the Republic. Its population exceeds half-a-million and the city hosted last year’s rest day, as well as an overnight halt in 2011.

It was also the epicentre of the former Rally Codasur (ancestor of Rally Argentina) in 1981 which was won by Guy Fréquelin/Jean Todt in a Talbot-Sunbeam-Lotus/Michelin. They were among the 26 of the 80 starters who crossed the finish line, an attrition rate much like that of the Dakar!

Of the 140 cars that left Rosario on Sunday, only 99 contested this week’s fifth stage from Chilecito to Tucuman which marked the beginning of serious business. The most notable retirements before today included Chicherit (Proto), Sousa (Haval, leader after Day 1) and Wisser (Ford Ranger).

After his masterful performance on Wednesday, Sainz was first on the road in his SMG Buggy, and he went well until Km162 when he started to be affected by an electronics-related issue. Thanks to help from team-mate Chabot, however, he managed to complete today’s first competitive section, albeit 1h14m51s adrift of Roma (Mini/Michelin) who saw several other rivals fall foul of the sandy trail.

The latters’ ranks included Terranova (+28m52s), Lucio Alvarez (29m40s), Nasser Al-Attiyah (32m29s) and Peterhansel (34m22s) who all either got stuck in sand or lost their way at Km162. Meanwhile, Holowscyz (Mini) dropped almost 90 minutes with a mechanical problem.

Roma led at the end of the first section, ahead of De Villiers (Toyota), Gordon (Hummer) Overdrive’s surprising Poles, former biker Marek Dabrowski (Toyota) and ex-ski jumping champion Adam Malysz (Toyota).

The second section was shortened to 106km, but it still enabled some of the day’s earlier victims to make up a little time. Roma defended his advantage, though, to finish clear of second-placed De Villiers (Toyota/Michelin, +4m20s) who suffered brake problems. Tonight’s provisional leaderboard is topped by four Mini/Michelin drivers, namely Roma, Al-Attiyah (+26m28s), Terranova (+31m46s) and Peterhansel (+39m59s).

Meanwhile, the trucks battle has been dominated so far by Dutch drivers. Gerard de Rooy (Iveco/Michelin) has won two stages and tops the class ahead of compatriot Marcel Van Vliet (Man, +36m32s) and Kamaz/Michelin drivers Karginov and Nikolaev (+41m11s and +57m3s respectively). The rally’s early leader Mardeev from Russia crashed out on Day 2.

Friday’s run (694km in total) will take crews to Salta ahead of Saturday’s rest day. Like the fourth and fifth stages, tomorrow’s competitive action is divided into two sections. The first features 186km of stony dirt tracks which climb to an altitude of almost 3,500 metres, while the second (104km) follows a long asphalt liaison. Crews will pull out of tonight’s camp from 6:15am and the stage is scheduled to begin three hours afterwards.

San Miguel de Tucuman, capitale de la province éponyme appelée le « Jardin de la République ». Plus d’un demi-million d’habitants vivent ici, à quelque 1000 kilomètres de Buenos Aires. Le Dakar y avait observé sa journée repos l’an passé, Parque de 9 Julio, et y avait fait étape en 2011.

San Miguel de Tucuman avait aussi accueilli le Rally Codasur 1981 – l’ancêtre du Rallye d’Argentine – remporté par Guy Fréquelin/Jean Todt sur Talbot-Sunbeam-Lotus/Michelin. Sur 80 partants, 26 seulement avaient franchi l’arrivée.

Un taux d’abandon digne d’un Dakar ! Sur les 140 autos au départ de Rosario, seules 99 se sont élancées dans la 5^e étape aujourd’hui entre Chilecito et Tucuman. Et les choses sérieuses ne font que commencer. Parmi les abandons, notons ceux de Chicherit (Proto), Sousa (Haval, 1^erleader) et Wisser (Ford Ranger).

Magistral hier entre San Juan et Chilecito, Carlos Sainz ouvrait la piste aujourd’hui sur son Buggy SMG. L’Espagnol était dans un bon rythme jusqu’au Km 162 où il a connu des soucis électroniques. Dépanné par son équipier Chabot, Carlos a rallié la fin du 1^er secteur chronométré à 1h14min51s du vainqueur Nani Roma.

Nani et son copilote Michel Périn (Mini/Michelin) ont réalisé un grand coup sur ce secteur de 211 km car, outre Sainz, d’autres prétendants ont aussi perdu beaucoup de temps sur ces pistes sablonneuses : 28min52s pour Orlando Terranova, 29min40s pour Lucio Alvarez, 32min29s pour Nasser Al-Attiyah et 34min22s pour Stéphane Peterhansel, tous ensablés et/ou égarés au Km 162. Holowscyz (Mini) a perdu près d’une heure et demie sur une panne mécanique. A l’arrivée de ce 1^er secteur, Roma devançait De Villiers (Toyota), Gordon (Hummer) et les surprenants Polonais du team Overdrive, l’ancien motard Marek Dabrowski (Toyota) et l’ancien champion de saut à ski Adam Malysz (Toyota).

Le départ du second secteur, ramené à 106 km, a été retardé. Mais les concurrents Auto et Camion ont fini par s’élancer en course, contrairement aux motards. Les attardés de la 1^èreheure ont un peu réduit l’écart, mais Nani Roma a conservé sa 1^ère place devant Giniel de Villiers (Toyota/Michelin, +4min20s), retardé par ses freins. Au classement général, quatre Mini/Michelin occupent le quarté de tête avec Roma, Al-Attiyah (+26min28s), Terranova (+31min46s) et Peterhansel (+39min59s).

Après quatre étapes, les Néerlandais dominent la course Camion. Après deux victoires d’étape, Gerard de Rooy (Iveco/Michelin) est leader devant son compatriote Marcel Van Vliet (Man, +36min32s) et deux Kamaz/Michelin de Karginov et Nikolaev (+41min11s et + 57min03s). Premier leader du rallye, le jeune russe Mardeev est sorti de la piste le 2^e jour.

Demain, direction Salta pour une dernière étape de 694 km avant la journée de repos. Comme les deux jours précédents, la spéciale sera divisée en deux secteur : un 1^er de 186 km avec des pistes terre/cailloux qui grimpent à près de 3500 mètres d’altitude. Un 2^e de 104 km après une longue neutralisation sur asphalte. Départ du bivouac à 6h15 pour la 1^ère auto qui s’élancera en spéciale trois heures plus tard.

Classement étape 5

1. Roma/Périn (Mini/Michelin), 4h27min01s – 2. De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota/Michelin), +4min20s – 3. Terranova/Fiuza (Mini/Michelin), +20min44s – 4. Al-Attiyah/Curz (Mini/Michelin), +21min38s – 5. Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini/Michelin), +23min55s

Classement général

1. Roma/Périn (Mini/Michelin), 19h21min54s – 2. Al-Attiyah/Cruz (Mini/Michelin), +26min28s – 3. Terranova/Fiuza (Mini/Michelin), +31min46s – 4. Peterhansel/Cottret (Mini/Michelin), +39min59s – 5. De Villiers/Von Zitzewitz (Toyota/Michelin), +41min24s.