Merzouga Rally 2014

Merzouga Rally 2013, a true African Rally.
a video dedicated to Olivier Pain, Team Yamaha Motor France, finished third.
On the Podium of the Merzouga Rally 2013 Sam Sunderland, Helder Rodrigues and Olivier Pain. Olivier was racing the Merzouga Rally and training in preparation of Dakar rally 2014 where he finished with a well deserved third position.

LAND ROVER OWNER PARTNERS DEFENDER CHALLENGE

Land Rover Owner International is thrilled to announce that we’ll be the official media partner for the 2014 Defender Challenge by Bowler, which kicks off this weekend.

The Vehicle

The Defender Challenge car is built around a brand new Defender 90 and has been modified to be safe, durable and cost effective to buy, maintain and repair. All cars are built by the Bowler Works team and combine the best of UK engineering and world class components. Please see the attached pdf for a detailed specification, but upgrades include :

A full MSA / FIA certified roll cage, fire extinguisher system, racing seats and harnesses, light weight Bowler wheels, a full Bowler racing suspension system with bespoke springs and heavy duty racing dampers and an engine tune to 175hp that delivers 450Nm of torque.

The number of the entrants to the Defender Challenge will be limited to 15 cars.

Service Package

Entrants will also be able to specify a service package. This will provide access to the Bowler Works mechanics at all of the Defender Challenge events, and logistics support will be provided to deliver and return cars to and from each event, and store them in between. This package will also ensure that cars are safety checked, cleaned and serviced before and after each event, but does not cover damage repairs or parts. Cost is £15 000 for the season.

Competitors are under no obligation to take the Bowler service package – they are welcome to maintain their own car. Each car will be scrutineered at each event so that safety and preparation requirements are adhered to irrespective of who maintains the car. There will also be a visual preparation requirement for the cars at each event to ensure that they are smart and in good condition.

The Costs

The costs for a fully prepped Defender Challenge 90, based on a brand new Defender 90 with air conditioning, will be £50 000 plus VAT and will be supplied exclusively through Bowler Motorsport. Competitors will not be allowed to supply their own donor cars, or to build their own cars.

Entry to the championship has two levels :
· Experienced competitors. Entry to the 7 events, a dedicated service tent for each car at each event, access to the Bowler Works team hospitality facilities, access to the Bowler spares on events (payable), tickets for friends / sponsors / family. Cost is £10 000 for the season.

· Novice competitors. As above, but also a set of race overalls, helmet, a BARS course to gain a National B competition license for both driver and navigator, an introduction to rallying day with Bowler, a driver development day and introduction to navigating day. Cost is £14 000 for the season.

The Championship

The series is made up of traditional forest stage rallies and off road hill rallies.

The Bowler Challenge will be a ‘class’ within existing rally events with total entries of between 80 and 130 cars (including the Defender Challenge cars). These events vary in distance and duration, but all will give the team (driver, navigator, service crew) a great experience of national level motorsport. Completion of the series will gain the driver their National B rally license, and attendance at some of Bowlers overseas races will allow this to be converted into the International license required for events such as the Dakar.
Competitors will also be able to enter additional events in the UK such as Comp Safari’s and hill climbs, and international events such as the Tuareg Rally in Tunisia, with option of Bowler Works support.

The Rounds

The provisional rounds are as follows :

2nd March Mid Wales Stages Newtown, Mid-Wales
12th April Somerset Stages Minehead, Somerset
7th June Dukeries Rally Southwell, Nottinghamshire
19th / 20th July Welsh Hill Rally Walters Arena, Swansea
30th August Woodpecker Stages Ludlow, Shropshire
24th / 25th October Rallye Sunseeker Poole, Dorset
Mid November Borders Hill Rally Dumfries, Scotland

Bowler will have a dedicated service and hospitality area at each of the events and prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd at each events as well as 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the overall championship. Prizes for best prepared car, most improved driver and Spirit of the Championship will also be awarded.

TOP 5 MOTO GUZZI LE MANS

In the late 1970s, the Moto Guzzi Le Mans was the closest you could get to a factory café racer. Bereft of chrome and frippery, it would hit 130 mph and recorded over 70 hp at the back wheel. It was the ultimate low-tech superbike, essentially agricultural, but also possessing a strange charm.

The uncomplicated mechanicals of the Le Mans have helped it to endure, and it’s a machine that engenders remarkable affection from its owners. Today, the chunky Guzzi is an anachronism, but it’s also one of the most highly sought-after platforms for customizers: easy to work on, reliable, and easily upgraded.

So here are five of the best Le Mans customs from the world’s top builders. I’d happily put any one of them in my garage.

Kaffeesmaschine #7 Along with Officine Rossopuro and HTMoto, Axel Budde is one of Europe’s top Moto Guzzi specialists. His machines are minimal, elegant and beautifully constructed.

‘Caffettiera d’oro,’ meaning ‘golden coffee machine,’ is a Le Mans Mark III and the seventh Kaffeemaschine build. The engine is running Mark IV heads and bigger carbs, and has been bored out to 1040cc. With the help of HTMoto, Budde installed a balanced crank, a hotter cam, dual-spark heads and an electronic ignition system. There are new brake cylinders and hoses, and progressive-rate springs in the forks. The classic spoked wheels are from Morad. If there was ever an archetypal Le Mans custom, this is it. [More about this bike | Kaffeemaschine]

Le Mans IV Suzuka Battle Race There’s a very interesting idea behind this brutal-looking Le Mans Mk IV, described by builder Davide Caforio as having a ‘false history.’ It’s a tribute to the endurance racers of the 1980s—a bike that the Mandello Del Lario factory might have built if it was competing against the Cooley and Crosby Suzukis, or Wayne Gardner’s Honda.

It’s no show pony, either. Caforio has bored out the engine to 1150 cc and fitted dual-spark heads, big valves and hot cams. He’s modified and lightened the frame, and tightened up the handling with race-spec suspension and wheels. The custom fiberglass bodywork is loosely based on the Yamaha TZ750, with neat touches like a vintage Bimota filler cap on the aluminum tank. [More about this bike | Ruote Fiere]

Matt Machine’s Le Mans café racer Matt Machine is not a prolific builder, but he always gets it right. He wanted a “reliable, fast Italian cafe racer suitable for high-speed freeway runs,” and found a former race bike to modify. The engine has had a capacity bump from 850 to 950cc, and it’s also packing Carrillo rods, a hotter cam and 40mm carburetors. The bodywork is alloy, and a product of Matt’s superb fabrication skills. Everything is hand-made, and topped off with a cut-and-modified tank. A simple stripe was the only paint applied, just enough to show off the bare metal. A classic example of less is more. [More about this bike | Machine Shed]

HTMoto Black & White Hartmut Taborsky has been working on Moto Guzzis for thirty years now, tuning engines and supplying parts to the thriving European custom scene. So when he occasionally builds a complete bike, it’s pretty special. This one is a 1982 Le Mans Mk III that arrived in the HTMoto shop with only 6,000 km on the clock, but that didn’t stop Taborsky stripping down and rebuilding the engine with a tasty selection of performance parts. The engine was bored out to 92mm and fitted with 11:1 compression pistons, which help raise power output to 90 bhp. Gases exit via a custom stainless steel exhaust system, and the clutch and flywheel are uprated to make the most of the new-found grunt. The Le Mans now weighs less than 190 kg, and enjoys the occasional outing at the racetrack with Taborsky himself behind the bars. [More about this bike | HTMoto]

Revival Cycles 1978 Le Mans Mk I Alan Stulberg and crew built this bike in just two weeks, racing to get it ready for the Barber Vintage Motorcycle rally. But it’s far from a rush job. The frame has been de-tabbed and cut down, and there’s a custom aluminum tail and seat pan. Underneath is an RFID sensor and keyless ignition switch system, with a Dyna electronic ignition and a lithium iron battery providing juice for starting. Revival also fitted modified Tarozzi rearsets and relocated the rear master cylinder—cleaning up frame ‘triangle’ under the seat. The shocks are revalved vintage Marzocchis, installed upside down to make them fit with the factory rear brake caliper. Two red LEDs in the rear frame act as taillights, and there’s a trick LED headlight up front. But the highlight has got to be the lovely subdued grey color, based on a Porsche 356 paint code. [More about this bike |Revival Cycles]

Last week’s Top 5 covered the Ducati SportClassic.

via BIKEEXIF

Springbok Sportwagen: Fighting 911-fatigue

Hannover-based dealership Springbok Sportwagen has several classic Porsche 911s in stock, as any self-respecting classic car specialist usually would. But owner Frank Jacob also has a taste for other exceptional machines – of the type that are a little more unusual than the ever-present Porsche…

"You’ll find a Porsche 911 on almost every corner"

Jacob began importing cars from California while studying for a law degree in Hamburg. After graduating, he worked as a lawyer in Capetown before founding his unusually named company – but at this point, it specialised in music production. It was a few years before the company switched its attention to symphonic instruments of a different variety: for the past 25 years, the focus has been on racing machines and the sports cars that they have inspired. All are housed in a modern two-storey showroom in Hannover-Isernhagen, in close proximity to the A7 autobahn.

Sought-after doesn’t always mean special...

“At one point, around 50% of our inventory was made up of various 911s,” remembers Frank Jacob. “But times have changed, and we’ve responded to the demands of the market: people want something a bit more unusual. It’s clear that the 911 is a great classic but, especially in Germany, you’ll find one on almost every corner. That applies to the historic rally and racing events too – often, with 911s or other popular cars, you won’t be granted entry as the field already has a full quota of that model.”

Le Mans-bound Lola

Jacob is himself active on the racing scene and, in co-operation with racing outfit RWS Motorsport, privately enters events such as the Oldtimer Grand Prix and Le Mans Classic. This year, his 1970 Lola T210 sports-prototype will line up on the grid at Le Mans. Other notable racing machines currently in his possession include a rare Ferrari 348 Michelotto Competizione and a Reynard Formula 3 car used by Michael Schumacher early in his career, as well as a collection of legendary competition cars from Zuffenhausen – albeit in 1:24 scale.

An attractive alternative

Those looking for something special to use on public roads are also well catered for. Springbok’s 911 substitutes include a single-owner Ferrari 308 GTB and a Maserati BiTurbo Spider, neither of which have covered more than 12,000km. If it has to be from Stuttgart, there’s a pair of 928 GTSs to choose between – Jacob claimed they represent the perfect antidote to what he calls “911-fatigue”, as he handed over the keys so we could inspect them in more detail.

Photos: Jan Richter

Springbok Sportwagen’s full list of cars for sale can be found in the Classic Driver Market.