Breslau Rally: Biggest European amateur rally only six weeks before the start.

No asphalt, no circuits, and no grandstands: The main focus during the "Breslau Rally" in Poland taking place from July 12-19 will be off-road racing, dust, water, mud, navigation, team-spirit and simply a "great adventure". What the "Dakar Rally" is for the desert, the Breslau Rally is for European fields. Off-road racers from several nations will meet for a motorsport competition through forests, military grounds and vast terrains in the west part of Poland.

In contrast to the Dakar, the Breslau is a licence-free and inexpensive rally, suitable also for beginners. For more than 20 years the rally is considered as the largest licence-free amateur off-road rally in Europe. The start this year will be in Poland, in the city of Zagan, situated about 40 km from the German border. From Zagan the rally will move to the north and pass near the cities Borne Sulinowo and Drawsko Pomorskie - the competitors have to handle more than 1,500 race-kilometers in total.

In the past, the Breslau Rally was a synonymous mainly with a "mud-battle" - in this year for the first time the race will also offer a fully cross-country class, which racing course will avoid the water- and mud-passages and focus on faster driving. Or to put it simply: The motto of the regular extreme class is primarily: "Reach the end", the cross country class is more about speeding and racing within the shortest time.

Like the rally itself also the competitors are varying from year to year. In the 2014 edition definitely the cars and trucks will dominate the starting-field - especially with competitors from France. The event is international: Participants from France, Poland, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Latvia, Holland, Italy, Belgium, the United Kingdom and even Egypt will take part. Actually the rally counts 61 cars, 24 trucks, 6 side-by-sides, 5 quads and 17 motorbikes - the entries are still open.

Especially in the truck category, international "stars" of the scene have announced their entry. The most powerful giants are coming from Holland: The "Dakar-veterans" Wuf van Ginkel and Edwin van Ginkel will race with two GINAF trucks. GINAF is a small truck-manufacturer from Holland, specialized in heavy-duty trucks. Both will start in the cross-country class for heavy trucks; contrary to the African or South American desert the trucks have to demonstrate their skills in the narrow forests of Poland.

The German “airbrush-artist” and entrepreneur in the automotive industry, Peter Niedergesaess, will celebrate his "comeback" with a wonderful painted Scania prototype. Niedergesaess and his crew were very active in the Breslau in the mid to late 2000´s, in the end of this period the team also got some experience in the desert of Tunisia but then retired from the rallyraid sport for some years.

Also from Germany the locally famous truck-specialist Udo Heidenreich will be back with a "secret" truck-prototype. In the past he was not only the winner of the rally in the truck-category, he also participated in the German TV-show "Wetten Dass" in which he placed a special bet: To pass a river with a Mercedes Unimog - on steel-wires! The audience was impressed and he became the winner of the TV-show.

Rally Breslau 2014 Itineary

Saturday, July 12th
Show start in the city of Zagan

Saturday, July 12th
Leg 1 Zagan-Zagan, 80 km

Sunday, July 13th
Leg 2 Zagan-Zagan, 150 km

Monday, July 14th
Leg 3 incl. night special stage
Zagan - Borne Sulinowo, 400 km

Tuesday, July 15th
Leg 4 Borne Sulinowo - Borne Sulinowo, 120 km

Wednesday, July 16th
Leg 5 Borne Sulinowo - Borne Sulinowo, 200 km

Thursday, July 17th
Leg 6 Borne Sulinowo - Drawsko Pomorskie, 250 km

Friday, July 18th
Leg 7 Drawsko Pom. - Drawsko Pom., 200 km

Saturday, July 19th
Leg 8 Drawsko Pom. - Drawsko Pom., 120 km

Saturday, July 19th
Prize Giving Ceremony Drawsko Pomorskie 

via marathonrally.com

Japan trip

1972 Yamaha TX650

Written by Ian Lee.

After more than three decades in the motorcycle industry, you’re bound to pick up a whole heap of neat tricks. It also helps if you run one of the biggest motorcycle accessory houses in Europe, with a catalogue of over 6000 fibreglass molds and the know-how that attracts the attention of factory race teams. With access to so much awesome, you know whatever Kent Riches deems fit to lay spanners on is going to end up a feature bike somewhere. And that’s what Pipeburn is featuring today. Starting off with a ‘crusty’ 1972 Yamaha TX650, Kent Riches has raided the Yamaha parts bin and the parts catalogue from his business, AirTech Streamlining, to create a homage to the AMA Pro Twin racers of the 70s, to take the master bike builder back to where it all began for him.

Not a man to be classed a one trick pony, since his first appearance in the motorcycle world in 1977 Kent has road raced, drag raced and set 14 world records. On top of this, he endeavours to build a few custom bikes every year; “as an outlet for his creative energy”. Using the Bonneville inspired TX650 as the base for his race replica, Kent threw himself into the build, doing what he does best.

To ensure a race ready finish, the stock TX was stripped down completely, the bare frame detabbed and reinforced. The factory swing arm ditched, Kent fabricated a box style swing arm to suit the new look of the machine. The factory front end had been swapped out for an FZ750 front end, sporting Goldline race calipers mounted over ventilated discs.

While the bike was stripped, Kent took the opportunity to give the carbon copy Triumph engine a freshen up, as well as fitting 36mm carbs with the obligatory velocity stacks. Deciding the exhaust could do with the Riches touch,  a unique Magni style system was fabricated using a hydro forming process.

Quite a bit of effort and time went into giving the machine the aesthetic that Kent desired. Looking to give the midsize Yamaha a period style makeover, Kent massaged a TZ tank to a size that would fit the bike’s sturdy backbone. Mounted behind it is a TZ style seat unit, also modified to fit on the TX’s burly frame. Enveloping the aluminium clip-ons at the front end is a Formula 1 fairing assembly from the AirTech Streamlining catalogue, made to fit using custom bracketry.

With so many accessories and skills at his fingertips, it is easy to see how Kent Riches can create the art piece we are featuring today. With so much of the work carried out by the man himself, one only has to look at the paintjob that has been lovingly laid on the bike, as proof that this is someone who carries out quality work. With so much passion built into this bike, it definitely pays tribute to the men who inspired Kent Riches, so long ago.

via PIPEBURN

Un pro de Mountain Bike vs Renault Duster

RENAULT TV a entraîné le SUV tout-terrain de Renault, le Duster, dans un défi unique: une course en descente dans les montagnes autour de Rio de Janeiro face à un des plus grands rider mountain bike brésilien, Guilherme Renke.