WSBK ; Sykes s’offre une nouvelle Tissot-Superpole au Portugal / Portuguese Superpole goes to Sykes

Le Champion en titre est en pole à Portimao pour la troisième année consécutive.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) s'est emparé de la Tissot-Superpole pour la huitième manche du Championnat du Monde eni FIM Superbike sous un soleil radieux samedi après-midi à l'Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Déjà qualifié en tête de la grille à Misano deux semaines plus tôt, le leader du classement World Superbike 2014 a décroché une seconde pole consécutive, sa troisième de l'année, en concrétisant un excellent chrono d'1'42.484.

Le Britannique partira donc en pole à Portimao pour la troisième année d’affilée et aura derrière lui, sur une première ligne regroupant trois constructeurs, Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) et Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team), les deux seuls pilotes à avoir fini à moins d’une demi-seconde du Champion en titre.

Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team) a devancé d’un rien Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) et Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team), bien remis de sa chute en FP4, pour prendre la quatrième position, avec respectivement 0.010s et 0.038s d’avance sur les deux Français.

Eugene Laverty (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) mènera pour sa part la troisième ligne devant Davide Giugliano (Ducati Superbike Team) et Leon Haslam (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) tandis que Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia), auteur du deuxième temps en Superpole 1 et premier pilote EVO sur la grille, a réussi à se qualifier dans le Top 10, devant Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) et David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team EVO).

La séance de Superpole 1 avait été interrompue par drapeau rouge dès la 4e minute suite à la chute de Claudio Corti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse), qui sera dix-neuvième sur la grille de départ, devant Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia), qui n’a pas pu rouler en Superpole 1 en raison de problème technique sur son RSV4.

Jérémy Guarnoni (MRS Kawasaki) et Fabien Foret (Mahi Racing Team India) étaient quant à eux qualifiés en vingt-deuxième et vingt-troisième positions à l’issue des essais libres.

Sykes on Pole for third consecutive year in Portugal.
 Tom Sykes (Kawsakaki Racing Team) will start the 8th round of the Superbike World Championship from the front of the grid after winning this afternoon’s Tissot-Superpole at a very hot and sunny Portimao circuit, his third in a row at the Portuguese track.

A thrilling Superpole 1 saw David Salom (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Sylvain Barrier (BMW Motorrad Italia) progress to join the already seeded top ten from the combined free practice sessions with the 12 riders then doing battle for the final 15 minute grid deciding shoot-out.

The opening session wasn’t without incident as after 4 minutes the red flags came out as the marshals tended to Claudio Corti who had fell on the rollercoaster section of the circuit. He was taken to the medical centre for further checks. Toni Elias (Red Devils Roma Aprilia) also failed to record a time as his Aprilia developed a technical problem on his out lap.

In the final 15 minute Superpole 2, the times at the top changed almost every time a rider recorded a time but at the flag and with less than a second covering the top 9 Sykes emerged as the fastest, ahead of Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and Chaz Davies (Ducati Superbike Team) who will join him on row one tomorrow.

Row two will see Marco Melandri (Aprilia Racing Team), Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) and Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) who recovered from a high speed FP4 crash to claim 6th.

In the battle of the EVO riders, Sylvain Barrier will start 10th and David Salom 11th.

Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) crashed in the final minute of the session and will therefore start 11th tomorrow.

LE MANS CLASSIC : Gros plan sur 90 ans d’innovation technologique aux 24 Heures du Mans

par Laurent Mercier (Endurance-Info.com)

Depuis 1923, les 24 Heures du Mans font la part belle à l’innovation technologique. Le double tour d’horloge sarthois est le banc d’essai automobile le plus prestigieux. Le Mans Classic retrace 90 ans d’innovation au sein du village avec plusieurs autos exposées.

1925 : Tank Chenard (1er prototype)

Dès 1925, les constructeurs ont compris qu’il fallait avoir une auto spécifique pour les 24 Heures du Mans. Le Tank Chenard est le premier prototype conçu pour Le Mans. Ses lignes sportives, l’étude aérodynamique et l’économie de poids du châssis pointent vers une illégalité du règlement de l’époque mais l’idée ne va pas tarder à se généraliser.

1926 : Lorraine-Dietrich B3-6 (1ère auto équipée d’un phare antibrouillard)

Trois ans après la première édition des 24 Heures du Mans, Lorraine-Dietrich décroche le premier triplé de l’histoire. Le tandem Bloch/Rossignol dépasse la barre des 2500 km. Cette même année, les Lorraine-Dietrich B3-6 sont équipées du tout premier phare antibrouillard, innovation visant à contrôler la brume matinale au-dessus du ruisseau du Roule-Crottes.

1953 : Jaguar Type C (1ère auto équipée de freins à disque)

Le début des années 50 marque une nouvelle ère avec Jaguar qui équipe ses Type C de freins à disque afin de pallier aux difficultés chroniques des freins à tambour. ce changement a bien aidé Jaguar à s’offrir le doublé en 1953.

1965 : BRM Rover (auto équipée d’une turbine)

Deux ans après avoir débuté aux 24 Heures du Mans, une auto équipée d’une turbine fait son retour dans la Sarthe avec la BRM Rover. L’avantage de la turbine se trouve dans l’absence de boîte de vitesses, ce qui permet à la voiture et au pilote une grande souplesse et une meilleure adaptation sur les circuits.

1974 : Porsche 911 RSR Turbo (1ère auto équipée d’un moteur turbocompressé)

Porsche est le premier constructeur a avoir introduit au Mans le moteur turbocompressé en 1974 avec à la clé une belle deuxième place entre deux Matra Simca. Cette innovation permet de contrôler la pression des gaz.

1982 : Sauber SHS C6 (une nouvelle ère de l’aéro)

Le début des années 80 marque une portée publicitaire accrue sur les différentes autos. 1982 marque les débuts du Groupe C et du nouveau championnat du monde des voitures sport-prototypes apportent du sang neuf aux constructeurs. Les deux Sauber SHS C6 engagées cette année-là ouvrent la voie d’un aérodynamisme précurseur du Groupe C.

1991 : Mazda 787B (victoire d’un moteur rotatif)

La réglementation 1991 va permettre à un moteur Wankel de s’imposer, ce qui marque la toute première victoire d’un constructeur japonais. Le son de la Mazda est resté dans les tympans de tous les fans présents dans les tribunes et autour du circuit.

2006 : Audi R10 TDI (victoire du moteur diesel)

Audi Sport a été précurseur dans la motorisation diesel aux 24 Heures du Mans avec plusieurs victoires à la clé, la première remontant à 2006 avec un moteur TDI qui roule au carburant spécialement créé pour elle.

2012 : Audi R18-e-tron quattro (victoire d’une voiture hybride)

Après l’époque purement diesel, Audi Sport a ouvert une nouvelle voie avec la technologie hybride qui combine une double énergie. Le constructeur allemand s’est une fois de plus montré comme précurseur dans cette nouvelle technologie. Audi reste sur trois victoires avec son e-tron quattro.

WEZ’S MB100

If you grew up in the countryside you’ll know that bus stops, the wooden sort, are good things. You can have a cheeky smoke in one, keep dry in one, canoodle a young lady in one, drink cider in one and even get a lift to the bright lights from outside the front of one. As a yooff I did all of these things but one moment stands out. On a summers day many, many years ago behind a very fine bus stop my recently acquired but recalcitrant, single handlebared Honda MB5 sucked in and spat out the last dregs of white spirit and petrol mix (one of the bigger boys thought he was clever – he wasn’t!). It bogged, popped and cleared then screamed a buzzing two-stroke howl for all the village to hear, and see. Elation and jubilation on the faces of my chums and smug, self-congratulation on mine as that day I was God, the creator of fun, the giver of speed. Apparently the real God had pitched up beforehand and made land and vegetation on day three of his new job, so thanks to him, we had a woodland to shred and cricket pitches to plough.

If that was fun on a 50, imagine what Wez Jopson feels like with his 1981 Honda MB100 (HA 100 if you’re foreign) packing twice the punch! Wez is a grown up with a wife, small people and a proper job at the family manufacturing firm in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. But he knows how to have fun so after hours heads to the shed to build bikes. This featherweight is his third build to date and so far so good from where we’re sitting.

In true shed-builder style, Wez rescued a heap of a machine from someones backyard after it suffered a 5 year hiatus from SA’s fantastic roads. A blessing in disguise really as many rotten parts needed no excuse to be discarded which would eventually help achieve the stripped out look.

The striking frame had unnecessary tabs ground off and the battery box removed before a visit to the powder coaters. With such a minimal set of tubes to work with, hiding wiring, albeit not much of it, was a tricky task. The battery lurks under the rear mudguard but as it doesn’t have to do very much, was replaced with a smaller unit.

Just when the random fuel tanks on customs phenomena is at fever pitch Wez decided from the outset to go old school and keep the oil injector set up rather than converting to pre-mix. Honda inadvertently made a pretty cool tank with both lube and juice sharing space, with the ignition in easy reach, helping to keep the cockpit tidy. The original instrument cluster was scrapped and replaced with a mini-speedo, wrapped in matt black vinyl. The reading of 200 metres suggests snapper Marc Sing Key got in there while everything was still box fresh.

The headlight is from a CD200, with ignition and neutral lights grafted into the lamp bucket for further sleekness. Yellow glass, with fresh blue paint and lots of black, just works doesn’t it.

The engine was opened up and and found to be in really good order so the exterior received further attention instead with a trip to the bead blaster and powder coater. Attention to detail is everything and the polished cooling fins on the barrel are testament to that. All of the pipes, cables, fasteners and wiring had to be replaced along with a brand new carb and foam Uni-Filter, the result looking as if Marty McFly has transported us back to 1981, stunning! No wonder Wez’s mate named the bike, The OCD. The exhaust was resurrected with high temp paint and some wrap.

Wheels and spokes had the black powder treatment with oversized 3.00 x 18″ trail tyres fitted for a slightly more aggressive look, and to maximise traction when cranked over on the BMX track. Forks were re-chromed and rebuilt but the rear shocks were too far gone so had to be replaced. The sloping frame tubes are uninterrupted by a front mudguard meaning lots of furious cleaning will be required.

A vintage set of Enduro bars found in a scrap yard had the cross brace cut out before joining the black powder party. Biltwel Thruster grips match the seat pattern, there’s that attention to detail again. The indicators are positioned high and wide, which come to think of it is probably the best place for all bikes.

The rear fender was chopped & painted it to match the tank and a converted Harley Davidson turn signal now functions as the stop light. The original seat pan was shortened, trimmed and recovered it in retro-style diamond stitch.

Wez wanted to build a small capacity fun machine that reignited childhood memories for him and those that saw it, thank you Wez you’ve done exactly that, with bells on!

A TW200 might be coming next so we’ll clear a space in The Shed for it later in the year.

via The Bike Shed

1981 SUZUKI GN400

When it comes to custom motorcycles we don’t often hear about the guys building sub-$1,000 machines in their garages – most of the builds that garner attention cost a minimum of $10,000 with some of the more labour intensive builds costing many tens of thousands more again.

So it was with great interest that I opened an email from a man called Adam Bendig a couple of weeks ago that contained a remarkably professional looking Suzuki GN400 custom that had been bought and rebuilt for under $1,000.

The bike belongs to Adam’s friend Chris and the two of them spent weeks working on it together, the finished bike uses a number of unique elements to keep costs down – the seat is made from 5 layers of Yoga mat and the frame has been painted with a hard-wearing bedliner, though both of these ideas strike me as being a good idea regardless of budget.

The engine was cleaned, tuned and tweaked, the stock air box was discarded and replaced with an air-filter pod and the forks were lowered 3.5 inches and raised up the triple-tree to allow the addition of a set of clip-on handlebars.

The stock rear shock absorbers were replaced with a 1 inch longer all-black model from MikesXS and the careworn, factory fitted instrument cluster was replaced with a 2.5″ unit from Drag Specialties.

The bike is fitted with a Firestone ANS 5.0-16 on the back and a Dunlop K70 4.5-18 on the front. The electrics are now mounted to the bottom of the seat pan and the stock battery was replaced with a small sealed lead-acid unit.

With the huge number of super cheap, if slightly ratty, old motorcycles available on eBay and Craigslist it’d be great to see more sub-$1,000 customs like this being made. The fact that it makes the dream of building and owning a vintage custom open to almost everyone is highly appealing – it’s also great to see these old classics getting a second shot at life.

All of the images you see here were taken by the remarkably talented photographer Adam Bendig, he also shoots cars, motorcycle races, mountain bike races and just about everything else under the sun. If you’d like to see more of his work, you can click here to visit Adam Bendig Photography (it’s well worth a visit).

via SILODROME