CAFÉ RACER 76

Moto GP : Lorenzo de retour sur le podium, Rossi quatrième / Lorenzo back on podium as Rossi races to fourth

Les pilotes du team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP ont pris les troisième et quatrième places au Grand Prix eni Motorrad d’Allemagne.

Suite à un tour de formation sur une piste aux conditions mitigées, 14 pilotes se sont précipités vers les stands pour changer de machines quitte à devoir partir de la pit-lane dont Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Márquez et Dani Pedrosa. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) avait été l’un des rares pilotes à passer sur slicks sur la grille de départ, avant le tour de formation, mais n’a pas longtemps tenu en tête de la course.

Les deux pilotes du team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP se sont quant à eux progressivement frayé un chemin dans un peloton peu orthodoxe et Lorenzo a fini sa course en solitaire, en troisième position, huit secondes devant son coéquipier.

« Je roulais bien pour les dernières courses et c’est dommage que je ne me sois pas battu à Assen, » a affirmé Lorenzo. « Ici j’avais besoin d’un ou deux dixièmes pour me battre avec Marc sur le sec mais il a fini par pleuvoir. J’ai dû prendre une trajectoire large parce que mes disques de carbone étaient trop froids. J’ai ensuite dû doubler tous les autres pilotes et j’étais assez satisfait. »

« Le début était compliqué parce qu’il y avait beaucoup de pilotes au même endroit et il fallait donc être prudent. Les premiers tours ont aussi été difficiles parce que les deux derniers virages étaient encore un peu mouillés. Mais nous avions un bon rythme, nous n’étions qu’à un ou deux dixièmes de Dani et de Marc. »

Rossi a ajouté : « Je savais qu’il allait être très difficile de battre nos adversaires ici. J’espérais rester avec Jorge mais aujourd’hui il a été plus rapide et j’ai fini quatrième. Je suis assez content de ma première moitié de saison. J’ai déjà cinq podiums et quatre secondes places. Je suis triste de ne pas avoir gagné mais j’ai été rapide et compétitif. Nous devons continuer comme ça et essayer de battre Márquez. »

Jorge Lorenzo returned to the podium at the eni Motorrad Grand Prix Deutschland in third, with teammate Valentino Rossi just behind in fourth.

A rain shower before the start of the race resulted in a mass pit lane start. A group of 14 riders including Rossi, Lorenzo, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa started from the pits having decided to swap to their dry bikes after the Warm Up lap. Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda MotoGP) was one of the few riders to change to slicks on the grid, although he soon lost the advantage.

Both Movistar Yamaha MotoGP riders set consistent times throughout the race. The first laps were taken with some caution, as turns 12 and 13 remained quite wet from the initial shower. As the race went on Lorenzo was able to gain more confidence and push past other riders.

The Mallorcan eventually finished ten seconds down Marc Marquez. Valentino Rossi was a further nine seconds behind his teammate.

“For the last few races I have been riding quite well so it was a pity in Assen to not fight. I needed just one or two tenths here to fight with Marc in the dry, but then it started raining. I had to run wide because the carbon brakes were too cold. I then had to battle past all the riders, so I am quite satisfied,” commented Lorenzo.

He expanded, “The start was very tricky as so many riders were so close, I had to be very careful. The opening laps were hard also as the last two corners were still a bit wet. But our pace was good, only one or two tenths off Dani and Marc.”

Rossi added, “I knew that it would be very difficult to beat our rivals here. I hoped to stay with Jorge but today he was faster than us and I arrived fourth. I’m quite happy about the first half of the season. I already got five podiums and four second places. I’m sad that I was not able to win, but I am quite fast and competitive. We have to continue like this and try to beat Marquez.”

Royal Enfield ‘Thor’ by Sisaka Customs

Written by Martin Hodgson.

Dreamed up in the war time era of the 40’s, built in 1980’s India and customised in 2014 using bronze making techniques thousands of years old this Enfield has one hell of a story to tell. Customising a bike for the first time was a harder road than builder Chetan Yadav of Sisaka Custom Motorcycles ever imagined and getting his hands on his favourite bike was just the start. It was a journey a year long, testing his patience, requiring MacGyver like resourcefulness and taking lessons from builders past and present, but what he has constructed is a 1983 Royal Enfield like no other.

It’s hard to put your finger on just what grabs your attention first, but that front end certainly isn’t what you normally see on an Enfield. Painted, polished and extended it gives the bike the bobber stance Chetan was going for. A lesser builder would have been content to leave it there, but to add to the look the rear frame has cleverly been extended further stretching the stance of the bike. The seat is pure bobber, a colour matched leather wrapped solo with single coil spring and setup to give him the riding position just as he desired. The fuel tank is heavily customised and unique touches are cleverly fabricated in and then there is the bronze…

The bronze gives the bike a distinctly Indian look, utilising the nations favourite metal to fashion high quality pieces that adorn the bike and with thousands of years of bronze making tradition the level of detail does the history justice. From the exquisitely engraved headlight surround to the ornamental air filter, wherever you look is a piece worthy of being its own unique sculpture. From the bold gas cap to the delicately crafted levers, the rear tail light and indicators and the kick start, each piece has been lovingly formed. But it’s not all in your face, there are the front indicators that you notice only after admiring the bike for considerable time, the subtle oil lines and that rear fender that reminds you custom bike building really is an art form.

To steer his ride around the rapidly growing city of Gurgaon, Chetan utilised a set of Yamaha FZ150 handle bars that have been leather wrapped, matching grips and bar ends made out of you guessed it, bronze! Hiding the ignition key and battery is the industrial tool box, it to wearing leather, while further enhancing the bikes bobber credentials is the painstakingly hidden wiring loom. Keeping the rider informed is a Vintage Smith replica speedo that makes picking the age of the biker even harder. While the custom exhaust with bronze accents makes sure heads are snapped around in time to see the Enfield coming. The wider than stock rear tire is a 150 section plucked from a KTM Duke and fits snuggly on the custom laced and painted rim.

In a scene of many bikes where a few distinct styles often rule the roost it can be easy to get caught just following the pack. But inspired by his favourite builders, influenced by his culture thousands of years old and determined to build the bike he’d always envisaged, Chetan put the rule book aside and like the sculptors of old, he fashioned something truly unique. A leather bound, bronze clad steed that has this Royal Enfield riding at the front of the pack!

via PIPEBURN

Will this Porsche 911 3.8 RS become the first million-dollar 964?

Earlier this year, Gooding sold a Porsche 911 Carrera 2.7 RS Lightweight for more than a million dollars, much to the surprise of the market. So what makes one of its descendants, the 964-generation 911 3.8 RS, worth a similar amount?

Unexpected (but welcome) visitors

While photographing the unique Ferrari ‘Daytona’ Shooting Brake recently, we were unexpectedly joined by a pair of 90s Porsches. This isn’t exactly a rare occurrence – those that work in the industry are invariably enthusiasts, and often have a fondness for air-cooled Stuttgart sports cars. But while both were of the celebrated 964 vintage, one (belonging to a member of the crew at the shoot) was worth as much as a new family saloon, while the other is currently for sale with a circa million-dollar price tag attached. Why? Well, first, a little context.

Specialist underwear required

In the early 90s – almost two decades after the legendary 911 2.7 RS had bowed out after a brief production run – Porsche reintroduced the lightweight, ultra-focused formula by creating an RS variant of the 964. Power came from the 3.6-litre boxer-six of its Carrera counterparts, albeit bumped up by a handful of horses to 260bhp.

But more important was the strict diet imposed upon it. Irrelevancies such as sound-proofing, air-conditioning and electric windows were done away with; in came a rollcage, competition-derived suspension and fatter wheels. Even sun-visor lights were optional. The phrase ‘racing car for the road’ was coined for cars such as these long before marketing departments softened its impact, as one owner’s anecdote summarises: “On a road trip to France, my wife asked me to pull over at the side of the road so she could change into a sports bra.” Enough said.

The butch gets butcher

The extreme character of the 3.6 RS was veiled by a relatively restrained outward appearance, but that would soon be taken care of. Using the butch widebody of the 964 Turbo (and massively dished Speedline wheels to complement it), Porsche produced an evolution known as the 3.8 RS, now with 300bhp. Works driver Jürgen Barth handled its development – there was no better man to do so, as he would later take its RSR competition cousin (they even shared the same engine) to a class victory at Le Mans in 1993. Ultimately, only 55 examples of the 3.8 RS would be built.

So, it has rarity, competition allegiance (the RSR also won outright at Spa and Suzuka), and can trace its bloodline back to the legendary 2.7 RS, as well as forward to the better-rounded but less focused 993 RS. Furthermore, this particular example has fewer than 13,000 miles on the clock and is one of just two right-hand-drive cars produced. With one of them recently locked into the collection of a World Championship-winning racing driver, the opportunity to acquire this 3.8 RS could, quite genuinely, be a once-in-a-lifetime thing. Just remember to warn female passengers of the need for a reinforced brassiere.

Photos: Amy Shore for Classic Driver