CAFÉ RACER 76

Guintoli : « Je dois retrouver le rythme et une bonne sensation de pilotage » / Guintoli: "We need to find the speed to compete at the front"

Le pilote Pata Honda fait le point sur son début de saison avant de mettre le cap sur Imola.

Sylvain Guintoli, le Champion du Monde Superbike en titre, s’est entretenu avec WorldSKB.com pour faire le bilan d’un difficile début de saison avec sa nouvelle équipe, le Pata Honda World Superbike Team. Le Français n’est pas encore entré en symbiose avec sa CBR1000 RR Fireblade SP mais espère rapidement retrouver son rythme ainsi que les avant-postes.

Sylvain, quel bilan fais-tu de ton début de saison ?

« Le début de saison n’a pas été facile. J’ai eu une grosse blessure au cou au test de Jerez fin janvier et il a fallu beaucoup de temps pour que tout se remette comme il faut. Je la sens encore mais je me sens bien sur la moto maintenant. Ça a pris du temps puis ça nous prend aussi du temps de développer la machine et d’arriver à trouver les réglages qui conviennent. À Assen on était beaucoup plus proches mais ça n’a pas été un début de saison facile. »

Comment se passe ton adaptation à la Honda ?

« La moto est différente mais le règlement est aussi différent. C’est une moto qui est polyvalente mais pour le moment je suis toujours en train d’essayer d’adapter mon style de pilotage, d’adapter la moto à moi, mais ça prend plus de temps que prévu. On travaille tous les week-ends pour améliorer le feeling mais pour le moment on n’est pas là où on voulait être. Il y a beaucoup de travail derrière mais pour le moment on n’a pas de résultat. »

Le travail doit-il davantage être fait sur ton pilotage ou bien sur les réglages de ta moto ?

« C’est un petit peu des deux. Pour le moment mon feeling n’est pas à 100%. C’est une moto qui s’utilise bien sûr très différemment de celle que j’ai connue ces dernières années. Il faut que je pilote différemment. On travaille énormément pour progresser et pour que je me sente bien sur la machine. »

Quand peut-on espérer te revoir sur le podium ?

« Bientôt j’espère ! À Assen on a fait un pas en avant, j’espère qu’on va bientôt être là parce que ça fait un petit moment que je suis pas monté sur le podium. Ce serait bien d’arriver à retrouver ça, sans vraiment être obsédé par le résultat mais en essayant surtout de retrouver le rythme et une bonne sensation de pilotage. C’est ça que l’on recherche et si on y arrive, la vitesse reviendra. »

As-tu été surpris par la façon dont Jonathan Rea a dominé les premières épreuves ?

« Pas du tout. Jonathan est un pilote doué et le changement de marque lui a aussi donné un boost mental. Il pilote bien, il ne fait pas d’erreur et jusqu’ici tout se passe bien pour lui. Je suis content pour lui parce que c’est un mec cool, il est très talentueux et il mérite ce succès, ça fait longtemps qu’il court après. »

Que peux-tu attendre de la prochaine manche à Imola, où Rea avait gagné avec Honda l’an dernier ?

« On va voir. De notre côté on va continuer à travailler dans la même direction. Maintenant cette année la donne est différente avec le nouveau règlement. J’espère qu’on va se rapprocher et continuer à améliorer mon feeling pour être dans la bagarre devant. »

The Pata Honda rider hopes to improve his performance in the upcoming rounds.

WorldSBK.com spoke to reigning World Superbike Champion Sylvain Guintoli, who has had a difficult first part of the season in his new home with the PATA Honda World Superbike Team. The 32-year-old Frenchman is yet to find the pace to compete at the front of the field, where former Honda rider Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) is now dominating proceedings. Here is what Guintoli had to say about his season so far with the Dutch squad.

Rating the beginning of the season
“The first part of the season has not been easy. I got a serious neck injury during a test in Jerez at the end of January and that took a lot of time to heal. I can still feel it it but I’m comfortable on the bike now. This incident took time away from developing our bike and finding the right settings. Last time in Assen we were closer to the leaders but the beginning of the season hasn’t been easy.”

Adapting to the Honda
“It’s a different bike but we also have new rules this year. The bike is versatile but I’m still trying to adapt my riding style, to tailor the bike around me but it is taking more time than we expected. We spend each race weekend working in order to get a better feeling but right now we’re not where we want to be. We are putting a great effort but the results haven’t come yet.”

About what he needs to get more competitive and if there is there more work to do on his own riding or the bike set-up
“A little bit of both. Right now we’re surely not at our best. Of course, the bike has to be ridden in a different way than the one I was riding these past few years. I need to change my riding style and we’re doing a massive work so that I can have a better feeling on the bike.”

About his expectations for a podium finish and when it will arrive
“Very soon I hope! We took a step forward in Assen. I hope that we’ll soon be there because it’s been quite some time without a podium finish. It would be nice to get back on it. We’re not obsessed with the results, the more important is to find the pace and a good feeling on the bike. Once we’ll have this, we’ll be able to gain more speed.”

If he was surprised by Rea’s dominant start to the season
“Not at all. Jonathan is a talented rider and changing manufacturers gave him a boost in motivation. He’s riding well, he isn’t making any mistake and everything is going well for him. I’m happy for him because he’s a nice guy, he’s very talented and he deserves this success, which he’s been running after for a long time.”

His expectations for Imola, where Rea scored a double with Honda last year
“We’ll see. The situation is different this year with the new rules. On our side we’ll keep on working in the same direction. I hope that we’ll make so more progress and continue to improve the feeling on the bike so that we can be fighting at the front.”

EYE CANDY: TWO NEW WALT SIEGL LEGGEROS

Ducati Leggero cafe racer by Walt Siegl.

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We make no apologies: we’re featuring the latest two customs from Walt Siegl because we can’t tear our eyes away from them. And we’re not alone—a few days ago, Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Welsh fell for the charms of these Ducatis too.

We’ve already covered the story behind the Leggero bikes in depth here and here. But Walt’s new builds show how the concept can be stretched without losing its appeal. The commissions came from clients with very different requirements, so we have a ‘naked’ bike with a classic look, and a faired machine with a more modern vibe.

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“The choice of color and graphics can dramatically change the ‘language’ or feel of the machine,” says Walt. “I know this is largely true for any bike, but I think it’s especially true for the Leggero.”

The faired machine has a more modern exhaust system than usual, and a contemporary aluminum swingarm—55 millimeters longer than most Leggeros.

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“It puts more weight on the front wheel, and gives more stability coming out of turns on the power,” says Walt. “The rider gets more front-end feel, with the same trail as the shorter chassis. It makes the bike look less compact though—which is not necessarily a bad thing.”

Siegl is happy to adapt his design to client requirements, hitting the sweet spot between (relative) affordability and full customization. He makes small runs of key parts—such as the ultra-light frame—and uses computerized CNC data to turn out smaller components when needed.

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“I get to know what my clients need, and not just by asking for their height and weight so we can tune suspension and ergonomics. We also talk about their cars, their watch, their riding habits, and the colors they like in the motoring world.

“We talk about the kind of performance they are looking for, where they live, and what they will end up doing with the bike. With these particular builds, it was obvious I was working with two very different men.”

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The Leggeros, we’re told, are ‘tight and light’—which you can sense just by moving them around. Siegl has worked hard to get the geometries right and reduce weight, by using magnesium wheels, Kevlar bodywork, and cromoly frame tubing.

There is no shortage of power. The 900SS-derived motors are rebuilt and blueprinted by ace technician Bruce Meyers, who adds big bore 944 kits and ported and flowed cylinder heads. “He is simply the best engine builder and Ducati expert in North America,” says Walt. “Truly a legend in the Ducati racing community.”

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Another legend involved in the Leggero story is painter Robbie Nigl of Peach Pit, who conveniently has a workshop an hour north-east of Siegl’s base in the old New Hampshire mill town of Harrisville.

“I love to work with people at the top of their game, and Robbie Nigl is the best painter I’ve come across,” says Walt. “Over the last twenty years I’ve seen his work on many racebikes, including mine. He puts so much pride into his craft, and won’t let a part leave his shop until he and the customer are both 100% satisfied.”

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Blistering performance and traffic-stopping looks: it’s an irresistible combination. And the potential to fine-tune the Leggero configuration adds an extra layer of danger.

It’s a good job Walt doesn’t have one of those carmaker-style configurators on his website. We’d lose hours of valuable riding time specc’ing up the ultimate cafe racer.

Walt Siegl | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Anthony Blasko

via BIKEexif

Our favourites of the Antiquorum watch auction, Geneva

More than 500 watches make up the large Antiquorum auction on 10 May 2015 in Geneva, ranging from sinfully expensive collectables to affordable insider tip-offs. We reveal the watches we would choose…

It almost goes without saying that Antiquorum Geneva will offer the obligatory Rolex Daytona ‘Paul Newman’, for an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Swiss Francs. The most expensive watch of the auction, a Patek Philippe Ref. 2499 / 100 from the early 1980s, is estimated at 300,000 to 500,000 CHF. Most of the timepieces in the catalogue, however, sit below the magical 10,000 CHF mark, and there are many unusual specimens which might also be of interest to beginners. How about a Rolex in the style of the Football Club of Tijuana? Or the Jaeger-LeCoultre, which once graced the wrist of General Douglas MacArthur? See all 505 auction lots in the Classic Driver Market.