LA BUSCA MOTORCYCLES THE KRAKEN

La Busca Motorcycles, they must be some guys doing super cool stuff with bikes somewhere on the Iberian Peninsula right? Not quite, La Busca is a one man operation based in the green and pleasant land of Yorkshire, England. We first encountered Jez when he submitted pictures of a rare and lovingly customised Honda VRX400 to the ‘Shed, that was followed by a second VRX before Guzzi and Bonneville builds departed his stable. For his latest creation Jez has once again delved deep into the rare donor pool to give us this Suzuki Savage based bobber entitled, The Kraken.

In Español La Busca means “The Search” – Jez takes up the tale of his discovery of the Savage.

“On a cold and snowy December morning I was considering a Suzuki Savage Ls650, my head was saying ‘walk away, it looks like it’s been at the bottom of the sea, it’s too much work’ but my gut was saying ‘the motor’s real nice though’ . With a quick ‘what the hell’ The Kraken project was born.”

The plan was to do a simple classic looking bobber, neat and slick. Jez was in for the long haul with the Kraken, as other builds were worked on he kept this aside for a change of scenery.  The standout feature of the LS650 donor is the beautiful motor which was destined to headline the show.

“The engine on these bikes is a standout feature in both performance and looks and sits perfectly in the Savages frame. After an overhaul and valve setting it was put aside for painting. The carburettor was serviced and re-jetted to match the Pipercross filter and Tulip exhaust, opening up the super punchy engine these 650 singles possess.”

With the engine internals sorted the covers were stripped and powder coated satin black while the main body of the engine was re finished in aluminium. After receiving numerous alterations and tweaks from Jez the frame and swing arm were also dispatched to the powder coater along with a host of other parts for some fresh lustrous black adhesive dust.

“Next up it was into the loom and the electrics. The handlebar switches were disassembled and resident spiders evicted. I wanted a more stripped out look than I usually go for so all the major electrical components were re housed within the rear of the frame and a simple clamp style battery box fabricated to house a smaller lithium battery.”

Jez adapted a raw steel mudguard to get the classic hugger look and went for simple bicycle style fixings for the stays. The rear light and plate were positioned centrally to keep the bikes profile slim and new black progressive rear shocks were fitted to blend cleanly with the frame. A Harley-Davidson headlight with the tri-spoke lens adds a splash of chrome to marry with the bars and rims.

“Right from the start I knew what colour I wanted, unfortunately it’s a colour that only time produces. To be more specific the colour a Gibson Les Paul custom from the 70’s looks like now! After a lot of searching I went for a Volvo white from around the same era and for me, it hits the spot.”

“Road testing certainly had its highs and lows…. the drop in weight combined with the engine work meant the bike pulled like a train but pushing hard into corners revealed the bike’s rather wayward front end. I hadn’t come this far to leave it at that so some full length, heavy duty progressive springs were fitted to stabilize cornering and give more feel to the front end.”

Under Jez’s care The Kraken has arisen from the murky depths to reveal itself as quite the beautiful beast, but with that thumping motor at its core maintains the punch to live up to its monstrous name. The Kraken now temporarily dwells within the Bike Shed Custom Classifieds so if you like what you see get in quick.

via The Bike Shed

L'historique du WorldSBK au Qatar / Qatar in WorldSBK History

Doha est une destination assez récente du WorldSBK mais a accueilli plus grands moments de l'histoire du sport.

Le Qatar accueillit le WorldSBK pour la toute première fois en 2005. Assez incroyablement pour un circuit situé dans le désert, la pluie fut protagoniste de cette première épreuve. La pole position fut remportée sur piste sèche par Régis Laconi. Troy Corser et Yukio Kagayama signèrent un doublé dans la première course, avant que le Japonais ne s'impose dans la seconde et que Corser, qui allait être Champion cette année-là, termina troisième derrière Laconi.

La première course 2006 fut l'occasion d'une bataille imprévisible entre Kagayama, Corser, Noriyuki Haga, Andrew Pitt, Troy Bayliss et James Toseland. Kagayama et Haga semblaient avoir l'avantage mais ce dernier fut percuté par son coéquipier et la victoire revint à Toseland. La seconde course se résumé à un duel entre Troy Corser et Troy Bayliss, qui s'incline face à son compatriote australien malgré ses nombreuses tentatives de prendre l'avantage.

Le rendez-vous de 2007 fut marqué par les débuts de Max Biaggi en WorldSBK. Le quadruple Champion du Monde 250cc avait fait sensation lors des essais hivernaux et manqua la pole position de très peu face à Toseland. Les deux pilotes partirent large dans le premier virage mais revinrent ensuite sur Haga et Corser. Biaggi finit par s'emparer de la victoire, inscrivant son nom dans la liste des pilotes à s'imposer dès leur première course en WorldSBK.

En 2008, le Qatar fut aussi la première manche de la saison et Corser remporta sa 41 pole position, l'avant-dernière de sa carrière. Alors que Biaggi et Max Neukirchner se battaient au coude à coude, ce dernier perdit le contrôle de sa moto et Bayliss finit par s'imposer juste devant Biaggi, signant la première victoire d'une saison qui allait être celle de la domination de la Ducati 1098 R. La seconde course fut remportée par Nieto sur Alstare Suzuki, l'unique victoire de Nieto en WorldSBK avant son départ en retraite en 2010.

En 2009, Losail devint la seconde date du calendrier WorldSBK, derrière Phillip Island. L'Américain Ben Spies décrocha la pole position et s'imposa malgré un bien mauvais départ, qui l'avait relégué derrière Biaggi, Haga, Jakub Smrz et Shinya Nakano. L'Américain ne répéta pas son erreur dans la seconde course et parti en échapée dès le sixième tour pour s'imposer en solitaire.

Losail quitta le calendrier du WorldSBK après 2009 mais revint au programme en 2014, pour les toutes premières épreuves en nocturne de l'histoire du WorldSBK. Tom Sykes, alors Champion en titre avec Kawasaki, arrivait au Qatar pour la dernière manche avec l'avantage sur Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia) dans leur duel pour le titre mondial. La pole position revint cependant à Davide Giugliano (Ducati), tandis que Sykes et Guintoli se qualifièrent respectivement aux troisième et cinquième positions. Le Français se retrouvait dans une situation délicate, d'autant plus qu'il devait viser une double victoire pour espérer décrocher le titre.

Mais les choses se compliquèrent rapidement pour Sykes, doublé dès le premier tour de la première course par son coéquipier Loris Baz, qui termina deuxième derrière un Guintoli intouchable. Sykes prit la troisième place en se défendant face à Jonathan Rea (Honda) tandis que Giugliano termina cinquième. Alors que son team lui avait clairement communiqué via le pit-board de perdre (LOSE) une position pour la laisser à son coéquipier, Sykes, Loris Baz décida de ne pas se soumettre aux consignes d'équipe, un choix dont il se justifia dès la fin de la première course. 

Sykes n'avait plus que trois points d'avance avant la seconde épreuve, la dernière de la saison, qui commença par une collision entre Leon Haslam (Honda) et Baz dans le premier virage. Rea mena durant un premier temps devant Sykes alors que Guintoli se situait à la quatirème place, derrière Giugliano. Le Français ne mit cependant pas longtemps à entamer une superbe performance, celle qui allait lui valoir le titre, mondial, en battant un à un ses adversaires pour à nouveau filer vers la victoire, tandis que Rea allait prendre le dessus sur Sykes en fin d'épreuve.

Guintoli remporta donc son premier titre mondial en signant le premier doublé de victoires de sa carrière, succédant à Raymond Rocha, qui était, 24 ans plus tôt, devenu le premier Français à remporter le titre en WorldSBK. Sykes ne parvint pas à cacher sa colère et s'engagea dans un regrettable échange verbal avec Baz sur Twitter pendant Guintoli savourait son titre de Champion du Monde.

Michele Merlino (http://www.worldsbk.com)

Doha may be one of the newer destinations, but it has already racked up its fair share of World Superbike antiquity since 2005…

Qatar first hosted a WorldSBK race when it opened the season in 2005. Almost unbelievably for a desert-based circuit, rain proved to be a factor. Pole position had gone in dry conditions to Regis Laconi, while lap times in both races proved that the Suzuki GSX-R1000 K5 meant business. Troy Corser and Yukio Kagayama celebrated a one-two in Race 1, while the Japanese rider took the upper hand thanks to a better tyre choice in Race 2; Corser – that year’s World Champion – dropped to third behind Regis Laconi’s Ducati.

The maiden race of 2006 proved to be a battle royale, full of unexpected twists. In the early stages, Kagayama fought away with Corser, Noriyuki Haga, Andrew Pitt and Troy Bayliss, but James Toseland came from behind and was soon running third. It looked like Kagayama or Haga would take the win, but the latter hit his fellow Japanese rider on the final lap as Toseland graciously came through to pick up the pieces. The second race was Troy versus Troy; Corser initially led while Bayliss had to recover from fifth on the grid. Bayliss would take chunks out of his Australian compatriot, attacking relentlessly, but Corser bounced back on every occasion and was ultimately able to keep the charging Ducati at bay.

There were great expectations on the eve of the 2007 races. Four-time 250cc Grand Prix World Champion Max Biaggi had been rapid in testing ahead of his WorldSBK debut, just missing out on pole to Toseland. A first-corner incident saw both men run wide, losing the advantage to Haga and Corser, but both were back in contention and vying for victory in the closing stages. It was Biaggi who came out on top, cementing his name in the list of World Superbike winners in his very first race. The ‘Roman Emperor’ was back to winning ways, as his emotional side took over and tears were on display in Parc Ferme.

The 2008 season also began in Qatar. Corser delivered his 41^st pole position (the penultimate pole of his long career), but the lead of Race 1 was stolen by Germany’s Max Neukirchner. During the race, he and Biaggi came into contact; in his efforts to make his feelings to Biaggi clear, Neukirchner lost control of his bike. Bayliss would win the race en route to his third and final title, beating Biaggi by less than four tenths of a second to register the first race-winning success for what would prove to be the all-conquering Ducati 1098 R. Another challenge from Yamaha came in Race 2, but it was the Ducati Sterilegarda machines of Biaggi and Ruben Xaus which led the way, ahead of Bayliss and Fonsi Nieto. Six of the eventual top five proved to be Ducatis, but it was the Alstare Suzuki of Nieto which overhauled both Sterilegarda bikes on the 15^th and 16^th laps, respectively; this proved to be Nieto’s sole World Superbike victory prior to his retirement from racing in 2010.

For 2009, Losail shifted to the second spot on the calendar after Phillip Island. American Ben Spies clinched pole but his first start of the weekend was not his best, losing ground to Biaggi, Haga, Jakub Smrz and Shinya Nakano. On Lap 5 he regained two positions, passing both Nakano and Smrz into the first corner. He then caught Biaggi and Haga before waiting for the right moment. On Lap 13 came a spectacular manoeuvre: Spies overtook Haga while the Japanese was challenging Biaggi. He pulled away, leaving his rivals to fight for second; Haga would earn it, helped by a mistake from Biaggi on the last lap. Things were different in Race 2; having run third early on, Spies pulled away into the lead from Lap 6 onwards, leaving his rivals in his wheel tracks as he had already done earlier on.

After 2009, Losail had no place on the World Superbike calendar. Following four years of absence, it returned in 2014 for the championship’s first ever night races. It would become one of the most historic and memorable weekends in WorldSBK history. Now the final round of the season, Qatar welcomed title contenders Tom Sykes (the reigning World Champion on a Kawasaki) and Sylvain Guintoli (yet to win the title and riding an Aprilia). Pole went to Ducati’s Davide Giugliano, with Sykes third and Guintoli fifth; this was a difficult start for the Frenchman, who was realistically in need of two race wins in order to clinch the title.

Things were not easy for Sykes, either. On the opening lap of Race 1 he was overtaken by team-mate Loris Baz, who went on to finish second as Guintoli charged to victory. Sykes was third - just holding on from Jonathan Rea’s Honda - as pole man Giugliano dropped to fifth. Contentiously, Baz did not concede second position to Sykes despite an obvious ‘LOSE’ message displayed on his pit board; after the race, Baz made it clear that he had disobeyed team orders. Ahead of the final encounter, Sykes’ lead had decreased to a worrying three points. Baz quickly disappeared from the equation after contact with Leon Haslam’s Honda at Turn 1. Rea then led after passing Sykes, while Guintoli was circulating fourth behind Giugliano. The Frenchman proceeded to pick them off, one by one, with a double overtake on Giugliano and Sykes before quickly dispatching of Rea as well. In the closing stages, Sykes struggled with a distinct lack of grip, dropping to a final position of third behind Rea.

From that moment onwards, Guintoli was no longer troubled by his rivals. He rode on to his second victory of the night, his first WorldSBK double and a symbolic world title. He had become France’s second World Champion, with Raymond Roche having been the first 24 years earlier. Sykes was left to ponder over a massive case of what might have been; he and Baz would engage in a bitter war of words on Twitter, but Guintoli was World Champion.

 Michele Merlino (http://www.worldsbk.com)

World Supersport : Le titre Constructeur demeure en jeu avant Losail / World Supersport: Triangular Manufacturers’ shootout still to be sorted

Trois marques sont encore en lice pour le titre Constructeur en World Supersport.

Riche en émotion et en rebondissements, la saison 2015 du Championnat du Monde Supersport touche à sa fin et se terminera ce week-end au Qatar, suite à ce que Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) ait décroché son quatrième titre mondial en finissant deuxième à Magny-Cours. Le Turc détient le record du nombre de titres en World Supersport mais aussi de victoires, de podiums, de  participations, de meilleurs tours et de points marqués dans la catégorie. Seul un record lui résiste, celui des pole positions, qu’il pourra néanmoins atteindre samedi au Qatar avec une 23e pole.

Bien qu’il ait dû attendre la France pour son quatrième sacre, la lutte pour le titre s’était terminée dès Jerez, où Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) s’était blessé et avait déclaré forfait pour la fin de la saison après s’être battu dès la première épreuve, à Phillip Island, et avoir eu plusieurs victoires mais aussi de rudes bagarres avec le pilote turc. Ce dernier a lui aussi été frappé par le destin cette année avec la perte de son fils nouveau-né Hamza, à qui il a dédié son quatrième titre mondial.

Le troisième protagoniste de la saison 2015 a été l’Américain PJ Jacobsen, qui s’est révélé en rejoignant le CORE’’ Motorsport Honda Thailand en cours de saison et a remporté deux des trois dernières épreuves, dont celle de Magny-Cours. Le New-Yorkais est d’ores et déjà annoncé parmi les favoris au titre pour 2016.

Jacobsen et Sofuoglu devraient donc se disputer une dernière victoire ce week-end au Qatar, où aucun des deux n’était monté sur le podium l’an dernier. La victoire était revenue au Néerlandais Michael van der Mark, qui avait terminé la saison de son sacre avec un dernier triomphe devant Ratthapark Wilairot et Cluzel.

Le principal enjeu du week-end sera cependant le titre de Constructeur Champion du Monde, pour lequel Kawasaki a pour l’instant quinze points d’avance sur MV Agusta et vingt sur Honda.

La dernière manche du Championnat du Monde Supersport 2015 aura lieu dimanche à 20h30, heure locale (GMT +3).

The pressure is off, apart from in the World Supersport Manufactures’ standings…

The 2015 FIM Supersport World Championship has been a season full of raw emotion, on the track as well as off it. After two seasons off the top spot, Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) is back in business with a record-extending fourth world title, thanks to the second place finish he collected at Magny-Cours in France two weekends ago. The stunning 31-year-old from Turkey is the most successful World Supersport rider by some way, not just in terms of world titles but also for race wins, podium finishes, front row starts, fastest race laps and total points scored. There is just one small detail to take care of: the pole position record of 23, which can be clinched should Sofuoglu top the qualifying session this coming Saturday.

Arguably, the championship for riders was realistically over in Jerez. Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) was a season-long challenger after winning the opening at Phillip Island plus several more successes and some very hard-fought battles with Sofuoglu; however, in Spain the Frenchman picked up injuries that ended his season prematurely. Sofuoglu also suffered an ordeal this year, with the death of baby son Hamza. Emotionally, the title has been dedicated to Hamza, whose life was helplessly cut short so soon.

The third huge element in this year’s title battle was American PJ Jacobsen. Since switching to the CORE’’ Motorsport Honda Thailand outfit, the New Yorker has been on scintillating form which continued with his second victory from three races last time out in France. He now aims for a third success of the season prior to an even fiercer title challenge in 2016, with this year having been disrupted by an unscheduled team move mid-season.

Neither Jacobsen nor Sofuoglu saw the Qatar podium in 2014. That was occupied by Dutchman Michael van der Mark, ending his title-winning campaign on the top of the Doha rostrum, as Thailand’s Ratthapark Wilairot and France’s Cluzel completed the top three.

The top three fight on which all focus is centred this weekend will be that of the Manufactures’ Championship – the last title to be decided in WorldSBK this year. Japan’s Kawasaki holds a sizeable lead of 15 points over Italy’s MV Agusta, with Honda another Japanese marque still in contention and 20 points in arrears of the leader.

The last World Supersport race of 2015 begins on Sunday at 8:30pm local time (GMT +3).

The Baillon Collection – our book on the barn find of the century

In December 2014, Classic Driver broke a sensational story – photographer Rémi Dargegen had captured almost 100 forgotten classics at a French castle, in what proved to be the ‘barn find of the century’. Now comes our book, documenting the fabled Baillon Collection...

A sensational barn find

News of the Baillon Collection proved sensational, quickly spreading around the world. In the grounds of a French castle, almost 100 abandoned classic cars were discovered, including Bugattis, Hispano-Suizas, Delahayes, Delages and a Maserati, all caked in rust, dust and cobwebs. And sleeping under one pile of magazines lay the jewel of the collection – Alain Delon’s Ferrari 250 GT California Spider. Parisian auction house Artcurial was charged with selling the cars at Rétromobile early this year, and we were given exclusive rights to photograph the barn find. Who better to document this stunning discovery than Rémi Dargegen, a man with an extraordinary eye for detail. Within just a few days, our story became the most read in Classic Driver’s history, and no less impressive was the auction itself. Almost every lot well exceeded its pre-sale estimate, and the Ferrari fetched a simply staggering 16.3m euros. 

The book on the Baillon Collection

In collaboration with Dargegen and publisher Delius Klasing Verlag, Classic Driver has produced a small but gorgeous photo-book of the Baillon Collection, which visually retells the story of this outstanding discovery, preserving the magic for generations to come. 

You can find more information about our book, titled 'Baillon Collection – A sensational barn find' and published in English and German, at delius-klasing.de.