Everything you wanted to know about automotive investments...

...but were too afraid to ask, will be taught at The Classic Car Symposium on 8-9 June 2015, in Cologne. Tickets are still available...

The English-language symposium is organised by the Historic Automobile Group International – which publishes the prestigious HAGI Index – in co-operation with Mercedes-Benz Classic. The focus of the event is the cultural heritage of the automobile and its modern status as an investment, as well as the latest developments in the field of restoration. Among the speakers at the lecture event are Fritz Cirener of Bosch Mobile Tradition, who will be joined by HAGI expert Dietrich Hatlapa, Prof. Dr. Frank Herrmann from Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Andrea Dragoni from Carrozzeria Touring, Richard Keller of the Musée National de l'Automobile, and Michael Bock of Mercedes-Benz Classic.

The Classic Car Symposium Cologne will be held on 8-9 June 2015 in the Cologne University of Applied Sciences. Tickets are priced at €450; applications should be directed toconference@historicautogroup.com. You can find further information here.

The road to Le Mans: Nissan Motorsports

Aux 24 Heures du Mans 2015, Michelin est partenaire de 20 teams que nous présentons jusqu’au début de la semaine mancelle. Nouveau venu dans la catégorie LM P1, Nissan Motorsports sera l’une des attractions de cette 83e édition.

Le Japon adore Le Mans et si, pour l’heure, seul Mazda est parvenu à s’imposer (1991), Toyota et Nissan essaient depuis de longues années. Entre 1986 et 1999, Nissan n’a pas ménagé ses efforts.

En 1986, Nissan se lance dans l’aventure avec deux prototypes (R85V et R86V) à moteur V6 3000 cm³ bi-turbo et châssis March, un modèle qui évoluait en championnat d’Endurance japonais. La Nissan de Weaver/Hasemi/Wada prend la 16^e place finale, à près de 100 tours de la Porsche victorieuse ! L’année suivante, les Nissan R87E N°23 et N°32 abandonnent.

C’est un peu mieux en 1988 avec une 14^e place finale pour Allan Grice, Mike Wilds et Win Percy sur une Nissan R88C propulsée par un V8 3000 cm³ turbo. En 1989, la R89C est équipée d’un nouveau châssis Lola et d’un V8 3500 cm³ turbo. Les trois prototypes officiels Nissan abandonnent.

En 1990, Nissan est champion du championnat JSPC avec la R90CP et décroche la pole position et la 5^e place pour Hasemi/Hoshino/Suzuki. Les deux autres prototypes usine ont abandonné. Nissan stoppe son engagement officiel au Mans.

Nissan revient néanmoins en 1995 dans la catégorie GT1 avec deux Skyline GT-R engagées sous la bannière Nismo. La N°22 (Fukuyama/Kondo/Kasuya) prend la 5^e place de catégorie.

Nissan est de retour en 1997 avec de grandes ambitions. Le développement des trois R390 GT1 a été confié à l’équipe de Tom Walkinshaw. Hoshino/Comas/Kageyama terminent 12^e, alors que les deux autres voitures abandonnent (surchauffe boîte de vitesses). En 1998, c’est carrément quatre Nissan R390 GT1 – fiabilisées et encore plus performantes - qui sont engagées aux 24 Heures du Mans. Après 18 heures de course, deux Nissan figurent dans le top-five.

Nissan décroche enfin son 1^er podium manceau avec la R390 de Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama, 3^ederrière deux Porsche 911 GT1. Les quatre Nissan R390 GT1 officielles terminent dans le top-ten.

Après la 8^e place, en 1999, d’une Courage C52 à moteur Nissan et l’abandon de la R391 engagées par Nissan Motorsports, la marque nippone ne revient dans la Sarthe que comme motoriste en 2011. En 2012 et 2014, Nissan est impliqué dans les projets futuristes DeltaWing et Zeod RC, les fondations d’un retour officiel cette année avec trois prototypes à moteur avant.

We’ll be counting down the days to the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours by presenting each of Michelin’s partner teams at this year’s race. Nissan Motorsports is the big newcomer to the LM P1 class and is one of the 83rd edition’s main attractions.

The Japanese are huge fans of Le Mans and, although Mazda is the country’s only carmaker to have won the race to date, Toyota and Nissan have both been trying for years. Nissan made an especially concerted attempt between 1986 and 1999.

In 1986, it brought two prototypes (the R85V and the R86V) which were March chassis powered by a twin-turbo 3,000cc V6 and which were active in the Japanese endurance championship. The Weaver/Hasemi/Wada car came 16^th, but almost 100 laps behind the winning Porsche!

The following year, both Nissan R87Es retired.

Things improved slightly in 1988 when Allan Grice/Mike Wilds/Win Percy came 14^th in a three-litre turbocharged V8-powered Nissan R88C. The 1989 version (R89C) featured a new Lola chassis and a 3.5-litre turbo V8 but all three factory prototypes retired.

In 1990, Nissan won the JSPC with the R90CPwhich qualified on pole position and finished fifth in the hands of Hasemi/Hoshino/Suzuki. The two other factory cars retired and Nissan ended its Le Mans programme.

Even so, it returned in 1995 with two Nismo-entered Skyline GT-Rs. The N°22 car (Fukuyama/Kondo/Kasuya) came fifth in the GT1 class.

Nissan returned with high hopes in 1997. Development of the three R390 GT1s was subcontracted to Tom Walkinshaw and Hoshino/Comas/Kageyama came 12^th. The two other cars retired with an overheating gearbox issue.

The following year, the armada was expanded to four cars which were more competitive and more reliable. After 18 hours of racing, two of them were in the top five. The Japanese make went on to claim its first Le Mans podium with the R390 of Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama who finished behind two Porsche 911 GT1s. All four cars reached the top 10.

After the eighth place in 1999 of a Nissan-engined Courage C52 and the retirements of the Nissan Motorsports-entered R391, the Japanese make didn’t return to Le Mans until 2011, as an engine supplier. In 2012 and 2014, it was involved in the avant-garde DeltaWing and ZEOD RC projects which laid the foundations for its comeback this year with three front-engined, front-wheel drive prototypes.

Cars entered for the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours

N°21 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (LM P1): Tsugio Matsuda / Mark Schulzhitskiy / Lucas Ordonez

N°22 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (LM P1): Harry Tincknell / Michael Krumm / Alex Buncombe

N°23 Nissan GT-R LM Nismo (LM P1): Olivier Pla / Jann Mardenborough / Max Chilton

Le Mans record

1986: 10^th C1, Nissan R85 V (Weaver/Hasemi/Wada)

1988: 13^th C1, Nissan R88 C (Grice/Wilds/Percy)

1990: 5^th C1, Nissan R90 CP (Hasemi/Hoshino/Suzuki)

1995: 5^th GT1, Nissan Skyline GT-R LM (Fukuyama/Kondo/Kasuya)

1997: 5^th GT1, Nissan R390 GT1 (Hoshino/Comas/Kageyama)

1998: 3^rd GT1, Nissan R390 GT1 (Suzuki/Hoshino/Kageyama)

1999: 5^th LMP, Courage C52 (Cottaz/Goussens/Ekblom)

LA BUSCA JAWBONE

Someone once said “Live life as if you were riding a motorcycle”. Presumably they meant just get on with it, keep moving and don’t look back, or you might fall off. Jez from La Busca Motorcycles up on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales is doing what he enjoys and is enjoying what he is doing. This is reflected in his recent builds which have not only sold quickly but have led to further projects. This Triumph Bonneville was the result of successful sale of a Honda VRX based custom, El Cangrejo. We’ll let Jez take over from here.

“This bike was commissioned by ex pro cyclist Tim Merrell and the story goes back to my second build, El Cangrejo, which was purchased by Tim’s wife Katja. While delivering the bike Tim and I discussed an idea for a machine he was after, namely a Triumph Bonneville T100 in a desert sled style that would be capable of taking Tim to the far reaches of the globe. The concept for this was too good to pass up and within a short space of time the ball was rolling on the design”. 

We’ve heard that one before, a customer yearning for the sprawling Mongolian-esque landscapes of EwanBoormanland, but read on as this is one scrambler destined for the real deal.

“The brief was fairly straightforward, high quality parts and real world usability, the looks and finish would draw from the spirit in which the early sleds were built, merging with performance parts while retaining a hand finished feel. The wheels were built by Doug Richardson and sport Mitas tubeless enduro tyres; this set up drops the bikes weight considerably and gives good all terrain capability. To really move the ride on, Ohlins TR538’s were fitted to the rear with Hyperpro progressive springs installed in the front forks to balance out the shift in suspension performance. The ride and handling are superb and on this front alone the bike delivers in a way that never fails to raise a smile”.

“Right from the start Tim expressed the desire for luggage capability so the rear sub frame had to undergo some changes. A new loop was fabricated, sleeved and welded in place with the length of the sub frame allowing room for gear. I wanted to give the bike an old scrambler style solo seat and knew that anything too low profile would compromise the ride position, especially the leg room. With this in mind, an old Harley sportster seat that had real depth to it was re upholstered in diamond stitch leather with a low profile pillion pad sitting behind it. The pad can be swapped out for a rack and for longer journeys, pannier frames are added to keep luggage clear of the shocks”.

“To get the straight through look on the exhausts some simple slash cuts with some seriously re-engineered baffles give the bike a really nice exhaust note, and again, keep the weight low. This system involved re-jetting the carbs and running a Pipercross filter in the original air box, a decision of functionality over form as there are some hard miles planned ahead for this bike”.

“The headlight is from an early Aermacchi, hand finished with built-in LED dash lights and a protective grill. Stopping power up front is thanks to a Nissin 3-pot caliper which is well matched to the master cylinder, a huge improvement on the OEM set-up. The rear brake has been kept as standard. The bike is hand finished in a clear coat epoxy which is then lacquered to provide UV resistance, it’s not the easiest method to employ but it does provide excellent protection to the bare metal finish”.

“All in all Jawbone has been a very rewarding project, the challenge of getting high end parts to merge with a home-made desert sled feel and have them sit well together proved both satisfying and testing, at times in equal measure. Tim picked the bike up at Bike Shed London 2015 and from there he’s off to Wheels and Waves on it, then LA and next year a full South American tour. The knowledge that the bike will be hitting the roads and doing these kind of distances is testimony to a machine that was made to be ridden”.

“And the name? Most La Busca builds seem to have a soundtrack so here’s a clue, if you cross the great divide, eventually you get there”.
Keep an eye out for this bike as we’ll be following Tim’s progress around the world and hopefully he’ll be taking some decent photos to document the trip. In the meantime Jez has a workshop full of builds and we have news of another VRX in the making. For more details and to get in touch with Jez, the La Busca Motorcycles Facebook page is here.

via The Bike Shed

Looking forward to a weekend in the Porsche...

We all know the dynamic merits of a classic Porsche 911 – but rarely are they visualised quite as well as in this new video by Cool & Vintage, which stars an RS-look road racer with numerous modifications...

You can view the full Cool & Vintage stocklist – including this 1969 Porsche 911 – in the Classic Driver Market.

BREEN ET KAJETANOWICZ AU COMBAT AU RALLYE DES AÇORES / BREEN AND KAJETANOWICZ IN HUGE FIGHT FOR SATA RALLYE AÇORES VICTORY

La bataille était incroyablement serré entre Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) et Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Lotos Rally Team Fiesta R5) lors de la première journée. Le duel s’est poursuivi ce vendredi aux Açores, avec Breen qui repasse en tête dans la toute dernière spécoale pour 2,3 secondes.

La bataille était incroyablement serré entre Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) et Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Lotos Rally Team Fiesta R5) lors de la première journée. Le duel s’est poursuivi ce vendredi aux Açores, avec Breen qui repasse en tête dans la toute dernière spécoale pour 2,3 secondes.

Breen avait dû céder les commandes à cause d’un tête à queue lors de son premier passage par Sete Cidades mais une grande adresse de sa part sur cette même spéciale quelques heures plus tard, lui a permis de reprendre l’avantage sur Kajetanowicz. « Je n’ai pris aucun risque. J’ai fait en sorte de maintenir la voiture au milieu de la route, a déclaré Breen. Dès qu’on sort de la trajectoire on s’expose à des risques de crevaison ou de touchette.

Avec une expérience assez faible de ces routes, Kajetanowicz a tout de même été brillant, preuve en est ce meilleur temps sur Sete Cidades I, où le pilote polonais a admis : « mon cœur battait à toute allure ! » 1’18’6 le sépare du 3^e qui n’est autre que Ricardo Moura. Le septuple champion des Açores était en proie à des problèmes de frein mais il reste confortablement installé sur la 3^e marche du podium.

Le double vainqueur de l’épreuve Bruno Magalhaes a dû changer le turbo de sa Peugeot 208 T16. Il était sorti en pneus soft ce matin mais probablement les gommes dures auraient été plus efficaces. Il a également dépassé une jonction sur Sete Cidades, ce qui l’a obligé à faire marche arrière. Une 4^e place n’est donc pas si mauvais résultat dans ces circonstances. Il devance de 1’21’’1 un de ses compatriotes José Pedro Fontes, qui a perdu le pare-chocs arrière de sa Citroën DS3 R5 après une petite touchette.

Le rallye de Robert Consani continue de bien se dérouler. Classé 6^e, le Français a pourtant été quelque peu retardé par Giacomo Costerao (Peugeot 207 S2000) qui bloquait l’ES9 après un incident. Sam Moffett (Fiesta RRC) pointe à la 7^e place. Son frère Josh, occupait la 4^e place, jusqu’à ce crash à la fin de l’ES4 tandis que Jean-Michel Raoux, qui avait terminé 3^e l’an passé, est sortie de la route au départ de la spéciale 7. Joao Barros est parti à la faute dans l’ES11, bloquant temporairement la route. C’est sur cette même portion qu’Antonin Tlustak (Skoda Fabia S2000) a été contraint à l’abandon.

Jaroslav Orsak (Skoda Fabia S2000) était ravi de rallier pour la première fois l’arrivée de Sete Cidades. Bien qu’il ait tapé un mur dans l’ES9 (endommageant ainsi une des roues arrière) il complète le top 10 ce soir, derrière les deux premiers pilotes de l’ERC2.

The incredibly close battle between Craig Breen (Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16) and Kajetan Kajetanowicz (LOTOS Rally Team Fiesta R5) continued on day two of the SATA Rallye Açores – with Breen regaining the lead on the day’s final stage to lead overnight by just 2.3 seconds.

 

Breen lost the lead when he spun on the first run over the signature Sete Cidades volcano stage, but a great drive saw him chip away at Kajetanowicz’s advantage until the Irishman regained first place on the second run through Sete Cidades. “I’m not taking any silly risks and keeping the car in the middle of the road,” said Breen. “It’s so easy to get a puncture or to go off line and knock a tyre off a rim.”

With very little experience of the challenging São Miguel island gravel roads, Kajetanowicz has driven brilliantly – including setting fastest time on the first run over Sete Cidades, during which the Polish driver admitted, “my heart rate must have been close to maximum!” He is now 1m18.6s ahead of third-placed Ricardo Moura (Fiesta R5) – the seven-time Azorean rally champion running out of brakes on Sete Cidades, yet still maintaining a strong podium position.

Two-time event winner Bruno Magalhães changed the turbo for today in his Peugeot 208 T16, but went out on soft Pirellis in the morning, when he felt harder ones would have worked better. He also overshot a junction on Sete Cidades and had to reverse, but wasn’t too unhappy to finish the day in fourth – 1m21.1s ahead of fellow Portuguese driver José Pedro Fontes, who lost his Citroën DS3 R5’s rear bumper after a close encounter with a bank on the day’s final stage.

Robert Consani’s first gravel rally in his stunning Citroën DS3 R5 continues to go well – the Frenchman lying sixth, despite being delayed after Giacomo Costenaro (Peugeot 207 S2000) crashed and blocked SS9. Sam Moffett (Fiesta RRC) was also held up in the same incident, and is seventh tonight. Sam’s brother Josh Moffett was fourth until he crashed his Fiesta RRC at high speed after the flying finish of SS4, while Jean-Michel Raoux, who finished third on SATA Rallye Açores last year, crashed his Ford Fiesta R5 near the start of SS7. João Barros crashed his Fiesta R5 and temporarily blocked SS11, while the same stage saw the retirement of Antonín Tlusťák (ŠKODA Fabia S2000).

Jaroslav Orsák (ŠKODA Fabia S2000) was delighted to reach the finish of Sete Cidades for the first time in three Rallye Açores starts. He hit a wall and broke a rear wheel near the start of SS9, but completes the top 10 tonight, behind the two leading ERC2 drivers.

virée ......

KEVILS BOMBER

If you were down in the smoke a few days ago for Bike Shed London 2015 you will have seen the Kevils quartet of customs in Quayside 1, just a few metres away from the bar. Handy. In the ‘Shed we refer to bobbers as the perfect hangover bike, something you can just swing a leg over, sit back and let the breeze blow away the fugg. For the concept to work you need a laid-back riding position and some proper clout between your legs. This is one of Kevils Speed Shop’s few goes at building a bobber as Kev has previously shied away from them and stuck to scramblers and café racers.

For this build Kevils teamed up with Clive Cook of Crobba Customs, famous for his BSA Bantam powered Butchers Bike (click the link and take a look, well worth it). Clive is a talented welder and fabricator and had been subcontracting at the Kevils Devonshire HQ before taking the plunge, sacking in a 10 year career as a commercial generator engineer to go it alone and follow his passion. Yup, the familiar story of the heart winning over the head and thankfully another person doing what they were born to do, in this case hand-making custom handlebars amongst other things moto-related.

Bobbers need to be clean, lean and low. One of the best ways to achieve this is to bin the springy bits and go hardtail, so that’s what Kev and Clive did, chopping the central spine out of the Beemer’s frame and running 2 tubes down to pick-up the rear axle. With the shaft-drive set level the rear frame was triangulated and welded in place. Nice and wide though to accept the 5.00 x 16 rear Avon Safety Mileage, after all, it’s that fat sidewall that’ll be soaking up the bumps.

To make a hangover bike work there’s no alternative for cubes, and the ’77 R100/7 motor is the full fat model sporting a set of Mikunis on pod filters and a free flowing exhaust. As per usual with a Kevils build the engine is completely stripped, refurbished and rebuilt using proper parts.

Obviously an RD350 tank wasn’t going to work here so Kev shaped a block of foam before fibreglassing it and handing it over to Paul the aluminium expert who rolled out and mirror polished this great shape. A bobber with a decent fuel capacity, who knew?

As anyone with an R-series knows, the forks are limited by the top clamp. To slam the front end of the Bomber a Kevils billet yoke with pinch bolts was utilised, which also allows a set of one-off Crobba Customs bars to be clamped to the remaining fork stanchion.

Clean and lean comes from perfecting the game of electrical hide and seek. Motogadget currently sell the best range of space saving gauges, so there’s one nestling in the headlight bucket along with the rest of the new, slimmed down wiring harness.

An off-the-shelf bobber seat was trialled but the curved shape just didn’t look right, so a café-style unit was fabricated, and upholstered in black leather. The kick-up at the rear should be enough to keep one’s bum planted once the throttle is cracked and five inches of rubber bite down hard, uninterrupted by suspension.

As with all his builds, Kev needed a name so chose Bomber, as play on words between a Beemer and a bobber. Lucky the donor wasn’t a Buell!

To keep an eye on new builds, order your dream custom BMW or buy parts of the shelf for a project head to the Kevils Speed Shop Facebook page or website.

Photos by Ashley Kent, via The Bike Shed

The Museum by MARTIN SQUIRES

A Short Film by Tom Rochester, documenting Martin Squires as he sketches a large scale ink painting for the 30th Anniversary of the National Motorcycle Museum, Birmingham UK.

The Museum from MARTIN SQUIRES on Vimeo.

ZAGATO’S EXTREME MOSTRO WAS BORN AT THE TRACK

Photography by Federico Bajetti Pulling the covers off of a brand new car is the most traditional way to present one—maybe with women standing next to the car. But can you do better than just eye candy? Absolutely, yes. To present the first "Mostro" (aka Monster), Carrozzeria Zagato didn't use any fabric or women. It choose the newly-restored internal test track of Alfa Romeo in Arese, gathered 30 cars from the past and present, and introduced the new car by letting it roar from the circuit past the waiting crowd. It wasn't presented to the general public, however: it was being delivered to its new owner! Before its public debut in Villa d'Este, the Mostro Zagato was presented a few days beforehand in an exclusive event where Zagato organized a group of its great cars: where else do you see a two TZs, a TZ2, the TZ3 Corsa, and other road-going racers lined up in a row? Plus: the only Aston Martin Centennial Shooting Brake, an O.M. Superba, an Alfa 6C 1750 SS, 2300, JZ, two SZs, one OSCA 1600, three 1900 SSZ, a Fiat 8V, and a Lancia Appia Zagato…our jaws dropped and stayed there for quite a while! We were told that it was just a friends' meeting via official Zagato invitation to Arese. During the event, all cars lapped the track in separate 15 minute sessions for each class: first were the pre war cars, then the post war ones, and lastly, the contemporary ones. First, we were offered a ride in a wonderful blue Giulia TZ, a rare model with a blue paint job and a Conrero-tuned engine. The owner revved it to 8,000 rpm and the sound it made was mind-blowing. The car was light, stable, and by the end of the main straight was doing almost 100 mph. We were told that it used to be an official car for the Alfa Romeo team in France (hence the blue color), and that it has been in the hands of the same owner for many years. After the first three track sessions, it was time for the moment were waiting for: the Mostro.

All of the guests and participants gathered close to Andrea Zagato, who after a brief speech turned our attention to the Mostro, roaring from the track. It was a scenic view, and the sight of an all-new race car was quite spectacular as it seemed to appear from nowhere. This particular model was inspired by the classic Costin-Zagato Maserati 450S "Mostro", an aggressive-looking berlinetta that was built for Stirling Moss to compete in the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans. Based on the chassis #6 (4506) of the nine 450S built, the original Mostro used to be a 1956 car, redesigned and built in just two weeks. It was a conversion from the traditional barchetta body to a streamlined berlinetta, in order to have superior aerodynamics. Despite the incredible effort, the car never scored a victory, and it was sold in 1958 to an American customer. It was later repainted in black (apparently the original color was red) and converted to road use. After spending several years in a museum, it was sold and it is now in private hands. To celebrate this unique car, Zagato wanted to make a limited series inspired by the original design, but produced in 5 copies. While the original was moved by a 4.5 liter V8, the new one has a 4.2-litre V8 engine. The reason for this is because it is the only forced lubrication engine Maserati is currently producing. The new Mostro is made completely in carbon fiber. The chassis is a composite central tub made by Gillet Automotive of Belgium, and it has two additional steel structures in the front and back to support the engine, suspension and gas tank. Total weight is under 2000 lbs and the engine is good for about 450 horsepower. This is not bad in my opinion. What's cool is that this car is built for the street—and has a full exhaust bypass. This means you can have it "race car loud" when you want it and quiet-ish when cruising. Its simple design may not please everyone, but I think the car is quite interesting. It's a modern reinterpretation of a classic, and the only thing left to do is wish Zagato that would build a few more than just 5 of these cars: reportedly, they're all sold.

GT Tour ; IMSA Performance Matmut à la conquête de Spa-Francorchamps

Pour sa 3e manche de la saison, le Championnat de France GT FFSA 2015 franchit les frontières et s’attaque au mythique tracé de Spa, habituellement consacré « plus beau circuit du monde ». Un rendez-vous que le team IMSA Performace Matmut aborde avec humilité même si l’équipe normande compte déjà plusieurs trophées conquis dans les Ardennes Belges*. Une approche qui n’enlève rien, bien loin s’en faut, à sa détermination et à ses objectifs : rester dans le trio de tête au classement provisoire du Championnat.

 

* : 24 heures de Spa, 6 Heures en Championnat du Monde d’Endurance pour n’en citer que quelques uns.

” Vivement Spa ! J’attends ce rendez-vous avec une certaine impatience ! »… s’enthousiasme Olivier Pernaut « Je suis venu y courir aussi souvent que possible en Fun Cup, puis en RaceCar. Mais cette année je vais m’attaquer à ce monstre sacré au volant de la Porsche 911 GT3-R de 550 chevaux… Les vitesses de passage en courbe par exemple seront bien plus élevées ! Au cœur de la forêt ce sera magnifique ! »

Un avis largement partagé par Sébastien Dumez pour qui la piste spadoise est « le plus beau rendez-vous de la saison ! “C’est un tracé naturel rythmé par deux monuments le raidillon et Blanchimont. A chaque tour, on se concentre pour les aborder le mieux possible : c’est en partie là que l’on peut faire la différence… à condition de les passer à fond avec les GT actuelles».

C’est à dire avec des autos impeccablement réglées comme l’était la Porsche 911 GT3 R d’Imsa Performance Matmut l’an dernier. En raflant les 25 points de la victoire de la course 2 de l’épreuve 2014, le team rouennais avait pris la tête du classement provisoire du Championnat. Des points essentiels dans sa conquête du Titre 2014 !

Une des clés pour l’équipe aux couleurs de la Matmut sera de maîtriser l’usure des pneumatiques comme le souligne Sébastien. « La Porsche est un peu gourmande en pneus arrières comparativement à d’autres voitures. Malgré tout, le revêtement de Spa n’est pas très abrasif mais il y a beaucoup de virages rapides et de relances pendant lesquelles toute la puissance moteur est sollicitée. Il est donc nécessaire d’avoir une bonne traction. C’est un point sur lequel nous porterons une attention particulière d’autant que les prévisions météos prévoient soleil et chaleur !».

Pour tout dire, le plan de marche est déjà établi. Dès jeudi en fin de journée, les 3 coéquipiers (Olivier Pernaut, Raymond Narac et Sébastien Dumez) accompagnés de leur ingénieur Félix Barre ont reconnu à pied les 7 km du circuit. « Nous nous sommes donnés tous rendez-vous dès jeudi soir pour cette reconnaissance. C’est un moment d’échange important pour tout le groupe et pour sa cohésion. Il permet de préparer les qualifications et plus encore les deux courses » explique Olivier Pernaut avant que Sébastien Dumez n’ajoute « Nous ne partirons pas à la conquête des poles coûte que coûte mais nous travaillerons plus dans l’optique des courses: étant donné le format d’épreuve d’une heure et demie, la position sur la grille n’est pas réellement déterminante pour le résultat final. Les stratégies sont plus importantes et puis à Spa il y a de toutes façon plein d’endroits pour dépasser !…».

Enduro : retour à Serres (Grèce) / back to Serres (Greece)

Après cinq années d’absence, le championnat du monde FIM d’Enduro (EWC) est de retour à Serres en Grèce pour la quatrième épreuve de la saison.

Leader du classement général, Christophe Nambotin (KTM) domine outrageusement la catégorie E1. Blessé au genou lors de la précédente épreuve au Portugal, le Français remporte la seconde journée et laisse la victoire du premier jour à son plus sérieux rival pour le titre, Eero Remes (TM). Séparés de 10 points au général, seuls ces deux pilotes peuvent prétendre au titre.
Danny McCanney (Husqvarna – Michelin), Marc Bourgeois (Yamaha – Michelin), Cristobal Guerrero (KTM), Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco – Michelin) et le vétéran Simone Albergoni (Kawasaki) devraient se livrer une rude bataille pour conquérir la dernière marche du podium.
En Enduro 2, même s'il compte 19 points d'avance sur Pierre-Alexandre Renet (Husqvarna – Michelin) et 20 sur Alex Salvini (Honda), Antoine Meo (KTM) a semblé moins dominateur au Portugal. Après des déboires physiques en début de saison, Renet pourrait revenir en pleine forme en Grèce et prêt à prouver qu'il peut gagner et recoller à Meo.
De son côté, Salvini semble monter en puissance et est assurément revigoré par sa victoire au Portugal. Meo devra donc se méfier de ce duo, ainsi que de Johnny Aubert (Beta – Michelin), qui malgré un abandon au Portugal, compte bien prouver qu'il peut mener sa Beta sur le podium.
La course devrait être encore bien animée chez les Enduro 3. Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna – Michelin), en tête de la catégorie, ne compte que quatre points d’avance sur Matti Seistola (Sherco - Michelin). Après son doublé au Portugal, Matthew Phillips (KTM) est revenu à la troisième place à 12 points du leader.
Il faudra également compter sur Aigar Leok (TM), Manuel Monni (TM), Jonathan Barragan (Gas Gas), Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna - Michelin) ou encore Luis Correia (Beta – Michelin).
Enfin chez les Juniors, Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna - Michelin) leader au provisoire, reste clairement sous la menace de Giacomo Redondi (Beta - Michelin), Alessandro Battig (Honda) et de l'étonnant Steve Holcombe (Beta).


After a five-year absence, the FIM Enduro World Championship (EWC) returns to Serres in Greece for the fourth clash of the season.

The provisional E1 pace-setter Christophe Nambotin (KTM) has dominated his class outrageously so far, although a knee injury in Portugal saw him relinquish the first win to his biggest title threat Eero Remes (TM). He won Sunday’s competition, however. These riders are separated by 10 points and are the only two men still in contention for the 2015 crown.
Danny McCanney (Husqvarna-Michelin), Marc Bourgeois (Yamaha-Michelin), Cristobal Guerrero (KTM), Lorenzo Santolino (Sherco-Michelin) and veteran Simone Albergoni (Kawasaki) are still likely to give them a good run for their money as they jostle for the year’s silver medal.
In Enduro 2, Antoine Meo (KTM) is 19 and 20 points clear of Pierre-Alexandre Renet (Husqvarna-Michelin) and Alex Salvini (Honda) respectively, despite what seemed like a dip in form in Portugal. Renet appears to be recovering well from his physical problems earlier in the year and will be hoping to take the battle to Meo in Greece.
Meanwhile, Salvini is improving fast and will be buoyed by his win in Portugal. In spite of his retirement in Portugal, Johnny Aubert (Beta-Michelin) will be eager to show that he can get his Beta onto the podium.
There promises to be plenty of excitement, too, in the Enduro 3 class which is led by Mathias Bellino (Husqvarna-Michelin), four points ahead of Matti Seistola (Sherco-Michelin). Thanks to his double-whammy in Portugal, Matthew Phillips (KTM) has fought back to third place (+12 points).
Other likely front-runners in Greece are Aigar Leok (TM), Manuel Monni (TM), Jonathan Barragan (Gas Gas), Thomas Oldrati (Husqvarna-Michelin) and Luis Correia (Beta-Michelin).
In the Junior battle, the current leader Jamie McCanney (Husqvarna-Michelin) is under pressure from Giacomo Redondi (Beta-Michelin), Alessandro Battig (Honda) and the impressive Steve Holcombe (Beta).

L.A. traffic is only beautiful from 3,000 metres

The gridlock in Los Angeles is every motorist’s worst nightmare. However, photographer Vincent Laforet shows its mesmerising side in his latest series of aerial photographs…

With his photo-set ‘Air’, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Laforet reveals the magic of a traffic-packed metropolis – a lot easier to do from a helicopter at 10,000 feet than from a driver’s seat ‘in the field’, admittedly. “With these photos, I wanted to give an insight into something I realised in the last few years – the world is much smaller than we think!” The talented photographer continues: “Borders are insignificant, it’s easy to bridge distances. We are all much more closely connected than we actually realise.” Laforet has already explored New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and London from the top down; next up are Paris and Tokyo.

Photos: Vincent Laforet / Laforetair.com

Further information can be found at laforetvisuals.com.