Sébastien Gimbert, BMW Motorrad et Michelin en Italie

Champions de France 2011 et vice champions 2012, Sébastien Gimbert, BMW Motorrad et Michelin poursuivent l’aventure en 2013 en Championnat Italien de Vitesse (CIV).

Associé au team Thevent en Championnat du monde d’Endurance (EWC), Sébastien  Gimbert portera les mêmes couleurs au guidon de la BMWS1000RR équipée de pneumatiques Michelin lors des cinq courses du Championnat Italien de Vitesse (CIV).

Bénéficiant d’une nouvelle réglementation réduisant le niveau de préparation des motos ainsi que le nombre de moteurs alloués à chaque pilote (trois), le pilote français s’alignera avec la BMW HP4 utilisée lors des trois dernières saisons en Championnat de France Superbike (FSBK). « Je suis ravi de courir en Italie cette année. Je vais bénéficier du même package (Pneus-Moto) avec lequel j’ai participé au FSBK lors des trois dernières éditions » souligne Gimbert. « Le fait de disposer de la même équipe avec laquelle je dispute le Championnat du monde d’Endurance est également un avantage. »

Engagé depuis quatre saisons en Italie, Michelin poursuit sa collaboration avec le team Thevent couronnée par deux titres de champion de France et deux titres de vice-champion du monde d’endurance en trois ans. « C’est une bonne opportunité de démontrer les performances et la qualité de nos produits sur ce championnat hautement concurrentiel » nous explique Piero Taramasso, responsable Michelin Compétition 2 roues. « Nous connaissons désormais bien le championnat italien et ses différents circuits. Sébastien possède une solide expérience de la course ainsi qu’une bonne connaissance de nos produits. Il dispose de nombreux atouts pour gravir les marches du podium. »

Outre l’évolution de la réglementation, le format des courses changent également en 2013. Chaque épreuve est divisée en deux manches, la première se disputant samedi après-midi à l’issue de la seconde séance qualificative et la seconde dimanche après-midi.

Sébastien Gimbert effectuera ses premiers tours de roues lors des essais officiels les 15, 16 et 17 mars sur le circuit d’Imola.

Calendrier 2013 du Championnat Italien de Vitesse (CIV)

06-07 Avril	CIV Course 1	Mugello
25-26 Mai	CIV Course 2	Vallelunga
15-16 Juin	CIV Course 3	Misano
27-28 Juillet	CIV Course 4	Imola
21-22 Septembre	CIV Course 5	Mugello

Triple Le Mans Entry 1966 Ferrari 275 GTB/C to Star at Rétromobile 2013

One of the dozen genuine ‘Competizione’ long-nose Ferrari 275 GTBs is set to wow visitors at this year’s Paris Rétromobile exhibition. It will take pride of place on Classic Driver dealer Fiskens’ stand.

Racing rules being rules, Ferrari’s top berlinetta of the time, the 275 GTB, was compelled to run in ostensibly ‘standard’ form in international events. ‘Relative’ is, well, ‘relative’, we suppose — for starters it’s a Ferrari (so state-of-the-art fast in anyone’s book) and as a Competizione model it was comprehensively prepared for racing.
So, when this car, chassis 9079, was delivered to Swiss Ferrari importer Georges Filipinetti for the 1967 racing season, it was in the highest possible state of tune yet carried the slimmest of lightweight bumpers and much standard interior trim.


Under the bonnet, though, was a highly tuned 3,300cc V12 with high-lift cams, three bigger-than-normal Weber carburettors and a stronger crankshaft and pistons. The tubular chassis had been lightened and the Scaglietti-designed bodywork was from the thinnest-gauge aluminium possible. A big-capacity racing fuel tank, Plexiglas side and rear windows, wider Borrani wheels and subtly flared wheelarches completed the package.
Note that it’s a right-hand-drive car, too – another way of obtaining even the slightest possible racing advantage, as in those days prototype sports cars favoured RHD to make the most of the driver’s weight when cornering right (as most European tracks run clockwise). And the rare long-nose bodywork is there to eke out another few mph down the Mulsanne Straight.

The results speak for themselves. A similar car entered by Maranello Concessionaires (Roy Pike/Piers Courage) finished eighth overall and won its class in 1966. The Filipinetti entry you see here, driven by regular team drivers Dieter Spoerry and Rico Steinemann in 1967, also won its class, the GTB/C crossing the line in 11th place, having completed 317 laps – seven more than in 1966.
The car was typical 'Ferrari': outright speed, rugged construction and staying power – traits that were to serve the marque well at Le Mans from 1949 to well into the 1980s.
After the race, 9079 was sold to Swiss racer Jacques Rey who, with Claude Haldi, entered the 1968 24 Hours (sadly not finishing) as well as the 1969 Spa-Francorchamps 100km (14th overall, first in class, Rey partnered with Edgar Berney). A short while afterwards, the duo started the car’s third consecutive Le Mans 24 Hours, but retired after just 39 laps.

And having completed one final race in 1969 (the 500km of Imola which resulted in a class win) the car was retired from frontline racing. Since then it’s been extensively restored for concours duty (second in the racing Ferrari class at Pebble Beach in 2006) and racing, with British experts Gelscoe Racing preparing it for outings at the Goodwood Revival and the Le Mans Classic.
London mews dealer in the finest of cars, Fiskens, will be showing this truly historic Ferrari on stand J91, in Hall 3 of Rétromobile, the Paris show which will run from 6 – 10 February 2013. Do take time to have a good look at it and, despite its superb paintwork and top-class preparation, try to imagine the thousands of hard racing miles under its belt. What a fantastic machine.

Related Links For further details on the exciting car, please look in the Classic Driver Marketplace Classic Driver dealer Fiskens' cars for sale in the Classic Driver Marketplace Photography by Tim Scott: www.fluidimages.co.uk

Text: Steve Wakefield (ClassicDriver)
Photos: Tim Scott

POLARIS INDUSTRIES PLANS FOR WORLD DOMINATION

Victory and Indian cruisers, and Polaris snowmobiles and ATVs are propelling the Midwest-based company to the top.

By Kevin Cameron Photographer : Jeff Allen (cycleworld)

What is Polaris Industries up to? The Minnesota-based outfit is buying companies across a wide product range: electric-car makers GEM and Goupil Industrie, engineering and prototype firm Swissauto, outdoor-gear-
maker KLIM and even Indian. An all-new Indian powered by a redrawn V-Twin engine is expected from Polaris’ Spirit Lake, Iowa, plant this year. There is also a “strategic partnership” with electric-motorcycle-producer Brammo.

When a company is buying, it must have both cash and confidence. The numbers I could find for Polaris looked strong. In 2011, there was a two-for-one common stock split. The third quarter of this past year reports a $94.3 million profit, allowing a 40-percent rise in per-share income compared with 2011.

TheStreet (a digital investment news service) rates Polaris stock a “buy,” citing: robust revenue growth, impressive earnings-per-share, growth in net income, reasonably solid financial position with reasonable debt levels and solid stock price performance.

No wonder people are speaking of “Polaris’ plan for world domination.” Robert Pandya, the company’s external relations specialist, notes that a year or two ago, Polaris exceeded Harley-Davidson in gross sales (just under $2 billion) to become America’s largest powersports manufacturer. He said the new Indian engine “shares zero parts with Victory. It is a clean-sheet design that references history.”

Current engines are manufactured in the Osceola, Wisconsin, plant, where it is anticipated that 89 new employees will soon be hired.

Although Victory sales have never been more than a small fraction of H-D’s, the Indian brand is the one that could challenge Harley based on the strength of its roots in the American psyche. Polaris bought Indian for its brand power. Now, the problem is to use that power wisely.

Burt Monro’s “World’s Fastest Indian,” which, by the way, is a runner!

“There are nostalgia buyers who would like nothing better than a 1953 Indian,” says Pandya. “Then, reality would come crashing down, as it failed to meet modern expectations for comfort, reliability, performance—as well as emissions.”

Thus, the task is to create a modern vehicle capable of carrying forward the Indian identity, referred to as the “Indian Core Concept.” Some speak of “a dohc engine with all the trimmings,” which would surely include digital fuel injection and ignition, with ride-by-wire throttle. The new models are anticipated to be much sportier, with the goal of not being trapped in a vintage throwback mystique like H-D.

When I asked Polaris, which has a respected industrial design office, for information about the new Indian engine, I was told only that a short recording of its sound can be found on the Internet. Moreover, the company said it might be fun to try to measure the cylinder angle from firing-impulse spacing. A teaser.

I thought about all this. Electric cars aren’t mainstream yet; industry “talkers” expect them to become economically 
viable in 2020. Polaris, through its electric-vehicle buys and its Brammo alliance, will be ready with electric powertrains and is currently supplying electric ORVs to industry and the military. Indian could go far with the serious 
finance now behind it. Swissauto makes a high-efficiency range-extending IC engine for hybrid powertrains, which the automakers expect to proliferate before the notional “electric era.” KLIM is big in snow and adventure motorcycling.

Polaris CEO Scott Wine has said: “Diversify intelligently and cross-pollinate.”

To me, this looks like serious forward planning—just what you’d expect from a conservative Mid-western outfit. Pandya agrees: “This squirrel is thinking about more than just the nuts he has in his cheeks.”

Lamborghini's 50th anniversary model to be the fastest ever

Lamborghini is set to unveil its quickest car ever made at next month's Geneva Motor Show.

Design director Filippo Perini toldCarAdvice.au "it will be the fastest car Lamborghini has ever produced". He added it will be sold in low volumes, with less than 10 cars planned and probably most of them have already been sold.

It could turn out to be more than just an Aventador LP720-4 since Perini said "we want to shock the world with this car". A slightly more powerful Aventador with some carbon fiber elements is certainly not a shocker so it might be something else. However, Perini said it will not be a new model, adding it will be homologated for the road.

Perhaps a road-legal Sesto Elemento?

Source: Lamborghini via caradvice.com.au

via worldcarfans