Winter Marathon Rally 2013

The Winter Marathon Rally 2013 was held 24-27 January at Madonna di Campiglio in the Dolomites of Italy. A field of more than 120 historic car teams braved the reliability trial that is as charming as it is difficult, owing to the harsh winter weather.

Set against the stunning backdrop of the mountains, the 25th annual Winter Marathon saw the 1965 Morris Mini Cooper S of Antonino Margiotta and Bruno Perno take the overall victory, with second going to the 1940 Lancia Aprilia of Aliverti-Maffi and third place for the Lancia Aprilia of Giuliano Cane and his wife Lucia Galliani.Fourth place went to the 2012 winning team of Ezio and Francesca Salviato (1939 Lancia Aprilia), while Franco Spagnoli and Giuseppe Parisi came home with fifth place in their 1932 Fiat 508 S Balilla Sport.

The Winter Marathon is open to automobiles built prior to 1969, with entries as varied as the pre-war 1925 Bentley 3-Litre, 1932 Fiat Siata 508 S Balilla Sport, 1936 Invicta S-Type and 1938 Jaguar SS100 or the post-war 1953 Fiat 8V, 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider, 1957 BMW 507, 1960 Jensen 541R, 1965 Volvo PV544 and a wide selection of Porsches and Triumphs, among others. In total, more than 20 marques were represented at this year’s rally.

Another notable entrant at the 2013 Winter Marathon was the ‘factory’ Giulia TI Super, specially prepared to tackle this winter contest, from the Alfa Romeo Historic Motoring collection. The Giulia TI Super of 1963 is the most rare and prestigious of the Giulias, the ‘ready-to-race’ version, of which 501 examples were produced, almost all in “Biancospino” (hawthorn) colour, with the Quadrifoglio emblem on the sides and tailgate and with a ‘slimmed down’ body to further enhance its outstanding performance. The ‘TI Super’ was particularly suited to road racing, with among its most significant records is the outstanding victory at the ‘Tour de France Auto’ of 1963 with Masoero and Maurin.

Winter Marathon Rally 2013 – Photo Gallery (click image for larger picture and description)

1234►

Winter Marathon Rally 2013 – Results

TAG Heuer Barozzi Trophy
1. Margiotta – Perno, 1965 Morris Mini Cooper S
2. Belometti – Cordioli, 1932 Fiat 508 S Balilla Sport
3. Fontanella – Malta, 1955 Porsche 356 A Coupe

MotorStorica Trophy
1. Gennaro – Giacomello, 1938 Jaguar SS100
2. Belometti – Cordioli, 1932 Fiat 508 S Balilla Sport
3. Spagnoli – Parisi, 1932 Fiat 508 S Balilla Sport

(See Winter Marathon 2013 – Complete Results)

[Source: Winter Marathon; photo: Pierpaolo Romano 2013]

via sportscardigest

Ducati Alstare reveals 1199 Panigale livery

Ahead of the next pre-season World Superbike test to be held at Phillip Island, Ducati Alstareafter their good-bye video to Suzuki, has taken off the wraps off the livery that they will sporting this season on Carlos Checa and Ayrton Badovini’s Ducati 1199 Panigale R.

The Alstare Panigale livery reflects the classical red of the Ducati marque and also introduces four of their main sponsors, Energy Trading International (an Italian energy company that also backs MotoGP rider Andrea Iannone in Pramac Racing), FIAMM Group (batteries), FICC (energy drinks) e TIM (ICT phone company).

I can only be pleased and optimistic with a team like this, and a bike of this level, with our two riders and a team of friends and sponsors that will support us throughout this demanding season.The challenge that awaits us is not an easy one but thanks to our partners and the trust Ducati puts in us we will find the strength and the incentive to tackle the new season. I thank everyone who believes in us; we will do all we can to repay such passion and respect,” said team principal Francis Batta.

via TWOWHEELSBLOG

DP Customs '95 Harley Sportster - “del Rey”

Anyone that has studied the creative process will tell you that the world's great artists eventually develop a style that is simultaneously totally original, yet uniquely and utterly their own. Think Kimura. Or Falcon. Or Lennon & McCartney. They seem to reach a point in their careers where they just manage to transcend their contemporaries and take flight. After that, their work is a good as their signature or their offspring; inherently and unmistakably theirs. Looking over the shots you see here of DP Custom's lastest creation, I'm beginning to think that they, too, have taken flight. Please welcome back the brothers Del Prado, with their 6th (!) bike to make it's Pipeburn appearance - the larger than life Harley ‘del Rey.’

Any cleaner and it wouldn't be there

Here's the brother from (not) another mother, Jarrod Del Prado. “The customer on this build was, as usual, a very cool guy to work with. He shares our passion for motorsports in a big way. Vintage, current, all of it... so we decided to incorporate some of the colors of the 70's Elf F1 cars into this bike - blue, black and white.”

“His only specific requirements were that he wanted a rocker shifter and pipe wrap, otherwise he was cool with us doing what we do.” Dream customer? Check.

In typical Del Prado fashion, the colours were chose for maximum impact. “We kept everything with the paint scheme simple and bold, and finished it with matte clear. We built the rocker shifter and had it coated in black to subdue the extra length.”

We asked Jarrod to give us some specifics, just to keep the trainspotters happy. He obliged. “It's based on a 1995 1200cc Evo Sportster. We modified the frame with a stretched and lowered hardtail. We tweaked the look of the motor by powder coating the primary cover, cam cover and rocker boxes in matte black. Then we improved the performance by adding a Crane Single Fire ignition and coil, and a Big Sucker intake. On the exhaust side, Justin built a tidy equal length custom exhaust finished in white.”

“Braking performance was improved dramatically with Brembo rotors and calipers. We wrapped the 19" front and 17" rear in Pirelli Night Dragon tires. As always, Justin proves that clean wiring is an art form - everything flows beautifully. We used Biltwell's aluminum throttle, Tracker handlebars, and Mushman foot pegs. The bike looks really mean, really sharp, and my bro and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!”

Elf esteem - proud brothers, and rightly sovia PIPEBURN

Aprilia presents 2013 Superbike team

The Spazio Broletto in Milan once again hosted Aprilia’s Superbike factory team launch where they officially presented to the press their 2013 rider line-up: Eugene Laverty who is will be starting his second year with the Italian manufactuer, and Sylvain Guintoli who will have the tough job of replacing Aprilia’s greatest rider, Max Biaggi, who gave the marque five World titles and 41 victories between World Superbikes and the 250cc class.

Both riders will not only have to defend Biaggi’s title, but also help Aprilia add another notch to the already 51 world championship titles that the manufacturer can proudly boast of.

The team’s 2013 is almost the same as last year’s, the unmistakable black and red paint job along with with some hints of the Italian tricolore flag, just to remember that the RSV4 Factory Superbike is Made in Italy.

Check out the rest of the gallery after the jump.

Aprilia Racing Team Superbike 2013

via TWOWHEELSBLOG