Deus Bali Dress Up Drags

Those crazy kids at Deus Canggu (Bali, Indonesia) sure know how to have a good time! Last week the Deus crew hosted the fourth installment of their annual 'Dress Up Drags'. Costumes were worn, drags were won (and lost) and a very special guest came along for the ride. Check out these great shots and video from the day...

Charley Boorman aka 'Evil Knievel'

"The tri-fecta of birthdays that started this little soiree four years ago are still there but like a lot of things the Dress Up Drags has taken on a life of it’s own. To say this one was bigger and better that those before is fundamentally correct but each has been unique and they tend to deny comparison. One thing they’ve all had in common though is that it’s always been a great day at the races."

"Now if all of this madness and mayhem wasn’t enough, we were also as pleased as punch to have a surprise guest. He’s a guy that regularly does over 100,000km’s a year on two wheels, today he was coming to play and he’d brought his own TV crew. Charley Boorman, who just happened to be in town to do a show about biking, heard about this little rice paddy ritual and had turned up, all dressed up as if he was Evil Knievel. This would be interesting."

"As if on cue a wheel stand went wide on the uneven surface spilling the rider onto the track and the bike into the crowd. No serious injuries were had and our paramedics were on hand."

If you find yourself in Bali anytime be sure to drop by the Deus 'Temple of Enthusiasm' in Canggu. The foods great, the beers are cold, the bikes are amazing and the atmosphere is addictive.

Deus Bali

Looking for Cafe Racer parts and accessories? Head to 100MPH.com.au

Al Gharb al-Andalus…

The Middle East is strongly represented in the 2013 edition of Vodafone Rally de Portugal in both the flagship WRC category and particularly in WRC2, courtesy of Qataris Nasser Al-Attiyah and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari, Khalid Al-Qassimi and Rashid Al-Ketbi from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Jordanian Ala’a Rasheed.

Le Moyen-Orient est fortement représenté au Vodafone Rally de Portugal 2013 en catégories WRC et surtout WRC2 avec Nasser Al-Attiyah et Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari (Qatar), Khalid Al-Qassimi et Rashid Al-Ketbi (Emirats Arabes Unis), Ala’a Rasheed (Jordanie).

The word Algarve – which originates from the Arabian ‘Al Gharb’, meaning ‘The West’ – is a reminder that the south of Portugal was once ruled by Muslims for almost five centuries. This weekend, the championship’s Middle Eastern contenders will be walking in the footsteps – or should that be driving in the tracks – of their ancestors, the Umayyads, who left Damascus in a bid to conquer the world following the death of the Prophet Mohammed in 632 A.D.

For around 20 years, the participation of competitors from the Middle East in the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) has been consistently on the rise. During the 1980s, Qatar’s Saeed Al-Hajri and Mohammed Ben Sulayem were the region’s pioneers. Nicknamed the ‘King of Dunes’, Al-Hajri was the first Arabian driver to score points in the WRC (finishing fifth on the 1985 Acropolis Rally and sixth on the same event the following year in a Porsche 911 SC). Now an FIA vice-president, Ben Sulayem contested 18 WRC events and claimed no fewer than 14 titles and 60 individual victories in the FIA Middle East Rally Championship. At the end of the 1990s, Saudi Arabian Abdullah Bakkashab and Amed Al-Wahaibi from Oman were the most visible Middle Eastern faces in the WRC, prior to the world championship debut of both Nasser Al-Attiyah and Khalid Al-Qassimi in 2004...

Fans are eager to witness the first duel of the current WRC campaign between the Ford Fiesta RS WRC of the Qatari and his UAE rival’s Citroën DS3 WRC – and it will take place this weekend in Portugal. The two men have competed against one another for many years in the Middle East Rally Championship (MERC). Eight times a champion in that series, Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah has already triumphed in the opening two rounds of 2013 – the Qatar International Rally and Kuwait International Rally – whilst the 2004 MERC champ Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al-Qassimi was runner-up on both occasions.

Bit by bit, other MERC regulars have successfully made their way into the WRC, such as Yazeed Al-Rahji and Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari. Following a short apprenticeship, both have shone in the early stages of the 2013 season, tallying a victory apiece in Sweden (Al-Rahji) and Mexico (Al-Kuwari) in the WRC2 category. Injured in a cross-country rally outing, Al-Rahji has unfortunately been forced to withdraw from Vodafone Rally de Portugal, but there will nonetheless be two other Middle Eastern drivers competing there in WRC2 – Rashid Al-Ketbi in a Skoda Fabia S2000 and Ala’a Rasheed in a Ford Fiesta RRC. Skydive Dubai Rally Team’s Al-Ketbi finished fourth and eighth respectively at WRC2 level in Monte-Carlo and Sweden this year, whilst Ala’a Rasheed will be making his FIA World Rally Championship debut this weekend.

The four Abu Dhabi Racing team drivers – Mohammed Al-Mutawaa, Mohammed Al-Sahlawi, Bader Al-Jabri and Majid Al-Shamsi, all from the UAE – are potential future WRC stars. Al-Mutawaa and Al-Sahlawi were the two winners of the Citroën Racing shoot-out in Abu Dhabi last December, and consequently are both participating in the 2013 Middle East Rally Championship in DS3 R3s.

Le mot Algarve, qui vient de l’Arabe « Al Gharb » (à l’ouest), nous rappelle que le sud du Portugal fut occupé par les Musulmans pendant près de cinq siècles…Ce week-end, les pilotes du Moyen-Orient vont donc marcher sur les traces de leurs aïeux, les Ommeyades, partis de Damas pour conquérir le monde après la mort du Prophète Mahomet en l’an 632.

Depuis une vingtaine d’années, la présence des pilotes du Moyen-Orient n’a cessé de s’accroître en Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA. Dans les années 80, le Qatari Saeed Al-Hajri et Mohammed Ben Sulayem furent les pionniers. Surnommé le « Roi des Dunes », Al-Hajri fut le premier pilote arabe à marquer des points en WRC (5^e Acropole 1985, 6^e Acropole 1986 sur Porsche 911 SC). Actuel vice-président de la FIA, Ben Sulayem a disputé 18 rallyes WRC et remporté 14 titres et 60 victoires en Championnat du Moyen-Orient. A la fin des années 90, Abdullah Bakkashab (Arabie Saoudite) et Amed Al-Wahaibi (Oman) étaient des pilotes assidus en WRC avant les débuts mondiaux de Nasser Al-Attiyah et de Khalid Al-Qassimi en 2004...

On attendait impatiemment le premier duel de la saison mondiale entre la Ford Fiesta RS WRC du Qatari et la Citroën DS3 WRC du pilote émirati. Il aura lieu ce week-end au Portugal. Les deux hommes s’affrontent depuis de longues années en championnat du Moyen-Orient (MERC). Octuple champion, Nasser Saleh Al-Attiyah a remporté les deux premières manches 2013, le Qatar International Rally et le Kuwait International Rally, alors que le champion MERC 2004, Sheikh Khalid bin Faisal bin Sultan Al-Qassimi, a terminé deux fois deuxième.

Peu à peu, d’autres pilotes du championnat du Moyen-Orient se sont lancés avec succès en WRC, comme Yazeed Al-Rahji ou Abdulaziz Al-Kuwari. Après une ou deux années d’apprentissage, ils ont brillé en début de saison avec une victoire en Suède et au Mexique en catégorie WRC2. Blessé lors d’un Rally-Raid, Al-Rahji a malheureusement dû déclarer forfait pour le Vodafone Rally de Portugal où l’on retrouvera deux autres pilotes du Moyen-Orient en catégorie WRC2, Rashid Al-Ketbi (Skoda Fabia S2000) et Ala’a Rasheed (Ford Fiesta RRC). Al-Ketbi (Skydive Dubai Rally Team) a terminé 4^e et 8^e WRC2 au Monte-Carlo et en Suède, alors qu’Ala’a Rasheed découvre le Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA ce week-end.

Les quatre pilotes du team Abu Dhabi Racing, Mohammed Al-Mutawaa, Mohammed Al-Sahlawi, Bader Al-Jabri et Majid Al-Shamsi (Emirats Arabes Unis) sont peut-être de futurs pilotes WRC. Al-Mutawaa et Al-Sahlawi ont remporté les sélections organisées par Citroën Racing à Abu Dhabi en décembre dernier et disputent le Championnat du Moyen-Orient 2013 sur des DS3 R3.

from best-of-rallylive

For Sale: Porsche 935 Moby Dick

Built in Weissach for the 1979 season, this Porsche 935 is, according to Freisinger Motorsport, the last factory 935er and one of just two cars in this illustrious Martini Livery; the other being chassis 935-006 in the Porsche Museum.

When Porsche withdrew from endurance sports racing at the end of 1978 this car, chassis 935-007, went into storage in Korntal, where it stayed until Kerry Morse bought it in 1988. Freisinger Motorsport then bought it in 2008 and is offering it for sale today.

The car features Porsche’s 845 horsepower 935/71 turbo six-cylinder motor, which was not available to private teams at the time, along with the gearbox from 935-006.

It’s in stunning condition and you can check it out over Freisinger Motorsport’s website here.

Via Freisinger Motorsport

Images via Freisinger Motorsport

Are All of the Interesting Motorcycles Used Motorcycles or One Off Specials?

by PAUL CROWE

Rickman 750CR - something interesting from the pre owned possibilities

With all due respect to the motorcycle manufacturers out there, it's hard to name one current or anticipated model that is causing any excitement, but, this isn't a criticism, I understand their predicament. When the economy slows down and few people have the resources to buy a brand new bike, what are companies supposed to do? While a segment of the potential customers will always be able to buy whatever they want, in many, if not most situations, that's not the case. Interestingly enough, there's a really healthy market in used bikes.

Over in the sidebar, I try to find and spotlight a few used motorcycles for sale on eBay that are a bit special for one reason or another, they might be a low production model or maybe a well preserved or restored example of a classic that was popular when new or maybe newly appreciated now that they're unavailable. Occasionally, it's just something I like and it caught my eye. Whatever the case, they often seem far more appealing than anything you could get brand new off a showroom floor and frequently, as nice as they are, they cost less, too.

If a company is trying to turn out brand new models to sell, that's a problem. The better the bikes are that they produced in the past, the more fond memories we have of them, the more often we'll be swayed to buy a nice used bike and save the extra cash for something else, if there's any extra cash to save. If, on top of that, the older bikes are less complex and easier to work on, that's just a bonus.

Kawasaki W650 - a very popular bike on the used market

Sometimes those pre-owned beauties are less than perfect, but they'll still bring more attention in a bike night parking lot than a brand new model someone else just spent many thousands more on at the local dealer. Maybe the cool factor requires a little history and patina, it's hard to bolt that on as it rolls down the assembly line.

As companies struggle to get you into the showroom, those used bikes keep looking better and better. You may not always find exactly what you want, though the large number of used bikes out there means it's possible you will. Trying to design a new model that will sell in high numbers has got to be an unenviable job right now and it's not their fault. Things will change, the companies and market will adapt, but what those changes will be isn't yet clear. I wonder.

from  the knee slider