Chaz Davies wins race 1 at Aragon as leaders suffer technical issues

from Twowheelsblog

The first race of the second round of the 2013 World Superbike season was full of technical drama for the podium favourites, Eugene Laverty and Tom Sykes who both suffered from technical issues just a few laps into the race that was won by a highly impressive and fastChaz Davies who took his second Superbike victory of his career.

The race start was slightly delayed as Mark Aitchison’s Effenbert Liberty Ducati died on the starting grid and had to be pushed off to the pitlane. Once the lights went off, Aprilia’s Eugene Laverty got the holeshot ahead of polesitter Tom Sykes, followed by an aggressive Chaz Davies who immediately began nosing around Sykes and the two began exhange paint during lap 2. While Sylvain Guintoli kept his nose clean trying to follow the two battling riders, as Laverty tried to put as much space as possible between himself and the rest of field, while a struggling Marco Melandri dropped to eighth after an error.

During lap 4 while he was leading, Laverty ran slightly wide and his Aprilia began losing power dropping him to the penultimate position and then he was forced to return to his garage to discover what the issue was - he would later rejoin just to test his Aprilia, but his race was irreparably compromised.

With the Aprilia rider out of the contest, Tom Sykes took the lead, but less than two laps later, disaster would also strike the Kawasaki rider, as he too ran wide with an unspecified technical issues letting a close following Davies take the lead, as the Brit rider mestly returned to his garage.

Davies would continue his solitary race in the front unchallenged, while far behind him was Sylvain Guintoli trying to keep control his Aprilia, as Marco Melandri charged up the field disposing of four riders before easily chasing down Guintoli lap after lap, and by the 13th lap caught the French rider and passed him for second place.

However with just four laps left in the 20 lapper, the BMW rider hit a neutral gear and dropped to fifth and his charge for a podium finish began again, as he first disposed of Jonathan Rea and then Davide Giugliano, and would finally take the last spot on the podium, behind Davies and a very thankful and blessed Guintoli.

Heartbreak also struck Davide Giuglian who was looking for a sure fourth spot, but on the final lap just a few hundred feet from the finish line he ran out of gas which would promote Rea into the position, with Loris Baz and Jules Cluzel taking fifth and sixth, respectively. Carlos Checa was a distant seventh never getting into the mix as his Ducati suffers at the Spanish track, while Michele Fabrizio took 8th, unable to find a proper set-up on the performing Aprilia. Leon Haslam was just ninth unable to recover following his crash in QP2, while Ayrton Badovini closed out the top ten in the race that saw just fourteen riders finish.

2013 WSBK Motorlan Aragon Race 1 results:

01- Chaz Davies – BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team – BMW S1000RR – 20 laps in 39’50.332
02- Sylvain Guintoli – Aprilia Racing Team – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 5.216
03- Marco Melandri – BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK Team – BMW S1000RR – + 7.089
04- Jonathan Rea – Pata Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 8.196
05- Loris Baz – Kawasaki Racing Team – Kawasaki ZX-10R – + 14.417
06- Jules Cluzel – FIXI Crescent Suzuki – Suzuki GSX-R 1000 – + 18.332
07- Carlos Checa – Team Ducati Alstare – Ducati 1199 Panigale R – + 24.306
08- Michel Fabrizio – Red Devils Roma – Aprilia RSV4 Factory – + 25.884
09- Leon Haslam – Pata Honda World Superbike Team – Honda CBR 1000RR – + 35.721
10- Ayrton Badovini – Team Ducati Alstare – Ducati 1199 Panigale R – + 44.129

Après ES13 : Matinée difficile pour VW / a scary morning for VW…

There was drama on SS12 and SS13 in Portugal this morning. Mikko Hirvonen is now up to second overall and is splitting the Volkswagen Polo R WRCs of Sébastien Ogier, who still leads, and Jari-Matti Latvala (3rd).

L’ES12 et l’ES13 ont quelque peu relancé le Vodafone Rallye de Portugal 2013. Mikko Hirvonen (2e) est désormais intercalé entre les Volkswagen Polo R WRC/Michelin de Sébastien Ogier, toujours leader, et de Jari-Matti Latvala (3e).

The final day of the 2013 Rally de Portugal features a copious programme of 147.64 competitive kilometres, including two attempts at the awesome ‘Almodovar’ stage. The 52.30km test is the longest of the event and the toughest on tyres. It also includes some 32 km of ‘paved’ sections.

This year, the drivers’ total tyre quotas have been reduced by 40 percent compared with 2012’s visit to Portugal (24 covers for the entire rally) and the stocks of fresh hard-compound Latitude Cross H2s had diminished ahead of the start of the last leg. This morning, Ogier and Latvala left service with six ‘hard’ tyres, Mads Ostberg with five ‘hards’, and Hirvonen with four ‘hards’ and two ‘softs’.

The day began badly for Volkswagen Motorsport on the opening stage (‘Silves’, SS12) when Jari-Matti Latvala’s Polo R WRC switched to rear-wheel drive only, while Sébastien Ogier was slowed by clutch trouble. The Finn was passed into second place by Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën/Michelin) who has closed to within 37.9s of Ogier.

Latvala’s transmission problem continued on ‘Almodovar’, but Sébastien Ogier succeeded in posting the second best time (+168s) behind Mads Ostberg. “I was as gentle on the clutch as I could be,” said Ogier after the ordeal. The French is still in front, 49.3s clear of Hirvonen. Latvala is third, but fourth-placed Evgeny Novikov is only 41.4s behind him.

La dernière journée du Rallye du Portugal 2013 totalise 147,64 km chronométrés avec deux passages dans la terrifiante spéciale d’Almodovar (52,30 km), la plus longue et la plus dure du rallye pour les pneumatiques avec au moins 32 km de « secteurs pavés » comme diraient les fans de cyclisme en évoquant Paris-Roubaix.

Or, avec des quotas de pneumatiques réduits de 40% par rapport au Rallye du Portugal 2012 (24 enveloppes pour toute l’épreuve cette année), les stocks de pneus Latitude Cross H2 neufs ont fortement diminué au départ de cette dernière journée. Ce matin, Ogier et Latvala sont partis avec 6H2, Mads Ostberg avec 5H2, Novikov et Hirvonen avec 4H2+2S2.

Avant Almodovar, la spéciale de Silves (ES12) fut un bien mauvais scénario pour l’équipe Volkswagen Motorsport. La Polo R WRC de Jari-Matti Latvala s’est retrouvée en mode propulsion et celle de Sébastien Ogier a connu des ennuis d’embrayage. Le Finlandais a perdu sa deuxième place au profit de Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën/Michelin), lequel est revenu à 37s9 du leader Ogier.

Les soucis de transmission ont poursuivi Latvala sur les 52,30 km d’Almodovar, alors que Sébastien Ogier est parvenu à signer le deuxième meilleur temps à 16s8 de Mads Ostberg. « J’ai été prudent et le plus doux possible avec l’embrayage », a déclaré Ogier à l’arrivée, toujours leader avec 49s3 d’avance sur Hirvonen. Latvala est troisième, mais Evgeny Novikov est revenu à 41s4.

Easy Rider: 44 Years Later

The movie Easy Rider inspired a generation to take to the open road on two wheels and head for the horizon.  Those two iconic choppers have been ingrained in the American psyche ever since and for many have become synonymous with the freedom that we hold dear.  Forty-four years later, the effects of this movie can still be seen in how bikers dress and the numerous motorcycles built in the likeness of the Captain America and Billy bikes.

Just as the weather starts to turn warm and the riding season is almost underway, I like to have Easy Rider playing in my shop as I prep my Panhead.  Nothing gets you motivated like watching Captain America and Billy ride cross country. 

This year the sequel to Easy Rider, is due out in theaters.  I haven't seen an official release date, but I'll be interested to see how it compares to the original.  I just hope they use real Panheads and don't try to pass off a TwinCam with fake Pan covers...

from ridingvintage

Lazy in Red: Jaguar XJS Convertible

The whole world likes an open Jaguar, so when the British company introduced a full convertible version of its flagship XJS model it soon became one of the most popular cars in the range.

While market reaction to the new ‘XJ-S’ (as it was named, at launch) in 1975 was one of surprise, as the much-beloved E-type’s lines had been replaced with more angular, truly ‘1970s’ styling, it soon developed into an understated GT coupé, a favourite of company directors worldwide.Its big V12 wasn’t easy at the pumps but it did provide lazy, silky-smooth performance, perfect for long-distance driving in total comfort.A targa-type, partially open-roofed version, the XJ-SC was introduced in 1983. This was carefully timed to coincide with a new, six-cylinder engine in an effort to compensate for the V12’s legendary thirst. The then-3.6-litre six was initially only available as a manual.


In 1991 the car gained improved, much more harmonious styling and a new name: ‘XJS’. By then, the AJ6 six-cylinder had grown to four litres and all convertibles boasted a totally clear deck when roof-down. As an option, a 2+2 version of the convertible was available and the preferred choice of transmission was ZF’s electronic ZF 4HP24.

This car, available from Classic Driver dealer Car Classics Cologne GmbH, is an automatic 2+2 4.0-litre in the attractive combination of Flamenco Red with cream hide. Since registration in June 1994, it claims to have covered just 66,183 kilometres.

Related Links You can find out more about this Jaguar XJS Convertible, currently for sale at Classic Driver dealer Classic Cars Cologne

Text: Classic Driver
Photos: Classic Cars Cologne