Kamfari ’13 – Australia’s Muddiest Race.

FourOhFour takes you up to the hot and humid pointy end of Australia, Darwin in the NT for the 2013 annual Kamfari race. Known to be Australia’s Muddiest Offroad Race.

WSBK ; Marco Melandri wins three-way final lap thriller at Monza

from Twowheelsblog

Only in World Superbikes can you find a three way battle on the final lap without knowing who will take the victory.

Today’s race 1 at Monza, offered an incredbile and superb example of very tight exciting motorcycle race that saw Marco Melandri take his first victory of the 2013 season in a last lap, in a neck to neck to the wire battle with Tom Sykes and Eugene Laverty.

The BMW Goldbet rider won with a just a 0.085s margin over the Kawasaki rider and just a tenth of a second from the Aprilia rider.

Tom Sykes was the polesitter but Eugene Laverty got a better drive into the first variante with Jonathan Rea, Sykes, Melandri and Guintoli chasing after him, but in lap 2 Rea hit a neutral and lost four spots falling from second to six in just one swoop, and his podium chances were already finished.

Rea ended up battling with a two rider group made up of Davide Giugliano and Chaz Davies, but to avoid rear ending Giugliano he rode off track and returned without conceding the position, and the strict Monza race direction later punished him with a two position drop for cutting the chicane. Suzuki’s Jules Cluzel got it worse, as he was punished with a ride through for not following the proper re-entry at the first variante

Up front the race was heating up between Laverty, Melandri, Sykes and Guintoli, with hard breaking and using drafts and slipstreams which Sykes paid for at the Roggia when he ran off track during the fourth lap.

For the next four laps the positions seemed frozen until Sylvain Guintoli made his move on the 8th lap, first passing Melandri at the Roggia and then his team mate at the Parabolica that put him at the lead. One lap later Melandri would grab second place from Laverty, always at the Roggia.

Sykes was back in the battle as he grabbed the third spot from Laverty who immediately began to fade and on the 11th of the 18 laps Melandri attacked Guintoli in his favorite spot, the Roggia and tried to break away with two very fast laps, but wasn’t able to escape as French and British rider re-caught him and were back all over his tail.

With just four laps to go Guintoli regrabbed the lead bringing with him the Kawasaki rider, who would then thank Guintoli by taking the lead at the Roggia.

Melandri would pass Guintoli just a few corners later as Laverty suddently recovered and quickly disposed of his team mate and from that moment on the French rider would no longer be one of the podium contenders, as he faded immediately.

With just two laps remaing Laverty would take the second spot with a stunning pass at the Lesmo 1 and was all over Sykes’ Kawasaki and at the Parabolic he would take the lead as the three began to fan out, as the last exciting lap came up, with Melandri at the end of the straight passing the Brit.

At the Roggia, Melandri took the lead from Laverty who responded with a pass at the Ascari and at the Parabolica, the BMW rider dived back in as as they speeded towards the finish line with the power of their four cylinders and it would be Melandri, Sykes and Laverty.

Chaz Davies finished a lonely fourth the sole survior of previous battles as Rea ended up 7th and Giugliano ended up in a lowly 10th place after he too ran off track.

Following Davies were Michel Fabrizio and Loris Baz, Rea and Leon Camier.

2013 WSBK Monza Race 1 Results:

1. Marco Melandri (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 30′54.925
2. Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 30′55.010
3. Eugene Laverty (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 30′55.032
4. Sylvain Guintoli (Aprilia Racing Team) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 30′56.769
5. Chaz Davies (BMW Motorrad GoldBet SBK) BMW S1000 RR 31′02.554
6. Michel Fabrizio (Red Devils Roma) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 31′03.332
7. Loris Baz (Kawasaki Racing Team) Kawasaki ZX-10R 31′10.480
8. Jonathan Rea (Pata Honda World Superbike) Honda CBR1000RR 31′11.390
9. Leon Camier (Fixi Crescent Suzuki) Suzuki GSX-R1000 31′11.593
10. Davide Giugliano (Althea Racing) Aprilia RSV4 Factory 31′21.745

5 Porsche Design Products You Never Knew Existed

Porsche Design is well-known for its watches and sunglasses, but the division has created some less predictable products over its four-decade existence. We take a look at some of the more unusual offerings.

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Porsche Sound

While the boxer engine thrum might be Porsche’s trademark sound, the Design division worked with German piano experts at Bösendorfer to create a musical instrument of the more conventional kind. Using modern materials, engineers apparently faced a challenge in creating a piano “fit for the 21st Century” while retaining the traditional sound characteristics established by the 185-year-old company.

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Airhead

Among the lesser-known Porsche Design products is this motorcycle helmet, produced in 1976 under the name CP4, and today a collector’s item thanks to its rarity. Clearly taking inspiration from an astronaut’s helmet, the CP4 had many space-age features – such as the pioneering ventilation system and the seatbelt-style locking clasp (double D-rings were the norm at the time). The domed visor also retracted neatly within the shell of the helmet to prevent aerodynamic buffeting. 

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Big Pipes

Ferdinand Porsche was reputedly a keen pipe smoker, so it’s little surprise that Porsche Design fashioned its own take on the ultimate gentlemen’s accessory. Cooling fins (much like those on the marque’s engine blocks) dissipate heat away from the pipe to allow for a smoother smoke, and its initial success has led to several design styles being available today.

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Engine of the Home

In 2008, Porsche Design teamed up with Poggenpohl to create a luxury kitchen, which made use of an aluminium frame, frosted glass worktop surfaces and untreated wood panelling. Excitingly named ‘P7340’, its modular design allowed for bespoke installation to keep any bhp-reliant foodie happy. 

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Driven Through the Wall

Collaborating with a powertool manufacturer located close to Porsche’s home in Stuttgart, the Design arm created a hammer-drill. As Porsche put it, “In this product, design is an integral part of functionality” – hence the patented ‘on top’ handle, and use of aluminium and carbonfibre to lighten the load on gentlemen DIY-ers.

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Text: J. Philip Rathgen Classic Driver
Photos: Porsche Design

Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Man: Sir David Brown

Amateur racing driver and motorcyclist, Joint Master of the South Oxfordshire Hunt, a keen sailor, shooting aficionado, qualified pilot, polo and tennis player, racehorse owner and water skier – Sir David Brown was every inch the wealthy post-War industrialist. 

However, in late 1946, had he not responded to an advertisement inThe Times, his name – and initials, ‘DB’ – might never have been associated with Aston Martin. The notice in The Timessimply invited offers for the purchase of a sports car company. The company, on further investigation, turned out to be Aston Martin – a “very famous” name, Brown remarked. Taking the prototype ‘Atom’ home to Yorkshire, he was impressed with the handling… but less so with the boxy bodywork and anaemic four-cylinder engine.
To the head of a giant engineering conglomerate founded by his grandfather, the £20,500 purchase price for Aston in 1947 wasn’t too taxing. At least he could then buy an interesting British luxury car at a time of severe rationing and shortages that meant most Rolls, Jaguar and Bentley production was earmarked for export.



Very much A Man Who Knew What He Wanted, Brown then purchased Lagonda, principally for its W.O. Bentley-designed twin-OHC six. With Lagonda costing £52,500, for an outlay of less than £75,000 Brown had bought two of the most famous British sporting marques, complete with ready-to-manufacture modern chassis, engines and bodywork. A British rival to Ferrari was born, and ‘DB’ was able to achieve his lifelong aims of building a car to his personal specification and indulging in international motor racing.



Brown was probably at his happiest in the 1950s, finding time to visit some of the races, perhaps flying himself to events in his de Havilland Dove. He had his pet projects: the disastrous ‘Ferrari rival’ Lagonda V12; the four-door Lagondas; the first DB5 Shooting Brake; an ill-fated foray into Grand Prix racing; the four-door, Lagonda-badged DBSV8; the many ‘Roman Purple’ demonstrators appropriated for his personal use… He was the boss, after all. Brown was thrice married, and received a knighthood in 1968, but having sanctioned the move to Newport Pagnell, the introduction of the DB4-5-6 models and the DBS, in 1972 Brown sold Aston Martin to Company Developments. He had owned it for exactly 25 years. Liquidity problems with the David Brown Group as a whole and the seemingly impossible job of ever making Aston Martin break even forced his hand.
During that quarter century, with the win at Le Mans in 1959 and one sensational road car after another, there’s no doubt that David Brown’s influence on the company was enormous. And as a man to serve? Let’s leave the final word to John Wyer (Team Manager and later General Manager): “As Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive and Patron of a racing team it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find anybody better to work for than David Brown.” High praise indeed – from a famously hard-to-please man.

Related Links Read more about the cars and the David Brown era in our 100 Years of Aston Special

Text: Steve Wakefield Classic Driver
Photos: Aston Martin Lagonda / Getty