8 Heures de Suzuka : another win for Musashi RT Harc-Pro / Musashi RT Harc-Pro renoue avec la victoire

The 36th Suzuka 8 Hours, round two of the 2013 Endurance World Championship (EWC), was won by Musashi RT Harc-Pro. Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team and Team Kagayama were second and third, while SERT and GMT 94 (Michelin) rounded off the top five.

Musashi RT Harc-Pro remporte la 36ème édition des 8 Heures de Suzuka, deuxième épreuve du Championnat du monde d’Endurance (EWC). Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team termine deuxième devant le team Kagayama. Le SERT et le GMT 94 (Michelin) complètent le Top 5.

The N°634 Honda of Leon Haslam, Takumi Takahashi and the talented young Michael Van Der Mark emerged in front at the beginning of the third hour and went on to collect its second Suzuka success after its victory in 2010. Musashi RT Harc-Pro was handed the lead on Lap 57 when the early pace-setter FCC TSR Honda was eliminated by a fall (Kiyonari). Takahashi completed 214 laps in the course of the eight-hour race.

Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team’s N°12 Suzuki (2^nd, +1 lap) led early on but was delayed by a 30-second penalty and a fall before fighting its way back to second overall. It was helped by the incidents which affected the teams running in second and third spots at the halfway point.

The pole-winning Michelin-equipped N°7 Yamaha was third at one moment but had to make an unscheduled stop to cure an oil leak shortly before the four-hour mark. The Austrian team re-joined in 10^th place with a four-lap deficit. Meanwhile, Team Kagayama lost second place because of a slightly slower stint by Kevin Schwantz.

The top 10 was rounded off by SERT (Philippe/Delhalle/Da Costa) and GMT 94 (Michelin). David Checa, Kenny Foray and Matthieu Lagrive started from 10^th on the grid and their consistency saw them finish as the best-placed Yamaha runners, as in 2012.

The first half of the race provided spectators with plenty of leader changes and drama, but the leading positions were more or less settled with 3½ remaining, despite the arrival of rain for the last half hour or so.

YART ended up eighth, while Bolliger and Team R2CL crossed the line in 10^th and 11^th positions. The Honda TT Legends bike fell back to 53^rd after losing a quarter of an hour following a clutch change during the second hour. It ended up 25^th overall.

The woes of BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent (Michelin) in the 2013 championship continue… After its misfortunes at April’s Bol d’Or, the Belgian outfit lost the services of Damian Cudlin because of a fall in free practice. It then suffered two more falls during the race and retired before the five-hour mark.

SERT left Suzuka at the top of the championship standings on 49 points. YART (46) is second, chased by GMT 94 (42).

Installée en tête après le début de la troisième heure de course, la Honda n°634 emmenée par Leon Haslam, Takumi Takahashi et le jeune talentueux Michael Van Der Mark, enlève un second succès à Suzuka après une première victoire en 2010. Musashi RT Harc-Pro a profité de l’abandon du leader FCC TSR Honda consécutif à la chute Kiyonari au 57^ème tour, pour prendre définitivement les commandes des 8 Heures de Suzuka. Takahashi rallie l’arrivée en bouclant 214 tours.

Relégué à un tour, Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team, premier leader, retardé par une pénalité de 30 secondes et une chute, est parvenu à se hisser à la seconde place. De retour en piste en quatrième position juste après la mi-course, la Suzuki n°12 a notamment bénéficié des faits de course touchant les équipes occupant les deuxième et troisième places.

Troisième, la Yamaha n°7 du YART (Michelin), auteur de la pole position, doit subir une intervention au stand pour une fuite d’huile peu avant la mi-course. L’équipe autrichienne ressort à la 10^ème place avec quatre tours de retard. Dans le même temps, le team Kagayama perd sa deuxième position lors du relais un peu moins rapide de Kevin Schwantz.

Le SERT (Philippe/Delhalle/Da Costa) et le GMT 94 (Michelin) complètent le Top 5. Partis de la 10^ème place, David Checa, Kenny Foray et Matthieu Lagrive, ont enchaîné des relais réguliers pour terminer premiers pilotes Yamaha comme en 2012.

Si la première moitié de course a été animée, la seconde a été nettement plus calme où les positions en tête se sont figées après 4h30 de roulage malgré l’arrivée de la pluie lors de la dernière demi-heure.

Le YART se classe huitième. Bolliger et le Team R2CL franchissent la ligne d’arrivée en 10^ème et 11^ème positions. Le Honda TT Legends, 53^ème après avoir perdu un quart d’heure suite à un changement d’embrayage au cours de la deuxième heure, termine à la 22^ème place.

La saison 2013 ne sourit pas à BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent (Michelin). Après un premier revers au Bol d’Or, le team de Michael Bartholemy, privé de Damian Cudlin dès les essais libres, enregistre un nouvel abandon. Chutant à deux reprises, l’équipe belge se retire lors de la cinquième heure.

Le SERT repart de Suzuka en tête du classement général avec 49 points. Le YART, deuxième, compte trois points de retard. Le GMT 94 occupe la troisième place du provisoire avec à sept points du leader.

Prochaine épreuve : les 8 heures d’Oschersleben, le 17 août 2013

Yamaha SR500 'Manxy Racer' - Addiction Customs

Over the years I have probably built more than 1000 bikes in my head. I look at my two motorcycles sitting in the garage and constantly strip them down then change their seats, tanks, tires, speedo, shocks, exhaust, colour scheme and even their grips. Most of the time I only run with a fraction of the modifications that go through my mind, but I do love thinking about all the possibilities. The latest build from Addiction Customs is the bike Nick has been thinking about for over three years. "Some bikes I think we spend years building in our heads" says Nick. "The Manxy Racer is one of those for me." So after thinking about this bike for years, Nick couldn't be happier getting it out of his head and onto the asphalt.

We thought we'd let Nick get the full build story out of his head as well: "Every year I watch the Isle of Man TT with pure excitement and anticipation, and some time ago it got me thinking about the old Manx Nortons of the 1950s that dominated the TT. For me, there is no better single than the stripped down race styling of the thumper Manx, and so for this, my third complete bike build under the Addiction Customs brand, I wanted to build a bike that paid tribute, a nod if you will, to the classic Manx Norton. At least that's where my thinking started. After selling The Addict in February I built a second bike, and re-worked a third, but all the time, I had nothing to ride for myself. The Manxy Racer was a bike that I had begun collecting parts for, and shaping in my head for the past couple of years, and I needed a new showcase bike, so in March I started to strip down this 1983 SR500 that I'd imported from Japan some months earlier.

It was really rough; rims were crusty yellow with a thick layer of cracked clear coat, frame had rust here and there and it was a long way from roadworthy with bad brakes, bearings, seals, tyres, almost everything! One of the first things I did was fit up the alloy manx style tank. It was one of those pieces I picked up last year and it knocked around my workshop wrapped in bubble wrap all that time. The alloy fairing was a similar thing, so I threw it on just to get an overall line to work with, then I designed the seat pan and cowl based on my height and riding style, and sent the dimensions off to a fabricator to begin their work. I'd really love to be able to say I made it myself, but my tiny workshop just doesn't have room for an english wheel.

The tank is 6 litres more than the stock tank, just the thing for long rides, and it dominates the aesthetic, so as the project progressed I found I wanted the bike to feel like a Manx cafe racer; a bit less race and a bit more cafe, so I took artistic license, and what you see here is the finished product.

Anyway, while the seat was being made, I pulled the engine out, and began working the subframe and tail loop, bending and welding it all up to give the flat seat pan and cowl a rake up at the back. I didn't want to compromise ride height and have to raise the springs, nor lengthen the cowl to clear the rear wheel travel. I fabbed up all the mounts and de-tabbed the frame and continued to source and order bits and pieces for the build. The all-titanium manx-style exhaust from Over was another one of those things I'd picked up a while back, so I cracked open the muffler and removed the restrictive baffle and replaced it with a perforated pipe and re-packed it with glass packing. The result is a raw thumping note to wake up the neighbours. 

The engine got a serious clean up and treated with a VHT primer and wrinkle-black engine enamel, giving it a vintage feel. Keihin CR38 smoothbore carb was chosen over the more popular FCR and braided oil line with ground and polished case covers completed the motor. Meanwhile the seat returned and I finalised the fender and indicator mounting points, welded everything up and sent it off to be sandblasted and powdercoated.

I spent hours sanding back the wheels, polished the rims, painted the hubs satin black and laced them all up with stainless spokes and TT100 GP tyres. New brake linings, bearings, and seals all round and the front forks were completely rebuilt and shaved and polished, adding Ikon custom progressive springs up front and custom rear shocks with vintage shrouds. I decided to modify the front end for a dual slotted disc setup with a second caliper from an XJ750 (I think). Braided stainless brake lines made to measure and both callipers and master cylinder got completely rebuilt with new pistons, seals and stainless banjos.

I completely re-wired the bike with battery eliminator, new gauges and lights of course, mounting individual LED warning lights inside the gauge mount, and giving the cluster a slight rake back towards the rider."

Nick built this bike as his personal ride, so it's no surprise he tells us "I'm stoked with the finished bike, and am a very happy customer!". The traditionalists might say the alloy fairing doesn't belong on a Manx design but it's one of those things Nick just wanted on his bike. "The bike pulls hard, sounds wicked and stops better than any other SR I've ridden so I couldn't be happier." We look forward to seeing what comes out of Nick's head next – just hope we don't have to wait another three years. 

[Photography by Patrick Stevenson]

 from PIPEBURN

Guinness World Record For Most People Crammed into a Smart Car

In the past this record’s been attempted with the original Austin Mini when 21 members of the Plymouth Young Wives Association crammed into a Mini on 30th September 1982. Nearly 30 years later an Audi A3 played host to 22 cheeleaders at Audi-Zentrum Pforzheim to steal the record. It’s probably pretty obvious that you can’t get 22 people into a Smart car, but there is a separate record for the micro car brand and as you can see in the video every effort was made to find enough room to break the existing 16 person record.

In fact, after a lot of pushing, shoving and wriggling there was enough room to set a new record of 18 people in a Smart Fortwo. There were no time limits for the record but the team couldn’t wait around because some members were in awkward and potentially dangerouspositions which meant that time was a factor. The record breakers used strategy and flexibility to manage the space as well as they did. They first filled the boot space that isn’t normally big enough for a decent week’s shopping with five people and closed the bootlid down. That meant that the team needed to find space for 12 adults in the two front seats.

Space was found for 13 people in the front seats, with bodies on top of bodies, feet in faces and every millimetre of available space taken up. Once the doors were closed, Guinness World Record officials took the mandatory 5 second count and then declared a new 18 people record.

Guinness World Record Smart

Getting out of the Smart proved just as slow and painful as getting in for the 18 participants. We’ve got the whole event on video for you to marvel at the madness that put 18 Australians into one of the world’s smallest cars.

from Eurocarblog

8 Heures de Suzuka : Musashi RT Harc-Pro in front at halfway point / Musashi RT Harc-Pro leader à la mi-course

With four hours completed, Musashi RT Harc-Pro leads the Suzuka 8 Hours, round two of the 2013 Endurance World Championship (EWC). Yoshimua Suzuki Racing Team and Kagayama follow in second and third places.

Après quatre heures de course, Musashi RT Harc-Pro est en tête de la 36ème édition des 8 heures de Suzuka, deuxième épreuve du Championnat du monde d’Endurance (EWC). Yoshimua Suzuki Tacing Team et Kagayama complètent le podium provisoire.

The dramatic first half of the race saw four teams takes turns at the top of the order, while one of the expected front-runners was eliminated by a fall at the beginning of the third hour. The current top three are on the same lap.

After qualifying in second place, Tsuda emerged in front straight away on the N°12 Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team Suzuki before being passed by YART-Michelin’s Yamaha on Lap 4. Then, shortly before the 30-minute mark, Takahashi put the N°634 Musashi RT Harc-Pro Honda in front.

Kiyonari, who started from fifth on the grid, eased into second place on the N°11 Honda (FCC TSR Honda) just before the first round of refuelling stops, before Jonathan Rea posted a sequence of quick laps during his first stint to go ahead after around 90 minutes (Lap 39). Drama occurred at the beginning of the third hour, however, when Kiyonari fell while leading on Lap 57. The bike of the race’s winning team in 2011 and 2012 was deemed to be too badly damaged to be able to go any further.

The incident handed first place to Musashi RT Harc-Pro, with Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team chasing in second place until a 30-second penalty for pit-lane speeding relegated the N°12 machine to fourth. This promoted Kagayama and YART to second and third places respectively.

After spending a period on the heels of Kagayama, the YART bike made an unscheduled stop for mechanical work after 3h45m of racing. The Austrian squad re-joined in 10^th spot. Shortly afterwards, the Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team machine was forced to pit after a mistake and was still at a standstill at the halfway point, yet still second in the order.

SERT and GMT 94 (Michelin) have been running reliably and are fifth and sixth respectively, while BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent (Michelin) has suffered two falls. The N°99 BMW was 47^thoverall at mid-distance, but being worked on in its pits.

A clutch change in the second hour saw Honda TT Legends fall down the order. It is currently 40^th.

La première moitié de course a été particulièrement animée où quatre leaders se sont succédé et l’un des principaux favoris a été éliminé sur chute au début de la troisième heure. A mi-course, le trio de tête se tient dans le même tour.

Qualifié en deuxième position, Tsuda place la Suzuki n°12 du Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team en tête des 8 heures de Suzuka dès le départ avant de laisser le commandement au YART-Michelin au quatrième tour. Peu avant la demi-heure de course, Takahashi, au guidon de la Honda n°634 du Musashi RT Harc-Pro, vire en tête.

Parti de la cinquième position, Kiyonari effectue une belle remontée et hisse la Honda n°11 du FCC TSR Honda en deuxième position juste avant la première vague de ravitaillements. Jonathan Rea signe une série de tours rapides lors de son premier relais lui permettant de mener après une heure et demie de course (39^ème tour). Mais le leader Kiyonari chute au début de la troisième heure (57^ème tour). Trop endommagée, la machine est contrainte à l’abandon après deux victoires consécutives en 2012 et 2011.

Musashi RT Harc-Pro hérite donc de la première position devant Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team qui écope d’une pénalité de 30 secondes pour vitesse excessive dans la voie des stands. La Suzuki n°12 rétrograde à la quatrième place. Kagayama et le YART en profitent pour passer deuxième et troisième.  

Au coude à coude avec Kagayama, le YART doit rentrer au stand après 3h45 de course pour une intervention mécanique. L’équipe autrichienne rejoint la piste en 10^ème position. Juste avant la mi-course, Yoshimura Suzuki Racing Team part à la faute. Après 4 heures de course, la Suzuki est immobilisée dans son stand mais occupe toujours la seconde place.

Le SERT et le GMT 94 (Michelin) suivent leur tableau de marche habituel et pointent respectivement aux cinquième et sixième places. Après un bon premier relais, BMW Motorrad France Team Thevent (Michelin) a chuté à deux reprises. A mi-course, la BMW n°99, au stand, a plongé à la 47^ème place.

A la suite d’un changement d’embrayage lors de la deuxième heure de course, le Honda TT Legends pointe actuellement à la 40^ème place.