2006 Ducati Sport Classic by Corse Motorcycles

Written by Ian Lee.

What's better than a Ducati Sport Classic 1000? A Ducati Sport Classic built by an ex World Super Bike/Moto GP mechanic. It doesn't get much better than that. This machine has an amazing mix of aesthetics and power that just whispers seductively in your ear: 'look at me'. Over 10 years experience on the European racing scene, including some time at the Ducati factory, has culminated in today's feature bike: Corse Motorcycles' rework of the 2006 Ducati Sport Classic. 

Opened in 2012, Corse Motorcycles is the baby of Anthony Warnock, a well travelled mechanic who specialises in late model Ducatis. According to Anthony: ”I was lucky – I went to the UK to study motorcycle engineering for one year, that turned into two and then I got the opportunity to work in British Superbikes, after a short term at Warrs Harley Davidson in London. Then it just kept getting better and better”. After his time in Europe was over, Anthony returned to his home town of Perth, in Western Australia, and after a few luckless job changes, took the plunge of starting his own business. And that is how Corse Motorcycles came into being. 

One of Anthony's customers, and now friend, is Nat Graham-Helwig. A late model, fast bike aficionado who has an eye for detail, and the right mechanic in Anthony to help him transform the stock Sport Classic into something unique. Six months of discussion as to the desired look, meant a few changes during the course of the build. For instance, three seats and four sets of handlebars were tried before settling on a choice of what adorns the bike today.

Utilising the factory fuel tank and rear cowl, they both sport a two tone paintjob, with gold pinstripe. A Wasp tail tidy sits under the ducktail, flanked by Rizoma indicators. The seat that was finally chosen is finished in diamond quill design with white stitching. Keeping with the 'look at me' styling are the Rizoma billet timing covers with Perspex windows, showcasing the EVR clutch componentry.

This bike isn't just about looks though, with Anthony's experience in motorcycle racing producing a hell of a handling setup. Front forks, rear shock and steering damper are all Ohlins branded and black Rizoma fluid reservoirs. On the front forks sit Discacciati billet brake calipers, biting into new rotors with titanium hardware. The Ducati rolls on black rims wrapped in Metzeler Race Tech K3 rubber. 

The power output for the bike has been bumped up as well, the Italian powerplant treated to a Wasp power up kit, along with twin K & N filters and a Power Commander. The engine is held together using a Pro Bolt engine fastener kit. Power is shot to the back wheel from a 14 tooth sprocket through a 520 chain, protected by a Speedy Moto sprocket cover. Sitting in place of the sky cannon stick exhaust, sits a Moto Creations shotgun exhaust. 

The final choice in bars ended being Woodcraft clip-ons, mounted along with Brembo RCS brake and clutch master cylinders. Hydraulic connection from the cylinders are through a Goodrich brake and clutch line kit. The headlight and instruments have been treated to powder coating.

From a standard Sport Classic, to the bike you see before you today, you can see where years of experience have helped in the build. A rather sporting orientated bike that wouldn't look out of place at a local bike show, according to Anthony ”it's subtle but unique, sounds and rides beautiful and draws a crowd where ever it's parked.” Couldn't have put it better myself. 

via PIPEBURN

End of Leg 2: Volkswagen dominant in Wales / Etape 2 : Volkswagen domine + vidéo

Day 2 of Wales Rally GB was dominated by Sébastien Ogier and Jari-Matti Latvala who are split by just 20.1 seconds. The two Volkswagen drivers are chased by Ford’s Thierry Neuville, Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov. The WRC-2 class is still topped by Elfyn Evans (Ford).

Sébastien Ogier et Jari-Matti Latvala ont animé cette deuxième étape du Wales Rally GB 2013. Séparés par 20.1 secondes, les pilotes Volkswagen devancent les Ford de Thierry Neuville, Mads Ostberg et Evgeny Novikov. En WRC-2, Elfyn Evans est leader sur sa Ford Fiesta R5/Michelin.

For competitors, the second day of action in Wales ended in Llangurig Forest and we didn’t want to miss the end of the leg’s final stage. However, to reach the stop control which was around four kilometres from the main road, you needed a special red ‘residents’ sticker, and they were being issued at the nearby Blue Bell Inn pub. Instead of begging for this pass, we hitched a lift from our friends at WRC Radio who made room for us in the back of their car. We arrived just in time to talk with Jari-Matti Latvala after SS9.

Before relating the stage to the awaiting journalists, however, the Finn spent several seconds with his head resting on the steering wheel, deep in thought. “That stage was going so well until around the middle when I made a mistake braking for a corner that was important for the next straight, which was maybe two or three hundred metres long. I lost a lot of speed and nearly went off.”

Jari-Matti knew at once he wouldn’t win this test for the second time today and it cost him a good opportunity to close the gap to his team-mate...

Sébastien Ogier was in tremendous form all afternoon and harvested three fastest times from three in his Polo R WRC equipped with soft-compound Michelin Latitude Cross S3 tyres. “It’s been a good day for us. That last stage was even more slippery than it was this morning and it was covered with stones that had come loose during the first visit. There was no grip at all.”

The Frenchman enjoys a lead of 20.1s over Latvala this evening, and is more than a minute clear of Thierry Neuville whose confidence took a blow this morning. “I’m doing the best I can, but there’s no grip.”

Meanwhile, there’s an interesting fight going on for fourth place between Ford’s Mads Ostberg and Evgeny Novikov and VW’s Andreas Mikkelsen who are covered by less than five seconds. “The timing is too tight between the stages for us to make any significant changes to the car’s settings on the road sections,” observed Ostberg. Martin Prokop is seventh overall but lost time with a spin on SS9.

Dani Sordo is the only surviving Citroën representative following the accidents of Kubica and Hirvonen this morning. He is currently ninth, in amongst the WRC-2 runners.

Elfyn Evans continues to set the pace in WRC-2 and is 20 or so seconds clear of veteran Mark Higgins who punctured on SS7. Finland’s Ketomaa is a second behind Higgins.

Hans Weijs Jr has taken over at the top in the WRC-3 class after Quentin Gilbert squandered three minutes in a water-splash on SS8. The Frenchman has fallen to second spot, 37s ahead of his compatriot Chardonnet who picked up a puncture 15km from the end of SS9

Pour les concurrents, la deuxième journée du Wales Rally GB 2013 s’est conclue dans la forêt dominant Llangurig et on ne voulait pas rater cet épilogue. Mais pour remonter les trois kilomètres jusqu’au point stop de Myherin (ES9), il fallait un sticker « resident », uniquement délivré sans ordonnance au pub le Blue Bell Inn. Nos amis de Radio WRC nous ont fait une petite place à l’arrière et on était à l’heure pour accueillir Jari-Matti Latvala.

Le Finlandais est resté de longues secondes tête baissée sur son volant. « J’ai vraiment bien roulé et puis en milieu de spéciale, j’ai manqué un freinage pour une courbe qui conditionnait 200 ou 300 mètres de ligne droite. J’ai failli sortir et j’ai perdu beaucoup de vitesse. » Jari-Matti savait qu’il ne réaliserait sûrement pas le meilleur temps comme lors du 1^er tour et qu’il avait perdu une belle opportunité de revenir sur son équipier.

Sébastien Ogier a été magistral cet après-midi avec trois temps scratch consécutifs sur sa Polo R WRC équipée de pneus Michelin Latitude Cross S3. « On a fait une belle étape. Cette dernière spéciale était encore plus glissante que ce matin avec les pierres qui ressortent. Il y avait zéro grip. »

Le Français compte ce soir 20s1 d’avance sur son équipier et plus d’une minute sur Thierry Neuville qui avait perdu confiance ce matin : « J’ai fait de mon mieux, mais il n’y a aucune adhérence. »

Derrière, la bagarre fait rage pour les places d’honneur entre Mads Ostberg (Ford), Evgeny Novikov (Ford) et Andreas Mikkelsen (VW) qui sont groupés en moins de 5 secondes. « Les timings sont si serrés sur les liaisons qu’on n’a pas le temps d’ajuster les réglages », se plaignait Ostberg. Martin Prokop (Ford) est isolé à la 7^e place du classement général. Le Tchèque a effectué un tête-à-queue dans l’ES9.

Dani Sordo est l’unique représentant Citroën depuis les sorties de route de Robert Kubica (ES4) et de Mikko Hirvonen (ES6). Avec sa pénalité de 5 minutes, l’Espagnol est à la 9^e place, au milieu des WRC-2.

Dans cette catégorie, Elfyn Evans (Ford) est toujours leader avec une vingtaine de secondes d’avance sur le vétéran Mark Higgins (Ford), victime d’une crevaison dans l’ES7. Le Finlandais Ketomaa (Ford) est à une seconde d’Higgins. Derrière, les écarts sont plus conséquents entre les Ford d’Al-Rahji, Brynildsen (problèmes moteur), Bresolin et Tom Cave.

Hans Weijs Jr (Citroën DS3 R3) a pris les commandes de la catégorie WRC-3 après les ennuis de Quentin Gilbert dans un gué de l’ES8 (trois minutes perdues). Le Français est 2^e à 37s du nouveau leader, et devant son compatriote Chardonnet victime d’une crevaison à 15 km de l’arrivée de l’ES9.

Demain, l’étape emmènera les concurrents un peu plus au Nord, vers Welshpool, en bordure du parc national de Snowdonia.

Deus Bali Bike Build Off 2013

Deus Bali hosted Bike Builders from across Indonesia as part of the Deus Boundless Enthusiasm Bike Build Off. Word sped they were coming and soon we had a sizable crowd of enthusiasts and curious.

Toyota developing an R3 challenger / Toyota développe une R3

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has confirmed it is developing an R3-specification GT86 which will go on sale in 2015. Toyota has won four Drivers’ and three Manufacturers’ titles in world class rallying. Renault is developing an R3 version of New Clio.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH vient de confirmer le développement d’une GT86 en version R3 qui sera commercialisée à partir de 2015. Toyota a remporté quatre titres mondiaux Pilotes et trois titres Constructeurs en rallye. Renault est également en train de développer une version R3 de la nouvelle Clio.

Last year, a Toyota Motorsport-developed Yaris R1 served as ‘zero car’ at Rallye Deutschland in the hands of Isolde Holderied. Since then, the firm’s rallying programme appeared to be on hold until its recent posting of an advertisement for a rally engineer with WRC experience.

Today, Toyota Motorsport announced it is working on an R3 version of the GT86 for customers use. It is based on the GT86 CS-V3 which is seen in endurance racing, in particular Germany’s VLN series. The GT86 CS-R3 will be powered by a four-cylinder engine mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox and limited slip differential.

“Rallying is in our blood at TMG, so it is very exciting to announce that we will be expanding our rally operations,” notes Nico Ehlert, TMG’s Principal Engineer Customer Motorsport. “The GT86 CS-R3 is a rear-wheel drive rally car and promises to be competitive and fun to drive.”

Meanwhile, Renault is working on a new Clio R3 with a 1.6-litre turbocharged engine that will replace the former two-litre normally-aspirated unit which has been suffering since the arrival on the scene of the Citroën DS3 R3. Opel is developing an R2 version of the Adam, and Skoda is expected to have R2 and R5 versions of the new Fabia in time for 2015. Citroën will need a replacement for the current C2 R2 within the next couple of years, while the Peugeot 208 R5 and Citroën DS3 R5 are expected to be homologated on March 1, 2014.

L’an passé, Toyota Motorsport avait présenté une Yaris R1 qui avait officié en voiture « 0 » au Rallye d’Allemagne aux mains d’Isolde Holderied. Depuis, l’activité rallye de TMG semblait somnoler, même si tout récemment, le constructeur japonais avait publié une petite annonce où un poste d’ingénieur en rallye avec expérience WRC était à pourvoir.

Aujourd’hui, Toyota Motorsport vient d’annoncer le développement d’une GT86 en version R3 destinée à la compétition-clients. Cette voiture sera basée sur la GT86 CS-V3 qui a été conçue pour les courses d’Endurance et plus particulièrement la série VLN. La version R3, baptisée GT86 CS-R3, sera propulsée par un moteur 4-cylindres associé à une boîte de vitesses séquentielle à 6 rapports + différentiel à glissement limité… Elle répondra évidement aux normes R3 et sera éligible dans les séries FIA.

Nico Ehlert, Ingénieur en chef de la compétition-clients de TMG : « Le rallye est dans les gènes de TMG, nous sommes donc très heureux de développer nos activités en rallye. La GT86 CS-R3 est une propulsion et promet donc d’être spectaculaire sur les spéciales et très fun à piloter, tout en étant très performante. »

Par ailleurs, Renault est en train de travailler sur la nouvelle Clio R3 1600 cm³ turbo qui remplacerait l’ancienne version 2-Litres atmo qui peine un peu depuis l’apparition de la Citroën DS3 R3. Opel est aussi en train de travailler sur une version R2 de l’Adam, de même que Skoda avec la nouvelle Fabia qui serait déclinée en R2 et R5 à l’horizon 2015. Citroën sera également amené à remplacer la C2 R2 par un modèle plus récent dans les deux ans. Par ailleurs, malgré un peu de retard, les Peugeot 208 R5 et Citroën DS3 R5 devraient être homologuées au 1^ermars 2014.