In April !!

Neuville tries the i20 WRC / Neuville découvre l’i20 WRC

With 54 days to go until the 2014 Rallye Monte Carlo, Thierry Neuville had his first run in the Hyundai i20 WRC last weekend in France’s Vosges Mountains.

A 54 jours du départ du Rallye Monte-Carlo 2014, Thierry Neuville a effectué ses premiers tours de roue au volant de la Hyundai i20 WRC ce week-end sur les routes des Vosges.

Two weeks after the announcement of his transfer to Hyundai Motorsport, Thierry Neuville was given a chance to sample his new car on icy roads during two days in France’s Vosges Mountains. The car had been driven the previous day by Bryan Bouffier, and had covered more than 200km at a circuit the day before that.

After competing for Qatar M-Sport this season, the Belgian youngster received the authorisation to try the new car during the week after Wales Rally GB, but was not allowed to wear the colours of his new employer. The 2013 runner-up consequently sported all-white overalls when he sat in the Hyundai i20 WRC/Michelin for the first time on Saturday morning.

He completed an initial run on snow tyres but soon switched to studded rubber for the icy conditions. The two days focused on endurance work and the Hyundai i20 WRC proved reliable, with the exception of a transmission failure. The car completed more than 130km over the three days.

It was also a chance for Thierry Neuville to meet Hyundai Motorsport’s technical staff, including the team’s chief engineer Bertrand Vallat, and he seemed to settle in very quickly.

There are 54 days remaining before January’s Rallye Monte Carlo, round one of the 2014 WRC, which will be followed shortly afterwards by Rally Sweden. Hyundai Motorsport therefore has plenty of work on its plate and a visit to the Arctic Circle is planned to prepare for Sweden before Monte testing begins in December.

Deux semaines après avoir officialisé son transfert chez Hyundai Motorsport, Thierry Neuville a découvert sa nouvelle monture sur les routes verglacées des Vosges à l’occasion de deux jours d’essais. La veille, Bryan Bouffier avait également effectué une journée de roulage et l’avant-veille, plus de 200 km avaient été parcourus sur circuit.

Pilote Qatar M-Sport cette saison, le Belge a eu l’autorisation de tester sa nouvelle monture dès la semaine suivant le Wales Rally GB, dernière épreuve de la saison 2013, à condition de ne pas porter les couleurs de son nouvel employeur. C’est donc en combinaison blanche que le vice-champion du monde 2013 est arrivé près de Luxeuil-les-Bains samedi matin pour s’installer au volant de la Hyundai i20 WRC/Michelin.

Après un premier run en pneus neige, Thierry a vite fait monter les pneus cloutés tant les routes vers Faucogney et le Col de Croix était verglacées. La séance s’est poursuivie en pneus super soft. Ces deux journées d’essais étaient consacrées à l’endurance et, hormis une casse de transmission, la Hyundai i20 WRC s’est montrée très fiable. Plus de 130 km ont été parcourus quotidiennement sur ces trois jours d’essais.

Thierry Neuville a également fait connaissance avec le staff technique de Hyundai Motorsport, et notamment l’ingénieur en chef Bertrand Vallat. Le courant est semble-t-il très bien passé, le Belge paraissant à l’aise dans le team.

Il reste 54 jours avant le départ du 82^e Rallye Monte-Carlo, première manche de la saison 2014 qui s’enchaînera avec le Rallye de Suède. Le travail ne va donc pas manquer pour Hyundai Motorsport. Prochaine étape : le cercle polaire arctique pour les essais « Suède » et retour en France pour les tests « Monte-Carl’ » mi-décembre.

ROYAL ENFIELD MUSKET V-TWIN

The modern-day Royal Enfield has many charms. But a rumbling exhaust note is not one of them. And nor is the ability to smoke rubber, however gently.

Ohio-based Aniket Vardhan has found a solution to this problem. There’s no substitute for cubic inches, so he’s mated two 500cc Enfield motors together to create the Musket V-Twin. It’s an extraordinary engineering achievement, and Vardhan now has a solid order book and huge backlog of email enquiries to wade through.

The story begins when Vardhan left his hometown of Delhi, India, in 1999—partly to take a Masters in Industrial Design, and partly to live closer to the sound of Harley-Davidson V-twins. As the years passed and he took up a teaching post, he developed his Enfield V-twin concept, first as a 700cc model and then as a 998.

Vardhan describes the Musket as “a slightly ridiculous venture.” But in reality, there’s nothing ridiculous about it. Vardhan is far from your typical amateur engineer—aside from designing and blueprinting the engine, he also oversees the sand-casting of the crankcases, the machining, the assembling of all the custom parts, and even the final polishing and fitting.

More importantly, he hasn’t messed with the tried-and-test Enfield internals. Even the tappets are stock, so that vintage bike nuts can adjust them at will. The 59-degree twin is as simple and strong as the Bullet 500 single built in the Chennai, India factory.

The result is well beyond a factory level of finish, as you can see from our exclusive images. Just check the copper oil lines and the beautifully assembled exhaust system. The modified frame is also in keeping with the vintage style, retaining the classic single down-tube. Stop by a Musket 998 in the street, and you’d think it was an ‘official’ model.

Vardhan tells the full story on the Musket V-twin website. It’s inspiring stuff, and well worth a read.

from BIKEEXIF

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