Four drivers for Hyundai in 2014 / Quatre pilotes Hyundai en 2014

After the earlier announcements of Thierry Neuville and Juho Hänninen, Hyundai Motorsport has added Dani Sordo and Chris Atkinson to the official ‘Hyundai Shell World Rally Team’ line-up for 2014. Sordo has been entered for the Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Après avoir officialisé Thierry Neuville et Juho Hänninen, Hyundai Motorsport vient d’ajouter l’Espagnol Dani Sordo et l’Australien Chris Atkinson parmi les pilotes officiels du Hyundai Shell World Rally Team pour 2014. Dani sera au départ du Rallye Monte-Carlo.

Hyundai Motorsport announced its official driver line-up and revealed the livery of its i20 WRCs at a press conference today at its headquarters in Alzenau, Germany. The cars will feature the colours of Shell and Michelin.

After confirming Thierry Neuville as its team leader at the beginning of November, Hyundai Motorsport has chosen to share its second car among three drivers, namely Finn Juho Hänninen, Australian Chris Atkinson and Spain’s Dani Sordo.

Dani Sordo, 30, who picked up his first world class win earlier this year in Germany, had already been in talks with the Korean make for a role in 2013 and finally joins the team after a season at Citroën. His 2014 programme will begin with the Monte Carlo where he finished in the top three last January. His co-driver will be fellow Spaniard Marc Marti.

Juho Hänninen, who has completed more than 3,500km testing the i20 WRC, will kick off his year in Sweden. The 32-year old was the first test driver to be recruited by Hyundai after the announcement of its return to the sport, and he has made a big contribution to the development of the gravel- and asphalt-spec i20 WRC since May. He has only contested seven world championship rounds in a World Rally Car, however, and his best result to date was sixth this year in Sweden.

With 75 WRC starts to his name, Chris Atkinson, 34, is the most experienced member of Hyundai’s 2014 squad. He drove for Subaru from 2005 to 2008 and claimed six podium finishes. He was sixth in Mexico earlier this year but hasn’t competed since. His co-driver will be Stéphane Prévot.

Hier, Hyundai Motorsport a organisé une grande conférence de presse à son HQ d’Alzenau (Allemagne) pour présenter officiellement l’i20 WRC qui portera les couleurs du pétrolier Shell et de Michelin.

Après avoir confirmé Thierry Neuville comme pilote n°1 au début du mois de novembre, Hyundai Motorsport a choisi de faire « tourner » la seconde voiture entre le Finlandais Juho Hänninen, l’Australien Chris Atkinson et l’Espagnol Dani Sordo.

Dani Sordo (30 ans), qui a remporté sa première victoire mondiale cette saison en Allemagne pour son 107^e rallye WRC, était déjà en contact avec la marque coréenne pour la saison 2013. Il rejoindra finalement Hyundai après une nouvelle année passée chez Citroën. Son programme 2014 débutera par le Rallye Monte-Carlo où il avait fini sur le podium en janvier dernier. Dani retrouvera à ses côtés son compatriote Marc Marti.

Juho Hänninen, qui a parcouru plus de 3500 km d’essais au volant de l’i20 WRC, débutera quant à lui au Rallye de Suède sur la seconde voiture officielle. Le Finlandais (32 ans) fut le premier pilote d’essais nommé par Hyundai après l’annonce de son retour en Mondial, et a largement contribué au développement de l’i20 WRC sur terre et asphalte depuis le mois de mai. Juho avait terminé 6^e au Rallye de Suède 2013, son meilleur résultat en WRC où il ne compte que sept départs sur une World Rally Car.

Autre pilote d’essais Hyundai cette année, Chris Atkinson est le plus expérimenté des quatre avec 75 départs en WRC. L’Australien (34 ans) a piloté pour l’équipe officielle Subaru en WRC de 2005 à 2008 et signé six podiums. Chris Atkinson a fini 6^e du Rallye du Mexique 2013 et n’a plus roulé en course depuis. Il sera accompagné par Stéphane Prévot.

Laid Bare: The Cutworm Specialties Alloy Dually

Cutworm Specialties’ owner Jeb Greenstone likes to make things from scratch. When he had a hard time finding a body for the Model A he wanted to build, he decided he would try to make one instead. It turned out, made a splash, and now you’re looking at the fifth hand-crafted vehicle that his shop has created; and their best work to date.

Originally stumbling across the hand-made aluminum pickup on Instagram, we made contact, then found out it would be at the SEMA show thanks to the UPS Ride Your Hauler To SEMA contest. What a stroke of luck! After walking around it a few times in Vegas and really taking in the details, it was obvious we’d picked a winner (pun fully intended).

Smash-cut to our own Bryn Musselwhite highway surfing in the bed of a truck, howling with laughter as he made these rolling shots. Such is the life of a Speedhunter.

Bryn shot the dually literally the moment it rolled out of the SEMA show. When else would you find an one-off, aluminum hot rod driving down the street next to a Nissan GTR?

As cool as it was to see the dually roll, this was how we first observed it…

… positively laid out. I’m a sucker for almost anything that’s this low, so Jeb had my full attention at this point.

PRESENTATION MODE

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It wasn’t just the road-hugging stance though, it was also the fact that this little pickup seemed to be built entirely from scratch. I didn’t know that was Jeb’s thing until later. Apparently this is the first body that he’s built from aluminum, and he really prefers it over steel now.

Thousands of rivets and miles of welding rod were consumed to hold this thing together and Cutworm’s style is to leave it all exposed. It lends a utilitarian feel, and it also puts Cutworm Specialties’ craftsmanship on full display. There’s no hiding anything if you’re going to build this way.

Jeb doesn’t seem to be bothered by that, as the entire truck is uncoated. This is ‘truth in materials’ at its finest.

Of course if everything is going to be the same shade of brushed aluminum you have to find a way to make the surfaces visually interesting without the crutch of color or graphics.

To this end, every panel has been embellished in one way or another; whether it’s rivets, beadrolls or punched out holes. Check out the pleated upholstery cues on the seats and door panels, right where stitched leather would typically reside.

Modern buttons and gauges are mounted in the dash and a toggle-protected push button fires the engine.

It all looks pretty cool lit up at night.

The alloy dually is certainly inspired by the Model A, with a grille designed after a ’33-’34 Ford.

The bed also follows classic lines but was fabricated in Cutworm’s own way, using tube for bed rails in place of the factory rolled sheetmetal.

Being a dually the guys took the liberty of adding running lights to the roof.

The most obvious part of the dually influence is the wheel and tire combo.

Massive compared to the little aluminum body, 19.5″ steel wheels wear commercial-style tires.

Jeb even machined his own lugnuts, which are a bit more dangerous than the ones you would find on a standard 18-wheeler.

The dually wheelset came from a motorhome, along with a Dana 70HD rear axle. The cantilevered rear air suspension was obviously built from scratch too.

The entire front axle had to be fabricated since you can’t exactly order one this wide from the Speedway catalog. Cutworm reused the spindles from the donor motorhome and bolted up Ford Superduty brakes.

The axle is located by monster radius arms and suspended by torsion bars. I had to double check with Jeb that the front suspension is in fact static, and apparently the wheelbase is so stretched that all he has to do is air up the back and drive away.

PRESENTATION MODE

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You might have been expecting a Powerstroke diesel to make an appearance, but Cutworm kept it hot rod-style with a gasoline big block Ford. The 460ci mill came from a ’77 Lincoln Continental and was warmed over before being polished up.

Of course Jeb had to build some headers from scratch too. 

You think it’s loud inside?

A hand-made gas tank is mounted in the back of the bed, with a copper fuel line that matches the copper hardlines for the rear airbags. Considering Cutworm Specialties’ location in rural North Carolina, I wonder if there might be a bit of moonshine influence here too.

Old-style peep mirrors were removed from their clip-on mounts and new steel mounting arms were built…

… along with matching door handles.

A bit more steel shows up on the rear dimple died bumper.

We’re very glad that UPS chose the Cutworm Specialties alloy dually to bring to SEMA.

Based on the attention it received, we’re not the only ones who feel that way either.

So this marks number five in Jeb’s seemingly unstoppable stream of fully custom creations.

We can’t even begin to guess what he’ll come up with to top this one.

Keith Charvonia Photos by Bryn Musselwhite

Cutworm Specialties’ Alloy Dually Hot Rod

Engine
460ci Big Block Ford from a 1977 Lincoln Continental, 575 hp

Driveline
C6 three speed transmission, Dana 70HD rear axle with 3.54 gears

Suspension/Brakes
Front solid axle, radius arms, torsion springs, Vega steering box, rear airbags with four link, Ford Superduty brakes

Wheels/Tires
19.5″ steel wheels with commercial tires, machined lug nuts by Cutworm Specialties

ExteriorHand-built aluminum body, Model A headlights and tail lights, 134″ wheelbase

Interior
Hand-built aluminum interior, Classic Instruments gauges

“FOLLOWING FILLMORE”

Outside the Life of a Superbike Racer

Temecula, CA — There’s 5 weeks off from the AMA Superbike season in August but that doesn’t mean Chris Fillmore takes a break. After a hard weekend at Miller Motorsports Park Fillmore is ready to recharge in Utah, the summer Mecca of everything outdoors.

In Following Fillmore, episode eleven, follow Chris from single-tracking with Josh Hayes, on off-road adventures, all set on a backdrop on some of the most remarkable vistas in the world. “I love being here,” says Chris, “it’s the mountains, the people…it’s everything, it’s kind of like a second home.”

Tune in to the latest installment of Following Fillmore, at YouTube.com to see the races, reunions, and everything in between in the mountains of Utah.

RIDE The Australian Offroad Moto Film

RIDE is the first film of its kind to showcase Australia's Top Offroad racers in the most picturesque, exotic locations in Australia, from the harsh Simpson Desert, Tasmania's breathtaking oceanfront mountains, the wide open Salt Lakes of Hattah, Darwin's muddy marshes, the picturesque beaches of Port MacQuarie, snow capped Mt Baw Baw, endless rows of Sunshine Coast Forest, our rugged Australian bush, the iconic Blue Mountains and breathtaking autumn cloaked orchards of Three Bridges.

RIDE The Australian Offroad Moto Film is the Evolution of Dirtbike Films in Australia. 

These elite Autralian Offroad racers have taken on and conquered the most gruelling and challenging offroad races from around the world from the AORC to GNCC to A4DE to ISDE to EWC to Finke to Hattah to Dakar and beyond.