The Citroën DS’300’ WRC! / Citroën DS300 WRC !

The Citroën DS3 WRC claimed its 300th WRC stage win in Mexico on Friday, three years after its debut in the championship in February 2011.

The DS3 WRC followed in the footsteps of the Xsara WRC and C4 WRC and was Citroën’s answer to the new technical WRC car regulations that were introduced in 2011 (1.6-litre turbocharged engine with direct fuel injection, front and rear mechanical differentials, sequential gearbox and ‘conventional’ manual gearshift).

Like its rival the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, it made its world class debut in Sweden in 2011, and its first stage success was the work of Sébastien Ogier on SS6 (‘Likenas’).

Since then, the Citroën DS3 WRC/Michelin has obtained two world titles, 23 rally wins and, since Mads Ostberg’s victory on Rally Mexico’s SS11 on Friday, 300 fastest stage times.

Sébastien Loeb was the main contributor to these statistics, with a score of 16 WRC wins (including the first, in Mexico, in 2011) and 149 fastest times. In 2011, Sébastien Ogier and Petter Solberg (in a privately-run car) notched up 55 and 30 stage wins respectively, while Mikko Hirvonen (34 stage victories in a DS3 WRC), Thierry Neuville (11), Dani Sordo (14), Bryan Bouffier (1) and Nasser Al-Attiyah (1) played a part in the car’s success, too, not to mention Ostberg who took his score to five stage wins in the DS3 yesterday in Mexico.

Overall, with a record of 36 rally victories and 620 stage wins to its name between 2007 and 2010, the C4 WRC remains Citroën’s most successful model in the FIA World Rally Championship, ahead of the Xsara WRC (32 rally wins and 472 fastest times from 2001 to 2006).

Depuis ses débuts mondiaux en février 2011, la Citroën DS3 WRC a remporté sa 300e spéciale en WRC avec Michelin à l’occasion du Rallye du Mexique 2014.

Succédant à la Xsara WRC et à la C4 WRC, la Citroën DS3 WRC répond à la nouvelle réglementation technique entrée en vigueur en 2011 : moteur 1,6-Litre turbo à injection directe, différentiels avant et arrière mécaniques, boîte de vitesses séquentielle avec commande manuelle « classique »…

Comme sa concurrente Ford Fiesta RS WRC, c’est au Rallye de Suède 2011 que la DS3 WRC a effectué ses grands débuts mondiaux. Il aura fallu attendre l’ES6, Likenas, pour que Sébastien Ogier lui offre son 1^er temps scratch mondial.

Depuis, la Citroën DS3 WRC/Michelin a remporté deux titres mondiaux, 23 victoires et donc 300 spéciales, après le meilleur temps réalisé hier par Mads Ostberg dans l’ES11 du Rallye du Mexique.

Sébastien Loeb a largement contribué à son palmarès avec 16 victoires mondiales – la 1^ère au Rallye du Mexique 2011 – et 149 spéciales remportées. Mais il ne fut pas le seul. En 2011, Sébastien Ogier a réalisé 55 meilleurs temps et Petter Solberg 30 au volant d’une DS3 WRC « privée ». En deux saisons, Mikko Hirvonen a gagné 34 ES à son volant, Thierry Neuville (11), Dani Sordo (14), Bryan Bouffier et Nasser Al-Attiyah (1) ont également participé à la fête, sans oublier Mads Ostberg qui a remporté son 5^e meilleur temps au Mexique.

Avec 36 victoires mondiales et 620 spéciales remportées entre 2007 et 2010, la C4 WRC reste la voiture la plus performante de Citroën en Championnat du monde des Rallyes FIA, devant la Xsara WRC, 32 victoires mondiales et 472 ES remportées entre 2001 et 2006.

THE NÜRBURGRING: SOLD TO AN AMERICAN INVESTMENT FIRM?

Future is uncertain for this historic German racetrack.

 By Andrew Bornhop 

According to a recent Reuters report, an investor group led by HIG Capital is “poised to buy” the financially troubled Nürburgring racetrack in Germany for roughly $82 million. The bid from the Miami-based firm apparently beat out earlier offers from Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and the ADAC, the German equivalent of the AAA in the US. The final sale of the assets, which include the entire 12.9-mile Nordschleifetrack, hotels and a theme park, is expected to be approved by the EU Commission late this month.

The sale puts to bed much speculation that one of the big German automakers—which test so often there—would buy the facility, which was originally constructed in 1927 to showcase German automotive engineering prowess but grew to become a hallowed place for motorsports enthusiasts…on two or four wheels. None other than three-time F1 World Champion Jackie Stewart called the track in the Eifel region of Germany “the greatest and most challenging circuit in the world,” and F1 fans will always remember it as the unforgiving course where Niki Lauda nearly lost his life in 1976, the last year an F1 Grand Prix was held on the twisting Nordschleife. Now, as many know, the circuit is effectively a tollroad open to public in which riders and drivers alike plunk down their 23 euros and lap at their own risk. Our own Road Test Editor, Don Canet, did about 50 laps of the circuit on a Ducati 1098 back in 2007, and he still can’t stop talking about it.

In July of 2012, the track—saddled with debt reported to equal about 50 years’ worth of profit—declared bankruptcy, and the place was put up for sale last May. Many motorsports fans, those with an appreciation for racing history, maintain that they’d like to see the ’Ring stay just the way it is, with manufacturer test days mixed in with the type of open-to-the-public lapping that allows each of us to find our inner Fangio or Hailwood.

But some fear that the sale to a private equity firm may have dire consequences, turning the forested facility into a more restricted place, an exclusive motorsport playground of sorts dotted with private cottages at choice viewing areas like Flugplatz, Brunnchen, Adenauer Forst and the Karussell. While something of the sort may be within the new owner’s rights, we remain hopeful that the company can make the track financially sound while maintaining its magical nature.

via cycleworld

poker !

Aleix Espargaro on top as 2014 MotoGP™ preseason concludes / Aleix Espargaró a le dernier mot au Test de Losail

The final premier class test of the 2014 preseason concluded on Sunday night at the floodlit desert circuit of Qatar, with Aleix Espargaro the fastest rider in attendance – just ahead of his younger brother Pol who suffered a collarbone break in a late evening crash.

Over the last few months, during the preparations for the new MotoGP™ World Championship campaign, the elder Espargaro sibling has been the standout performer of the testing period – showing the potential of his ‘Open’ entry Yamaha for the NGM Mobile Forward Racing team.

He set the best time of the three day Qatar test with a 1’54.874 circulation on the 19^th of 47 Sunday laps. That time was less than 0.2s off Jorge Lorenzo’s 2013 pole lap at the Losail Circuit and Espargaro also looked strong in a race simulation which he carried out late on the final day.

His brother Pol Espargaro, the Moto2™ World Champion and a rookie this season, was just 0.033s behind him in second place, but the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 youngster’s good preseason ended with an untimely collarbone fracture. He crashed at turn 6 and was taken straight to medical centre, with the extent of his injury still under examination – he faces surgery in Barcelona on Monday.

On the other side of the Tech 3 garage, Englishman Bradley Smith has a year of MotoGP racing under his belt and having finished third at the test (+0.153s) one of his objectives will be to beat the Espargaro brothers in the opening Grands Prix of 2014. Smith escaped unhurt from a mid evening spill from his Yamaha YZR-M1.

After the three Yamahas at the top of the timesheet, Honda riders Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista were fourth and fifth respectively with similar lap times, the pair of them avoiding injury despite both crashing twice on Sunday. LCR Honda man Bradl notched a 1’55.187 best time, putting him 0.045s ahead of his GO&FUN Honda Gresini rival.

Pramac Racing's Andrea Iannone was the faster of the two Ducati riders on track again, finishing 0.644s off the pace, whilst Energy T.I. Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez (+1.182) was eighth on the 2013 Ducati bike.

In seventh place meanwhile, Colin Edwards again chipped a few tenths off his previous day’s best and ends preseason lapping around a second slower than his Forward Racing colleague Espargaro. The experienced Texan puts the time difference down to riding style and aims to adapt to a Yamaha machine different to that which he has previously ridden.

The top ten was rounded out by Drive M7 Aspar colleagues Nicky Hayden (+1.399s) and Hiroshi Aoyama (2.132s) on their ‘Open’ Honda RCV1000R machines. Hayden made a 0.65s improvement in outright pace on the final day and was generally pleased with his rhythm over race distance, but wants more competitiveness for Grand Prix competition.

Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing), Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing), Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project) and Paul Bird Motorsport teammates Michael Laverty and Broc Parkes featured in positions 11 to 17 respectively.

There is a Moto2™ and Moto3™ test this week at Jerez, completing the World Championship’s 2014 preseason – ahead of round one’s Commercial Bank Grand Prix of Qatar (20^th-23^rd March).

Aleix Espargaró a conclu le dernier Test Officiel de la pré-saison MotoGP™ avec le meilleur temps dimanche au Circuit International de Losail, où son frère cadet Pol s'est fracturé la clavicule.

Parmi les principaux protagonistes de la pré-saison 2014, Aleix Espargaró (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) a confirmé le potentiel de sa Forward-Yamaha Open en terminant le Test Officiel de Losail au sommet de la feuille de temps.

Le Catalan a signé le meilleur temps en 1'54.874 sur le 19ème de ses 47 tours et était donc deux dixièmes de seconde en dessous de la pole position de Jorge Lorenzo de 2013.

Son frère Pol Espargaró, le Champion du Monde Moto2™ 2013, a fini en seconde position, à seulement 0.033s d'Aleix, mais a terminé la pré-saison sur une mauvaise chute dans le virage n°6. Immédiatement transféré au centre médical du circuit, Pol Espargaró souffre d'une fracture de la clavicule et devra être opéré lundi à son retour à Barcelone.

De l'autre côté du garage de Monster Yamaha Tech3, le Britannique Bradley Smith a signé le troisième temps et était aussi tombé, en milieu de soirée, dans un incident finalement sans conséquence.

Derrière un Top 3 monopolisé par Yamaha, Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) et Álvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honde Gresini) ont respectivement fini aux quatrième et cinquième positions. Bradl a tourné en 1'55.187, soit 0.045s de mieux que son homologue espagnol.

Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) a été le plus rapide des deux pilotes Ducati présents ce week-end au Qatar, à 0.644s du temps de référence, tandis que Yonny Hernández (Energy T.I. Pramac Racing) a fini huitième, à 1.182s du leader.

En septième position, Colin Edwards (NGM Mobile Forward Racing) continuait de gagner quelques dixièmes de seconde et est revenu à une seconde du rythme de son coéquipier Aleix Espargaró. L'Américain devra toutefois continuer de travailler sur son pilotage pour s'adapter à sa nouvelle machine et se rapprocher du Top 5.

Complétaient le Top 10 Nicky Hayden (+1.399s) et Hiroshi Aoyama (+2.132s) du team Drive M7 Aspar, sur leurs Honda RCV1000R Open. Hayden a gagné plus d'une demi-seconde lors de cette dernière journée d'essais et était satisfait de son rythme de course.

Scott Redding (GO&FUN Honda Gresini), Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing), Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing), Mike di Meglio (Avintia Racing), Danilo Petrucci (IodaRacing Project), Michael Laverty (PBM) et Broc Parkes (PBM) ont fini classés de la onzième à la dix-septième positions.

Le pré-saison MotoGP™ est désormais terminée mais les catégories Moto2™ et Moto3™ seront de retour en piste à Jerez la semaine prochaine, pour un dernier test qui précèdera le Grand Prix Commercial Bank du Qatar (20-23 mars).

Cliquez ici pour accéder au classement du Test de Losail.