ERC : An emphatic victory for Lappi in Northern Ireland / Nette victoire de Lappi en Irlande

An assertive drive from Skoda Motorsport’s Esapekka Lappi on the Circuit of Ireland, round four of the 2014 FIA European Rally Championship, saw him lead a Skoda/Michelin one-two, along with Sepp Wiegand. The two Peugeot 208 T16s both retired.

Le pilote officiel Skoda Motorsport Esapekka Lappi a dominé et remporté le Circuit of Ireland Rally, 4e manche du Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA 2014. Sepp Wiegand a offert un doublé à Skoda/Michelin, alors que les deux Peugeot 208 T16 ont abandonné.

After winning the Rally Liepaja earlier in the season, Finland’s Esapekka Lappi added a second victory to the list by triumphing in the 2014 ERC’s first asphalt fixture, the Circuit of Ireland.

Esapekka’s pace was rewarded with seven stage wins on Day 1 which he completed with cushions of 12.6 seconds and more than a minute-and-a-half over Irishmen Craig Breen (Peugeot 208 T16) and Robert Barrable (Fiesta R5). Meanwhile, Kevin Abbring (Peugeot 208 T16) retired from a footing on the provisional podium with a radiator problem, as in Greece.

It looked as though Saturday’s action would provide spectators with a fierce fight between Lappi and Breen on Ulster’s notoriously narrow and bumpy stages. Unfortunately, the latter was eliminated by an engine sensor problem three kilometres after the start of the leg’s first stage. That took the pressure of Lappi who was able to cruise home to his second win of the year and move to the top of the championships standings.

The battle for the other two steps of the podium between Wiegand and Barrable lasted to the end when the German passed into second spot on the penultimate test to beat the Ford driver by 7.5s. In doing so, he secured Skoda’s first one-two finish since 2012.

Robert Consani was fourth after a strong drive in his Peugeot 207 S2000, ahead of veteran Neil Simpson (Skoda). Daniel McKenna won the two-wheel drive class in his Citroën DS3 R3 and came sixth overall, while the Production winner Josh Moffett (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX) was seventh.

The Junior victor was Jan Cerny (Peugeot 208 R2/Michelin) following the ‘off’ of the earlier pace-setter Chris Ingram on SS13. The result consolidates the Czech driver’s lead in the provisional standings.

Vainqueur du Rally Liepaja en début de saison, le Finlandais Esapekka Lappi a ajouté une nouvelle ligne à son palmarès en remportant le Circuit of Ireland Rally, 1^ère épreuve asphalte de la saison européenne.

En véritable patron, Esapekka a remporté les 7 premières spéciales du rallye pour conclure la 1^ère étape en tête avec 12s6 d’avance sur l’Irlandais Craig Breen (Peugeot 208 T16) et plus d’une minute et demie sur Robert Barrable (Fiesta R5). Au volant de la seconde Peugeot 208 T16, Kevin Abbring a été contraint à l’abandon (radiateur), comme en Grèce, alors qu’il était sur le podium provisoire.

Samedi, on s’attendait donc à un combat féroce entre la Skoda Fabia S2000 officielle et la nouvelle Peugeot 208 T16 sur les spéciales étroites et bosselées d’Irlande du Nord. Hélas, Craig Breen dut abandonner à son tour, après 3 km parcourus dans la 1^ère spéciale du jour (mécanique). Un boulevard s’ouvrait donc devant Esapekka Lappi pour remporter sa seconde victoire de la saison. Le Finlandais prend également les commandes du championnat Pilotes.

Derrière, la bagarre pour les deux dernières place du podium a duré jusqu’à l’ultime spéciale entre Sepp Wiegand (Skoda) et Robert Barrable (Fiesta R5). Le pilote allemand a pris la 2^e place dans l’avant-dernière ES et résisté à l’Irlandais pour 7s5. Il offre le 1^er doublé à Skoda depuis 2012.

Robert Consani a échoué au pied du podium après une belle prestation au volant de sa Peugeot 207 S2000. Il devance le vétéran Neil Simpson (5^e, Skoda). Daniel McKenna a remporté la catégorie 2-roues motrices sur sa Citroën DS3 R3 (6^e) et devance le vainqueur de la catégorie Production Josh Moffett (7^e, Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX).

En Junior, la victoire est revenue à Jan Cerny (Peugeot 208 R2/Michelin) après la sortie de route du leader Chris Ingram (ES13). Le Tchèque conforte sa 1^ère place au championnat.

Prochaine épreuve ERC, le SATA Rally Açores (15-17 mai)

Indian !

VIRAGO XV535 BY OLD EMPIRE MOTORCYCLES

This Yamaha Virago XV535 custom, dubbed “Bulldog”, is the latest two-wheeled release from Old Empire Motorcycles – a British custom motorcycle workshop that’s become famous for their work with Royal Enfields over the past 2 years.

The Virago has become a popular target for custom bike builders in recent years, largely due to the eye catching work of Classified Moto and Doc’s Chops. The solidly built Japanese V-Twin was originally released in 1981 and over the course to its life it’s been offered in engine capacities of 250, 500, 535, 750, 900, 920, 1000 and 1100.

The most popular target for customisation has traditionally been the 1100cc model although in stock trim it produces a relatively low 61hp and weighs in at 221kgs, the 535 produces 42.3hp and weighs in at a lighter 188kgs – potentially making it a far better bike for tight twisty British roads.

The completed bike makes use of steel mesh around the headlight as well as on the fuel tank, its a unique look and works well on this bike and I can imagine that the look will be emulated by other builders – especially that headlight cowl.

If you’d like to read more about Bulldog or Old Empire Motorcycles in general, you can click here to visit their website.

via SILODROME

1966 BRABHAM-REPCO BT20 FORMULA 1 CAR

The 1966 Brabham-Repco BT20 Formula 1 car is a testament to old fashioned Aussie ingenuity, the Australians (and New Zealanders) have always been so far away from the large manufacturing industries of Europe and North America that they’ve had to learn to adapt, repurpose and invent things rather than just walk down the road and buy them. Great examples of this inventiveness are men like New Zealander John Britten and Australian Jack Brabham – the man who’s name adorns this race winning Formula 1 car.

In 1965 it was announced that the engine size in Formula 1 would be limited to 3 litres – this left the teams scrambling to find engines that could hold their own on the race track and form the rear load-bearing structure of an F1 car. Most of the teams opted for the Coventry Climax inline 4-cylinder engine but Jack Brabham and his partner Ron Tauranac decided to go down a different path and instead chose to work with Australian parts supplier Repco on developing the Oldsmobile F85 V8 into a 3000cc F1 engine.

It was a risky move but the real benefit came from the fact that the engine had been engineered to tolerate an original capacity of 5.4 litres, this meant that once the block had been downsized to 3 litres the internal components could be tuned for performance without fear of catastrophic failure.

The decision paid dividends almost immediately, the Brabham-Repco BT20 was introduced for the 1966 season and the chassis you see here saw its first race at French Grand Prix on 3 July 1966. It was piloted by New Zealander Danny Hulme to a strong 3rd place finish, followed by a 2nd place finish at the British Grand Prix shortly thereafter, Hulme then took another 3rd at Monza on 4 September. Two more podium places were taken by the car before the end of the season, landing the 1966 constructors trophy for Brabham-Repco and validating their gamble on the reworked American V8.

The car had been so successful during the ’66 season that it was rebuilt and raced again throughout 1967, winning the hotly contested 1967 Monaco Grand Prix and once again landing the Constructors Championship for Brabham-Repco. The chassis passed on to a series of privateer owners throughout the ’60s and ’70s where it was raced in hill climb events and local club races, by 2010 it had fallen into disrepair and a full €200,000 nut and bolt restoration was undertaken by Peter Rosenmayer of Stuttgart.

The Brabham-Repco BT20 is now in race ready condition and will be offered at the Monaco Auction held by RM Auctions on the 10th of May 2014 – within meters of the circuit that it took its 1967 race win.

Click here to visit the official listing.

Photo Credits: Tim Scott ©2014 Courtesy of RM Auction

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