Mikkelsen (re)change de copilote

Le Norvégien Andreas Mikkelsen, actuel troisième du championnat Pilotes derrière ses équipiers Ogier et Latvala, va retrouver son ancien copilote et compatriote Ola Floene à partir du Rallye d’Italie-Sardaigne.

C’est après la publication de la liste des constructeurs engagés au Rallye d’Italie-Sardaigne 2014 par la FIA que Volkswagen Motorsport a diffusé son communiqué annonçant la séparation « en bons termes » d’Andreas Mikkelsen et du Finlandais Mikko Markkula. Les deux hommes collaboraient en Mondial depuis le Rallye du Portugal 2013.

Le Norvégien Ola Floene (45 ans) fut le 1^er copilote de Mikkelsen en 2006. Ensemble, ils ont remporté les titres Pilotes et Copilotes d’Intercontinental Rally Challenge 2011 et 2012 sur Skoda Fabia S2000. Les deux hommes s’étaient séparés fin 2012, Andreas souhaitant un copilote plus « international » pour ses débuts chez Volkswagen Motorsport.

Le Finlandais Mikko Markkula (lui aussi champion IRC aux côtés d’Hanninen) avait donc rejoint Mikkelsen dans l’habitacle de la VW Polo R WRC au Rallye du Portugal 2013. Quant à Ola Floene, il avait trouvé refuge aux côtés de Pontus Tidemand.

« Mikko est un très bon copilote qui m’a beaucoup apporté dans mon système de notes. Mais nous sommes très différents et nous n’avons jamais pu tisser des liens personnels plus étroits » a déclaré Mikkelsen dans le communiqué de presse du team. « Ola Floene fut mon tout 1^er copilote et il m’a accompagné de l’âge de 16 ans à 23 ans. Il est temps qu’il revienne avec moi ». « Notre séparation fut difficile mais bénéfique, on commençait à s’ennuyer ensemble », a expliqué Floene. « Mais aujourd’hui, nos relations sont encore plus fortes qu’avant. »

L’an passé, Andreas Mikkelsen avait dû renoncer au Rallye d’Allemagne, Mikko Markkula s’étant blessé au dos lors du Rallye de Finlande. Le pilote Norvégien avait alors été secondé par Paul Nagle en Australie et au Rallye de France. Ola Floene est donc son 3^e copilote en 15 rallyes WRC avec Volkswagen.

Brother of the weird - Iron & Resin

Based in the heart of Ventura, a town literally fuelled by waves and gasoline. Iron & Resin is the product of several friends, immersed in a culture of motorcycles and point breaks. A culture where man builds with his own hands and the only thing that counts is living in the moment. ’Brother of the Weird’ presents an insight into the brand with co-founder Thom Hill.

This short film is based on the article “Behind The Desk - Iron & Resin” published in Desillusion Magazine 45 , Tome 1.
Available on tiny.cc/u7rxdx

Desillusion is a 260 page coffee table book, ad free, accompanied by a series of short-films exclusively showcasing every week on DSLmag.com. At the crossroads of two opposite worlds, the street & the beach, Desillusion pays a tribute to youth & a subculture raised on a surf and/or skateboard.

73 CYCLES GARAGE CB750

Geir is a salesman from Norway with a passion for old cars and bikes. His petrol-head obsession is satisfied spending evenings and weekends up to his elbows in grease. His passion for bikes began in childhood where he spent countless hours with his dad in the basement of the family home ‘assisting’ in his labour of love Triumph rebuild. However, his old man wasn’t too pleased when Geir mounted the Triumph’s handlebars on his push bike.

Geir has built a number of bikes, so he decided to brand his work as 73 Cycles Garage, 73 being his birth year and the race number on his vintage Alfa Romeo he raced in the Norwegian Corsa Italia series. For his latest build Geir set himself the remit to build a reliable and affordable bike with modifications that could be done singlehandedly in his own garage. He sourced an ex-traffic school 97 Honda CB750, and shipped the battle-scarred donor 900km from the far northern town of Tromso, a place better known for reindeer than bikes.

The aim was to build a cafe racer, so Geir began by searching the web for a seat. He couldn’t find a seat that met his requirements, so he bought a pre-fabricated unit and used it as a starting point for his own design. He fabricated the seat pan and pad to fit, and snap off mounts to give quick and easy access to the rewired electrics. The battery is located on the rear swing arm between the engine and the wheel. He mounted CNC aluminum clip ons and went for a modern angle with the lights, a clear front lamp and inset rear LEDs. The original exhaust was replaced with reverse cones, and the air filter box replaced with cone filters.

The paint was the cause of much deliberation, and Geir finally decided to apply an undercoat and then straight to a lacquer coat over self designed decals and a tank logo for a matt ally look. The front fender was painted a discrete matt black. The overall effect is subtle, understated but robust; a muscular and lean build finished to a standard that would be the envy of many a full-time builder. The new owner is all smiles as this CB runs as mean as it looks.

Bikes like this always go down really well on the Bike Shed and it’s easy to see why. A modern, reliable donor, built in the late 90s with decent performance and running gear, put together in a simple, unpretentious, timeless style that can pass unnoticed to the uninitiated, but will get knowing nods from those who are in the know. Ride it everyday, or stick it on a pedestal in the living room.

We’re looking forward to seeing Geir’s next two projects, a GS400 cafe project and a CB1100 Super Bol D’or build. Thanks for sharing.

via PIPEBURN

The sharpest Flatnose 911: Mansour Ojjeh’s unique Porsche ‘935 Street’

The Porsche Exclusive division was formed in the mid-80s at the height of material excess, when not even the latest 911 Turbo was special enough to divert attentions away from miniskirts and Members Only jackets…

Much of the demand for the services of Porsche Exclusive was created by the popularity of the official Flatnose conversions to the 930 Turbo, the first (and most extreme) of which was the one-off ‘935 Street’. This very car will soon cross the block at Bonhams’ Spa Classic sale on 18 May 2014, carrying an estimate of €300,000 - 400,000.

A super-Turbo for a super-Saudi

The success of the Porsche 935 racing car, developed between 1976 and 1981, earned it a place in the heart of many a Porsche aficionado. In comparison to the road-going 911 Turbo with its proud front headlights, the 935 had a flat front profile – with the lamps recessed into the front apron. This aerodynamic silhouette soon proved popular with international customers; but while others were commissioning Flatnose conversions by third parties such as Kremer, Saudi businessman Mansour Ojjeh was in a position to request one directly from Porsche. His company, Techniques d'Avant Garde (or TAG) had entered into a partnership with McLaren to develop a Formula 1 engine, and development of the 1.5-litre V6 was entrusted to the wizards of Stuttgart.

Project ‘935 Street’

Ojjeh was thus ideally placed to make such a request, his brief being simple in theory but complicated in practice. His vision was “a 935 racing car for the street – but with all the luxuries, of course”. This presented the meisters of Exclusive with their biggest challenge to date, as the 935 was no slightly adapted road car. For Ojjeh’s 911, a brand-new 930 bodyshell was lifted from the production line and stuffed with race-bred components: the 3.3-litre turbocharged engine came from the 934 (with subsequent tuning to 375bhp), while the suspension, brakes, and outrageous wide-arch panelwork were all 935-sourced additions. Finally, a special Brilliant Red colour was mixed exclusively for Ojjeh, with the cream leather set off by wood veneer – the latter another first for Porsche. All in all, the 935 Street project had been the department’s most elaborate so far.

The beast of Côte d'Azur

Rounding off the 550-strong list of modifications (indeed, the invoice was 17 pages long) was a Clarion sound system and a set of BBS split-rim wheels, the latter of which were of the same jaw-dropping 345/35 VR15 dimensions at the rear as the 935 racing machine. The final price of the 935 Street was never revealed, but estimates of around three times the cost of a then-new 911 Turbo are said to be accurate. Thankfully, the costly custom never touched down in an Arabian oasis, but was rather kept on the Côte d'Azur where Mansour and his brother Abdulaziz used it for short coastline trips. Now, the new owner will be able to use this unique symbol of 80s excess to upstage its modern equivalents – whether stationed on the French Riviera or Miami Beach.

Photos: Bonhams, Porsche

The 1983 Porsche ‘935 Street’ remained a one-off, and today still represents one of the most striking products in three decades of Porsche Exclusive. Moreover, the 12,000 miles it displays on its tacho makes it almost virginal. Bonhams describes its state as ‘unrestored but maintained in first class condition’.