ACE CAFE RADIO

    jeudi 22 mai 2014

    Paul Newman, Gentleman Driver


    It was Steve McQueen who famously said, "Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting" - but it was his Hollywood contemporary Paul Newman who found the lure of high-octane motorsport so irresistible that he went as far as to turn it into a second career.

    Getting hooked at Watkins Glen

    Newman had been a lifelong fan of auto racing prior to signing the contract to play fictional driver Frank Capua in the 1969 movie 'Winning', but had virtually no track experience at all. That changed, however, when he was sent to the race school at Watkins Glen to develop a suitably plausible technique for the new role - and instantly became hooked.

    A very special wristwatch

    Within a couple of years, Newman had acquired several race cars, entering his first professional event in 1972 at the Thompson International Speedway. To mark the occasion his wife, Joanne Woodward, gifted him a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona wristwatch which he is said to have worn regularly for the rest of his life. The version she chose was a Reference 6241 with an 'exotic dial' - it was produced for only two years (1969 and 1970) and came to be known as the now highly collectible 'Paul Newman' model.

    From Le Mans to Daytona

    The star continued racing for the next 30 years, often in major international events such as the Le Mans 24 Hours, in which he and team mates Rolf Stommelen and Dick Barbour achieved second place behind the wheel of a factory-specification Porsche 935 in 1979. From the mid-1970s until the early 1990s, however, Newman mainly raced Datsuns for the Bob Sharp team in the Trans-Am Series - even becoming the oldest driver to be part of a winning team in a major race when, at 70, he took a class victory at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona.

    A history of frequent victories

    Newman's love of the sport also extended to forming his own professional race team, which he set up with Can-Am and Indy Car specialist  Bill Freeman. 'Newman Freeman Racing' became a force to be reckoned with in the North American Can-Am series, fielding Budweiser-sponsored Spyder NF-10s and winning the team championship trophy in 1979. With drivers such as Keke Rosberg, Patrick Depailler and Bobby Rahal in the team, victories were frequent, inspiring Newman to co-found the celebrated Newman/Haas ChampCar team in 1983 (along with Carl Haas), which went on to secure eight drivers' championships.
     
    Newman's last race outings took place in 2004, when he contested the Baja 1000, and the following year when he competed for a final time in the 24 Hours of Daytona, just three years before his death at the age of 83. The end marked a sad goodbye to a hero of the movie screen and the race track - and a man who could certainly never be accused of 'just waiting'.
    Photos: Rexfeatures
    This article is part of the 'Gentleman Drivers' feature series that is presented and supported by EFG Bank.

    joli fleur

    réflexion

    1x1.trans Hot Girl on Motorcycle

    Pharaons Rally: Navigation day in the first stage of the Pharaons Rally Egypt

    _BAR1840

    Overall results after SS01 Tuesday BIKES top 10 
    PLDRIVERBIKETIMEDIFF
    01Salvatierra, Juan Carlos (BOL)Speedbrain 450 Rally03:04:0700:00:00
    02Chiussi, Stefano (I)KTM 500 EXC03:12:5500:08:48
    03Cardona, Nicolas (VEN)Yamaha WR 450F03:20:5900:16:52
    04Turchi, Stefano (I)KTM 690 Rally03:26:1200:22:05
    05Eraso, Rafael (VEN)Yamaha WR 450F03:27:4400:23:37
    06Sabbatucci, Paolo (I)Yamaha WR 450F03:34:1100:30:04
    07Sonik, Rafal (PL)Yamaha Raptor03:39:1900:35:12
    08Dalla Valle, Stefano (I)Freeracing SMC03:49:3800:45:31
    09Biondi, Tommaso (I)KTM 690 Rally03:50:1700:46:10
    10Napoli, Giulio (I)Beta Atacama03:50:1700:46:10

    _BAR0731

    Overall results after SS01 Tuesday CARS top 10 
    PLDRIVER / NAVIGATORRALLYCARTIMEDIFF
    01Al-Rajhi / Gottschalk (KSA/D)Overdrive Toyota Hilux01:59:4100:00:00
    02Vasilyev / Zhiltsov (RUS/RUS)X-raid Mini All4 Racing02:03:3100:03:50
    03Van Loon / Rosegaar (NL/NL)X-raid Mini All4 Racing02:09:0200:09:21
    04Al Attiyah / Baumel (QT/F)X-raid Mini All4 Racing02:12:3000:12:49
    05Sazonov / Moroz (KZH/KZH)Hummer H3 Evo02:18:0900:18:28
    06Zapletal / Marton (CZ/PL)Hummer H3 Proto02:19:1500:19:34
    07Dabrowski / Czachor (PL/PL)Overdrive Toyota Hilux02:20:0800:20:27
    08El Erian / Etman (EGY/EGY)Rahhala Buggy02:33:3400:33:53
    09Saidan / Lichtleuchter (KSA/F)Toyota Land Cruiser02:57:2100:57:40
    10Benoit / Ganache (F/F)Isuzu D-Max03:30:1801:30:37

    View all results: Please [ CLICK HERE ] 

    View all results: Please [ CLICK HERE ] 

    Only after the first 100 kilometers through canyons and mountains the first stage of the "Pharaons Rally" in Egypt stage opened up. With a great view the route decended to the riverdelta of the Nile.

    "The beginning of the stage is tough because one mistake means you end up in the wrong canyon," organizer Abdelhamid Abouyoussef says. "The only solution is to go back all the way to a point that you know, and find the way from there. You cannot cut, the canyons are too steep."

    "We took the wrong track," says Matthieu Baumel, Al Attiyah´s co-driver, "We noticed the canyon was different from the roadbook and we decided to turn around. I don't like to lose time like this!" Nasser Al-Attiyah tried to find a route off piste but in the end the only option was to turn around and go back, with a fourth place as result. Nasser: "We lost some time but it is good to have some competition."

    Wouter Rosegaar loved the stage today, navigating Erik van Loon in the Mini to a third place. It was a good challenge for this young and experienced navigator. "We had to find the route ourselves, I could not see anything in this terrain." Erik and Wouter choose the wrong canyon once, but found a way out. "I kept an eye on the bearing, as we were still going in the right direction I decided to keep going," Wouter explains. "Luckily we found the waypoint, I was very happy when the GPS showed it!"

    "We went off-piste to find the right track today, but I overlooked a hill," Tarek El Erian and Mohammed Etman flew with their buggy long enough to count the seconds. "After we landed everything seemed ok but we stopped for 5 minutes to check the car. I only lost some of the polyester, everything else was fine!" Tarek has built his two-wheel drive buggy in Egypt, and is proud of it. "It's the first time someone builts a car like this in Egypt. We finished it 3 months ago and had a good test in the El Gouna Rally. Now we are happy to be here amoung the top drivers."

    Yasier Saidan is here to win the T2 class with his Toyota Prado. "Last year we won the Worldchampionship in the T3 class, this year I want to be the fastest T2 driver. It is a big step from the Polaris to this car, I feel very comfortable in it. Still the stage today was hard for us, with all the rocks in the first bit. The temperaturre was so high I had to slow down the car, it was a tough day."

    Polish quaddriver Rafal Sonik leads the quads and raced together with a group of bikers, chasing each other between the rocks and on the sandy tracks in the second part of the stage. "The first time they overtook me, but then the first rider made a mistake in the roadbook. Then I was in the wrong valley, I went back to look for the track and they had me again. It was a very emotional stage and a great race."

    "Finding the first waypoint was not easy, but I managed," Alfredo Procacci is with a group of Italian riders. "The view on the descent was just perfect, I love the landscape in this rally.' In the second part of the stage Alfredo spend some time searching the right path through a big Oued. "I ride carefully so I have time to look and find the way. Maybe I will push more in the last days when everybody is tired."

    Wessel Bosman is happy with the attention he gets for his project. "Today I rode as carefull as possible. I am not a rider but an amateur and I try not to damage myself or the bike." Riding with time on your side means you can help others as well. "I met an Italian rider who had problems with the GPS and we rode to the finish together. The Pharaons Rally has a great atmosphere, it is good to be here."

    "The most tricky part is to survive in the desert," says Stefano Chuissi, who started his career as a wild rider and is first in his class on the Pharaons. "First all I wanted was good results, the podium. Now I work to improve myself. Rallyraid for me is a fight with myself, raising the bar on each event. I accept my own pace and focus on myself instead of on the ranking. Look at today, at the start I was looking at other bikes, thinking I might fancy having a new one. But during the day I realized how lucky I already am to be here, as a competitor."

    Wednesday is the longest day of the Pharaons Rally, with 362 kilometers of special stage and 273 kilometers of liaison to the first desert bivouac in Dakhla. "We go into an area called 'No Mans Land', which is a name I really like." Mahmud Nour el Din made the stages and is happy yto go into the desert again. "At the end of the stage we will have the first dunes, so be prepared."