8 Heures d’Oschersleben : Penz 13 s’offre la pole / pole for Penz 13!

L’équipe allemande Penz 13, engagée en catégorie Superstock, s’élancera demain de la pole position des 8 Heures d’Oschersleben, avant-dernière manche du Championnat du monde d’Endurance (EWC). Elle devance les équipes EWC, SRC Kawasaki, le YART 07, le GMT 94 (Michelin), Honda Racing et le SERT.

En améliorant leurs performances réalisées hier, Pedro Vallcaneras, Bastien Mackels et Markus Reitenberger créent la surprise en devançant les top teams engagés dans la catégorie reine EWC et s’offrent la pole position des 8 Heures d’Oschersleben.

Mackels et Reitenberger ont signé les meilleurs chronos de leur série en franchissant la barre des 1.27. Reitenbeger est crédité du meilleur temps absolu (1.26.503) et améliore le chrono de Mackels (1.26.614). Penz 13 affiche ainsi une moyenne d’1.27.203.

Derrière, malgré les améliorations de Grégory Leblanc (1.26.896) et Matthieu Lagrive (1.28.357), SRC Kawasaki (1.27.440) laisse filer la pole position pour 0,237 seconde. Avec un chrono d’1.27.909, Michael Laverty permet au YART 07 (1.27.448) d’arracher la troisième place pour seulement 0.001 seconde au GMT 94.  Kenny Foray s’est montré plus rapide lors de cette seconde séance en bouclant son meilleur tour en 1.27.668. Matthieu Gines a également amélioré en 1.27.556.

Honda Racing (1.27.489) complète le top 5. Les cinq premières équipes se tiennent dans un mouchoir de poche séparées que de 0,286 seconde.

Le SERT pointe à la sixième place (1.27.830). National Motos (1.28.151) est septième devant le YART (1.28.271), Bolliger Team Switzerland (1.28.281) et le Team R2CL (1.28.487).

Le Qatar Endurance Racing Team (1.28.554) a gagné une place par rapport à hier et se classe 11^ème au général et deuxième en Superstock et devance le Junior Team Suzuki LMS (1.28.621).

Le warm-up est programmé à 9h00. On se retrouve sur www.motoracinglive.com à partir de 12h00 pour suivre ensemble l’intégralité des 8 Heures d’Oschersleben. Soyez au rendez-vous !

The German Superstock team Penz 13 will start Saturday’s 8 Hours of Oschersleben from pole position. In qualifying for the third and penultimate round of the Endurance World Championship (EWC), they finished clear of EWC regulars SRC Kawasaki, YART 07, GMT 94 (Michelin), Honda Racing and SERT.

The pace of Pedro Vallcaneras, Bastien Mackels and Markus Reitenberger was even faster than yesterday and the Penz 13 trio was rewarded with pole position ahead of all the EWC’s premier teams.

Mackels and Reitenberger both topped the timesheet of their respective session with laps in under the 1m27s mark. Reitenberger came away with the best overall time (1m26.503s) to beat Mackels’ previous benchmark (1m26.614s) and Penz 13’s average was 1m27.203s.

Despite improvements from Grégory Leblanc (1m26.896s) and Matthieu Lagrive (1m28.357s), SRC Kawasaki (1m27.440s) fell 0.237s short of the German squad’s performance.

A 1m27.909s for Michael Laverty allowed YART 07 (1m27.448s) to clinch third spot, just 0.001s ahead of GMT 94. Kenny Foray (1m27.668s) and Matthieu Gines (1m27.556s) also improved in Qualifying 2.

Honda Racing (1m27.489s) rounded off the top five which was covered by a mere 0.286s!

The top 10 continued with SERT (1m27.830s), National Motos (1m28.151s), YART (1m28.271s), Bolliger Team Switzerland (1m28.281s) and Team R2CL (1m28.487s).

Qatar Endurance Racing Team (11^th, 1m28.554s) gained a place in the Superstock order to go second in the class, ahead of Junior Team Suzuki LMS (1m28.621s).

Saturday morning’s warm-up will start at 9am, and you can join us at www.motoracinglive.comfrom midday for live coverage of this year’s 8 Hours of Oschersleben.

Rallye Deutschland (WRC): Ogier out, Latvala en tête / VW’s domination takes a blow!

La dernière spéciale de cette journée a été marquée par la sortie de route du leader Sébastien Ogier. Jari-Matti Latvala (VW/Michelin) est désormais en tête devant Kris Meeke (Citroën) pointé à plus d’une demi-minute, et Dani Sordo (Hyundai) a seulement 5s6 du Britannique.

Pour écrire ce résumé de la première étape de l’ADAC Rallye Deutschland 2014, nous sommes retournés à l’arrivée de Moselland (ES6). La vue était aussi belle que ce matin et nous avons eu un peu plus de temps pour admirer le paysage car le départ de cette spéciale fut retardé de près de 45 minutes après la sortie d’une voiture « VIP » près de l’arrivée.

Au point stop, les conversations portaient sur qui pourrait empêcher un nouveau doublé Volkswagen cette saison et son premier succès à domicile. Puis, l’info nous est parvenue sur la radio HF : Sébastien Ogier est sorti de la route au km 7.2.

D’après nos informations, le Français aurait quitté la route, dévalé un talus assez pentu pour retomber sur une route parallèle en contre-bas, mais qui, hélas, ne lui a pas permis de revenir sur la bonne piste. Le pilote Volkswagen a dû abandonner.

Jari-Matti Latvala est donc arrivé en premier au point stop : « On a reçu le message comme quoi Seb était out, mais on n’avait aucune idée de la raison. On a vu des traces noires sur la route, mais je ne peux pas affirmer que c’était les siennes. Ensuite, j’ai un peu perdu le rythme car je n’avais plus besoin d’attaquer », commentait le nouveau leader de l’épreuve.

Son plus proche rival est désormais Kris Meeke, mais le pilote Citroën point à plus de 30 secondes : « On était sur la ligne de départ que on a reçu le message de la sortie de Seb. En arrivant au kilométrage, j’ai tout de suite su de quel virage il s’agissait. C’est piégeux. Je suis 2^ecertes, mais le rallye est encore long et la météo peut changer. La pluie est prévue demain. »

Grâce à un 2^e meilleur temps dans l’ES6, Dani Sordo a conclu la journée sur le podium provisoire, à 5s6 de Meeke. « Je bénéficierai d’une meilleure position sur la route demain. »

Andreas Mikkelsen (4^e), est à seulement 3 secondes de l’Espagnol et lui-même sous la pression de Thierry Neuville (5^e, Hyundai), Mikko Hirvonen (6^e, Ford), Elfyn Evans (7^e, Ford) et de Mads Ostberg (8^e, Citroën) tout groupés en moins de 9 secondes !

Neuville a été retardé par de la fumée dans l’habitacle de sa Hyundai i20 WRC dans l’ES6 et il a sauté hors de sa voiture à l’arrivée pour trouver l’origine du problème. De leur côté, Hirvonen, Evans et Ostberg semblaient satisfaits de leur journée. Le Norvégien était particulièrement heureux d’avoir enfin terminé Moselland sans problème !

Le Portugais Bernardo Sousa (Ford Fiesta RRC) est leader WRC-2 devant Pontus Tidemand (Fiesta R5, +4s2). Le Français Eric Camilli (Citroën/Michelin) devance son compatriote Stéphane Lefebvre (+8s3) en WRC-3 et J-WRC.

The final stage of Day 1 in Germany produced a big surprise when Ogier crashed his Polo R WRC. The lead is now in the hands of his Volkswagen/Michelin team-mate Latvala. Meeke consequently figures in second place for Citroën, but he is more than half-a-minute adrift of the Finn. Hyundai’s Sordo joins them on the podium.

To round off our coverage of Rallye Deutschland’s opening leg, we returned to the end of ‘Moselland’ (SS6). There was the same great view as this morning, but this time we had a little longer to enjoy it because the start was delayed by almost three-quarters of an hour after a ‘VIP’ car crashed within sight of the finish.

To pass the time, the conversation at the Stop Control turned to whether anything could prevent Volkswagen from claiming another one-two finish this weekend, and its first victory on home soil. Suddenly, news came over a walkie-talkie that Sébastien Ogier had gone off 7.2km after the start…

We cannot say for sure, but it appears that the Frenchman drove off the stage and dropped down a steep bank, eventually joining a parallel road below. Unfortunately, this did not give him access to the correct route again and he was forced to retire.

Jari-Matti was consequently the first driver to appear at the finish. “We got the message that Seb was out but we had no idea why. We saw some black marks on the road, but I can’t say if it was him,” related the rally’s new leader. “After that, I lost my rhythm a little bit because there was suddenly less need to push.”

The Finn’s closest threat is still Kris Meeke, but the Citroën driver has now been promoted to second spot. “We were on the start line when we got the message about Ogier,” he said. “When we got close to KM7.2, I knew exactly which corner it was. It’s a very tricky place. I’m second now, but let’s see how it pans out. There’s a long way to go and there’s the weather to think about. It could rain on Saturday”

The second-fastest time for Dani Sordo on SS6 (21.02km) allowed Hyundai’s Spaniard to complete Day 1 on the podium and he was clearly happy with his position. “I should have a better road order tomorrow, as well,” he reflected.

Andreas Mikkelsen (4^th) is only three seconds behind in his Polo, however, chased by Thierry Neuville (Hyundai), Mikko Hirvonen (Ford), Elfyn Evans (Ford) and Mads Ostberg (Citroën) who are all covered by less than nine seconds.

Neuville was hampered by smoke inside his i20 WRC on SS6 and he jumped out his car on the stop line to inspect the underbody but the reason for the problem remained a mystery. Meanwhile, Hirvonen, Evans and Ostberg all seemed reasonably cheerful after today’s six stages, and the Norwegian was especially pleased to have survived ‘Moselland’ which he had never previously completed!

The early pace-setters in WRC-2 are Bernardo Sousa (Ford Fiesta RRC) and Pontus Tidemund (Ford Fiesta R5, +4.2ss), while Eric Camilli (Citroën) is in front in the WRC-3 standings, 8.3s clear of Stéphane Lefebvre.

Asia Cross Country: Outlander PHEV completes Rally for second straight year

An Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV plug-in hybrid electric four-wheel drive SUV, entered and managed by the "Two & Four Motorsports" rally team supported by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), successfully completed the FIA-certified ASIA CROSS COUNTRY RALLY2014 (AXCR) in its T1E class (electric vehicle class).

The team completed the rally in 19 hours 17 minutes and 12 seconds for the total driving distance of 1986 km under rough courses, winning the first place in the class and 14th place overall.

The Outlander PHEV, having completed this rally for two years in row proved its outstanding levels of reliability, durability and all-terrain performance as well as proved the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) powertrain is durable even under severe road conditions.

The Outlander PHEV rally car used the competition-modified suspension from last year's race car as well as raised ground clearance with the drive battery placed higher for improved off-road performance.

The car's Super All-Wheel Control (S-AWC) integrated vehicle dynamics control system was tuned for competition use to provide better traction. Other modifications included the fitting of a roll cage and underbody skid plate, the use of lighter engine hood, rear gate and interior parts, and additional sealing and a snorkel for water crossings. Apart from these changes, the car competed using the almost the same Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) powertrain and mechanical parts as the standard production model.

The Outlander PHEV won its class for the second year in a row. Prologue Run (August 9): 11th place overall Pattaya, Thailand. SS01 (August 10): First day of full competition, 13th place overall. SS02 (August 11): Battling Thailand's deep ruts and muddy and boggy trails the Outlander PHEV finished 12th overall.

SS03 (August 12): Race moves from Thailand to Cambodia, towards the Angkor Wat World Heritage site. This leg featured comparatively flatter terrain where the Outlander PHEV could take advantage of the high torque of its electric motors and S-AWC which led to a step up to 11th place overall.

SS04 (August 13): Progress to 9th place overall in this leg which started from Angkor Wat. SS05 (August 14): This grueling leg was the longest and featured deep ruts. Lack of high ground clearance forced the Outlander PHEV to avoid much of the second half of the course, falling to 15th place overall.

SS06 (August 15): The last leg starting from Phnom Penh featured a flat high-speed course, finishing 2nd in the leg and recovering to finish 14th overall.

"Because the extreme road surface conditions unique to the Asia Cross-Country Rally gave us a really hard time when we competed for the first time last year, this year we raised the ground clearance further to improve the car's off-road performance," said Mr. Yasuo Tanaka, Technical Director.

"It makes me very happy that the Outlander PHEV not only successfully completed the rally under such grueling conditions for the second year in a row but also placed higher than last year. I am also very satisfied and proud that the Outlander PHEV was able to demonstrate so convincingly the reliability and durability of MMC's own plug-in hybrid electric vehicle system as well as the superior capabilities of its Twin Motor 4WD and S-AWC systems," Yasuo Tanaka continued.

"The Outlander PHEV's improved all-terrain performance this year means we have been able to collect more valuable data than last. I am looking forward to utilizing this in our electric vehicle development." 

via http://www.marathonrally.com

Paul “The Jerk” Stanner of Drifter Bikes is one of those proper Australians. He’s been a pearl diver, crocodile farmer, surfer, drifter and beach bum. His dad is from England and back in the day was a Rocker and a biker, so Paul was destined to catch our unified customisation disease. 15 years ago he moved to the big smoke on the other side of the country and got a grown up job in Sydney. What spare time remained was spent in the backyard shed, building bikes for mates and mates of mates. Currently his 21 month old daughter is not proving to be so productive at welding or lapping in valves, so builds are taking a little longer than Paul is used to.

This Kawasaki W650 is a break from the customer led projects (see the GB500 here) and is a personal ride for Paul, and named after his daughter Phoenix.

The donor is a 2001 model bought on eBay, from a tiny town in Australia’s heartland, far from the sea and rust inducing rain, so arrived in really good condition. A Cafe-Tracker was to be the self imposed brief, so the front wheel was the first job on the bench. The 19″ rim was cast aside and an 18 incher relaced to the standard hub, but a slightly wider 2.15″ to allow for fatter front tyre options. In this case a Pirelli MT90, with the fender chopped and lowered for a close fit.

The arse-end on the Kawasaki W is a tricky thing to get right without hacking our the subframe, in stock form its just too wide at the shock mounts and makes for an overly large seat. Paul saw to this with a hoop that maintained the kick-up but finishes up short, allowing the rear fender to take the mud catching and licence plate holding duties. Neatly tucked away is the stop light, hidden between the curve in the fender and the plate mount. The new gas shocks raise the now fine looking tail by 30mm and provide a simple indicator mounting spot.

A small box under the seat house the boring electrical stuff and the battery has been sent down below to live on the swing arm, leaving breathing space for the more traditional style pancake air filters and rejetted carbs. Paul credits the W650 forum and Guy Sciacca for decent advice on jetting and set up, “Never underestimate the help you can get from complete strangers on some of the great forums”. Stainless headers ensure the breathing out part is both efficient and good looking, leading to a MotoGP-esque silencer which sounds as good as it looks.

The tank concept has been rattling around Paul’s head for a while and Kyle from Smith Concepts managed to drag out the ideas and execute them far beyond expectation. The actual canvas for this artwork was a tank laying around the shed that was massaged into position in an attempt to maintain a parallel line with the bottom and the ground, i’d say that was pretty level.

Manufactures are adept at stuffing inordinate amounts of wiring into headlamps and around cockpits and the W650 offered few hiding places. The mini-fairing looks speak and draws the eye along towards the rest of the tank and provides a small spot to bury cable. Stock handlebar mounts have been shaved and clip-ons mounted straight to the forks. The thin seat has been covered in a rather cool Porsche trim by East Coast Trim Shop.

When you’re working on your own machine there’s definitely a huge amount of satisfaction to be drawn from the process, but Paul is already feeling an itch that needs scratching. Anyone out there want to commission a build and relieve his growing listlessness? Get in touch  with Paul here and keep an eye on his Facebook page.

via The Bike Shed