acidulée

Un show équestre pour marquer l'arrivée du WSBK en Espagne / Riders attend Equestrian show as WSBK returns to Spain

Les stars du World Superbike ont assisté à une impressionnante démonstration.

De retour en Andalousie pour sa dixième manche, le Championnat du Monde eni FIM Superbike a fait une halte dans l'une des institutions les plus célèbres de Jerez de la Frontera et de tout le pays. Plusieurs pilotes, dont les stars locales, ont pu assister à un spectacle spécialement organisé par la Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (Ecole Royale Andalouse d'Art Equestre) et intitulé "How the Andalusian Horses Dance".

La Fondation, dont le Président d'honneur est le Roi d'Espagne Felipe VI, a été créée afin de préserver la tradition équestre espagnole ainsi que l'élevage équin en Andalousie. 

Jonathan Rea, Davide Giugliano, Marco Melandri, Toni Elias, Alex Lowes, David Salom, Sylvain Barrier et Claudio Corti étaient accompagnés du pilote WSS Nacho Calero, du wildcard Ferran Casas et du pilote STK100 Javier Alviz. Les pilotes avaient des places de choix pour assister au spectacle, qui mèle musique traditionnelle, déplacement en groupe, démonstration de dressage et chorégraphies exécutées avec une impressionnante précision.

Les pilotes ont ensuite posé pour une séance photo avec les médias et les spectateurs présents, avant de retourner au circuit pour préparer leur retour en piste vendredi pour les premières séances d'essais du week-end.

Le rendez-vous de Jerez sera marqué par la présence de deux stars espagnoles : Carlos Checa et Jorge Lorenzo. Checa, le Champion du Monde Superbike 2011, qui avait annoncé sa retraite à Jerez l'an dernier, participera à diverses activités en tant qu'ambassadeur de Ducati et rencontrera les fans à l'occasion du Paddock Show de dimanche. Le même jour, le double Champion du Monde MotoGP Jorge Lorenzo prendra la piste avec l'Alfa 4C, le Safety Car Officiel du SBK, après une rencontre avec les fans prévue pour le Paddock Show de dimanche matin.

The stars of the series witnessed how spectacular horse riding can be.

As a prelude to the Spanish Round about to get underway, the eni FIM Superbike World Championship paid a visit to one of the most famous institutions of both Jerez de la Frontera and the whole Country of Spain. A selection of riders, including the local stars taking part in the event, have attended a special show performed by the Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre (Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art) called "How the Andalusian Horses Dance".

The Foundation, whose Honorary President is the King of Spain Felipe VI himself, was created to maintain the tradition of the Spanish baroque horsemanship and conserve the stunning abilities of the Andalusian horse.

Jonathan Rea, Davide Giugliano, Marco Melandri, Toni Elias, Alex Lowes, David Salom, Sylvain Barrier and Claudio Corti were joined by WSS riders Nacho Calero, local wildcard Ferran Casas and STK1000 regular Javier Alviz and given ringside seats for a typical Spanish equestrian show that combined a mixture of traditional music with a display that included formation riding, tricks and choreography that saw the horses performing with precision.

After the show the riders posed for photos for the media and the crowd attending the event before returning to the circuit to make their final preparations ahead of tomorrow's on track action which begins with the free practice sessions for all classes.

This weekend will also feature two stars of the world of motorcycle racing, local heroes Carlos Checa and Jorge Lorenzo. 2011 Superbike World Champion Checa, who last year announced his retirement from racing here at Jerez, will be involved in several activities as Ducati ambassador and will also meet the fans on Sunday at the Paddock Show. On the same day, double MotoGP World Champion Lorenzo will take to the track in the Alfa 4C, Official SBK Safety Car, after signing autographs for the fans in the morning again at the Paddock Show.

ALFA ROMEO 1750 GTV

ALFA ROMEO 1750 GTV from Cool & Vintage on Vimeo.

OUTSIDERS SON OF A BEACH

There’s something undeniably cool about ripping along a beach on a bike. Be it Burt Monro racing the greasers on his Indian, the madness of the Le Touquet Beach Race or even Guy Martin sweating his gonads off on a push bike on Pendine. It’s such an odd thing to be doing for the majority of us that it’s fascinating. The engineer in me cringes at the idea of sand in places it shouldn’t be but gosh darn it looks like a hoot and half.

For their sixth build, Outsiders were commissioned to create a way for their surf instructor/life guard friend Lex(calm down ladies) to get to the beach; with his board. A new rider licence limited the donor to just 125cc, so a Suzuki GN125 with a mere 3000kms on the clock was found in the back of a garage. Eager to get his hands dirty, Lex helped tear the bike down into piles of do and do not want. One pile was considerably bigger than the other…

The design brief was about affordability and durability, whilst maintaining enough beach-cruise cool. Whilst trying to keep costs to a minimum the frame had to be modified. The original chopper style seat rails were replaced with more horizontal ones and, ingeniously, the rear loop was cut and shut from the original bike’s cruiser handlebars. Small LEDs were selected for the indicators and housed in yet more discarded handlebar.

The surf board rack, a must have for Lex, was bent up and secured to main frame spars. Far enough out so as not to obstruct control function or movement on the bike. Though getting on from the left might be a little ticky! Renthal bars and Oury grips give some scrambler style and fork gaiters keep the sand out of the suspension. Alloy mudguards front and rear keep the sand out of your teeth.

With the engine barely run it there was no need to break into it, so a thorough service and tune up was completed before a smaller airbox and thorough re-jetting ensured the bike was running sweetly; making the most of its meagre capacity. The silencer was also swapped out for something with a bit more rumble at the end of the sweeping manifold.

The seat is a real centrepiece of the bike. Created by the Eindhoven based RachelSarah, it’s the first seat she’s done for Outsiders; I can certainly see more work coming her way. Crisp stitching, sensible padding and that beautiful wave motif down the sides. An Outsiders tag is the finishing touch, surprising how the smallest of details can make such a difference

Being a first bike and one that would spend the majority of its life going to the beach, not just on it, the wheels and tyres were kept on the sensible side. By all accounts the little engine struggles a bit in the sand anyway so the decision was made to stick to road biased rubber. The bike now runs rims from the rear of a GN250 at both ends, increasing width and reducing diameter.

Heavy duty powder coat and stainless steel are used throughout the bike to ensure it survives the worst the Dutch coast throws at it. Delivered to Lex at the end of a long weekend piecing the bike together all parties were thrilled with the outcome; the Outsiders being rewarded with a surf lesson. What more can you ask for?

via The Bike Shed