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    mercredi 1 octobre 2014

    WRC, France : Au zénith de la saison / the season’s zenith?


    Le Zénith de Strasbourg accueille une nouvelle fois le Rallye de France-Alsace qui pourrait être le zénith de la saison mondiale avec le couronnement des champions du monde des Rallyes Pilotes et Copilotes 2014.
    Si Sébastien Ogier et Julien Ingrassia repartent de Strasbourg dimanche après-midi avec 56 points d’avance sur Jari-Matti Latvala et Miikka Anttila, ils seront assurés des titres mondiaux 2014. Sébastien Ogier rejoindrait ainsi les doubles champions du monde Walter Rohrl, Miki Biasion, Carlos Sainz et Marcus Grönholm au palmarès du WRC.
    Même si la météo s’annonce plutôt clémente ce week-end en Alsace, le parcours ne manque pas de difficultés. Ce matin, quand nous avons reconnu les ES de la 2e étape, les sous-bois étaient encore bien humides, notamment dans la descente rapide deSoultzeren-Le Grand Hohnack (ES9/12). Renouvelé à près de 50% par rapport à 2013, le parcours offre un profil varié avec des portions larges et techniques (ES1/4), d’autres très étroites en forêts (ES10/13).
    Enfin d’après-midi, les équipages en avaient terminé avec les recos et vaquaient à leurs occupations en attendant les différents points-presse prévus ce soir au parc d’assistance. Après l’intermède australien, les teams ont retrouvé leurs structures géantes (Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai, Citroën) dressées dans les allées principales du parc. VW a récupéré le motor-home Red Bull.
    Les médias sont tout d’abord attendus chez M-Sport pour un « happy half hour » à partir de 18h00 en présence de Mikko Hirvonen, Elfyn Evans et Robert Kubica. L’équipe de Malcolm Wilson a récemment obtenu plusieurs succès internationaux (Blancpain Series, RedBull Global Rallycross avec Ken Block, ou encore le titre national norvégien en rallye avec Tore Larsen).
    Puis ils se rendront juste derrière, chez Hyundai Motorsport, à 18h30, où l’équipe a prévu de fêter l’anniversaire de Marc Marti (copilote de Dani Sordo), 48 ans aujourd’hui, qui célèbre aussi son 150e rallye WRC. On causera sans doute des deux derniers rallyes gagnés par Thierry Neuville, le Rallye Deutschland et l’East Belgian Rally.
    Pour info, ce Rallye de France-Alsace est aussi le 100e rallye WRC de Martin Prokop (Ford/Michelin) et le 50e d’Andreas Mikkelsen (VW/Michelin).
    Enfin, tout ce petit monde se retrouvera chez Citroën Racing vers 19h00, pour le traditionnel cocktail de la marque pré-Rallye de France. On se souvient que l’an passé, c’était un peu la bousculade avec le dernier rallye WRC de Sébastien Loeb. Un an déjà…
    Once again, the Rallye de France-Alsace has taken up residence in and around Strasbourg’s Zénith entertainment complex. The event could also prove to be the season’s zenith for Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia if they manage to wrap up the 2014 Drivers’ and Co-drivers’ crowns on Sunday.

    To make sure of these two titles, all (!) Ogier and Ingrassia have to do is complete their home WRC round with a lead of at least 56 points over Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila. Should they succeed, the Frenchman will join Walter Röhrl, Miki Biasion, Carlos Sainz and Marcus Grönholm as a two-time world champion.
    The weather is expected to stay mild this week in Alsace, but the stages promise to be as challenging as ever. This morning, we did a recce of Saturday’s tests and there are still damp portions underneath the tree cover, especially down the fast downhill portion of ‘Soultzeren-Le Grand Hohnack’ (SS9/12). The route is 50 percent different to 2013 and features an interesting variety of profiles, ranging from the wide, technical sections of SS1/4 to much narrower forest roads (SS10/13).
    The crews finished their own recce this afternoon (Wednesday) ahead of a busy schedule of press and PR events in the service park this evening.
    After working out of temporary facilities in Australia, Volkswagen, Ford, Hyundai and Citroën have all recovered their usual giant hospitality units, and VW has brought the Red Bull motorhome.
    First on the media diary is Ford’s ‘happy half-hour’ attended by Mikko Hirvonen, Elfyn Evans and Robert Kubica. Malcolm Wilson’s team has recently had several successes in other championships to celebrate, namely the Blancpain Series (GT racing), RedBull Global Rallycross (with Ken Block) and the Norwegian rally title (Tore Larsen).
    After that, the ‘motor noters’ will move next door to Hyundai Motorsport to celebrate the 48thbirthday of Dani Sordo’s co-driver Marc Marti. This is also the Spaniard’s 150th WRC start. Conversation might also turn to Thierry Neuville’s recent victories on the Rallye Deutschland and East Belgian Rally…
    Finally, the same crowd will convene at Citroën Racing for the team’s traditional pre-Rallye de France cocktail. Last year, there was a strong attendance to mark Sébastien Loeb’s final world class appearance, a whole year ago already!
    For information the Rallye de France-Alsace is the 100th world class event for Martin Prokop (Ford/Michelin) and the 50th for Andreas Mikkelsen (VW/Michelin).

    1925 STANLEY STEAMER


    Stanley_Steamer_13
    The Stanley Steamer is the colloquial name given to the steam powered automobiles produced by Stanley Motor Carriage Company between 1902 and 1924, the Steamers eventually lost out to gasoline powered cars due to the ease of use afforded by an internal combustion engine with an electric starter motor – but for a while there the steam powered cars were a popular alternative.
    The 1925 Stanley Model SV 252A Touring Car shown here is thought to be the last surviving unrestored Stanley Steamer that still runs – an incredible feat of endurance considering its 89 year lifespan. Minor mechanical modifications have been made over the years, but the core structure of the car and its drivetrain remain the same as they were when they left the factory in Watertown, Massachusetts in 1925.
    The design of the drivetrain was surpassingly simple and exceedingly safe – in fact no Stanley Steamer has ever suffered a boiler explosion, largely due to the use of safety valves and joints designed to rupture in the event of excessive pressure. In 1906 a car built by Stanley set the world record for the fastest mile ever recorded (at 28.2 seconds) – a record that stood for 5 years before being broken by a gasoline powered rival. Interestingly, the record still stood as the fastest time for a steam powered car until 2009 – 103 years later.
    The Model SV 252A Touring Car was powered by a 2-cylinder, 20hp steam engine and rode on 4-wheel semi-elliptical leaf springs, they were fitted with Bosch snubbers on the front axle and 4-wheel Lockheed hydraulic external contracting brakes. Most Steamers used either gasoline or kerosine as a fuel source although there are innumerable stories of owners experimenting with other fuels – like alcohol, ethanol or moonshine.
    If you’d like to add a Steamer to your collection you may very well be in luck, the car you see here is due to be auctioned by Bonhams on the 6th of October 2014 at the Simeone Automotive Museum. The estimated hammer price on it is between $70,000 and $90,000 USD – making it a bargain for a car of this rarity.
    Stanley Steamer 1 1480x983 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 14 1480x985 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 12 1480x990 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 11 1480x978 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 10 1480x985 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 9 1480x987 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 8 1480x985 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 7 1480x990 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 5 1480x985 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 4 1480x986 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 3 1480x991 1925 Stanley Steamer
    Stanley Steamer 2 1480x988 1925 Stanley Steamer
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