Oscaro Tour de Corse Historique 2014 : 3 premières étapes

La 14ème édition du Tour Historique de Corse, qui se déroule sur 5 jours, propose cette année encore un plateau de rêve tant en terme d'automobiles que de pilotes.
1ère étape : Porto-Vecchio



la 2ème étape de l'Oscaro Tour de Corse Historique qui s'est déroulée le mercredi 8 octobre 2014 sur les communes de Porto-Vecchio, Bastelica et Grosseto Prugna-Porticcio.
étape : Porto-Vecchio - Bastelica - Porticcio



la 3ème étape de l'Oscaro Tour de Corse Historique a notamment mis aux prises Jean-François Berenguer sur Ford Escort Rs et Christophe Vaison sur Lancia 037 pour la 1ère place de la catégorie VHC.

MotoGP : Avantage Dovizioso à l’issue de la première journée / Advantage to Dovizioso on opening day

Le pilote du team Ducati s’est offert le meilleur temps du vendredi au Grand Prix Motul du Japon en profitant d’un pneu extra soft à la fin de la seconde séance d’essais.

De retour au guidon de la GP14.2 après avoir chuté en course au MotorLand Aragón, Andrea Dovizioso a tout de suite rappelé son excellent potentiel en se classant troisième de la première séance d’essais vendredi matin au Motegi et a ensuite tiré profit du pneu extra soft pour tourner en 1’45.140 cet après-midi et distancer de près d’une demi-seconde son premier poursuivant, Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP).

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), avec qui il s’était battu pour le podium sur les dernières courses, n’était que quatrième, à plus d’une demi-seconde du pilote Ducati.

« J’étais vraiment à l’aise sur la moto aujourd’hui, » a commenté Dovizioso. « Nous sommes restés deuxièmes jusqu’aux cinq dernières minutes, en n’ayant roulé qu’avec la gomme la plus dure. Je pouvais faire des chronos similaires avec le pneu dur et je suis content de ma vitesse. Nous sommes partis sur un très bon set-up en ce qui concerne le châssis et l’électronique, ce qui m’a beaucoup aidé. »

« Nous devons continuer à gagner en rythme afin d’essayer de nous battre pour le podium. C’est notre principal objectif. Le nouveau châssis ne modifie pas la façon dont je pilote la moto mais elle est globalement meilleure que celle de l’an dernier. L’électronique va mieux, tout fonctionne mieux et ça me permet d’être plus rapide. »

Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso led the way at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan on Friday as the Italian took advantage of an extra soft tyre in FP2.

Friday started well for Dovizioso who continued to assess the GP14.2 upgrade to his Ducati, able to finish FP1 third. Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) continued his good form from Aragon to head Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) by 0.166s and Dovizioso was 0.234s behind the Yamaha factory rider in the morning run.

The final stages of FP2 saw the Italian rider fit the extra-soft compound tyre and push hard for a lap time, resulting in a 1’45.140s. This put the Ducati man top of the combined time sheets, leading Lorenzo by 0.440s.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) was down in fourth and over half a second slower than the Ducati rider. The two riders have battled hard for the final podium step in previous rounds.

The harder option tyre also had Dovizioso setting competitive lap times, the hard braking of the Motegi circuit suiting the Italian rider’s style.

“I felt really comfortable on the bike today. We were second until the last five minutes on the harder option tyre. I could make a similar lap time throughout on the hard tyre, I’m happy with the speed. We started with a really good setup from the chassis and electronics side and this has helped a lot,” commented a content Dovizioso.

He added, “We have to keep improving our speed to try and fight for the podium. This is our main aim. The new chassis doesn’t change how I ride the bike, the bike is better overall than last year. The electronics are better, everything is better and it gave me the chance to be faster.”

Rallye Raid : Marc Coma champion du Monde 2014 / Marc Coma 2014 World Champion

Battu l’an passé sur le fil par Paolo Gonçalves, l’Espagnol Marc Coma (KTM Michelin) a pris sa revanche cette année en s’imposant au Rallye du Maroc et en décrochant du même coup le titre de champion du Monde 2014 de rallye raid.

Comme l’an passé, Gonçalves (Honda Michelin) et Coma abordaient cette ultime manche du championnat, dernière course de préparation avant le prochain Dakar, au coude à coude. Le titre se jouait entre les deux leaders des teams Honda et KTM, mais chaque équipe alignait la totalité de ses pilotes officiels au départ.
Comme souvent cette saison, Marc Coma a fait preuve de régularité et de sagesse pour remporter cette épreuve et coiffer du même coup son sixième titre Mondial. Devancé après trois jours de course par Joan Barreda (Honda Michelin), avant que celui-ci n’écope d’une pénalité (trente minutes) pour excès de vitesse, Coma devançait à mi-course Paolo Gonçalves, son rival pour le titre. Comptant une minute trente cinq de retard au départ de la cinquième et avant dernière journée, Gonçalves allait se faire piéger et chutait peu après le départ de la spéciale, abandonner après s’être blessé aux cotes et à l’épaule. La voie du titre était dégagée pour Coma, qui s’impose finalement devant son équipier Sam Sunderland (KTM Michelin), Helder Rodrigues (Honda Michelin) et Joan Barreda (Honda Michelin) vainqueur de cinq des six spéciales.
Marc Coma : « Nous savons tous que le rallye du Maroc est l’un des plus durs du calendrier, et en arrivant ici l’objectif était de ne pas prendre de risques en vue du championnat. Ce fut une semaine riche en émotions, puisque cette semaine j’ai fêté mon anniversaire, mon titre mondial et enfin la victoire au Maroc. Décrocher six titres mondiaux ne fut pas aisé, on a beaucoup travaillé pour en arriver là. »
Classement final du rallye : 1.Coma (ESP, KTM Michelin) ; 2.Sunderland (GBR, KTM Michelin) ; 3.Rodrigues (POR, Honda Michelin) ; 4.Barreda (ESP, Honda Michelin) ; 5.Faria (POR, KTM Michelin) ; etc….


Last year in Morocco Marc Coma (KTM Michelin) lost his World title during this last round of the World Cross Countries Rally Championship, as Paolo Gonçalves beats him and clinched the title. The Spaniard got his Revenge this year, winning the rally and the World title.

Even if teams Honda Michelin and KTM Michelin entered this race with their full squad, Gonçalves (Honda Michelin) and Coma were the main protagonists of this last round of the series, as one of them was sure to be champion at the end of the rally, also considered a rehearsal for the next Dakar.
In this rough and difficult race, Marc Coma rode once more safe and consistently to finally grab another success and his sixth World title. Winner of the first three stages Joan Barreda (Honda Michelin) was the first leader of the rally, but the Spaniard got a thirty minutes penalty for over speed so Coma was leading Gonçalves at mid race. Leading his rival by one minute and thirty five seconds when started the fifth and penultimate stage, Coma secured the title before the end of the race as Gonçalves crashed soon after the start of the stage and retired with a shoulder and ribs injuries. Coma was champion, but also got the overall win in Morocco; team mate Sam Sunderland (KTM Michelin) got his best result of the season with a second overall, followed by Helder Rodrigues (Honda Michelin) and Joan Barreda winner of five stages in this rally.
Marc Coma: “We know that the Morocco Rally is one of the toughest on the calendar so we came with tactics not to take any risks for the championship. But the feeling is amazing and it’s been a special week full of emotions because I had my birthday, then I won the title and today the win in the rally. To be six-times world champion is not easy. There is a lot of work behind it.”
Final classification of the rallye: 1.Coma (SPA, KTM Michelin) ; 2.Sunderland (GBR, KTM Michelin) ; 3.Rodrigues (POR, Honda Michelin) ; 4.Barreda (SPA, Honda Michelin) ; 5.Faria (POR, KTM Michelin) ; etc….

PURE KLASSE: DIAMOND ATELIER’S BMW R80

The BMW R80 ticks all the boxes for custom builders. It’s reliable, simple to work on and cheap to buy. And, as with all R-series airheads, it looks pretty good straight out of the box.

Unfortunately, the popularity of the venerable BMW means it’s edging into cliché territory: most customs look pretty much the same. The R-series is ripe for a fresh approach, and here it is—courtesy of two young, first-time builders from Munich, just down the road from BMW’s own headquarters.

Diamond Atelier is the new company of 21-year-old Tom Konecny, and 24-year-old Pablo Steigleder. “We’re not building bikes to become rich and famous,” says Tom, “but to add something to the custom scene. “We’ve never raced around a track, but we know what looks good. And that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”

Believe it or not, this 1992 R80 RT is Tom and Pablo’s first build. Tom has owned the bike since he was 17, and felt it was time for an overhaul.

Hardly anything from the original R80 remains. The 18” spoked front wheel and floating brake discs are from an R100R; they’re now hooked up to a Brembo PSC-16 brake master cylinder and Brembo calipers, via stainless steel hoses.

The forks have been lowered three inches to improve stance, and are clamped by custom upper triples. Top-flight controls are fitted to Fehling clipon bars—including Magura levers and a Tommaselli quick-action throttle system. The headlight is a combination of Yamaha and Honda parts.

The componentry is beyond approach, but it’s the perfect lines that catch the eye. To match the angle of the new seat unit, Tom and Pablo lifted the fuel tank a couple of inches. The tail section is crafted from fiberglass and padded with industrial-gradecaoutchouc—a natural rubber compound.

“We built the entire rear frame from scratch,” says Tom, “and made it about 15 centimeters narrower, to give the bike a sleek and lightweight look.” The rearsets are from Tarozzi and underneath the seat is a featherweight Porsche GT3 Cup car battery.

Diamond Atelier have kept the stock exhaust headers, but ditched the middle silencer and fitted short cone pipes—which have custom-made inserts to pass the strict German TÜV regulations.

Little touches help to give the bike its highly crafted feel. The frame has been completely de-tabbed and cleaned up, and new housings were designed for the alternator, starter and shaft drive. Round valve covers and air filters complete the look.

The delicate blue paint is not something you’ll find in the Glasurit color guide: it’s hand-mixed to create the palest of pale blues, with vestigial black pinstriping providing a link back to BMW’s heritage.

The result is simply jaw dropping. And even the hardcore stalwarts of the Munich custom scene were impressed: “At the local biker hangout bar, a guy described us as ‘the boys who would never win a race, but have the coolest looking rides,’” says Tom. “I admit we would gladly accept this description!”

“The R80 wasn’t built to be faster or more comfortable than the original, or to save gas. But it’s got our own Diamond Atelier look going, which we think is unique and just right for us.”

It’s just right for us too—and a good omen for the future of the custom BMW scene.

Diamond Atelier website | Facebook page | Images © 2014 Philipp Wulk.

via BIKEexif