SSV POLARIS

WSBK ; Sylvain Guintoli rejoint Pata Honda pour 2015 / World Superbike Champion Sylvain Guintoli joins Pata Honda

Le Champion du Monde Superbike 2014 fera équipe avec Michael van der Mark l’an prochain.

prochain.

Parmi les pilotes les plus expérimentés de la grille du World Superbike, Sylvain Guintoli a décroché hier au Circuit International de Losail, lors de la dernière manche de la saison 2014, son premier titre de Champion du Monde Superbike. Le Français, qui vit en Angleterre avec sa compagne Caroline et ses quatre enfants, a aussi couru au plus haut niveau, en MotoGP, plus tôt dans sa carrière.

Á 32 ans, Guintoli compte à son palmarès un total de neuf victoires, dont cinq remportées cette saison à Phillip Island, Assen, Magny-Cours et deux au Qatar le week-end dernier. Il est monté 40 fois sur le podium WSBK.

Guintoli courra pour Honda pour la première fois en 2015 mais avait déjà couru avec Pata, en 2012, sur Ducati, et avait alors remporté deux victoires pour prendre la septième place du classement WSBK.

En attendant l’arrivée de Guintoli et du Champion du Monde Supersport Michael van der Mark, le team Pata Honda fait ses adieux à Jonathan Rea et Leon Haslam. Toute l’équipe de Pata Honda et Honda Motor Europe souhaitent aux deux pilotes le meilleur pour la suite de leur carrière.

Sylvain Guintoli : « Je suis encore en train de réaliser ce qui s’est passé cette saison et plus particulièrement hier soir mais je suis ravi de rejoindre la famille Honda et de retrouver Pata. Notre dernière opportunité de travailler ensemble avait été inattendue mais avait été un partenariat réussi. J’avais offert à Pata leurs premières victoires et nous avons une bonne relation. Je suis optimiste pour ce nouveau challenge et je suis impatient de commencer. Johnny (Rea) a été fort sur la CBR tout au long de la saison et il a parfois été très fort ! Je pense donc qu’il y a clairement beaucoup de potentiel avec cette moto et je pense que le nouveau règlement lui réussira bien. C’est positif pour nous et je suis impatient de voir comment elle roule. Ça a l’air d’être un très bon package et je suis impatient de me faire mes premières impressions. »

Ronald ten Kate – Team manager : « C’est la fin d’une ère mais aussi le commencement d’une autre et je pense que 2015 sera une saison très excitante pour nous. Je suis vraiment ravi que nous puissions accueillir Sylvain chez Pata Honda, pour qu’il coure avec Honda pour la première fois. Il a un excellent palmarès et il a fait une saison exceptionnelle pour rattraper un retard important et décrocher le titre cette année. Avec Mikey (van der Mark) de l’autre côté du garage, nous associerons la jeunesse à l’expérience et c’est quelque chose que recherche tout team manager. Nous avons prévu un programme d’essais hivernaux intensif et je suis impatient que la prochaine saison commence. »

Robert Watherston – Directeur de la division motorsport, Honda Motor Europe : « C’est une excellente nouvelle pour le team et je suis très heureux que nous ayons pu nous assurer les services d’un pilote qui pourra apporter autant d’expérience au team. Sylvain sera un modèle idéal pour que Michael (van der Mark) apprenne à utiliser son agressivité et sa vitesse pure. Je pense que c’est une excellente équipe pour le développement de la CBR1000RR Fireblade SP, à un moment où nous nous apprêtons à changer de règlement. Je souhaite à Jonathan et à Leon le meilleur pour leur avenir, de la part de toute l’équipe, et les remercie pour les années qu’ils ont passées au service de Honda. »

The 2014 World Superbike Champion Sylvain Guintoli has signed an agreement to ride for the Pata Honda team alongside Michael van der Mark in the 2015 championship.

Guintoli is one of the most widely experienced riders in the World Superbike paddock and won the 2014 title in yesterday’s final round at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. The French rider, who lives in the UK with his English wife Caroline and their four children, has also ridden at the highest level in MotoGP.

The 32-year-old has a total of nine World Superbike wins to his credit, five of which have come this season at Phillip Island in Australia, Assen in the Netherlands, his home round of Magny-Cours in France last month, and a double race win in Qatar to end the season in style. He boasts a total of 40 WSBK podium finishes.

Although the 2015 season will be Guintoli’s first ride for Honda, he has a strong historical relationship with the team’s title partner Pata, having ridden for a Pata-sponsored Ducati team in 2012, taking two race victories to finish seventh that season in the World Superbike standings.

The announcement of Guintoli’s appointment to the Pata Honda World Superbike team and his new partnership with 2014 World Supersport champion, Michael van der Mark, means that the team will bid farewell to both Jonathan Rea and Leon Haslam. The entire Pata Honda team and Honda Motor Europe offer their very best wishes to both riders in the future careers.

Sylvain Guintoli: “The events of this season and especially last night are still buzzing in my head, but I’m delighted to be joining the Honda family and to be reuniting with Pata. The last time we worked together was a very unexpected but successful partnership. I brought Pata their first victories and we have a strong relationship. I’m looking forward to tackling this new challenge and I can’t wait to get going. Johnny [Rea] has obviously been strong on the CBR all season and sometimes he’s been very strong! So I think there is definitely a big potential with the bike and I think the new rules for next year will suit it. So for us this is good news and I can’t wait to understand how it works, but it looks like a really good package and I’m looking forward to getting the first impressions soon.”

Ronald ten Kate – team manager: "In many ways it’s the end of an era, but it’s the start of a new one, too, and I think 2015 is going to be a really exciting season for us. I’m really delighted that we are able to welcome Sylvain to the Pata Honda team for his first ride with Honda. He has a great record in the World Superbike championship and has performed really well this season to come back from a big deficit and win the title in style. With Mikey [van der Mark] on the other side of the garage I believe we have that perfect blend of youth and experience that all team managers aim for. We have an intensive winter testing schedule planned and I honestly can’t wait for next season to start."

Robert Watherston – head of motorsport, Honda Motor Europe: "This is a great appointment for the team and I’m very happy that we have been able to secure the services of a rider who can bring so much top level experience to the team. Sylvain will be the perfect foil for Michael’s [van der Mark] aggression and raw speed so I see this as a great line-up for the CBR1000RR Fireblade SP’s ongoing development as we head into this new era of WSBK regulations. On behalf of the whole team, we wish Jonathan and Leon all the best for the future and thank them both enormously for their years of service with Honda."

Cars We Love: Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda

Just like a Jaguar E-type or a classic Porsche 911, the Mercedes-Benz SL Pagoda is anything but a rare phenomenon. But it’s with good reason that the Swabian roadster is so sought-after...

Outer and inner values

From 1963 to 1971, Mercedes-Benz sold some 50,000 SL Pagodas with ease. The success of the luxury roadster can be partly attributed to Paul Bracq’s striking design – the W113 (as it was internally known) was much more muscular than its forebears, the 190 and 300 SLs, and clever packaging meant much more usable space in the cabin. Add in the solid and powerful direct-injection straight-six engine, disc brakes and elaborate suspension system utilising gas-pressure dampers, and you had a sporty yet surprisingly comfortable cruiser.

Export, re-import, re-export

The SL truly went round the world: some 34,000 cars were exported, with around 19,000 of those destined for the United States. This has led to a boom in re-imports in Europe, much as happened with classic Porsche 911s in recent years. “Really good SL Pagodas have now become so expensive in America that collectors are beginning to buy cars in Europe,” observes Daniel Krzykowski of Mercedes specialist Rosier Classic Sterne.

Prices from…?

Cars are plentiful, particularly in the German market, but the challenge is in finding the best car at the right price. Values vary drastically – more so than with many other similarly priced classics ­– and you can spend anything from 60,000 to 100,000 euros (and more) for a ‘good’ car. Mercedes-Benz specialists Brabus will even restore a Pagoda to as-new condition for you, but expect to pay upwards of 250,000 euros. With the exception of these ‘new’ cars, as with any other classic, the more original the better. “Pagodas with rare colour combinations often fetch higher prices,” adds Krzykowski. Those planning to buy would do well to have an expert on hand.

You can find many Pagodas (including the car pictured here currently being offered by LBI Limited) for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

ANGUS’S CG125

Like little Oliver Twist, dish aloft, making his way up the dinner hall to the be-chopped Mr Bumble, I sense that the BSMC audience has not quite had it’s fill of shimmering blue metalflake this week. Quivering, sensing that Mr Bumble hasn’t gotten any in a while, you ask, yet you already know the reply.

Mooooooooooooooorrrrrre!???

Oh alright then, just a soupcon more. After the main course that was Tuesday’s Norton Commando, a light dessert follows. Though differing greatly in both capacity and reliability (sorry Gareth!) this little CG125, resplendent in it’s groovy hue, has far more to it than meets the eye. What I’m trying to say is that unlike Nancy, it’s not all front… Sorry I got distracted there.

This bike is a cockle warmer; built by 17 year old Angus Unsworth it’s great to see the young interested in motorcycles again. The keen eye, youthful sense of vigor and lack of respect for what’s ‘normal’ in motorcycling is already being kept alive by the next generation. Not just buzzing around on a scooter for a year then disappearing into the world of DubBimmerRice ‘n’ Furious cars, but instead, really having that underlying interest in their bikes. How the innards work,  how changes affect the bike, and investing their time, money and energy into making something their own. There’s not been such a youthful feeling to motorcycling since the death of mainstream two-strokes or perhaps the 400cc grey import times.

This 1978 CG125 had been in the family since the mid ’80s and Angus recalls his 13-year old self’s excitement at it coming home with him in 2009. It was duly tinkered with, a carb clean and fresh fuel got it going before various bits were painted, polished and preened. A lack of available licence meant it found it’s place in the back of another shed until 2 years ago, when Angus decided to have a proper go. Now working Saturday mornings at custom paint shop The Paintbox, the means and the enthusiasm collided and the project was on. When stripped down, there is barely anything to these bikes, so a brief clean up of redundant bracketry and the addition of a rear hoop kept things simple chassis wise.

That stand out tank cannot be ignored for any longer. The standard article has been transformed with a deep coat of House of Kolor’s finest, layed down at Paintbox. The Honda scriptwork, a beautiful finishing touch was applied by the steady hand of Neil Melliard at ProSign. The extravagant colour works fabulously against what is an otherwise simple and staid machine; a cheeky grin on a street urchin’s face. Angus spent a lot of time on the set, trimming templates until he found his perfect shape. Cut from 5mm aluminium the base was then sent to local upholsterer Andy Nixon who created the beautiful diamond stitch pattern. Resting atop the rear muduard the recess, which is held in the rear hoop, the whole lot gives a great vintage scrambler feel.

Not wanting to chop up the original chrome item, a good pattern front mudguard was sourced and given a useful trim. A true convert to the delights of proper paint and the results you can get, Angus decided to forgo Powdercoat on many parts. The main frame was sent off for a coat of gloss black powder but upon seeing the result Angus felt he could achieve better and nearly everything else you can see is paint not powder. Fork lowers, engine cases, wheel hubs, mudguards were given a loving coat of deep gloss paint and lacquer. It’s hard to argue with the results!

The odd 18 inch wheels on the standard CG125 restrict tyre choice to lackluster commuting rubber and a few knobblies. As the wheels were broken down for paint Angus decided to swap out the rims for 17 inchers at either end giving this lightweight bike bantamweight footwork. Giving a little more width as well, the wheels were built up with Stainless spokes and the painted hubs. Road focused Continental rubber allows the most fun in the corners to be extracted. With such little weight and the little 4-stroke thumper providing just enough propulsion, this is motorcycling atrophy, wasted away to nothing

Frustratingly finished as summer 2012 disappeared, Angus managed to snatch 1000 miles on the bike before tucking it away from the salt and detritus. This year has seen the odometer spin further and the bike receive additional upgrades. It now sports a 200cc upgrade for a true wind in the whiskers experience, as well as a 12v conversion to give the Bates light more lumens to go with the looks. There are of course plans afoot for further customisiation. An aluminium swingarm beckons, as well as a fork brace to stiffen the somewhat skinny 27mm stanchions.

Good friend Tony Walters snapped the great pictures, capturing the deep House of Kolor paint. Angus is also at pains to thank the Parental Unit for putting up with the various scattered parts about the house. For the moment though, the bike gets ridden hard and doesn’t miss a beat. As Angus says, ‘What more could you want?’ Way to rub it in Oliver’s face!

via The Bike Shed