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    samedi 10 janvier 2015

    Dakar Stage6 : RODRIGUES sort de l'ombre ; AL-ATTIYAH enfonce le clou



    Discret depuis le départ de Buenos Aires, Helder Rodrigues n'en est pas moins capable de beaux coups d'éclats, comme le démontrent ses cinq précédentes victoires d'étapes sur le Dakar. Un chiffre porté à six ce soir à Iquique, après une grande journée pour le Portugais. Nasser Al-Attiyah a lui réussi la passe de trois et poursuit sa course de rêve depuis le départ de Buenos Aires, en restant sous la menace de Giniel de Villiers.
    Ultra-régulier, ambitieux, Helder Rodriguez s'est pourtant toujours vu opposer une fin de non-recevoir pour une victoire sur le Dakar, en dépit de deux podiums (2011, 2012). Et le rallye sud-américain ne semblait pas vouloir lui sourire non plus outre-mesure en 2015, avec une 10ème place largement en deçà de ses attentes. Mais après 318 km de spéciale parfaitement maitrisés ce vendredi de la part du Portugais, c'est la 6ème place du général qui s'offre désormais à lui, à 2'20'' d'un Toby Price qui n'est autre que son dauphin du jour. L'Australien, qui participe à son premier Dakar, confirme sa belle vitesse mais aussi ses talents de navigateur.

    Paulo Gonçalves n'est lui plus une surprise et reprend enfin du temps au duo Barreda/Coma au Chili à seulement 1'42'' du vainqueur. Incisif, le pilote Honda conforte sa troisième place du général, en embuscade. Une position d'attente également observée par le local Pablo Quintanilla, quatrième à Iquique. Joan Barreda et Marc Coma ont quant à eux à nouveau roulé ensemble après la petite chute sans conséquence du pilote KTM en début de spéciale et c'est donc au tour du leader du général Barreda de reprendre deux minutes à son compatriote. Une lutte des chefs à laquelle Jordi Viladoms dit définitivement adieu, à 35 minutes du vainqueur du jour

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    Loin d'avoir renoncé à ses ambitions de doublé sur le Dakar, Ignacio Casale a pour cela sorti la grosse attaque entre Autofagasta et Iquique. Le Chilien est parvenu à reprendre plus de huit minutes au solide Rafal Sonik, mais reste à 16 minutes du Polonais au classement général. Un Dakar qui tourne au duel entre les deux hommes, Sergio Lafuente étant désormais pointé à plus de 40 minutes.

    Irrésistible. Nasser Al-Attiyah ne se contente pas de survoler le classement général, le pilote Mini affectionne également les victoires de panache, comme celle décrochée vendredi à Iquique. Une troisième victoire en six étapes qui confirme le rythme impressionnant d'un succès tous les deux jours et qui marque un peu plus son empreinte sur l'édition 2015. Le Qatari n'a pourtant pas eu la partie facile face à un Robby Gordon incisif et un Giniel De Villiers toujours prompt à maintenir la pression sur les épaules du leader du général. Et avec seulement 37 secondes de retard à l'arrivée, le Sud-africain reste plus que jamais le principal adversaire d'Al-Attiyah au soir de la sixième étape.



    Evincé de la course à la victoire finale, Nani Roma n'en demeure pas moins l'un des pilotes les plus rapides en piste et prend la troisième place du jour, devant Robby Gordon. Lui aussi éloigné de la course au général, Orlando Terranova termine pour sa part à 5'48'' du vainqueur devant un Yazeed Alrajhi moins en jambes que les précédents jours mais qui reste solide troisième du général tout en reprenant plus de trois minutes à son poursuivant Krzysztof Holowczyc. Stéphane Peterhansel a lui perdu une demi-heure sur un problème mécanique et laisse à Christian Lavieille, 7e, la place de premier pilote français du général.



    4/6. Voilà le bilan impressionnant des victoires d'Eduard Nikolaev depuis le départ de Buenos Aires et qui roule maintenant sur un rythme qui transforme son Kamaz en véritable rouleau compresseur. Vainqueur à Iquique avec plus de cinq minutes d'avance sur Airat Mardeev et plus de dix minutes sur Andrey Kargoniv, le Russe est plus que jamais leader du général devant ses deux coéquipiers chez Kamaz.




    Discreet since the start in Buenos Aires, Helder Rodrigues is still capable of a major feat, as he demonstrated with his five previous stage victories on the Dakar. This figure moved up to six this evening in Iquique, after a great day for the Portuguese rider. Nasser Al-Attiyah made it victory number three and continues to enjoy a dream start since Buenos Aires, though the threat of Giniel de Villiers still remains.


    Ultra-consistent and ambitious, Helder Rodrigues has always fallen short when looking for outright victory on the Dakar, despite two podium finishes (in 2011 and 2012) The South American rally-raid did not seem to be smiling on him either in 2015, with so far a 10th place in the general standings which is below his expectations. However, after a 318-km special perfectly negotiated this Friday by the Portuguese rider, he now climbs to 6th in the general standings, 2'20'' behind Toby Price who was the runner-up today. The Australian, participating in his first Dakar, demonstrated a good turn of speed and also navigational talent.


    Paulo Gonçalves is used to good performances on the Dakar and finally clawed back time on the Barreda/Coma duo, finishing just 1'42'' behind the day's winner. The incisive Honda rider strengthened his third place in the general standings, waiting to ambush the men ahead. Local boy Pablo Quintanilla is also ready to take advantage of any mistakes and finished fourth in Iquique. Joan Barreda and Marc Coma again rode the stage together after a minor fall by the KTM rider at the start of the special. This time it was the turn of general standings leader Barreda to take two minutes from his countryman. This battle of the elite will not involve Jordi Viladoms, whose hopes definitively went up in smoke as he finished 35 minutes behind the day's winner.

    Far from having dropped his ambitions for a double on the Dakar, Ignacio Casale has gone on the attack between Autofagasta and Iquique. The Chilean has managed to regain more than eight minutes from the solid Rafal Sonik, but is still 16 minutes behind the Polish rider in the general standings. The Dakar is turning into a duel between the two men, since Sergio Lafuente is now 40 minutes behind.

    Irresistible: not content with dominating the general standings, Nasser Al-Attiyah is also seeking to pick up stage victories with panache, like the one earned in Iquique this Friday. It is the Mini driver's third success in six stages, at an impressive rhythm of a triumph every two days, as he progressively leaves his mark on the 2015 edition. That said, the Qatari did not have an easy time today against the incisive Robby Gordon and Giniel de Villiers who is still able to keep the pressure on the general standings leader. Only 37 seconds behind the day's winner at the finishing line, the South African is more than ever the main rival for Al-Attiyah on the evening of the sixth stage.

    Unable to join in the fight for final victory, Nani Roma is still one of the quickest drivers on the racks and took today's third place, ahead of Robby Gordon. Another driver far back in the general standings, Orlando Terranova finished 5'48'' behind Al-Attiyah, but in front of Yazeed Alrajhi, who was slightly slower than the previous days. However, he remains in a solid third place in the general standings and gained more than three minutes on his nearest pursuer Krzysztof Holowczyc. Stéphane Peterhansel lost half an hour due to a mechanical problem, meaning that Christian Lavieille, 7th, is the leading French driver in the general standings.

    Four out of six are the impressive statistics for Eduard Nikolaev's victories since the start in Buenos Aires. The Russian is now driving at a pace that transforms his Kamaz into a veritable steamroller. The winner in Iquique avec with a lead of more than five minutes over Airat Mardeev and more than ten minutes over Andrey Karginov, Nikolaev is even more comfortable at the top of the general standings ahead of his two Kamaz team-mates.


    Biker.....

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    vendredi 9 janvier 2015

    Loeb Testing - 2015 Rallye Monte-Carlo


    DUST MOTORCYCLES – THE JEKYLL


    Dust 1 THUMB Jekyll & Hyde
    One of the perineal problems with motorcycle ownership is that one bike simply can’t do everything, resulting in garages bursting with solutions to first-world, two-wheeled problems. Golfists are allowed a selection of bats, each numbered for a specific purpose, and are rarely frowned upon for such frivolity. Yet us bikers are made to pick and choose, either by partners that just don’t get it, bank managers who can’t comprehend the need for a tracker and a scrambler or the silly, piddly little island that us brits live on being so expensive that a garage usually costs more than a Ducati Desmosedici.
    Steve Bentley of Dust Motorcycles has a solution, make one bike with two personalities. The Jekyll wasn’t pre-planned but the result of flitting between two slightly differing design ideas, the fact that there were two matching tanks hanging up and a spare subframe kicking about made the decision not to simply build two bikes even harder.
    Dust 3 Hyde
    The donor bike is a 1992 R80 RT Mono which has undergone a thorough mechanical shakedown with the usual freshening up of cables, wiring, fluids etc. The engine was in fine fettle so required a thorough service and tune-up to make the most of the cone filters and slash cut mufflers but apart from that was left standard. The handlebar switchgear and levers are all perfectly good so left alone. Much as Motogadget’s emporium of miniaturisation has infiltrated the custom scene, the original BMW kit isn’t that bad to look at and is properly engineered. Anyone who’s seen the chain and gear throttles on these things will know what I mean. The brakes and shock are original too, with added TLC.
    Dust 4 Jekyll
    Drag bars from the RT have been widened slightly to give better tank clearance and an Acewell speedo sits on top. The slightly more conical than normal headlight unit adds character to the front end and stands out, particularly on the burgundy version.
    Those who’ve seen Dust bikes before will recognise the fuel tanks as late seventies Yamaha RD. Despite the heft of the boxer motor the slim tanks require only minor modification to fit over the spine frame and give a lovely straight line to the seat and tail. With pull-off fuel lines and a single 13mm bolt to take care of the swap over is simple and takes less than ten minutes.
    Dust 5 Hyde
    There are more customs featuring optional pillion arrangements and Dust have made a few themselves but Steve says“It’s a difficult thing to get across in pictures but this build really affects the psyche. I’ve done a couple of builds this year where the seats and tanks have been swapped out but they still had the same vibe about them. This does genuinely morph from daily hack  to weekend special and whilst I haven’t given it much thought I’m sure it makes sense on some level”.
    Dust 6 Jekyll
    The milk float battery that comes standard with most BMWs has been binned, superseded by a modern lithium option by Earth X which lives in a small box suspended between the subframe.
    Dust 7 Hyde
    A trimmed and reshaped RT mudguard keeps most of the crud at bay and leaves a near full view of the Pirelli Scorpion ATs. Steve reckons these are a great all-round tyre, especially up in Yorkshire where farmers kindly do their bit to keep ambulances busy by depositing cow crap and mud all over the roads. Anyone out there in cyberland who harps on about dual sport tyres being being a silly option on a custom clearly haven’t spent much time blatting between the hedgerows in rural England.
    Dust 8 Hyde
    The Mono suspension set up with decent rubber at either end is a vast improvement over the handling of the twinshocks according to Steve.
    Dust 9 Hyde
    Something for the weekend Sir? In about as many minutes as it takes to wax one’s beard this weekday commuting hack is transformed into a more handsome Sunday bike. This could catch on. Leather expert Aaron upholstered both seats, the bases being Steve’s handiwork. On the flashy version the tail was swiped from a Kawasaki Zephr 1000 and modded to fit.
    Dust 10 Jekyll
    It certainly makes economical and spacial sense to have one bike with two personalities, maybe we’ll see more of this in 2015. In the meantime keep an eye on Steve’s future builds over on Facebook.We hear that there are a few exciting projects waiting in the wings, one being a BMW shaft to chain drive conversion; should be interesting.
    A big thanks to Robin Zahler for the photos and Ian and Dave from Grove Hill for the paintwork.
    via The Bike Shed