WRC, Monte-Carlo, étape 2 : Ogier orphelin de Loeb / Ogier, solitary leader

La dernière spéciale de cette journée a bouleversé le classement général. Sébastien Loeb et Kris Meeke (Citroën) ont été retardés. Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) est leader du Rallye Monte-Carlo avec une avance de 1min45s4 sur son équipier Jari-Matti Latvala. Andreas Mikkelsen complète un podium provisoire 100 % Volkswagen.

Entre Sébastien Loeb, le nonuple champion du monde de retour en WRC, et Sébastien Ogier, le double champion du monde et vainqueur sortant du Monte-Carlo, le duel était d’une rare intensité. Ogier avait pris l’avantage et les deux hommes étaient séparés par 8 secondes au départ de la dernière spéciale du jour (25,4 km).

Mais cette spéciale arrive à 4 km de la maison familiale des Ogier, et il était écrit que Loeb ne serait pas roi dans les Hautes-Alpes, chez son rival. Peu après son équipier Kris Meeke, Sébastien Loeb a lui aussi tapé une corde et cassé une biellette de direction. Le Français a perdu plus de 6 minutes et le Britannique n’a pu rallier le parc de Gap.

Du coup, Sébastien Ogier compte une avance très confortable sur ses équipiers Jari-Matti Latvala (+1min45s4) et Andreas Mikkelsen (+2min34s8). « Ce fut une journée incroyable. La bagarre était vraiment passionnante avec Seb, mais il fallait surtout rester calme. Quand j’ai entendu qu’il avait eu un impact, j’ai pu me détendre un peu. Mais la route est encore longue. Passer dans le village où j’ai habité pendant 20 ans, et en tête du rallye, c’était inoubliable, un des plus beaux moments de ma carrière », a déclaré Sébastien Ogier.

Andreas Mikkelsen n’est pas encore assuré d’une place sur le podium car l’Estonien Ott Tanak (Ford) n’est qu’à 9s6. Seul rescapé du clan Citroën, Mads Ostberg (5^e) sera en bagarre avec le Gallois Elfyn Evans (6^e, Ford, +12s3) sur les spéciales de la 3^e étape, demain, autour de Gap. Cette journée inclura deux tours dans Prunières-Embrun, un passage dans la plus longue spéciale du rallye (51,70 km) et dans la mythique Sisteron-Thoard (36,85 km) avant de rentrer à Monaco.

Les deux pilotes Hyundai Thierry Neuville (7^e) et Dani Sordo (8^e) devancent Martin Prokop (Ford) et Sébastien Loeb. Stéphane Lefebvre (DS3 R5/Michelin) est leader de la catégorie WRC-2 malgré un tête-à-queue dans l’ES1 (échappement écrasé). Son rival Martin Koci (Ford Fiesta R5) est 2^e à seulement 6s5, une belle performance pour son premier Rallye Monte-Carlo. Quentin Giordano (Citroën) a heurté un mur dans un village et cassé un amortisseur.

Quentin Gilbert (Citroën/Michelin) est solide leader en Junior devant Veiby et Folb. François Delecour est en tête de la catégorie R-GT sur sa Porsche/Michelin, devant Romain Dumas.

The 2015 Rallye Monte-Carlo leaderboard underwent a radical change on Thursday’s final stage when Sébastien Loeb and Kris Meeke (Citroën) both dropped time. Sébastien Ogier (VW/Michelin) is now clear at the top, 1m45.4s ahead of his team-mate Jari-Matti Latvala, while Andreas Mikkelsen (3rd) makes it an all-Volkswagen provisional podium.

Until late this afternoon, the ding-dong duel between nine-time world champ Sébastien Loeb and the reigning champion Sébastien Ogier lived up every bit to its promise. Indeed, after this evening’s penultimate test, Ogier had a narrow edge, with an eight-second advantage…

The end of today’s final stage was located just four kilometres from the Ogier family’s home, so that makes it even more ironic that it was here that Citroën’s Kris Meeke and, more significantly, his team-mate Sébastien Loeb both hit trouble. The Frenchman clouted something on the inside of a corner and broke a steering arm, throwing away six minutes in the process, but Meeke was unable to continue any further.

Suddenly, after a day of intense competition, Ogier found himself with an assertive lead over fellow VW drivers Jari-Matti Latvala (+1m45.4s) and Andreas Mikkelsen (+2m34.8s). “It’s been an incredible day,” declared Ogier at this evening’s end-of-leg press conference. “The fight with Seb was exciting and it was important to stay calm. When I heard about his impact, I felt I could relax a bit, but not too much because there’s still a long way to go. It was an amazing sensation driving through the village where I lived for 20 years. I could really feel everyone willing me on. It was one of the most memorable moments of my career.”

Andreas Mikkelsen’s footing on the podium doesn’t look totally safe, however, since Estonian Ott Tanak (Ford) is only 9.6 seconds behind. Meanwhile, the only Citroën survivor Mads Ostberg (5^th) is locked in a fight with Welshman Elfyn Evans (6^th, Ford, +12.3s) which should keep spectators entertained during the final day of action in this part of the French Alps.

The third day’s menu features two attempts at ‘Prunières-Embrun’, a single visit to the rally’s longest test (51.70km) and, finally, the legendary ‘Sisteron-Thoard’ test (36.85km) before the long drive to Monaco.

Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville (7^th) and Dani Sordo (8^th) figure ahead of Martin Prokop (Ford) and Sébastien Loeb in tonight’s order.

Stéphane Lefebvre (DS3 R5/Michelin) is on top in WRC-2 despite a spin on SS1 which damaged his exhaust, but rival Martin Koci (Ford Fiesta R5) is only 6.5s behind in second place, a fine performance from the Monte Carlo rookie. Quentin Giordano (Citroën) lost time when he hit a wall and damaged a damper.

Quentin Gilbert (Citroën/Michelin) has a comfortable lead in the Junior standings, ahead of Veiby and Folb, while François Delecour is the best-placed R-GT runner in his Porsche/Michelin, ahead of Romain Dumas.

History of the GS - Part Five

After Helge Pedersen conquered Africa, it was Gaston Rahire's turn.

The successes of the G/S in the world's toughest rally paved the way for the Boxer's career as a dependable means of transport for globetrotters. BMW naturally followed their victory with a Paris-Dakar special edition model in 1984, which further enhanced the bike's growing reputation as the motorcycle of choice for long distance travel.

By 1987, more than 24,000 GS motorcycles were produced and the next generation of the BMW GS was on its way.

Now written without a forward slash, the new GS featured a paralever rear swingarm in place of the mono lever, a new front suspension, cross spoke wheels and frame improvements. A 980 cc engine represented the top of the line in the R100 GS.

The 1988 Paris-Dakar kit was designed for the long distance traveler and featured better weather protection and adaptable luggage solutions. For the first time, a red tubular frame ran outside of the fairing and an aluminum engine guard plate was bolted under the oil pan. It also featured cylinder guards, hand protectors and a mudguard.

It became Germanys best selling motorcycle in 1988.

By now, the GS was a mature world traveling bike, and it had evolved considerably, but the evolution wasn't about to stop.

THE PLAYER: DP CUSTOMS’ RACY 1200 SPORTSTER

By Wesley Reyneke | Rather Be Riding

Harley-Davidson customs have changed for good. The raked-out, built-for-TV monstrosities are a dying breed, and the baton has passed to a new wave of crisp, sporty builds that we’d happily ride all day.

Workshops like DP Custom Cycles are leading the charge. Brothers Jarrod and Justin Del Prado build honest, functional rides—and often finish them off with eye-catching motorsport liveries.

‘The Player’ is based on a 1997 Harley-Davidson Sportster 1200, and it’s a commission from a previous customer: “We’d already built him a hardtail bike called Hollywood,” explains Jarrod. “This time, he wanted a full suspension bike to squirt around on his local city streets.”

DP Customs have dressed their Sportsters in everything from Gulf Oil to BAR colors before. This time, they opted for the iconic John Player Special scheme—a hat-tip to Mario Andretti and his 1978 F1 Championship-winning Lotus-Ford.

“Mario Andretti is our favorite race car driver of all time,” says Jarrod. “In 1993, we saw him score his last IndyCar win, right here at Phoenix International Raceway. So when our customer mentioned that he loved the classic JPS colors, we decided to go with that.”

“Our goal was to build a bike that’s fun to ride on a daily basis, and looks minimal and sharp.”

The racing theme extends beyond the paint, with DP Customs editing the frame and fabricating new bodywork for a lightweight and angular look.

The fuel tank and tail section are hand-made from steel, along with the oil tank—which masquerades as a spoiler. Note how it flows perfectly into the exhaust, which is DP Customs’ own proprietary Box Pipe.

Cosmetic changes alone weren’t going to cut it. On-road behavior has been enhanced with a set of fully adjustable Progressive Suspension 970 shocks; the forks have been upgraded with Progressive Suspension springs and 39mm preload adjusters from Speed Merchant.

The engine was given a boost with a Dynatek single fire ignition coil, and a rebuilt and re-jetted CV carb. The stock belt drive has been ditched for a chain setup, with a whopping 51-tooth PBR rear sprocket, “for added spunk out of the hole.”

DP Customs designed the 19” front and 18” rear wheels themselves, and had them CNC milled. They’re wrapped in Pirelli Sport Demons, with braking duties handled by Brembo calipers and ISR master cylinders. A small Ballistic battery been installed too, stashed away in the new tail section.

Other top-shelf parts include ISR adjustable hand controls, Chainsikle mid-set foot controls, plus bars, risers and grips from Biltwell. The only dial is a simple rev counter from Stack. The superb paintwork is by Walkers Way.

With angular bodywork and vastly improved dynamics, we reckon this 1200 Sportster is a worthy machine to carry the famous Formula 1 colors.

We’re also betting that Mr Andretti—who started riding motorcycles as a child—would approve.

DP Custom Cycles website | Facebook | Instagram

via BIKEexif

Breva’s Speedmeter has a pop-up party trick

Dedicated followers of fashion might recognise the name of Vincent Dupontreue as that of the precocious clothes designer who made his mark selling crystal-studded jeans to Chinese fashionistas for a cool €50,000 a pair...

A few years ago, however, Dupontreue abandoned the rag trade in order to pursue a long-standing dream to create a watch company, and Breva - which launched its first watch in 2013 - is the result.

The brand’s point of difference is that all its products have a connection to the environment - which is how the Breva Genie 01 came to be the first mechanical watch to contain a fully working aneroid barometer, and the 02 the first to feature an altimeter.

Now for the final trick

But anyone with a love for things that move fast will probably find the latest Breva watch the most intriguing of all, because it contains a tiny, built-in speedometer. The Genie 03 ‘Speedmeter’, which will be launched in Geneva this weekend, is fitted with a pop-up speed-measuring device that incorporates a tiny set of Robinson Cups, as traditionally used on anemometers for measuring wind speed.

The 27-part mechanism fits flush with the dial when not in use, but activating the push piece at the two o’clock position causes it to extend six millimetres above the dial, exposing it to the air and enabling the Robinson Cups to spin and drive a needle which indicates speed in kilometres or miles per hour up to a maximum of 200kmh/125 mph.

Arm out of the window

The watch itself comprises a 45mm, titanium case containing a conventional three-hand movement with power-reserve indicator and an offset dial made from a slice of smoked, sapphire crystal.

The Breva Genie 03 is unlikely ever to take over from the traditional speedometers by firms such as Smiths or Jaeger, which many of us have in our classics - but, if you have 50,000 euros spare, it will certainly add an intriguing new element to every journey.

Photos: Breva Watches

You can find numerous classic watches for sale in the Classic Driver Market.