pilote ....

ERC, Rally Liepaja : Victoire de Breen / Latvia success for Breen

Après deux podiums consécutifs, l’Irlandais Craig Breen a remporté le Rally Liepaja (Lettonie) au volant d’une Peugeot 208 T16/Michelin. Siim Plangi (Mitsubishi) et Dominikas Butvilas (Subaru) complètent le podium. Victoire d’Emil Berkvist chez les Juniors.

Organisée sur les rives de la Mer Baltique, la 2^e manche du Championnat d’Europe des Rallyes FIA fut une course par élimination. Les conditions furent difficiles avec de la neige fondante, des parties verglacées, des portions de terre, d’autres très enneigées, du brouillard. L’adhérence était changeante d’un virage à l’autre, et de nombreux pilotes se sont fait surprendre.

Très vite, deux candidats à la victoire, le Polonais Kajetan Kajetanowicz (Ford Fiesta R5) et le Biélorusse Alexey Lukyanuk (Ford Fiesta R5) sont partis à la faute, laissant le pilote de la Peugeot Rally Academy Craig Breen filer vers la victoire au volant de sa Peugeot 208 T16 chaussée de pneus Michelin X-Ice North.

L’Irlandais s’est imposé avec une avance confortable sur trois pilotes baltes, l’Estonien Siim Plangi (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), le Lituanien Dominikas Butvilas (Subaru Impreza STi) et le Letton Martins Svilis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X).

Vainqueur de la catégorie Junior, le Suédois Emil Berckvist (Opel Adam R2) a terminé à une surprenante 6^e place au général ! Le Norvégien Steve Rokland (Peugeot 208 R2) a pris la 2^eplace devant Ralf Sirmacis (Peugeot 208 R2).

Après les deux épreuves hivernales 2015, Kajetan Kajetanowicz est leader du championnat (45 points) devant Breen et Consani (40 pts).

Dans deux mois, la prochaine manche ERC emmènera les concurrents à Belfast pour le Circuit of Ireland (2-4 avril). 

Irishman Craig Breen followed up two recent podium finishes with victory on Latvia’s Rally Liepaja in the Peugeot Rally Academy Peugeot 208 T16/Michelin. Siim Plangi (Mitsubishi) and Dominikas Butvilas (Subaru) were second and third, while Junior winner was Emil Bergkvist. 

Round two of the FIA European Rally Championship on the shores of the Baltic Sea was marked by a high attrition rate in mixed conditions ranging from melting snow and ice, to dirt, fog and, finally, fresh snow. The changing grip caught out several front-runners.

Potential winners Kajetan Kajetanowicz from Poland (Ford Fiesta R5) and Alexey Lukyanuk from Belarus (Ford Fiesta R5) were soon eliminated, which allowed Breen to cruise home to a straightforward victory with his Peugeot 208 T16 running on Michelin X-Ice North tyres.

The Irishman finished handsomely clear of Estonia’s Siim Plangi (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X), Lithuanian Dominikas Butvilas (Subaru Impreza STi) and local driver Martins Svilis (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X).

The Junior victor was Swede Emil Bergkvist (Opel Adam R2) who ended up sixth overall! Norway’s Steve Rokland (Peugeot 208 R2) was second and third place went to Ralf Sirmacis (Peugeot 208 R2).

With the 2015 ERC’s two winter events completed, Kajetan Kajetanowicz tops the provisional standings on 45 points, ahead of Breen and Consani (40).

The series resumes in two months’ time with the Belfast-based Circuit of Ireland (April 2-4).

Paul Simonon in “Wot no Bike” by Baillie Walsh

Captured by Baillie Walsh, The Clash’s bassist, Paul Simonon meditates on painting and a two-wheeled obsession as his ICA show “Wot No Bike” gets underway. 
Read the full feature on NOWNESS: http://bit.ly/1yRB7uE

Victory for the underdog at RM Auctions sale in Paris

Even though the bidding began rather sedately at the opening sale by RM Auctions during Rétromobile 2015, with occasional star cars not scaling the expected heights, there were some happy surprises…

A useful barometer of the buying mood

For dealers, collectors and experts, the Rétromobile auctions are a useful barometer of the buying mood of the market – as RM Auctions, Bonhams and Artcurial compete to get the best price for their assigned lots, and perhaps the odd world record when two bidders fight for one car. The action again began this year with Max Girardo and his team from RM Auctions, staging the usual glamorous sale at the Place Vauban. But as with the Arizona sales earlier in January, the really big surprise was the number of cars that failed to attract bids at their estimated values. Are today’s estimates being set at unrealistic levels – or have we reached the end of the boom in the auction market? Whatever the truth of the matter, the stars of the sale – an ex-factory Porsche 911, estimated at 1.1 to 1.3 million euros, along with an Alfa 6C 2500 Sport Berlinetta carrying an estimate of 1.9 to 2.4 million euros – were unable to find new homes. 

Underdogs exceeding expectations

Nevertheless, exceptional cars can still achieve immense sums: a Porsche 904 Carrera GTS estimated between 1.4 and 1.8 million euros sold for 1,428,000 euros including premium, while a prized Ferrari F40 (estimate: 900,000 to 1.3 million euros) brought 1,176,000 euros. And Classic Driver dealer DK Engineering bought a yellow Lancia Stratos for 386,400 euros. While the top-notch lots at best achieved their estimates, however, it was left to the (relatively speaking) underdogs to exceed expectations: a Maserati Sebring, for example – a model previously tipped by Classic Driver as a good investment for 2015 –  saw the hammer drop at 150,000 euros, a figure well above the too-pessimistic estimate. And while the purist’s Lamborghini of choice, the Countach LP400 Periscopio, failed to reach the expected 1.1 to 1.45 million euros (with bids petering out at 950,000 euros), the much less coveted Countach 25th Anniversary model attracted 330,000 euros – 10 per cent more than RM had dared to hope for the 1980s bullet. Even when it came to the estimated 15,000 to 20,000 euros for the Alfa police car of the Italian Carabinieri, the gavel didn’t fall until the bidding had risen to around 31,000 euros. 

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2015

The Top 5 lots at RM's Paris sale

Lot 135 / 1963 Ferrari 250 GT/L 'Lusso' Berlinetta / €1,624,000    
Lot 144 / 1964 Porsche 904 Carrera GTS / €1,428,000    
Lot 150 / 1963 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster / €1,232,000    
Lot 146 / 1990 Ferrari F40 / €1,176,000    
Lot 157 / 1965 Iso Grifo A3/C Stradale / €1,036,000