WSSP ; Sofuoglu renoue avec la victoire en Supersport au MotorLand / Aragon WSS race win goes to Sofuoglu

Le Turc a remporté sa 21e victoire dans la catégorie.

La première épreuve européenne du Championnat du Monde Supersport 2015 a été remportée par Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), qui succède donc à Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) et Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand), vainqueurs respectifs de épreuves australienne et thaïlandaise, au sommet du podium. 

En pole position, Cluzel était en lice pour la victoire contre Sofuoglu mais a de nouveau été victime d’un problème technique sur sa moto, comme en Thaïlande, et a dû abandonner pour la seconde course consécutive, dans le douzième tour. 

Suite à ce que le Français ait été obligé de s’arrêter en bord de piste, Sofuoglu a filé vers la 21e victoire de sa carrière en solitaire tandis que PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres), qui s’était battu avec les deux leaders en début d’épreuve, a fini deuxième, à trois secondes du triple Champion du Monde.

Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) complétait le podium tandis que Gino Rea a pris la quatrième place au photo finish devant Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).

Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) a fini sixième, devant son compatriote Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing).

Plusieurs pilotes ont chuté dont Wilairot, qui perd la première place du classement général, Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) et Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres).

21^st race win for former champion.

The first European race of this year’s World Supersport championship was decided in favour of Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing).

Poleman Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto) was in contention until, for the second race in a row he suffered a technical problem while fighting for the lead. The Frenchman was clearly distraught as he retired on lap 12, leaving former Champion Sofuoglu to claim his 21^st WSS race victory by a comfortable margin of 3.224s, and with it the championship lead.

PJ Jacobsen (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) who was also in the hunt from the start eventually finished 2^nd, with Pata Honda World Supersport’s Kyle Smith taking the final podium place in 3^rd (+5.695s).

Gino Rea recovered from an average start to end the 16 lap race in 4^th, the Brit getting the better of Italian Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) in a photo finish. Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) continued his solid start to the year, scoring 10 points for a hard earned 6^th at the flag ahead of compatriot Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing) who had his best result in WSS since Imola last year.

There was a multi rider crashes on lap 6, with Thai race winner Ratthapark Wilairot (CORE Motorsport Thailand), Marco Faccani (San Carlo Puccetti Racing) and Lucas Mahias (Kawasaki Intermoto Ponyexpres) all falling from the top 8 without injury.

WSBK : Race1; Rea remporte une quatrième victoire dans la première épreuve d’Aragón / Race2 ;Davies triomphe en solitaire au MotorLand Aragón

RACE 1;

Le pilote Kawasaki a coiffé Davies au poteau dans un superbe dernier tour.

Jonathan Rea a réussi à décrocher sa quatrième victoire en cinq courses avec le Kawasaki Racing Team dimanche matin au MotorLand Aragón, lors de la première des deux courses de la troisième manche de la saison WorldSBK 2015. Sur les derniers tours, le Nord-Irlandais a résisté aux assauts du Gallois Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team), battu de seulement 0.051s.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) avait dominé toute la première partie de la course mais a fini par être rattrapé par son coéquipier et n’a pas eu les moyens de défendre face à Rea comme à Davies. Le Champion WorldSBK 2013 a terminé sa course loin du duel pour la victoire, 4.977s après Rea.

Qualifié en pole position, Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) s’est imposé sur Jordi Torres et Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team), qui réussit jusqu’ici très bien sa mission en tant que remplaçant de Davide Giugliano, pour prendre la quatrième place.

Nico Terol (Althea Racing) a terminé septième devant Leandro Mercadro (Barni Racing), Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) et Leon Camier (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).

Alex Lowes et Randy de Puniet du team Voltcom Crescent Suzuki travaillaient avec un nouveau système électronique ce week-end et ont malheureusement dû rentrer aux stands dès les premiers tours de la course. Les deux pilotes sont ensuite repartis en piste afin d’essayer de résoudre leurs problèmes avant la seconde course. 

Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) a quant à lui abandonné dans le onzième tour, juste après David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki).

RACE2;

Le Gallois a signé la première victoire de la Panigale en WorldSBK.

Battu d’un rien par Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) dans la première des deux courses du WorldSBK au MotorLand Aragón, Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati Superbike Team) a brillamment pris sa revanche dans la seconde épreuve de la journée et s’est imposé avec plus de trois secondes d’avance sur le leader du classement général.

Le Gallois, double vainqueur en Aragón en 2013, signait ainsi la première victoire de Ducati depuis celle de Sylvain Guintoli à Magny-Cours en 2012 mais surtout le tout premier succès de la Panigale depuis son introducion en WorldSBK en 2013. Il compte désormais cinq victoires à son palmarès.

Incapable de suivre Davies sur cette seconde course, Rea s’est contenté de la seconde place devant Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), qui lui a tenu compagnie durant presque toute la course et était parti de la pole position.

Jordi Torres, le coéquipier de ce dernier, a encore pris la quatrième place, sa quatrième cette année, tandis que Xavi Fores (Aruba.it Racing-Ducati SBK Team), qui succède à Troy Bayliss au poste de remplaçant de Davide Giugliano, progressait d’une position pour compléter le Top 5.

David Salom (Team Pedercini), Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing), Michael van der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) et Nico Terol (Althea Racing) figuraient eux aussi dans le Top 10 à l’arrivée.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) a chuté alors qu’il occupait la quatrième position, dans le sixième tour. Le Champion en titre Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) est tombé peu de temps après le Britannique, dans le virage n°14 et s’était classé dans les points 43 fois de suite avant ce premier abandon avec Pata Honda.

Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) est sorti de piste en début de course mais a pu revenir pour marquer les deux points de la quatorzième place, en finissant juste derrière son coéquipier Randy de Puniet tandis que Christophe Ponsson (Grillini SBK Team) a fini seizième.

Avec quatre victoires et deux secondes places en six courses depuis l’ouverture de la saison 2015, Rea mène le classement général avec un impressionnant total de 140 points et 26 longueurs d’avance sur Haslam, 57 sur Davies et 74 sur Sykes. 

La saison WorldSBK 2015 continue la semaine prochaine aux Pays-Bas, dans la Cathédrale d’Assen.

RACE1;

Top 2 split by 0.051s in first European race of the year.

In the opening 18-lap encounter at MotorLand Aragon, Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team) claimed his fourth win of the season, equalling his previous best for number of victories in a year in just five starts. The Ulsterman came out on top at the end of an enthralling last lap saw, which him lose the lead only to retake it on the final corner from fellow Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati Superbike Team) who finished second, missing out the victory by 0.051s.

Initially leading from the start, other KRT rider Tom Sykes was put under immense pressure from the current championship leader and team mate Jonathan Rea who eventually overhauled the former champion on lap 14, and Chaz Davies whose pace in the closing stages was impressive as he clawed back a small gap that had opened up to put himself into contention as the trio neared the last lap. Sykes would eventually finish in the final podium place.

Behind the leading three another three way fight ensued, with Pole Position man Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) getting the better of his team mate Jordi Torres, the pair finish 4^th and 5^th respectively, just ahead of Xavi Fores on the second factory Ducati Panigale R machine.

Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) closed to within 2.3s of Haslam to claim a well-deserved seventh ahead of Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) and MV Agusta Reparto Corse’s Leon Camier, who completed the top-10.

It was a difficult opening race for the Voltcom Crescent Suzuki pairing of Alex Lowes and Randy de Puniet who both retired to the pits within the opening five laps before rejoining at half distance in an attempt to ensure the technical issues do not re-appear in Race 2. Pata Honda rider Michael van der Mark also retired on lap 11.

RACE2;

First win for Ducati in WorldSBK since 2012 and first ever in Superbike for the Panigale.

The second 18-lap race at MotorLand Aragon, run in much warmer conditions, was won by Briton Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati Superbike Team), after a dominating performance. The Welshman led from turn one to build up a comfortable lead courtesy of a stellar race pace, eventually taking the flag for his fifth career win by 3.1 seconds. Davies last won a WorldSBK race at the Nürburgring in Germany in 2013, but his victory in Spain not only ended Ducati’s 58-race winning drought but also marked the first win for the Panigale R machine in the series.

Race 1 winner Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team), suffering from a fever, battled hard throughout the whole race with former team mate Leon Haslam (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils), who looked much more at home in race 2 than he did in the earlier encounter. Second position would eventually go to Rea, thus extending his championship lead to 26 points, with Haslam taking the final place on the rostrum as the pair were split by just 0.5s at the chequered flag.

Jordi Torres (Aprilia Racing Team – Red Devils) took a well-earned fourth position, circulating more or less alone for the latter part of the race, the rookie looking pleased on his return to the pit box. Xavi Fores claimed another solid result on his debut weekend with the Aruba.it Ducati Superbike Team in fifth.

David Salom (Team Pedercini Kawasaki) completed the top-6 after overhauling Leandro Mercado (Barni Racing Ducati), Michael van Der Mark (Pata Honda World Superbike Team), Ayrton Badovini (BMW Motorrad Italia) and Nico Terol (Althea Racing Ducati) in the final two laps.

Tom Sykes (Kawasaki Racing Team) was running fourth and looked comfortable before high-siding spectacularly on lap five. Reigning champion Sylvain Guintoli (Pata Honda World Superbike Team) also fell at the fast turn 14 which ends the lap, the Frenchman was able to walk away.

Alex Lowes (Voltcom Crescent Suzuki) had another race to forget, the young English rider running off track in the early stages before recovering to salvage two points with a 14^th place finish at the flag.

MACCO MOTORS SPIKE

When Peter Williams designed, cast and raced his own magnesium alloy wheels back in 1974, while every other bike on the grid was still sporting wire-spoked rims, he did so for one reason: chasing tenths. Lighter, stronger and needing less maintenance than the newly pre-historic items surrounding him, the uptake was quick.

But outside the world of racing, and in particularly our little sub-section of biking, where performance is not the be all, the choice of wheel type has more to do with aesthetic preference. All too often we see the children of the ’70s like the RD400 have their solid spoke wheels cast aside for a set of laced up rims.

But are tastes shifting? Like Triumph and Moto Guzzi, Ducati also released their retro Scrambler with both cast and wire spoked wheel options. The uptake of each style will be interesting to see. There will always be room for wire-spoked wheels, they’re just too darn pretty and perfectly period for these modern-retro bikes, but it’s great to see an uptake of aesthetic influences from the ’70s and ’80s being thrown into the mix.

When a customer rolled into the Macco Motors workshop in Cadiz with a mag-wheel sporting 2011 Bonneville SE, he made it clear that the 7 spoke alloy wheels would be staying. Macco are deeply familiar with the modern classic Triumphs but the majority of their builds have been black and raw in appearance. This time, the customer wanted something a bit brighter and livelier: Macco’s first ‘white’ build, Spike.

As the clothes maketh the man, a paintjob does a bike. Like always, Macco have produced a refined and classy scheme, perfectly mixing the modern with the old. A metalflake blue stripe and narrower plain grey stripe wrap across the pure white tank, the whole lot brought into the modern age with the  latest Triumph logo along the lower edge. The side panels receieved a coat of the bright white base with the Macco motor louvres cut away.

Hurtling through the city streets the owner will be thankful for the attention paid to the suspension. Progressive Bitubo rear shocks replace the underdamped original chrome items while matching Hagon springs have been added to the rebuilt front forks.

The hefty rear end of the standard Bonnie always benefits from a trim and the simple kicked loop job done to Spike is all that’s required to update the looks of the machine. Fluted brown leather works perfectly with the paintjob, rising to meet the tank and make the seat transition fluent.

Ancillary items were bought in to replace the. It’s often the detail items that make a ride feel truly special and when you’re on the bike, looking down to see a jewell like MotoGadget Tiny can’t help to make you smile. Teamed with a smaller, scrambler influenced headlight and a relocated ignition, it reminds the rider that they’re riding something individual even when onboard.

A smattering of Rizoma parts; handlebars, brake fluid reservoir and shorty levers work with some alloy footrests to make an altogether nice place for the rider to settle down in.

Not chasing power, means the guys didn’t haver to delve into the depths of the engine. The EFI power unit, perfectly fit for function. A sleek 2-1 Arrow exhaust and a remap had the bike running and sounding as it should from from the factory were it not for the bores in Brussels. Finished in black, the Macco guys couldn’t go too far with the colour and brightness!

And so back to those wheels. A deep coating of black powder, the 7 spoke alloys are more than in keeping with the bike’s look. No pinging of spokes or slipping tubes, the rims are wrapped with a set of Avon Distanzias for useful city grip. 110/80/17 up front and 140/80/17 out back provide plenty of rubber for traffic light grand prix. Macco Motors made up a pair of fibre-glass mudguards to protect the rider, finishing off a practical, stylish steed.

Delivered right on spec, the customer is out riding his rejuvinated wheels, Macco having bent to deliver a fresh take on their previous build. The quality photos, as always, were captured from the lens of Sergio Ibarra from Semimate Agency.

via The Bike Shed

MARKET FINDS: SO YOU WANT A VINTAGE VAN?

Vans aren’t often the most exciting vehicles to drive, but they are, without a doubt, the most versatile. Because of this, owner’s groups around the world have been formed to appreciate their model of choice. The Volkswagen Type-2 Microbus clubs usually go camping. Citroën HY owners meet to compare how their vans differ from one another. And those with GMC conversion vans compare the quality of both the airbrushed murals and the shag carpet fitted to their machines. If you’ve ever wanted to own a vintage van, we’ve found plenty of interesting choices. Catering trucks / Citroën HY The Citroën HY is one of the more under-appreciated models from the double-chevron marque, owing to its unsightly Junkers-like ribbed metal sides and its Darth Vader-like face. Between 1947 and 1981, Citroën churned out nearly 500,000 of them. Problem, at least for those of us in North America: over here, there are only a handful to choose from. They can be imported into both the U.S. and Canada, and a quick search across Europe on mobile.de shows two dozen on offer, from about €4,000 to more than €40,000. We’re focusing, however, on a few recent eBay listings that a friend passed along, saying to simply search for “Citroën” on eBay and looking at the results. From what appears to be the same seller in France, here are a number of interesting body styles—and a number of different price points. HY listings:

Sources (Top left to bottom right):1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Exotics: That slab-sided Citroën may look exotic, however, it’s anything but. Alfa Romeo, Renault, and a few other European marques have a long history of building interesting commercial vans. Here are some interesting examples we’ve been able to find: Alfa Romeo Romeo at romeoregister.com Alfa Romeo F12—a ratty example at mobile.de Renault Estafette at mobile.de British—and almost fully faired-in—Commer vans at carandclassic.co.uk Chevrolet Corsair Greenbriar cans at hemmings.com

Airbrushed Vans: “Vanning” may have started before Hot Rod Magazine editor Terry Cook opened the first National Truck-In in 1973 by saying, “For those of you who are participating, please be cool. No arguments, no drugs, no thievery and no cutting brodies (doing doughnuts) in the dirt." You may chuckle at some of the whimsical designs and often luxuriously-appointed interiors that were hallmarks of the Vanning craze, but the fact remains that vans are relatively inexpensive to acquire or build, they’re simple to fix, and there are a number of clubs to join and events to attend each year. Amazingly, customizing vans has even spread to Japan, where they typically modify theirs for more performance or, in the case of this example, simply preserve an already-completed design. “Vanning” listings: Where else? The Vanning.com classifieds. If you prefer your van with a side of sake, here as listings from the Japanese classifieds site, goo-net-exchange.com: Dodge, Chevrolet, GMC, and Ford.

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