WRC, Argentine : Ogier et Meeke ex aequo au Shakedown / Ogier and Meeke top shakedown order /+ vidéo

Sébastien Ogier (VW) et Kris Meeke (Citroën) ont signé le même chrono sur le Shakedown du Rallye d’Argentine, quatrième manche du championnat FIA WRC 2015 qui s’élancera demain (jeudi) avec une Superspéciale inédite à Merlo. 

Après un long break depuis le Mexique, le WRC est reparti cet après-midi avec le Shakedown du Rallye d’Argentine tracé près de Villa Carlos Paz. Cette séance d’essais a permis aux teams de régler les voitures avant cette épreuve qui s’annonce très cassante, peut-être la plus cassante du championnat 2015.

Tous les pilotes ont confirmé que les pistes argentines se sont dégradées au fil des années et les récentes pluies diluviennes tombées sur la région ont accentué le phénomène. Certaines portions sont vraiment défoncées.

Le Shakedown (Villa Garcia-Cabalango, 4,59 km) a donc permis aux teams officiels de régler leurs véhicules et d’évaluer l’usure des pneumatiques Michelin LTX Force soft et hard. La version soft (S4) est nominée ce week-end, mais il est aussi possible d’utiliser la version hard (H4) en pneus joker. Certains pilotes ont évalué les deux options au Shakedown.

Le meilleur temps (2min30s9) avait été réalisé par Sébastien Ogier à son 3e run, mais dans son 4e tour, le Britannique Kris Meeke a signé exactement le même chrono que le pilote VW qui ouvrira la route sur 270 des 316 km du rallye (85% du parcours).

Mads Ostberg (Citroën), auteur du meilleur temps lors du 1er run, s’est finalement classé 4e derrière Andreas Mikkelsen (VW). Jari-Matti Latvala, retardé en début de séance par un problème de direction, comme Tanak, a signé le 5e meilleur temps devant Neuville et Sordo (Hyundai).

Sébastien Ogier and Kris Meeke hit the ground running this afternoon to top the Rally Argentina shakedown timesheets for Volkswagen Motorsport/Michelin and Citroën Racing/Michelin ahead of Round 4 of the 2015 FIA World Championship. Third fastest was the world champion’s team-mate Andreas Mikkelsen (+1.2s) who was marginally faster than Meeke’s colleague Mads Ostberg (+1.3s). Jari-Matti Latvala (VW, +1.7s) and Thierry Neuville (Hyundai, +2.0s) were fifth and sixth respectively.

After the long spring break since early March’s visit to Mexico, WRC action resumed at last today with the pre-Rally Argentina shakedown near host-town Villa Carlos Paz. The test provided teams with an important opportunity to set up their respective cars for what is gradually becoming one of the world championship’s most punishing rallies.

The drivers agree that the South American event’s stages are degrading from year to year and recent heavy rain in the region hasn’t helped the situation, causing extra damage in the form of ruts and pot holes.

As a result, the 4.59km shakedown stage (‘Villa Garcia Cabalango’) played a key part in the build-up to this weekend’s sport as the engineers used the session to fine-tune the balance of their respective cars, while at the same time evaluating the two types of compound that are available here for the Michelin LTX Force gravel tyre.

The ‘soft’ option is the nominated version for Argentina, but some cars went out on both the soft tyre and the harder variant this afternoon for comparison purposes.

The fastest time (2m39.0s) ended up in the hands of both Citroën’s Kris Meeke and the world champion Sébastien Ogier who now faces the prospect of running first on the road for 270 of the event’s 316 competitive kilometres (85% of the distance!). The start order will only be revised for Sunday’s two stages (16.32km x 2).

Mads Ostberg (DS3 WRC) was the fastest driver after everyone’s first attempts at the shakedown but he eventually ended up with the fourth-best time. Latvala and Ott Tanak (Ford, +4.0s) were both slowed on one run by power-steering problems.

Le guide animé du Hard Enduro

Retracez l'évolution de la discipline la plus exigeante des sports mécaniques !

De la boue, de la sueur et de la gloire, voilà la Sainte-Trinité du Hard Enduro. Mais ce n'est pas tout.

Si vous vous émerveillez devant le cran, la détermination et le talent des pilotes qui prennent part à des évènements aussi bien nommés que Hell's Gate ou The Tough One, alors cette vidéo est faite pour vous.

Vous apprendrez comment cette nouvelle discipline a débuté et s'est développée progressivement pour devenir l'un des défis les plus physiques et mentalement exigeants que les sports mécaniques peuvent offrir.

Le guide animé du Hard Enduro

AUTHORDamn Fine Media

MEAN GREEN’S ALCHEMIST

Last weekend at Bike Shed Paris we were incredibly spoiled, not only with the incredible bikes on display but by having the pleasure of being in the company of the men and women who built them. In Europe, and especially the U.K. one can become rather complacent and sometimes disparaging of some builds such is the glut of decent bikes being turned out of sheds and workshops.

In order to create these wonderful machines a decent stock of donor vehicles is required, another thing we take for granted. Some parts of the world aren’t blessed with such an array of mechanical canvases on which customisers can express themselves. India for example is bursting at the seems with Royal Enfields, old and new, and customising them is certainly nothing new, for decades it has been harder to find a standard one than one with at least some form of adornment or improvement. Some though take things a bit further, Aditya of Mean Green Designs from Mumbai is one such talented individual pushing himself, and the resources around him. One could say that he’s mastered the Enfield, take a look at the Nevermore that we featured a while back, just the tip of Mean Green’s custom iceberg.

Now into the third paragraph and you might be wondering what this waffle is all about as there’s no picture of an Enfield here, but there is a KTM. Why? Well, the Bajaj Group now manufactures the KTM Duke on behalf of the Austrian two-wheeled power house, meaning there are a few trellis framed donors kicking about the place. Aditya managed to bag himself one and set about his assault on the 2015 India Bike Week, with this, The Alchemist.

His steampunk inspired, or retrofuturistic in his words, take on the 200cc Duke is a far cry from a new tank and some pipe wrap. Out came the sketchbook and CAD software to extract the ideas from Aditya’s mind and transition them to metal, not without a great deal of trial and error in a bid to achieve the desired look.

The KTM frame is a handome construction in its own right, so Aditya extended it rearward, providing an angular platform for the seat and tail. The faceted bodywork is made from stainless steel, and anyone who’s worked with this material will attest that there isn’t much margin for correction once a shape or bend has been made.

Brass has been used extensively to temper and age the aggressive look of the angled panels. Some parts are plated whilst others like the foot pegs, machined from a billet. Hopefully Aditya has a more accommodating metal supplier than the ones we are used to in London.

The exhaust is of course handmade in-house, giving the revvy, 4 valve single a more grown up sound.  A welcome aural change from the rather sedate tune emitted by the 350 & 500cc Enfields swarming the city.

With two short months to complete the bike Aditya put in some long days and nights and was duly rewarded by winning the MOD Bike Challenge against some pretty stiff competition. Despite working on future designs there are plans to upgrade the 200cc motor to the latest 390cc version, which should see those brass capped forks heading for the sky.

Aditya and his compatriots are doing one hell of a great job in producing some fantastic and original custom motorcycles despite having a comparatively limited pool of donor vehicles available. What’s next on the bench? Keep an eye on Mean Green Facebook page for updates.

Snapshot, 1967: You won't get a tan in a suit, Frank!

In this promotional shot from the 1967 neo-noir film ‘Tony Rome’, Jill St John looks a little perplexed as to why her co-star Frank Sinatra is sunbathing in a suit and a fedora…

In the film, Sinatra plays the role of Tony Rome, a private eye who finds himself embroiled in the theft of a precious diamond pin. Miami Beach is ‘his scene’, according to the film – so you too might be wondering why his attire is so inappropriate? Well, Tony lives on a small boat that he moors in Key Biscayne, and uses the beach loungers to catch some shut-eye. And with the likes of Jill St John and Sue Lyons vying for his ‘services’, it’s important that he gets plenty of rest. Best to make sure you’ve kept some energy in reserve, Frank – Raquel Welch is your co-star in the sequel…

Photo: Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images