Porsche Carrera Cup France Le Mans : Chaud devant pour les nombreux prétendants

La deuxième manche de la Porsche Carrera Cup France, sur le circuit Bugatti du Mans, devrait une nouvelle fois offrir du grand spectacle. Dans le temple de l’Endurance, la hiérarchie qui s’est établie à Lédenon deux semaines plus tôt, sera t-elle confirmée ou infirmée ? Seule certitude, cette épreuve sera à suivre avec attention. Premier vainqueur de la saison, Steven Palette (Team Martinet by Almeras) conservera t-il l’avantage, lui qui avait signé au Mans en 2014 son premier podium dans la discipline ? Il y a fort à parier que Jim Pla (Racing Technology), Jules Gounon (Team Martinet by Almeras) ou encore Maxime Jousse (Sébastien Loeb Racing), malheureux dans le Gard, ne lui laisseront pas le champ libre. Même situation chez les Gentlemen Drivers où Christophe Lapierre (Sébastien Loeb Racing) devrait trouver une belle opposition avec Roar Lindland (Sébastien Loeb Racing), Oleksander Gaidai (Tsunami RT) ou encore le rookie Egidio Perfetti (Martinet Team Pro GT). Mais un paramètre ne sera pas à négliger, la météo…

Le début de la 29ème édition de la Porsche Carrera Cup France, sur le circuit de Lédenon, n’a une fois de plus pas usurpé la réputation de coupe monomarque la plus disputée. Si le meeting gardois a été réduit à une seule course pour cause d’intempéries, la victoire du jeune Steven Palette a été acquise de haute lutte. Une première hiérarchie s’est dessinée plaçant le pilote du team Martinet by Almeras aux commandes du championnat, lui qui en 2014 avait été désigné « Espoir Carrera Cup France ».

L’espoir se concrétise donc aujourd’hui. Steven revient sur cette entame couronnée de succès : « La saison démarre bien mais je n’aime pas me montrer trop confiant, j’ai tendance à rester un peu sur la réserve. Tout se passe très bien avec l’équipe et je me sens à l’aise. Nous travaillons très dur mais comme Lédenon l’a prouvé, cela en vaut la peine. Le niveau global de la Cup est plus élevé et conserver une place aux avant-postes durant la totalité du championnat ne devrait pas être une formalité. Ce sera très disputé, c’est certain. Cette première victoire me fait très plaisir mais je reste lucide, l’année vient à peine de commencer… Je prends les courses comme elles viennent, sans me mettre de pression. Le Mans a voulu me sourire en 2014, alors pourquoi pas cette année ! »

A seulement deux points du leader au classement général, Jim Pla aborde cette nouvelle année avec détermination. Après une saison en Porsche Carrera Cup France en 2013, le Biterrois s’est ensuite exilé en Allemagne, toujours en Carrera Cup, avant de revenir sur ses terres. « Les courses de la Cup allemande sont toutes très disputées. Cette année passée outre-Rhin a été enrichissante et m’a permis de me forger une certaine expérience. Je sais que le match tout au long de la saison sera très serré mais je sais aussi que je peux compter sur une équipe de premier plan qui me soutient à fond. »

Complétant le trio de tête du classement général, le leader des Jeunes Talents (Rookies), Jules Gounon, a tout de suite pris ses marques. Incisif et déterminé, l’Espoir Carrera Cup France 2015 ne cache pas ses ambitions. Il souhaitait monter sur le podium de sa première course dans la discipline… son vœu est exaucé mais au Mans c’est bien une potentielle victoire que le jeune Ardéchois a dans le viseur.

Le Team Martinet by Almeras a ainsi placé deux de ses voitures dans le trio de tête mais l’opposition est loin de baisser la garde, à commencer par le Sébastien Loeb Racing et son Vice Champion en titre, Maxime Jousse. En effet, auteur de la pole de la première course de la saison, Maxime avait du renoncer sur problème mécanique avant même d’avoir pu effectuer un tour en course. Cette première frustration associée à l’annulation de la deuxième course n’ont pas pour autant entamé sa motivation, au contraire, elles ont largement ouvert son appétit de victoire.

D’autres animateurs du championnat se jetteront dans la bagarre à l’image de Vincent Beltoise, pensionnaire de la nouvelle équipe Saintéloc et dont l’équipier, un certain Grégory Guilvert commence à apprivoiser sa monture. A Lédenon, malgré des qualifications perturbées et un départ du fond de grille, la dextérité et la vitesse de pointe du Francilien lui ont permis de signer le meilleur tour en course et de remonter à la 8ème place.

Joffrey de Narda, au sein du Sébastien Loeb Racing, Alexandre Cougnaud ou encore Nicolas Marroc dans l’équipe Martinet Team Pro GT sont d’ores et déjà de brillants animateurs de ce début de saison. Il ne faudrait pas non plus oublier chez Racing Technology Mathieu Jaminet, un Jeune Talent qui tient déjà toutes ses promesses.

En marge d’un plateau faisant la part belle aux Jeunes Talents, les Gentlemen Drivers n’ont pas dit leur dernier mot. Le doublement titré Christophe Lapierre, déjà auteur d’une magnifique victoire à Lédenon, devra repousser les assauts de son propre équipier au sein du Sébastien Loeb Racing, le Norvégien Roar Lindland, de plus en plus incisif.

Mais un autre pilote est susceptible de s’imposer dans la catégorie, l’Ukrainien Oleksander Gaidai. Quelque peu en retrait sur la première manche, le pilote Tsunami RT est plein de ressources et fort capable de renverser la vapeur en quelques tours. Coup de chapeau à un nouveau venu dans la série française, Egidio Perfetti, seul pilote B évoluant dans l’équipe de Philippe Almeras, qui pour sa première course monte sur la troisième marche du premier podium. Un autre nouveau venu se retrouve en phase d’apprentissage de la discipline, Daniel Diaz-Varela, évoluant au sein du Yvan Muller Racing.

Les courses se suivent et ne se ressemblent pas sur la Porsche Carrera Cup France mais elles véhiculent toutes des valeurs communes, des performances de haut niveau et un spectacle de qualité. Sur le circuit Bugatti du Mans, les passionnés seront à nouveau conquis.

Benelli 250 replica is a Carruthers tribute

Comprising approximately 40 lots, the Auctionata sale that takes place in Berlin on 4 May is made up predominantly of classic cars. Lot 1, however, is this charming 1968 Benelli 250 classic racing motorcycle...

Two-stroke replica

Piloted by Australian rider Kelvin ‘Kel’ Carruthers, Italian motorcycle manufacturer Benelli won the 250cc World Motorcycle Championship in 1969 with its advanced four-cylinder racer. The1968 two-stroke replica shown here was built from many original parts sourced over a number of years, and was completed in 2013 as a stylish tribute to the original Championship-winning machine. According to its Auctionata description, the bike is offered in ‘fully functioning’ condition.

Photos: Auctionata

View all the Auctionata auction listings in the Classic Driver Market.

‘84 Suzuki GR650 – Anvil Motociclette

Want a quick and easy way to sort bikers into ‘buyers’ and ‘builders’? It’s easy – just talk about a tragically unpopular model. See, a buyer will judge a bike on its factory form. These are the guys that think showroom looks are somehow hard-wired into a bike’s DNA; the guys who will dismiss an entire model or range because they don’t like the size of the headlight or the shade of red on offer. Then there’s the builders. These are the guys who can see beyond the superficial to appreciate the soul of a bike, no matter how ugly it’s superficial, outward appearance. Italy’s Anvil Motociclette fancied themselves as the latter, and to test the theory they took on the challenge of customising the optimistically named Suzuki GR650 ‘Tempter’. It didn’t tempt us before, but it sure does now.

The Anvil ‘Pixie’ Seiemmezzo (or ‘Six Fifty’) was originally a Suzuki GR650 from 1984. The donor bike wasn’t exactly loved by the Anvil boys at the start of the build. “It is definitely the worst starting bike we’ve ever worked on,” says Anvil’s Marco. Calling it after one of the world’s greatest bands sure raised the bar, as did naming itanything but ‘Tempter’.

“The only reason why we decided to bang our heads in frustration to get this bike looking beautiful and loose hours of sleep in the process was its engine.” Large parallel twins like this scream ‘classic motorcycling’ from the rooftops in an unmistakable British accent, guv’nor.

The boys had eyed the model even before the build began, flagging it as a possible base for a customer who was after a bike with a traditional aesthetics wrapped up in a fresh, Anvil treatment.

“We’d come across this unfortunate model launched by Suzuki in 1983. It was so unpopular in Italy that it was available for only two years. So we started toying with the idea of ​​a two-cylinder build, a choice motivated by trying to give the customer a lightweight and manoeuvrable.”

On paper alone, it’s not hard to be impressed. 650cc’s, 51CVs (Italian for cavalli vapore, or steam horses – atax horsepower measurement) and only 180 kilos – on paper it has Kawasaki’s infinitely more popular W650 licked. But those aesthetics. Oh, the horror.

“After the purchase of the bike we started the complex task of the transformation. First, we completely cut the back of the frame off and then we rebuilt it from scratch with a new set of lines that suited our look a whole lot better.”

From the Japan-meets-Harley, chopper-esque beginnings, Anvil have clearly worked hard to transform the GR into a light and compact café racer with a touch of brat. The factory handlebars have been replaced with two Tommaselli clip-ons. The stock ‘chrome spittoon’ headlight has gone – replaced with an agricultural item that’s now small enough to be able to fit between the middle of the front forks.

“Instead of the old ‘elephant saddle,’ we made a seat tailored in a ‘Giuliari 70’ style and the rear fender is now a brushed aluminium unit. The horrendous mufflers were removed and were replaced with two torpedoes from an old Norton. The filter box and tray under the seat were dismantled and removed. Now thanks to two stainless steel flanges, there are cone filters that help with the new muffler’s freer flow.”

Thanks to the 16″ rim at the rear, they were able to mount a tire with a nice, deep profile. This change has clearly helped delete the bike’s original Easy Rider stance and has given the build a much more sporty appearance. Pronto!

‘The visual strength of the bike is definitely the tank; it originally belonged to a Kawasaki S3 two-stroke. We reshaped it on the inside to allow it to fit on the new the frame and, as with all our builds, we left the wear and tear intact before painting and decorating.”

“The bike now looks better, and the mods make it agile and great fun to ride. It looks fast, but it’s enjoyable even if you do not want to travel at ten tenths. The riding position, without rear sets, is quite comfortable. And while it’s not a bike you’d welcome on long trips, this set-up does not exclude weekend get-aways from the city should the mood take you.” And we guess that with a bike like this, it would take you. Often.

via PIPEBURN

‘87 Ducati Indiana – Redonda Motors

Written by Marlon Slack.

Under the guidance of engineer João Barranca, Portuguese motorcycle company Redonda is split into three divisions. The first is Redonda racing, specializing in road and off-road race bikes, Eco-Redonda, which concentrates on customizing electric cycles and Redonda motors – heavily modified motorcycles that can be ridden every day. The last collection produced this Ducati Indiana scrambler – a distinctively beautiful take on an often forgotten Italian cruiser.

Don’t feel bad if you haven’t heard of the Ducati Indiana – not many people have. In many ways it was a Cagiva rebranded in a spectacularly unsuccessful tilt at the American market. It can all be linked back to the late 1970’s when Ducati was haemorrhaging cash, partially due to the inaccessibility of their marque bikes and partially due to their production line alternating between ‘artisanal’ and ‘sheltered workshop’. The majority shareholder in the company, the Italian government, was keen to offload the brand and failing that, more than willing to shut it down completely. And there’s no better way to know you’re stuffed financially when even the Italian government is ready to pull the pin.

Thankfully, another Italian firm came to the rescue – Cagiva. Only a new company itself, Cagiva was producing small-displacement two stroke motorcycles in the thousands. Looking to expand into the higher capacity market they purchased Ducati in 1985 and rushed to release their own motorcycles powered by the gorgeous Pantah engine. Cagiva had already been making bikes around the Pantah powerplant, namely the off-road Elefant and the street-focused Alazzurra, but in 1986 Cagiva released a new cruiser under the Ducati banner – the Indiana.

Naming a cruiser after a conservative US state that forbids alcohol sales on a Sunday is a curious choice in retrospect, but the cruiser scene of the 1980s was vastly different to that of today. With less emphasis on ostentatious displays of wealth and chest-beating scowls of tired masculinity cruisers still attempted to keep their weight below aircraft-carrier levels and cornering was still considered important. Despite this, compared to bikes like the Honda Magna and Yamaha XV700, the Indiana was as spindly and awkward looking as a teenage athlete. It didn’t sell well (less than 300 units were sold in the US) and was quickly forgotten, but not by the guys at Redonda who took this curious bit of Ducati history and turned it into a distinctive street tracker.

João and his team were fans of the Indiana, believing it to be a great combination of a performance engine in a traditional frame. The prior owner of this particular bike loathed to part with it, and only sold it to Redonda because he thought that they’d take care of the motorcycle and do a good job converting it into something a little more special. He was right.

To force more air into the cylinders the Bing carburetors were moved to the front of the barrels, making the most of the air induction. The belt covers were removed and the clutch cover lightened to show off as much of the working parts as possible. An oil cooler was mounted to the rear left hand side of the bike in an effort to keep engine temperatures down. At the front end, a radial master cylinder was mounted from a GSXR and between the standard forks sits a Harley Sportster headlight. It runs Öhlins shocks on the rear and the high mounted exhausts are stainless steel, running into Akrapovic mufflers.

To top it all off the paint scheme is an unusual mix of a pale green on an off-white frame. It’s leaner and stripped back but with just the right amount of added on parts that complement the lines of the standard Indiana rather than completely change it. As such it doesn’t fit firmly into the tracker category – the high mounted exhaust points in that direction but it isn’t an out-and-out dirt tracker. And there are quite a few nice details on the bike too – I especially like the red that runs lightly through the paintwork and is matched to the spark plug leads and fuel line.

Redonda have taken a curious Ducati and turned it into an appealing special. The workmanship is great and importantly, the colours are a welcome change from the usual palette that we often see on the bike scene. It’s exactly the kind of build that will have the few Indiana owners out there trudging down to their garage to pull a sheet off their long-neglected rides and take a closer look at the beautiful, capable bike that lies within.

[Photography by Mauricio Reis]

via PIPEBURN