Tour Auto 2015 was a delicious, heady motorsport cocktail

What a week! Every year, the Peter Auto organisation astonishes us more and more; its 2015 Tour Auto event was no exception. The weather played ball too – there really is no other way to enjoy a Tour Auto than under the sun…

Once again, this year’s traditional pre-start exhibition and technical scrutineering took place at the Grand Palais in Paris, which is the most amazing venue in which to house the tour’s 250 automotive jewels. Every year, the same magic atmosphere surrounds the arrival of cars on Sunday through to the teams’ final preparations on Monday.

In many ways, the Tour Auto marks the start of the continental racing season, after the very British Goodwood Members’ Meeting, in late March. And there couldn't be a better cocktail: take the most desirable road racing cars from the 50's, 60's and early 70's, put them on the most beautiful French country roads, add some special stages and challenging circuits, shake under a wonderful sun, with great people – here either to win or just to spend a enjoyable week with friends – and you have a delicious Tour Auto.

It's always sad to see some cars giving up, as we'd like to see them all crossing the finish line, but motorsport is not an exact science. Some braked too late and caused some serious damage to their cars and some began to hear strange noises from the engine bay. Others saw their wheels falling off the car – very sad, but that's the game.

For many other competitors, it was quite a different story; Jean-Pierre Lajournade and Christophe Bouchet won their second Tour Auto (first victory in 2010), with a very efficient and fast Jaguar E-Type, ahead of 2 AC Cobras of 2 ex-winners: Ludovic Caron and Shaun Lynn. In Group G, Philippe Vandromme took his Ford GT40 on the highest step of the podium, while the winning team in Group H were the famous Christophe Van Riet and Kristoffer Cartenian (Gipi Motor), with a wonderful Porsche 3.0 RS. 

Fred Puren and Caroline Bertrand won the performance index with their Porsche 356 Pre-A, in front of Alexis Raoux's Alfa Romeo Giulietta SV and Jean-François Penillard, with another Porsche 356 Pre-A. Jean-François and François Nicoules won the regularity class with their Alpine A110 1600S.

The most epic story of this Tour Auto 2015 however, definitely concerns team no.61. Starting from Paris in their incredible Ferrari 500 Mondial, they suffered a breakdown after the first special stage. So they had to retire, but co-driver Augustin Sabatie-Garat had different ideas – enlisting a spare car to finish the rally. And so, they were competing in the most popular car this year, a Citroën 2CV. There couldn't have been a more extreme car after the 500 Mondial.

One thing is sure; we're looking forward to the 2016 edition!

Photos: Rémi Dargegen for Classic Driver © 2015

’71 Triumph Tiger – Vintage Steele

Written by Martin Hodgson.

In the Summer of ’69 a young Jim Walsh of Maryland farewelled his cousin Tom, a strapping man with long blonde hair, who was heading off to the West to start a new life. But it was the machine his older cousin rode, resplendent in the summer sun a Triumph Bonneville Twin, that captured his attention and would live on in Jim’s memory for a lifetime. It’s a memory that has become a passion when nearly 50 years later Jim learned of Tom’s death and in this most recent Northern Winter commissioned the boys at Vintage Steele in Vermont to build a Triumph of his own.

There are few marques that have had the impact on motorcycle culture as has British maker Triumph. For more than 100 years Triumph motorcycles have been surrounded by owners absolutely passionate about anything and everything the brand does and with good reason. From powering Steve McQueen in the Great Escape with a TR6 Trophy, to the 6T Thunderbird playing a starring role in the original biker film “The Wild One” alongside Marlon Brando and on the track being the first manufacturer to do a 100mph lap at the famed Isle of Man TT there is plenty to be proud of.

It’s that pride and passion that brought Jim together with Vintage Steele’s Josh and Chris from their Brattleboro workshop Jim tasked the boys with creating a hybrid, functional piece of art from the bones of an old Triumph and shaped by a long ago memory. Knowing their friend Ryan had the perfect blank canvas he was willing to let go, his 1971 Triumph Tiger was quickly purchased. The bottom end of the 650 Twin had recently been rebuilt so VS set about making sure the top end was in just as good condition. The torquey 650 is remarkably smooth for a parallel twin and mated to the bullet proof gearbox that also swapped cogs for Trident 750 Jim can cruise the back roads in reliable style. The Amal carb has been restored to better than new condition with the benefit of modern lines and filter. The exhaust gases exit from the picture perfect headers all the way to the reverse cone mufflers that thump to the Triumph Twin beat.

The oil in frame chassis is not only a work of art but clears up a great deal of space to customise the look of the ole Tiger. While negative space is well used to show off the engine, large punched sheet fills the space under the rustic leather seat that gives the bike a true vintage look. The same leather look adorns the pad of the modern motocross bars that fit seamlessly with the look of the build. Vintage levers with only a single mirror and one modern switch block give an uncluttered look and allow the large bucket headlight with steel grill to take the spotlight up front. While bare bones headlight ears and bullet style indicators do their job while disappearing majestically into the full picture.

Vintage Steele is as much about craftsmanship as it is restoration and nothing shows off your work like raw metal and just sparing use of black paint. Filler and layers of lacquer can hide a half done job, but this tank is picture perfect and even the welds for the fuel tap are shown off rather than hidden away. The front and rear guards are minimalist but their finish compliments the bikes form without simply being a necessary bolt on and the leading drum brake is restored to perfection, its scoop and vents a reminder of the technology of the time.

The foot pegs would have been a God send to McQueen, Dirt bike style and chunky, and the kick start pedal ensures no slip and is raw, industrial and fitted for a purpose. But nothing completes the look of this truly hybrid Tiger like the spoked rims wrapped in aggressively treaded rubber. It’s more Blacksmith meets The Great Escape than Ace Café on the A406, but that’s just what Jim wanted and Vintage Steele never fail to deliver!

[Photos by Azariah Aker]

via PIPEBURN

A timepiece for the Tour Auto

The official watch of the Mille Miglia comes from Chopard. The Gran Premio Nuvolari timepiece is from Eberhard & Co., and now there is an official model for the Tour Auto, developed in cooperation with Zenith...

You can say what you like about partnerships between brands and historic motorsport events. Many see only the commercial side of the branded watches, unappreciative of the efforts of the watchmaker. But for many participants at events such as the Tour Auto, the limited-production 'rally watches’ are a beautiful, if not entirely favourable reminder of an enjoyable and exciting event.

A movement with history

The El Primero Chronomaster 1969 'Tour Auto' will again be the official watch of the French event. The limited-edition model is almost completely sold out – mainly because Tour Auto participants were given the opportunity to purchase the chronograph before the release date. The watch is equipped with the legendary El Primero automatic movement, which was temporarily used as the basis for the Rolex Daytona Cosmograph. A unique feature is the partially open dial, a little reminiscent of the open bonnet of a classic racing car. As France is the host country of the Tour Auto, a band in the colours of the Tricolore stretches along the right side of the bracelet and dial. Finally, a place for the official logo of the Tour can be found on the glass bottom of the housing.

The Zenith teams enjoy their racing

Zenith's commitment extends beyond the role of the official timepiece, however. The Swiss watchmaker is keen to actively take part in the races, entering four teams in total. Alongside ‘Space man’ Felix Baumgartner, Zenith CEO Aldo Magada will compete in the 2,000km tour in a 1964 Jaguar E-type. And even if Zenith is the official timekeeper of the Tour Auto, we were assured that no advantage would be offered to the ‘factory teams’. 

Photos: Zenith

The most beautiful automobiles and most exciting moments of the Tour Auto will feature in theClassic Driver magazine.

MAD MAX

BMW Paris ..........

Video: qualifying action from 6 Hours of Spa

WEC 6 Hours of Spa - Qualifying Highlights par fiawec

WEC, Spa : Porsche et Aston Martin dominent les qualifs / qualifying: a 1-2-3 result for Porsche!

Les trois Porsche 919 Hybrid/Michelin s’élanceront en premières positions des 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps 2015 devant deux Audi et deux Toyota. La pole a été signée par la Porsche N°17 (Bernhard/Harltey/Webber) en 1min54s767. Comme à Silverstone, Aston Martin a dominé les catégories LM GTE Pro et Am, et G-Drive la LM P2.

Le circuit de Spa, long de 7,004 km, et des tours de près de deux minutes, ne laissaient pas beaucoup de temps pour les stratégies. Porsche a pris les choses en main et Hulkenberg (Porsche N°19) était le premier dans la file d’attente à la sortie de la pit-lane, devant la Toyota N°1 de Davidson.

Le « rookie » du WEC a signé le premier temps de référence en 1min55s130, mais c’est son équipier Brendon Hartley (Porsche N°17) qui occupait le haut du classement en 1min54s779 après les premiers runs. Jani (Porsche N°18) assurait un top-3 provisoire à Porsche.

Les trois 919 Hybrid sont rentrées au stand après un tour rapide seulement. Hartley a cédé le volant à Bernhard dont le chrono d’1min54s755 (meilleur temps absolu) a permis de qualifier la Porsche N°17 en pole, avec au passage un nouveau record en qualifs à Spa (1min57s884, Bourdais, Peugeot 908, 2010).

« Je dédie cette pole à Stefan Bellof », a déclaré Timo Bernhard, qui porte un casque replica du pilote allemand disparu ici en 1985. « C’est notre 3^e pole consécutive, mais attention car nous avons aussi abandonné deux fois de suite. »

Les trois Porsche ont conclu ces qualifs séparées par 0s517, alors que Marcel Fassler et André Lotterer ont fait leur possible pour rester au contact (Audi N°7, +0s773). Les autres protos hybrides ont fini loin derrière.

La bagarre fut très intéressante en LM P2 entre la Ligier JS P2-Nissan G-Drive et l’Oreca05-Nissan KCMG. Nicolas Lapierre a brièvement hissé la N°47 en pole, mais Julien Canal a repris son bien sur la N°26. Les deux protos sont séparés par moins d’1/10^e de seconde. La Morgan Evo N°43 Sard-Morand a pris la 3^e place.

Après avoir dominé les qualifs à Silverstone, Aston Martin a également signé la pole des 6 Heures de Spa en LM GTE Pro et Am.

Chez les « Pros », Richie Stanaway (2min17s039) et Fernando Rees (2min16s642) ont offert la pole position à l’Aston Martin N°99 avec une moyenne de 2min16s840. Le Brésilien a signé le meilleur temps absolu de la catégorie ! « Les conditions étaient parfaites », a déclaré Fernando. « J’avais un train de pneus neuf Michelin, je pense que notre stratégie sera meilleure qu’à Silverstone. En 2014, je découvrais le team et la catégorie LM GTE Pro. Je crois avoir bien progressé. »

On pensait qu’Aston Martin allait monopoliser la première ligne avec la N°97 (Mucke/Turner, moyenne 2min17s231), mais Gimmi Bruni est ressorti en fin de séance pour améliorer son premier chrono (2min16s420) et hisser la Ferrari N°51 en 2^e position !

Fred Mako a tenté la même opération sur la Porsche N°92, sans succès. Les Porsche 911 RSR partiront en queue du peloton LM GTE Pro, derrière la Ferrari N°71 et l’Aston Martin N°95.

En « Am », l’Aston Martin N°98 s’élancera en pole comme à Silverstone grâce à Pedro Lamy (2min17s971) et Paul Dalla Lana qui a conservé l’avantage (2min21s185). Avec une moyenne de 2min19s578, l’Aston N°98 devance la Corvette N°50 (Ruberti/Roda) de plus d’une seconde et la Porsche N°88 (Bachler/Ried) de près de deux secondes. Derrière, les Ferrari N°55, N°83 et N°72 précèdent la Porsche N°77 Dempsey-Proton.

Porsche Team celebrated the anniversary of its first FIA WEC pole here in 2014 with a resounding one-two-three finish in qualifying for this year’s 6 Hours of Spa. The N°17 919 Hybrid/Michelin (Bernhard/Webber/Hartley) will start Saturday’s race from pole position. As at Silverstone, Aston Martin Racing was the dominant team in LM GTE Pro, this time with the N°99 Vantage V8. The British team will also start from pole in LM GTE Am thanks to its N°98 car. LM P2 victor was G-Drive’s N°26 Ligier-Nissan.

A bright, if chilly (11°C) afternoon at Spa-Francorchamps ensured dry conditions for qualifying.

The long circuit length of 7.004km, with lap times likely to be just under two minutes, provided teams with little liberty for smart strategies. However, Porsche was clearly keen to get onto the track, since its N°19 car (Nico Hulkenberg) was first in the queue waiting for the green light, shadowed by Davidson in the N°1 Toyota.

WEC Rookie Hulkenberg went on to the lay down the initial benchmark time (1m55.130s) and appear briefly at the top, but it was team-mate Brendon Hartley (N°17 Porsche, 1m54.779s) who led after the first round of flying laps. Neel Jani (N°18 Porsche) made it a provisional one-two-three for the German make at this stage.

All three Porsches pitted for driver changes after just one flyer. Hartley was replaced by Timo Bernhard whose subsequent lap of 1m54.755s was enough to wrap up the battle for pole in favour of the N°17 919 Hybrid.

In the process, the German established a new qualifying lap record for Spa, amply beating the 1m57.884s of Sébastien Bourdais (Peugeot) that had stood since 2010.

At the end of the session, the three Porsches were covered by just 0.517s, as Fässler and Lotterer did their best to remain in contact in the N°7 Audi (4^th, +0.773s). The other hybrid prototypes finished a long way back.

“I dedicate this pole to Stefan Bellof [who died at Spa in 1985],” declared Bernhard after the session. “That makes three straight poles for this car, but also three consecutive retirements… That’s a trend we need to halt.”

The LM P2 class provided an interesting battle between the N°26 Ligier JS P2-Nissan of Rusinov/Canal/Bird (G-Drive) and KCMG’s N°47 Oreca 05-Nissan. The former emerged in front early on but the two cars traded places before Frenchman Julien Canal put the Ligier back on top. The KCMG trio ended up second, less than one-hundredth of a second adrift, while third place went to the N°43 Morgan Evo-Sard (Sard Morand) (+0.294s).

Meanwhile, after dominating qualifying at Silverstone, Aston Martin earned its second LM GTE Pro pole of the season this evening.

Richie Stanaway (2m17.039s) and Fernando Rees (2m16.642s, the session’s fastest lap) put the N°99 Vantage V8 on top with an average of 2m16.840s. “The conditions were perfect,” noted Rees. “I had a set of fresh Michelins and I think our strategy was better than at Silverstone.”

It looked like Aston Martin might monopolise the front row thanks to the N°97 sister car of Mucke/Turner/Bell (2m17.231s), but Gimmi Bruni went back out at the very end to improve on his earlier effort and promote the N°51 Ferrari into second place.

Fred Makowiecki tried the same tactic in the N°92 Porsche but his deficit was far too big to make up and the two Porsche 911 RSRs ended up last in LM GTE Pro, behind the N°71 Ferrari and the N°95 Aston Martin.

As at Silverstone, the LM GTE Am pole was secured by the N°98 Aston Martin thanks to Pedro Lamy and Paul Dalla Lana who posted an average of 2m19.578s. Second was the N°50 Corvette, more than a second behind, with the N°88 Porsche in third, almost two seconds back.

MotoGP; Lorenzo retrouve de sa superbe à Jerez / Lorenzo is back!

Le Majorquin est au sommet du classement combiné du Grand Prix bwin d’Espagne après avoir dominé les deux séances d’essais de vendredi.

Absent du podium depuis le début de la saison 2015 alors que son coéquipier Valentino Rossi caracole en tête du classement MotoGP™ avec deux victoires en trois courses, Jorge Lorenzo pourrait être sur le point de faire son retour sur le devant de la scène et occupait le sommet de la feuille de temps pour la première fois de l’année vendredi à Jerez de la Frontera. 

Après trois premiers Grands Prix qui s’étaient terminés de manière décevante pour le Majorquin, ce dernier a pris l’initiative dès l’ouverture de la piste vendredi matin et alors signé le meilleur temps de la journée en 1’39.174, avant de se montrer un peu moins rapide l’après-midi, sur une piste nettement plus chaude. 

L’Espagnol, qui devrait selon Lin Jarvis aller au bout de son contrat et continuer chez Yamaha en 2016, demeurait cependant le plus rapide en piste et en première position sur le classement combiné, avec 0.049s sur Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar), qui avait lui aussi réalisé sa meilleure performance le matin, en profitant d’un pneu tendre. 

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a de son côté rassuré ses fans et ne semblait pas être gêné par sa fracture de l’auriculaire gauche, dont il avait été opéré à peine une semaine plus tôt. Huitième d’une première séance au cours de laquelle il est resté prudent et testait une poignée gauche modifiée pour moins solliciter son doigt blessé, le Champion du Monde en titre s’est hissé à la troisième position sur le classement combiné l’après-midi et a affirmé qu’il se sentait aussi bien qu’il pouvait l’espérer. 

Derrière les trois Espagnols, Andrea Iannone (Ducati) et Andrea Dovizioso complétaient le Top 5 de la journée, à un peu plus de trois dixièmes de seconde de Lorenzo, tandis que Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Racing) plaçait sa Ducati satellite en sixième position. 

Sur le podium lors de la course précédente, Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda) s’est classé septième devant Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3) et Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP). Brillant en course depuis le début de l’année, le nonuple Champion du Monde était sixième le matin puis treizième l’après-midi, à tout juste plus d’une seconde de son coéquipier. S’il n’est qu’à 0.698s de Lorenzo sur le classement combiné, son retard de plus d’une seconde l’après-midi aurait pu être préoccupant si l'Italien, neuvième de journée, n'avait pas révélé qu'il était en fait resté sur le pneu dur alors que le modèle plus tendre s'était avéré bien plus performant.

Derrière Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing) occupe la onzième position et est le premier pilote Open sur le classement combiné, devant Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Stefan Bradl (Athinà Forward Racing) et Loris Baz (Athinà Forward Racing).

Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing) n’est que dix-huitième sur le classement combiné mais a en fait été le pilote Open le plus rapide l’après-midi, dans des conditions chaudes probablement assez proches de celles que l’on peut attendre pour la course, et s’était classé quatorzième juste derrière Rossi.

Les essais libres de la catégorie MotoGP™ continuent samedi matin à partir de 9h55.

Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.

Lin Jarvis, le directeur général de Yamaha Factory Racing, a confirmé que Jorge Lorenzo irait jusqu’au bout de son contrat chez Yamaha.

Lin Jarvis s’est entretenu avec motogp.com vendredi à Jerez et a confirmé que Jorge Lorenzo continuerait de courir pour le team Movistar Yamaha MotoGP en 2016, comme le prévoit son contrat. Suite à un début de saison 2015 compliqué, des rumeurs annonçaient que l’Espagnol désirait changer de constructeur à la fin de l’année.

Jarvis a confirmé que les deux parties avaient décidé d’aller jusqu’au bout de leur contrat, bien qu’une rupture d’un commun accord demeure une possibilité : « Je peux vous assurer et je peux assurer au paddock MotoGP™ que Jorge sera chez Yamaha en 2016. Nous en avons déjà parlé ensemble et tout est clair, il veut rester avec nous et nous voulons qu’il reste. C’est aussi simple que ça, Jorge sera avec nous cette année et l’an prochain. C’est un fait ! »

Jorge Lorenzo rode like a man that had something to prove, while Marc Marquez battled through the pain barrier on the first day in Jerez.

It has not been the easiest start to 2015 for Lorenzo, who has failed to finish on the podium in the first three races of the season for the first time in his MotoGP™ career.

The Movistar Yamaha rider currently occupies fourth in the Championship standings, 29 points behind his teammate Rossi, and knew that a strong showing in the first European race of the season would be essential if he was to have any chance of fighting for the title.

The double MotoGP™ World Champion certainly sent out a message today that he was “back” by topping both Free Practice sessions, and early signs appear to show that he could be once again be challenging for the race win come Sunday. In FP1 Lorenzo was competitive from the outset, setting his fastest time on just his fifth lap and finishing 0.049s ahead of Aleix Espargaro on the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR. In FP2 he tried out the hard tyre compound to start with but switched back to the medium compound to set his fastest time, beating Marquez into second, a result he would love to emulate when the lights go out on Sunday.

The Spaniard explained how he had turned his fortunes around today: “My mentality from this morning was to go for it and don‘t think too much, just try to ride according to my instinct and it worked very well, especially in the morning. It seems we are coming back stronger. We will have to demonstrate it tomorrow and especially on Sunday. I want to show my form again on the track tomorrow with my speed.”

To add to his performance on track was the news that he had agreed to stay with his Movistar Yamaha team until the end of his current contract, which runs out at the end of the 2016 season.

There had been rumours in the paddock that Lorenzo was looking at another ride for next season, but Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis confirmed that this wasn’t the case: “I can assure you and I can assure the MotoGP™ paddock that Jorge will be with Yamaha for 2016. We have spoken together already and its already clear, he wants to stay with us, we want to stay with him, it’s done, so Jorge will be with us this year and next. It’s a fact!”

However, what about Marc Marquez? The reigning MotoGP™ World Champion came to Jerez trailing Valentino Rossi by 30 points in the standings, so the news that he had fractured his finger in training on Saturday, needing an operation, was not exactly ideal. Marquez was deemed fit to race by the medical team at the circuit on Thursday, but all eyes were on the Spaniard as he took to the track for the first time today to see how his injury would affect him.

The answer? Not a lot! He may have ended FP1 down in eighth, 0.740s off the pace, but by the afternoon it was business as usual for Marquez, as he set the second fastest time in FP2 to finish just 0.128s behind Lorenzo. This left him third fastest overall at the end of the day, and showed that even a broken finger could not stop the Spanish wunderkind: “We can be happy that my hand has responded quite well today - as well as could be expected. It hurts a lot but at least I can put in the laps. We’ll see if tomorrow it is better if it doesn’t swell up.”

On top of all of this, the current Championship leader Valentino Rossi was languishing down in ninth overall when FP2 concluded. This should not worry “The Doctor” though; as his last three victories have come from eighth on the grid, and ninth place is exactly where he found himself after the first day of practice in Argentina…and we all know what happened there. Rossi explained his lack of pace: "It was a difficult practice, especially this afternoon. I think I could have gotten a better position but I decided to use just the harder option and work with just that tyre, because we thought that was the best tyre for the race. Unfortunately the performance is very low and the lap time isn‘t good enough, so I think that also the soft can be an option too, but it will be difficult."

It is always hard to take much from the first day of practice, but with the top ten riders separated by less than a second, and only two seconds separating the top twenty, it looks like Qualifying should be rather exciting on Saturday.

Check out the combined MotoGP™ practice times from Jerez and the riders are back on track on Saturday at 9:55am local time for FP3.

Yamaha Factory Racing Managing Director Lin Jarvis confirms that Jorge Lorenzo will stay with Yamaha for the remainder of his contract.

Jarvis spoke to motogp.com to confirm that Jorge Lorenzo will stay with the Factory Movistar Yamaha team until the end of his current contract in 2016. Lorenzo has not had the best of starts to the 2015 MotoGP™ season, and there were rumours that he might have been looking to move at the end of this year.

Jarvis confirmed that while there was an option for both parties to terminate the contract early if they so desired, they have both decided to see it through to its conclusion: “I can assure you and I can assure the MotoGP™ paddock that Jorge will be with Yamaha for 2016. We have spoken together already and its already clear, he wants to stay with us, we want to stay with him, it’s done, so Jorge will be with us this year and next. It’s a fact!”

Discussing the Dymaxion death-trap, 1933

Rear-wheel steering, an aversion to crosswinds and the profile of a road-going Hindenburg – what could possibly go wrong?

It could all have gone so well. The Dymaxion was the brainchild of inventor, architect and all-round genius Buckminster Fuller, who sought to revolutionise society’s approach to efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Several of his projects carried the Dymaxion name yet, at the height of the depression, Fuller decided his road-going blimp was the most feasible. It was 19.5ft long, could carry 11 passengers and was powered by the brand-new Ford V8; yet it weighed about the same as aVW Beetle, and could achieve up to 36mpg. Impressive, in principle.

Steering from the tail

The first Dymaxion was completed in 1933; the lead image above shows Captain Al Williams (a noted speed flyer and driver) discussing its merits with Marvin McIntyre, secretary to President Roosevelt. However, the discussion might have been a little less jolly had it taken place a few months later: the first car produced had rolled over en route to the Chicago World Fair, killing its driver. The subsequent inquest pointed the blame at the three-wheeler’s steering system, which comprised two driven wheels up front, and a single steerable wheel at the tail. Fatefully, the same car was destroyed in a fire several years later and, due to the bad press from the earlier fatal accident, only two other cars were completed. The proof was in the pudding and, in the Dymaxion’s case, that pudding was a jelly – curious to look at, but disastrously unstable on the move.

Photo: Underwood Archives / Getty

WEC, Spa : Audi répond à Porsche sur le sec / Audi ahead of Porsche in the dry

André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro/Michelin N°7) a réalisé le meilleur chrono de cette troisième séance d’essais libres où sept des huit prototypes hybrides sont passés sous le meilleur temps absolu de 2014.

Les pluies nocturnes et l’épais brouillard matinal ont laissé place à un ciel gris, mais calme, au-dessus de Spa-Francorchamps. En revanche, il fait un peu frisquet pour un 1^er mai (10°C) un jour qui n’est pas chômé en FIA WEC, bien au contraire.

Après une première journée très arrosée hier, les concurrents avaient hâte de rouler sur une piste sèche pour cette troisième et dernière séance d’essais libres avant les qualifs. Toutes les voitures étaient alignées en bout de pit-lane bien avant le feu vert.

Toutes, y compris la Toyota N°1 et l’Audi N°8 endommagées hier dans une collision. Les blessures de Kazuki Nakajima sont plus sévères qu’annoncées après l’accident puisque le Japonais souffre d’une fracture vertébrale (L1).

Dans son premier tour rapide, André Lotterer (Audi N°7) est descendu sous la barre des 2min00s (1min59s905), avant une amélioration signée Mike Conway (Toyota N°2 en 1min59s630), soit un chrono déjà plus rapide que le meilleur temps absolu de 2014 (1min59s887).

Les Porsche 919 Hybrid sont ensuite passées à l’action avec Neel Jani (1min57s861), puis Nick Tandy, qui, pour son tout premier tour de Spa sur le sec en LM P1, a signé un chrono d’1min57s802, avant d’améliorer en 1min57s396 !

A 15 minutes de la fin, son équipier Nico Hulkenberg en a remis une couche en 1min57s379 dès son premier tour lancé. Ce chrono a tenu près d’un quart d’heure, jusqu’au dernier run d’André Lotterer qui a réalisé 1min57s368 sur l’Audi N°7 en configuration « Le Mans ».

L’Audi N°7 devance donc les trois Porsche 919 Hybrid et l’Audi N°8. Ces cinq prototypes hybrides se tiennent en moins d’une seconde, alors que les deux Toyota TS040 Hybrid sont à plus de deux secondes.

En LM P2, Sam Bird a très vite réalisé le meilleur chrono sur la Ligier JS P2-Nissan N°26 devant Nicolas Lapierre sur l’Oreca05-Nissan KCMG (+0s439). En LMGTE Pro, Toni Vilander a réalisé le meilleur temps dans son dernier tour sur la Ferrari N°51 (2min18s390) devant l’Aston Martin N°99 et la Ferrari N°71.

En LMGTE Am, l’Aston Martin N°98 a conclu ces essais libres avec le meilleur temps (2min19s485) devant la Corvette Larbre Compétition. Klaus Bachler a envoyé la Porsche N°88 dans un mur de pneus à Blanchimont en début de séance.

La séance d’essais qualifs a été avancée. Les GTE entreront en piste à 18h00, les prototypes à 18h35.

André Lotterer (N°7 Audi R18 e-tron quattro/Michelin) was accredited with the fastest lap during Free Practice 3. Seven of the eight hybrid prototypes beat the fastest lap posted at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps meeting in 2014.

The overnight rain and thick morning fog eventually cleared to make way for clearer conditions at Spa-Francorchamps, as the temperature ‘soared’ to the 10°C mark.

It’s May 1, Labour Day, of course, but it hasn’t been a day of rest for the WEC teams and drivers…

On the contrary, after Thursday’s downpour, everyone was eager to get on with the week’s third and last free practice run and benefit, at last, from dry conditions before qualifying.

Unsurprisingly, all the cars could be seen waiting in the pit lane for the green light to start the session. The only exceptions were the N°1 Toyota and N°8 Audi which both sustained damage when they collided yesterday. Unfortunately, the impact resulted in a cracked vertebra (L1) for Toyota’s Kazuki Nakajima.

André Lotterer (N°7 Audi) was the first to squeeze beneath the two-minute mark this week, but his time of 1m59.905s was soon bettered by Mike Conway (N°2 Toyota, 1m59.630s) who slightly improved on the absolute fastest time from the 2014 meeting (1m59.887s).

After that, the Porsche 919 Hybrids started to bring down the benchmark further thanks to Neel Jani (1m57.861s), then Nick Tandy whose very first lap in an LM P1 car at Spa in the dry bagged a 1m57.802s, followed by a 1m57.396s!

Fifteen minutes from the end, his team-mate Nico Hulkenberg posted a 1m57.379s on his first flyer. That time held until the very last run of André Lotterer who recorded a 1m57.368s with the N°7 Audi in its ‘Le Mans’ configuration.

The German prototype ended up ahead of the three Porsche 919 Hybrids and the N°8 Audi. These five cars were covered by less than a second, while the two Toyota TS040 Hybrids were more than two seconds adrift.

In LM P2, Sam Brid posted the best time early on in the N°26 Ligier JS P2-Nissan, ahead of Nicolas Lapierre (Oreca05-Nissan KCMG, +0.439s).

The fastest LMGTE Pro driver was Toni Vilander in the N°51 Ferrari (2m18.390s), chased by the N°99 Aston Martin and the N°71 Ferrari.

In LMGTE Am, the N°98 Aston Martin completed the session on top (2m19.485s), clear of Larbre Compétition’s Corvette. Klaus Bachler crashed the N°88 Porsche into the tyre wall at Blanchimont at the beginning of the session.

The start of qualifying has been brought forward to 6pm (LM GTE) and 6:35pm (LM P1/2) local time.

WEC : Spa ou Spa-Francorchamps ? / Spa? Or Spa-Francorchamps?

6 Heures de Spa, 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps, 6 Heures de Francorchamps ou 1000 km de Francorchamps ? Lequel est correct ? La ville de Spa peut apparemment remercier les Britanniques pour sa renommée internationale…

Le nom officiel du circuit belge est Spa-Francorchamps, même si la ville de Spa se trouve à 10 km du paddock. C’est un peu comme Magny-Cours en France ; le nom officiel du circuit est Nevers Magny Cours. La ville de Nevers est pourtant quatre fois plus grande que Spa (40 000 habitants), mais c’est le petit village de Magny-Cours qui est entré dans l’histoire.

Nous avons demandé à des collègues belges de nous éclairer. « Personnellement, je parle toujours de Francorchamps : les 24 Heures de Francorchamps, le Grand-Prix de Francorchamps », nous a dit un journaliste flamand. « Ma seule exception, c’est ce week-end. Pour moi, les 6 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps restent les 1000 km de Spa, et ça ne changera pas. »

L’appellation Spa est la préférée des fans britanniques et allemands car le mot est plus facile à prononcer que Francorchamps. « Non seulement les Anglais ont rebaptisé le circuit, mais ils ont aussi inventé des noms de virages. Par exemple, pour nous, l’épingle Rivage est Bruxelles, et les virages des combes sont Pif-Paf et Malmedy. »

De son côté, un journaliste francophone emploie systématiquement le mot Spa. Jamais Francorchamps. « Je pense que beaucoup parlent de Spa en raison des relations de la ville et des sports mécaniques qui remontent à très longtemps. »

Dans un pays aussi partagé que la Belgique, il n’est peut-être pas étonnant que l’on se divise aussi sur l’appellation du circuit !

Pour information, Francorchamps – qui accueille 80% du circuit – est un petit village qui dépend de Stavelot (nom du Turn 16). Le circuit passe également sur la commune de Malmedy, qui n’a aucune mention dans l’appellation officielle !

Le circuit traversant leur territoire, les gens de Stavelot sont un peu jaloux de la renommée internationale acquise par Spa grâce au circuit. En réponse, ils ont créé le Stavelot Motor Museum, un lieu à visiter pour les fans de sports mécaniques…

You can find this weekend’s round of the FIA World Endurance Championship described as the 6 Hours of Spa, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the 6 Hours of Francorchamps, or even the 1,000km of Francorchamps. Which is correct? And why so many alternatives? The town of Spa can apparently thank the British nation’s notorious lack of language skills for its worldwide reputation!

Belgium’s legendary circuit is officially known as Spa-Francorchamps, even though the town of Spa is around 10km away from the paddock.

It’s a bit like Nevers Magny-Cours in France, except that Nevers (population: 40,000) is four times bigger than the Ardennes thermal resort.

Also, the French venue is nearly always referred to simply as ‘Magny-Cours’, the name of the neighbouring village, whereas the Belgian track is more frequently called just ‘Spa’, at least internationally.

We asked some Belgian colleagues to talk us through the political correctness of the situation: “Personally, I always talk about ‘Francorchamps’: the 24 Hours of Francorchamps, the Francorchamps Formula 1 Grand Prix,” said a Flemish reporter. “My only exception is this weekend’s race. For me, the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps will always be the 1,000km of Spa. That will never change.”

The appellation ‘Spa’, he suggests, is preferred by British and German racing fans because they find ‘Francorchamps’ too difficult to pronounce: “Not only did the English re-baptise the circuit but they also invented new names for many of the turns. For us, the 'Rivage' hairpin, for example, is known as ‘Bruxelles’, and the ‘Les Combes’ corners are ‘Zig-Zag’ plus ‘Malmedy’…”

Meanwhile, another journalist, from French-speaking Wallonia, says he systematically employs ‘Spa’. Never ‘Francorchamps’! “I think many people say ‘Spa’ because of its association with motor racing from the very early days of the sport,” he reasons.

In a country that is so distinctly divided into two parts, it’s perhaps no surprise that there is no common view, even on such an everyday subject!

For information, Francorchamps – home of 80% of the track – is actually a small village that is part of Stavelot (the name of Turn 16). However, part of the land on which it sits actually belongs to nearby Malmedy, which doesn’t even get a mention in the official name.

Because it is located on their territory, the people of Stavelot are understandably a little jealous of the international renown enjoyed by their neighbours in Spa thanks to the circuit. Their response was to found the Stavelot Motor Museum, a must for all motor racing fans visiting Spa, Francorchamps, or anywhere in Belgium, come to that!