2015 WORCS Lake Havasu

One of the coolest races of the year for UTVs is the Lake Havasu round at the WORCS Racing Series. Its spring break meets off-road racing and what takes place is one of the coolest races in the sport! Where else can you race along the banks of Lake Havasu while spectators line the shore in their boats, lawn chairs and float tubes!

Take the ride as we follow the UTVUnderground.com / Walker Evans Racing team of RJ Anderson, Mike Gardner, Ronnie Anderson, Randy Anderson, Shelby Anderson, Danielle Weatherly, Savannah Brooks and Mitch Guthrie Jr. through the funnest round of the 2015 season!

The Alfa Romeo Sprint Zagato Coupé has us firing on all six cylinders

Trust us when we say that falling in love with an Alfa Romeo is very easily done. When we spotted this Zagato-bodied Sprint, powered by a smooth twin-cam six, we were instantly smitten…

Show star

The Turin Motor Show of 1963, the 45th Salone dell’Automobile, was an event of considerable note. For many, it is most memorable for the unveiling of the Scaglione-designed Lamborghini 350 GTV, a prototype grand tourer that led to the first production Lamborghini, the 350 GT. But in another, quieter corner of the show floor, Alfa Romeo was unveiling its latest prototype, the 2600 Sprint Zagato Coupé.

Zagato body

Featuring an uprated, 145bhp version of the the six-cylinder, twin-cam engine found in the Giulietta, the ‘SZ’, with its Zagato body, was nearly 140kg lighter than the standard 2600 Sprint. These changes provided both improved handling and better acceleration – precisely those areas where the standard 2600 was deemed to be somewhat lacking. Drivers’ cars and indeed sought-after luxury items, just 105 examples left the factory priced at 3,970,000 lire. Such a price was out of reach for most in 1965, but the car's rarity and timeless styling have undoubtedly played leading roles in securing ‘future classic’ status.

In 2015, Turin will once again host a motor show – its first for 15 years. It's a free event, open to the public and located in the Parco del Valentino. A month prior to this event, the Bonhams Spa Classic Sale on 24 May includes this white 1965 Alfa Romeo 2600 Sprint Zagato Coupé. Offered in ‘very good’ unrestored condition, with black leather interior, it comes with a pre-sale estimate of £110,000 - £160,000. We feel this is a relatively modest amount for a car that, arriving at Turin’s comeback event, would turn more heads than most.

View all the lots from the Bonhams Spa Classic Sale on 24 May.

Vintage Off-Road Rampage: The Trucks of the 2015 Mexican 1000

by Elana Scherr
That headline pretty much covers it. We were down in Baja, California, Mexico for the 2015 running of the Mexican 1000. This is not the SCORE Baja 1000. This is the Baja 1000’s drunk cousin, who makes the party so much more fun. This is what the Baja 1000 was like in 1968, when it was still the Mexican 1000, and this new Mexican 1000 (running since around 2010, when Mike Perlman, son of the original founder, Ed Perlman, decided to start a vintage off-road rally on the Baja Peninsula) features a ton of vintage buggies, trucks, cars, and bikes, tearing through 1,300 miles of desert and Mexican highway from Ensenada to San Jose Del Cabo.

Baja is a truck-lover’s paradise, every small town is home to Chevy C-10s of all eras, Frankensteined Fords and Dodge D-series, not to mention all the Ramchargers, since they were produced here until, like, yesterday [Editor’s note, Dodge produced the Ramcharger in Mexico until 1996]. There are old pick-ups behind shacks and toppling fences, and even better, there are old pick-ups still in action, hauling livestock and cactus and race fans, the latter eager for stickers and signatures from the off-roaders at the rally stage exits.

Every truck on the street told a story in its dings and dents, and every truck in the race was rapidly making its own story (and dings and dents). One of our favorites included the 1983 Bronco with famous off-road racer Walker Evans’ signature on the tailgate. Apparently Mr. Evans was a little impatient to get by the Bronco in the previous year’s race. Oh yeah, did we mention the Bronco wasn’t racing? It was just the pace truck that year! Walker signed the damaged rear, and offered to pay for repairs.

Getting a love tap from a legend is small potatoes in the Mexican 1000. Augie and Nathan lost the whole front end of their ride, towed it out of the dirt, found a mechanic and were back in action to cross the finish line. Bruce Galien didn’t get his 351 Cleveland powered 19’68 Ford to the end after it blew a head gasket, but he did keep all the body panels straight, which is more than we can say for the “Big Oly” Bronco, which did a bit of summersaulting on the second day, and lost the front diff cover on the third, but still made it to the end, and even pulled some other competitors out of the silt. Maybe all the racers should have taken notes from Sue Mead and Shelby Hall, who took the 19’69 Motor Trend Bronco through the desert in the same pristine condition as it started the race in. They weren’t alone of course, Chris Collard and Shelby’s grandfather, a fellow named Rod Hall (you might notice his name on the fender…from back in 1969) also took good care of the museum piece on its journey.

Between the racers, the locals, and the school busses-turned-car haulers, the Mexican 1000 is truly trucker’s heaven, even if it is a little hard on the trucks themselves. Scroll on through and see for yourself.






From: http://www.hotrod.com

THROTTLE ROLL 2015

Last weekend it was Australia’s turn to run with custom bike baton as Throttle Roll took over the Vic Hotel in Enmore, Sydney. The event was started by ‘Shed mate Mark Hawa, founder of the global phenomena The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride, and this year, the 3rd edition, boasted more bikes, bands and stalls than ever before, celebrating all that is great in the new-wave scene. A weekend extravaganza of custom motorcycles and live music for all the family to enjoy.

The party atmosphere, helped along by the Aussie sunshine, attracted 9000 visitors across and weekend and over a 1000 bikes packed the local streets.

A 500 bike ride-out headed for the stunning coastal route south of the city to Seacliff Bridge on Saturday before the partying kicked-off back at the Vic.

50 custom bikes were forklifted into the Vic carpark and no doubt had the health & safety dude quivering in his riggers.

Mark is a busy guy, running Throttle Roll, Sydney Café Racers and The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride.