24 Heures du Mans 2015 ; Journée Test : Les chronos s’affolent ! / fast times straightaway

Porsche Team a d’ores et déjà envoyé un message très fort à ses rivaux en signant un chrono à seulement 2/10e de seconde de la pole 2014. La majorité de cette première séance fut marquée par la pluie qui a contrarié le tableau de marche des teams. 

Les premiers roulages 2015 sur le Circuit de la Sarthe ont débuté ce matin à 9h00 avec une température de 16°C et un ciel bien nuageux. Malgré des conditions menaçantes, la piste était sèche lorsque le feu est passé au vert, alors les teams en ont profité pour débuter rapidement leur travail

Pendant la première période, la piste était qualifiée de très sale par l’ensemble des pilotes. Cela n’a pas empêché un prototype LM P1 de boucler un tour en 3min40s664 dans les 10 premières minutes.

Et ce prototype était conduit par un certain Kazuki Nakajima qui avait reçu l’autorisation de rouler au volant de la Toyota TS040 Hybrid N°1 après une vertèbre fracturée à Spa en début du mois.

Dix minutes plus tard, André Lotterer a réalisé 3min25s257 (à environ 2 secondes du meilleur tour de la Journée Test 2014), avant une série de tours rapides à l’approche de l’heure de roulage.

Neel Jani a placé la Porsche 919 Hybrid N°18 en haut des classements avec 3min21s945. On se souvient que la pole position de Nakajima l’an passé était de 3min21s789. Après une heure de roulage, on était donc à 0s156 du temps de référence 2014.

Ensuite, les teams ont pu évoluer pendant une demi-heure sur une piste sèche avant l’apparition de la pluie.

Sous le crachin, les voitures ont tout d’abord roulé en slicks et en pneus intermédiaires, comme le Michelin hybrid pour les LM P1. Puis la pluie s’est intensifiée et les « full wet » sont devenus obligatoires.

Sous la pluie, la Porsche N°67 du Team AAI a fait sa première excursion dans un bac à gravier à la fin de la ligne droite des stands. La Nissan N°23 a manqué près de la moitié de la séance en raison de soucis électriques.

Dommage pour l’équipe japonais qui a besoin de cumuler des kilomètres pour poursuivre le développement de ses GT-R LM Nismo. En outre, Nissan n’a pas hésité à utiliser un prototype LM P3 pour qualifier ses rookies (10 tours obligatoires).

Autre pilote bien occupé aujourd’hui, le Français Fred Makowiecki a roulé dans son habituelle Porsche 911 RSR N°92 (LM GTE Pro) avant de boucler quelques tours au volant de la Porsche 919 Hybrid N°19.

En LM GTE Pro, la voiture la plus rapide ce matin fut la Corvette C7.R N°64 (3min58s162), à 4s462 du meilleur temps 2014, alors que quatre Ferrari ont dominé la catégorie LM GTE Am. La Ligier JS P2 OAK Racing N°34 a réalisé le meilleur tour en LM P2.

Porsche Team used the first four-hour session of today’s pre-Le Mans test to send a message to its rivals by posting a benchmark lap (Jani) that was less than two-tenths short of last year’s pole-winning time! Unfortunately, the majority of the session was marked by persistent rain which forced teams to switch to alternative job lists.

The first competitive action of 2015 around the 13.629km Circuit de la Sarthe kicked off this morning with the temperature standing at 16°C and, more significantly, under ominously dark clouds.

Despite the clear threat, there was no rain when the pit-lane light turned green at 9am, so teams hurried out to begin working through as much of their respective dry-weather plans as possible.

During the session’s opening phase, the track was described by one driver as dirtier than he had seen in years. However, that didn’t prevent an LM P1 prototype from posting a 3m40.664s within the first 10 minutes.

While not exceptionally fast, it was a reassuring time since it was the work of Kazuki Nakajima who only received authorisation to take part yesterday morning after the N°1 Toyota driver suffered a fractured vertebra a month ago at Spa.

Ten minutes later, André Lotterer stopped the clock at 3m25.257s (around two seconds off the fastest Test Day lap in 2014), before a flurry of quick times at the one-hour mark saw Neel Jani put the N°18 Porsche 919 Hybrid/Michelin at the top of the monitors with a 3m21.945s. For reference, last June’s pole time (3m21.789s, Nakajima, Toyota) was only 0.156s quicker!

After that, teams benefited from a further half-hour of dry running before the weather changed.

It wasn’t heavy rain to begin with, and the cars were able to run on either slicks or intermediates – including the Michelin Hybrid slick-intermediate in the case of the LM P1 prototypes. Soon, though, the track became too wet and full wets were necessary.

This transitional period produced the session’s first victim when the N°67 Porsche (Team AAI) made the first of its two excursions into the sea of gravel at the end of the start/finish straight. Also in trouble was the N°23 Nissan GT-R LM which missed a little less than half the session because of an electrical problem.

That was obviously a shame for the Japanese team which needs as much track time as possible to pursue its new car’s development. Indeed, in order to focus on development groundwork, it didn’t hesitate to use the participation of a ‘friendly’ LM P3 prototype to qualify two of its rookie drivers (10 mandatory laps).

Another driver straddling two classes today is Fred Makowiecki who went out in the N°92 Porsche 911 RSR/Michelin (LM GTE Pro) early on before spending a handful of laps in the N°19 919 Hybrid.

Fastest car this morning in LM GTE Pro was the N°64 Chevrolet Corvette C7R (3m58.162s, 4.462s slower than 2014 qualifying), while four of the nine Ferraris here today dominated the top four places in LM GTE Am (topped by the N°61 458 Italia/Michelin, 4m0.677s).

In front in the LM P2 prototype class for the moment is Oak Racing’s N°34 Ligier JS P2 (3m41.919s).

Lorenzo triomphe en solitaire au Mugello / Lorenzo delivers master class to make it three in a row

L’Espagnol a de nouveau surclassé ses concurrents pour remporter une troisième victoire consécutive au Grand Prix TIM d’Italie.

Après s’être imposé à Jerez puis au Mans, Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) a de nouveau brillé dimanche au Mugello et s’est imposé haut la main, en comptant jusqu’à près de dix secondes d’avance sur la seconde moitié de la course.

Qualifié en pole malgré une blessure à l’épaule, Andrea Iannone (Ducati) s’est lui aussi distingué en se battant courageusement et a décroché la seconde place, son meilleur résultat en date en MotoGP™. 

Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) a réalisé l’une de ses habituelles chevauchées fantastiques pour revenir dans la lutte pour le podium malgré son départ en troisième ligne et a fini troisième devant Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), dont le coéquipier Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) a chuté alors qu’il se battait avec Iannone pour la seconde place. 

Également en lice pour la seconde place, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) a été contraint à l’abandon en raison d’un problème technique sur sa GP15.

Premier pilote Open, Loris Baz (Athinà Forward Racing) a confirmé son excellente progression en prenant la douzième place, comme il l’avait fait deux semaines plus tôt au Mans.

Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.

Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo completely dominates a dramatic #ItalianGP, winning by over 5.5s at Mugello.

Lorenzo was simply untouchable during the race, taking the lead on the first lap, and at times lapping over a second quicker than his rivals, to take a commanding victory.

The battle for second place was where the action was, with Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone (+5.563s) riding through the pain to finish a second ahead of a hard charging Valentino Rossi in third. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa crossed the line in fourth, ahead of the Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro in fifth and sixth respectively.

Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Michele Pirro (Ducati Team wild card), Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) and his teammate Yonny Hernandez completed the top ten.

Marc Marquez crashed out with six laps to go while battling with Iannone for second, while Loris Baz took the Open class victory in twelfth.

Check out the full MotoGP™ race results, and the latest World Championship standings.

1976 Kawasaki KZ650 by Krakenhead Customs

Words by Martin Hodgson.

Son of a gun we’ll have big fun on the Bayou, only this son of a gun is the offspring of the legendary Kawasaki Z1 and the Bayou is replaced by the historic streets of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Built by Krakenhead Customs this is a daily rider that pays homage to the golden years of Kawasaki’s Z bikes that along with Honda’s CB series introduced the world to 4 cylinders across the frame, big disc front ends and became the inspiration for all modern sports bikes.

This son of a Z1 is a 1976 Kawasaki KZ 650 B1 that had spent its past 13 years abandoned and unloved in a Slovenian barn. Green Glory as it is known was built with the inspiration of those glory years in mind, but with enough custom touches to show the world just what Krakenhead Customs can do and key to the build, it had to remain roadworthy. The entire frame was cleaned up and a new rear hoop added to be able to mount the seat they had in mind. Slight tweaks were made to the geometry and new shock mounts fabricated before the whole thing was painted black.

Mounted to those new shock points are a set of longer chrome shocks that give the bike a far more aggressive stance. Further bringing the Z closer to terra firma are the lowered front shocks that were then treated to polished legs. Needing a rear fender to remain roadworthy but not wanting to lose that under seat space that shows off the raised rear, Luka and the team made the decision to create a fender that rides close to the tire just like the front end. Custom brackets hold it all in place and modifications were cleverly made to ensure it never fouls the tyre even on the hardest of bumps.

All the vital engine parts have been overhauled or renewed to bring the 650 back to its former glory. The baby Z was a quick bit of kit back in the 70’s, capable of 12 second quarter miles that left almost every other middleweight bike well and truly in its dust. Adding a few more ponies are the fitment of the stunning Marving 4-1 exhaust and K&N filters. The whole engine was thoroughly cleaned and detailed, while the side covers are heavily polished. Further cleaning up the look of the Z is the under seat box that holds all the wiring and other miscellaneous objects that would otherwise clutter the clean lines of the bike. The standard braking was fairly capable in its day but giving the rider extra confidence are master cylinder and levers that come from a Suzuki GSXR 1000.

Having polished the fork legs and the side covers it was hard not to go further, so the same treatment was given to the triple trees, wheels, switch blocks and clip ons. While further individualising comes in the way of engraved Krakenhead logos that have been neatly carved into the levers and the tank cap. Beautifully offsetting all the polished metal is the one off leather seat that is both stylish and comfortable enough for daily duties.

All Krakenhead builds now and into the future receive one signature item, the “Kraken” headlamp, taken from the NSU Supermax they are then modified to fit the application before receiving a Royal Enfield speedo and idiot lights for functionality. But it’s hard to look at this build for any length of time and not be truly impressed by the paint work. Just like the rest of the build it pays homage to the golden days of Z bikes but with a Krakenhead twist. Green Glory had to follow the Z1 green paint scheme so the tank and rear fender were first coated in the classic Kawasaki green but with a candy effect. The Z fading grey belt is perfectly replicated on the tank and the white pin striping is all done by hand. While the rear fender has its sides left in brush metal, finished in clear coat to protect it from the elements.

With the KZ650 build a huge success Krakenhead customs have already started work on a radical overhaul of a KZ 1000 and Honda GL 1000 and if Green Glory is anything to go by the streets of Ljubljana are set for a wild ride!

via PIPEBURN

24 Heures du Mans 2015 / Le circuit idéal pour préparer Le Mans / The ideal circuit to prepare for Le Mans

Préparer les 24 Heures du Mans est un travail d’une année.  Mais les teams ne peuvent utiliser le grand circuit sarthois que deux fois l’an. Les ingénieurs sont donc contraints de tester leurs machines ailleurs, comme au Castellet, à Aragon, à Spa, Monza et au NCM Motorsports Park (USA). 

Gagner les 24 Heures du Mans est le rêve de tout constructeur automobile. Cet objectif nécessite beaucoup d’engagement et des années de travail.

Une des contraintes de la course mancelle est qu’il est impossible de faire un tour du Circuit de La Sarthe quand bon vous semble. Il n’y a en fait que deux opportunités par an : la Journée Test d’aujourd’hui, et la semaine des 24 Heures. Le reste du temps, la majeure partie des 13,629 km sont des voies ouvertes à la circulation.

Pour optimiser les performances et la fiabilité de leurs voitures, les top-teams – et manufacturiers de pneus comme Michelin – doivent donc trouver d’autres pistes d’essais.

Le circuit du Castellet est traditionnellement un circuit de substitution, souvent utilisé par Toyota. En ce moment, les teams comme Porsche ont une préférence pour Motorland Aragon (Espagne), un circuit de 5,344 km inauguré en 2010. Ces deux circuits sont largement utilisés dans des simulations de 30 heures. Audi teste souvent son aéro type Le Mans sur le circuit de Monza.

La manche annuelle du FIA WEC à Spa-Francorchamps début mai est généralement décrite comme une séance préparatoire aux 24 Heures du Mans. Elle permet en effet aux ingénieurs de tester en course les kits aérodynamiques type Le Mans (avec peu d’appuis) et ils peuvent extrapoler les résultats obtenus à Spa sur le circuit des 24 Heures.

Cette année, Nissan Motorsports a trouvé un nouveau circuit pour préparer son retour au Mans en LM P1 : NCM Motorsports Park à Bowling Green (Kentucky), tout près de l’usine Corvette. Ce nouveau circuit inauguré en 2014 a été tracé en fonction des désirs du team Corvette Racing et on dit que de nombreux virages sont des répliques de ceux du Mans, comme Mulsanne, les Virages Porsche et la Chicane Playstation.

Malgré tout, Ben Bowlby, le concepteur de la Nissan GT-R LM Nismo, reconnaît : « Nous n’avons pas eu le temps des corréler réellement à ceux du Mans. Ce circuit du Kentucky offre beaucoup de grip, contrairement au Mans. Il est aussi court et il faut en faire quatre tours pour l’équivalent d’un au Mans. C’est aussi plus de Virages Porsche et moins de lignes droites. »

Ceci dit, Nissan et son partenaire Michelin vont peut-être pouvoir extrapoler les datas collectés au Kentucky. Nissan précise également qu’il s’agit du début du développement de son prototype à moteur avant et que le team est fier du travail accompli.

Preparing for the Le Mans 24 Hours is a year-long business. However, to work on their cars, teams can only use the French circuit twice a season. Engineers are consequently forced to travel elsewhere to conduct their development programmes. Alternative venues include Le Castellet, Aragon, Spa and, perhaps, NCM Motorsports Park in the USA.

The glory that comes with winning the Le Mans 24 Hours has been sought by carmakers for almost a century. Today, however, it’s an objective that necessitates years of commitment and year-round work.

One of the beauties of the great French race is that you can’t lap round Circuit de La Sarthe whenever you wish. You only get that possibility on two occasions: the official Test Day (i.e. today) and race-week itself. The rest of the time, most of the 13.629km track is used by ordinary traffic!

To optimise the performance and reliability of their machines, the top teams – and tyre companies like Michelin – therefore need to find other locations for this essential groundwork.

Traditionally, Le Castellet in the south of France has been a favourite substitute. More recently, teams have turned increasingly to Motorland Aragon, in northeastern Spain, a 5.344km track inaugurated in 2010.

It is one or both of these venues that teams use nowadays for their 30-hour simulation runs ahead of Le Mans.

Meanwhile, the FIA WEC’s annual visit to the Belgian Ardennes for the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps is frequently described as a ‘dress rehearsal’ for Le Mans. It effectively allows the engineers to run at least one of their prototypes with a Le Mans-type aerodynamic package in race conditions, and they have sufficient hindsight to be able to apply the data they collect to the specificities of La Sarthe.

This year, LM P1 newcomer Nissan Motorsports has found a completely different solution: NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green, Kentucky, near Corvette’s sole manufacturing base. The make’s new test facility (inaugurated in July 2014) was designed with input from its race team and proudly claims that several of its corners replicate Le Mans – namely the Mulsanne ‘kink’ and corner, the Porsche Curves and the PlayStation chicane.

However, as the GT-R LM Nismo prototype’s designer Ben Bowlby acknowledges, the track’s value remains to be seen: “We haven’t had time to correlate it with anywhere else yet. For one thing, its modern high-grip surface is very different to Le Mans. It’s also quite short and you need to complete four laps to match one of Le Mans, and that equates to too many Porsche Curves and too few straights...”

That said, Nissan and its tyre partner Michelin will eventually be able to transpose and extrapolate the data they collect in Kentucky. On top of that, Nissan recognises that it is at the very beginning of the development of its front-engined, front-wheel drive prototype and is glad to have covered so much ground since the project’s inception…

Very soon, perhaps, we will see the Japanese squad jostling with Audi, Porsche and Toyota for quality track time at Le Castellet and Aragon