WSS ; PJ Jacobsen s’offre sa première victoire en Malaisie / Jacobsen wins in WSS for the first time in Sepang

PJ Jacobsen a résisté à Jules Cluzel pour devenir le premier Américain à s’imposer en World Supersport.

Après avoir décroché sa toute première pole position en Championnat du Monde Supersport samedi au Circuit International de Sepang, PJ Jacobsen a réussi à décrocher sa toute première victoire dimanche en course, la deuxième de Honda et du team CORE Motorsport Thailand cette année suite à celle de Ratthapark Wilairot en Thaïlande.

Devancé par Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) au départ, le New-Yorkais n’a pas mis longtemps à reprendre l’avantage devant le Français et Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing), qui est vite revenu dans le Top 3 après avoir complètement manqué son premier virage. 

Le Turc, leader du classement général, n’a cependant pas pu suivre ses deux adversaires sur la durée et les a laissés se disputer une victoire remportée par un fantastique PJ Jacobsen, qui est parvenu à solidement mener devant Cluzel et à répondre à la dernière tentative du Français dans l’ultime virage de la course. 

S’il manquait la victoire, Cluzel recevait néanmoins un bon coup de main de la part de son coéquipier Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) dans la lutte pour le titre mondial puisque l’Italien a mis Sofuoglu sous pression en fin de course et est parvenu à dérober la troisième place au triple Champion du Monde à la fin du dernier tour. 

À trois courses de la fin de la saison, Cluzel réduit ainsi son retard sur Sofuoglu de vingt à treize points tandis que Jacobsen revient à quinze points du Français.

À six secondes du duel pour la troisième place, Kyle Smith (Pata Honda World Supersport Team) a pris la cinquième place devant Roberto Rolfo (Team Lorini), Martin Cardenas (CIA Landlords Insurance), Gino Rea (CIA Landlords Insurance), Christian Gamarino (Team Go Eleven) et Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25), qui complétaient le Top 10.

WSS race decided on run to the line.

The 9^th round of the World Supersport championship, held at the Sepang International circuit was won by PJ Jacobsen (CORE Motorsport Thailand) after a race long, enthralling duel with Jules Cluzel (MV Agusta Reparto Corse) raged from start to finish at the 5.543km circuit. The result means that the Thai based team have won both races in Asia this year (Buriram and here).

From the start championship leader Kenan Sofuoglu (Kawasaki Puccetti Racing) surged to the front only to outbrake himself at turn 1, dropping to 7^th. The Turkish rider ended the opening lap 5^th before setting about closing the gap to the leading duo who began to open a small advantage at the head of the field.

By half distance Sofuoglu had bridged the gap meaning the top three riders in the overall championship were in contention for the victory until the Turk began to lose touch, falling into the clutches of Lorenzo Zanetti (MV Agusta Reparto Corse).

PJ Jacobsen, the American who scored his maiden Pole Position yesterday held his nerve despite the intense pressure from Cluzel to win for the first time in World Supersport by 0.091s at the flag. In doing so he becomes the first American rider to ever win a WSS race and he keeps himself very much in the title fight. Cluzel took second ahead of team mate Zanetti who overtook Sofuoglu at the final corner.

Behind the top four Pata Honda’s Kyle Smith finished a lonely 5^th ahead of the equally lonely Roberto Rolfo (Team Lorini) who was 6^th.

A trio of riders decided positions 7^th to 9^th with Martin Cardenas getting the better of his CIA Landlords Insurance team mate Gino Rea and Christian Gamarino (Team Go Eleven). Alex Baldolini (Race Department ATK#25) rounded out the top ten.

Dominic Schmitter (Team Go Eleven), Fabio Menghi (VFT Racing), Kevin Wahr (SMS Honda), Aiden Wagner (CIA Landlords Insurance) and Marcos Ramirez (Team Lorini) were 11^th to 15^th respectively, completing the point scorers.

In the overall championship standings Sofuoglu still leads but by a reduced margin of 13 points.

Land Rover Defender granted stay of execution… for now

Again proving itself to be the ultimate survival vehicle, the Land Rover Defender has been granted a temporary stay of execution. Production of the legendary off-roader was originally planned to finish in December this year but, due to increased demand, will continue into 2016 – its 68th year…

According to a factory worker quoted in the Birmingham Post, production of the Land Rover Defender will be extended through February 2016 (and possibly into April) in a response to heightened demand for the outgoing icon. Last year, 17,781 examples were sold in total – but the company has already sold 11,511 in the first half of 2015, an increase of almost 30%. The official line from Whitley is that the company “does not expect production to continue past the end of January 2016” but, with its crucial replacement yet to break cover, and the company admitting that the date of the wind-down has not yet been decided, it would be foolish to think the Defender was incapable of demonstrating its survival skills one final time.

Photos: Land Rover

You can find many modern and classic Land Rovers for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

Is the Bugatti Veyron the next multi-million-dollar collectable?

In August, two important Bugatti Veyrons come up for sale at RM Sotheby’s. The result is eagerly awaited – as it could demonstrate that the hypercar from Molsheim is about to succeed the McLaren F1 as the collectors’ favourite.

Even before the last Bugatti Veyron, chassis number 450, left the Molsheim factory back in February, a heated discussion had built up among collectors and experts: would the 16-cylinder sports car with its 1,000HP-plus and numerous speed records become a collectable that – as with the McLaren F1 from the 1990s – would continue to gain in value? A glance at the auction results from recent years fuels the speculation: in 2012, RM Auctions sold an almost unused Bugatti Veyron for 579,600 pounds sterling in London. A year later, the auction house took 2.31 ​​million US dollars for a Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Bleu Nuit. And last summer, a Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse ‘Le Ciel Californien’ sold for 2.42 million dollars in Monterey.

Numbers 001 and 300

Even among the stunning entries of the RM Sotheby’s  ‘Pinnacle Portfolio’, due to go under the hammer on 13 August 2015 in Monterey, these two Bugattis stand out. The red and black 2006 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 carries – as the first production model to leave the Molsheim factory – chassis number 001. And the white 2012 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport is number 300. Both cars are like new, and both were shown, along with Veyron number 450, at the 2015 Geneva motor show. Also important for collectors is the fact that the hypercars are Bugatti Certified and come with a two-year warranty that covers all servicing. We can’t wait to see how high the bidding goes.

Both Bugatti Veyrons in the Classic Driver Market

Auctions | Cars

2012 Bugatti Veyron - 16.4 Super Sport "300"

P.O.R.

Auctions | Cars

2006 Bugatti Veyron - 16.4 "001"

P.O.R.

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Kott Motorcycles 1971 Honda CB750 Custom Cafe Racer

THE LOST TRIP #01 IRELAND

THE LOST TRIP #01 IRELAND/sous titres en Français from GIVETOGOD PROD on Vimeo.

The Johammer J1 e-bike is a modern-day Imperial speeder

It seems a new e-bike comes to market every week at the moment, but few are as futuristic (or Austrian) as the Johammer J1, capable of 125 miles on a single charge…

e-Hammer time

Is this the end of ‘range anxiety’, at least in two-wheeled form? Quite possibly – and the designers sure want to shout about it, given the J1’s appearance, which resembles an Imperial speeder crossed with a stalk-eyed fly. Beneath the curious mono-body, a stack of batteries is mounted low in the frame, sending power to the 11kW motor mounted within the hub of the rear wheel. This can propel the J1 to a top speed of 74mph, and can be monitored, along with other information, via one of the two high-resolution screens integrated into the rear-view mirrors.

Photos: Johammer

For further details, visit www.johammer.com.

You can find many (more orthodox) motorcycles for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

THE AUTO FABRICA TYPE 6: REDUCED TO PERFECTION

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In Japan, there is a design theory called Kanso (簡素)—meaning simplicity, or the elimination of clutter. And every time I see an Auto Fabrica bike, I’m reminded of that fine principle.

The machines that roll out of the English workshop are reduced to the bare minimum, but beautifully finished. And this extraordinary build, called simply Type 6, is Auto Fabrica’s best work yet.

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Most shops have a bike that’s been kicking around since the beginnings of time, and that’s the story with this Yamaha. “It’s one of four XS650s we rescued from a farm in the depths of rural Cornwall,” says shop owner Bujar Muharremi. “A lucky find that effectively kickstarted our company.”

We’ve come to expect stellar levels of craft and finish from Auto Fabrica, but the Type 6 adds impeccable industrial design to the mix.

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“We strived to achieve a bike which was executed perfectly and epitomizes what we see as a ‘real’ custom motorcycle—simplicity in form, complexity in detail.”

Bujar and his crew spend a huge amount of time on preliminary design before they pick up the grinders. Starting with hand sketching and moving on to Photoshop renderings, they create the bike in the virtual world before turning the vision into metal.

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This time, the objective was to push the physical limits with panel beating. “We spent a lot of time trying to balance clean graphics with highly complex and organic surfacing, to achieve a clean yet interesting design.”

Much of that cleanliness comes from the tank and seat base, a single elegant unit formed from 2.5-millimeter aluminum. The XS650 frame has been modified by lowering the headstock two inches and moving it back slightly, creating the strong top line that flows from the headlight to the rear cowl.

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The forks look especially sleek: they’ve been overhauled and fitted with stainless steel covers that conceal the bottom yoke and add a touch of Art Deco style.

The engine of the XS650 was pretty handsome straight from the factory, but it’s been elevated to a whole new level here.

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“Inspired by some other great builds, we took time to design a single carb conversion. We continued the line of the exhausts all the way through to the filter,” says Bujar.

“You can trick the eye by placing the single inlet on the opposite side to the exhaust outlet positions, to create an asymmetric balance.” It might be a trick, but it works well.

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The engine has been fully rebuilt with 0.5-oversize pistons. It looks just as good on the outside as in, with a textured paint finish for the top and raw metal lower down.

Auto Fabrica love the matte finish that aqua blasting gives to bare metal, so the engine casings and aluminum parts all went into the blast cabinet.

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The exhaust pipes are handmade in stainless steel, and bent into perfect curves. They look like unmuffled pipes, but have custom baffles hidden inside.

“We could have kept them straight through and raw, but with the refinement of the bike as a whole, we needed a more refined exhaust note—as well as the correct back pressure.”

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The rear wheel is built on the standard hub, but it’s now laced to an 18-inch alloy rim with stainless spokes. Up front is a beautiful Laverda SF750 twin leading shoe hub laced to a 19-inch alloy rim, with a custom brake switch located on the TLS arms.

The bodywork is almost impossibly sleek, so it’d be a shame to have clunky bars up front. To maintain the theme, Auto Fabrica fitted slim clip-ons and then created a custom wrap that forms a smooth loop. It’s a neat solution that matches the inverted stainless steel brake and clutch levers.

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We’ve only the skimmed the surface of this build, because it’s often the ‘simple’-looking bikes that involve the most work. (As Mark Twain famously said, “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”)

The Type 6 is for sale. If you’d like to examine it at your leisure in your own garage, contact Auto Fabrica via their website.

Auto Fabrica | Facebook | Instagram | Images: Julien Brightwell, Bujar Muharremi

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Deus ex Machina just made the sidecar sexy...

Custom motorcycles have come a long way since a handful of hardcore enthusiasts decided to scrap the basic rules of customising. Now the creativity of bike builders is flourishing: take a look at the latest creation straight from the Italian workshops of Australian customiser Deus ex Machina...

The Deus Yard Built XV950 ‘D-Side’ is a stunning piece of machinery combining custom bike and sidecar – the first of its kind built by the Milanese arm of the popular bike customisers. “When we saw the bike for the first time, we realised that the frame of the XV allowed us to do some modifications without any cutting to the frame,” says Emanuele Vicinanza from Deus ex Machina. “This is probably the first time that we did a bike this way. Instead of cutting, we added some parts. We've made a rear frame and changed the position of the saddle.” But Deus didn't stop there. The custom builders also added the aluminium front, aluminium fuel tank, custom aluminium air-intake and cone filter, the rear fenders and a 6-piston Deus/Discacciati brake system. 

A boat-load of inspiration

The inspiration for this custom-built work of art stemmed from vintage boats – hence the boat shape of the sidecar unit and the wooden deck at the rear (for that extra pair of biker gloves and sunglasses). The stripped-back style – showcasing the XV's V-twin engine – and surf rack between sidecar and bike are reminiscent of the Deus SR500 ‘Drover’s Dog’. Once again, Deus has taken a cool bike and added yet another layer of cool… just when everyone thought it impossible. 

Text: Frank Diebel

Video: Deus ex Machina

Thanks for the good work; yours, Nelson A. Rockefeller

A masterclass in motivating employees: in the spring of 1959, New York Governor and future US Vice President Nelson A. Rockefeller gave his adviser Roswell B. Perkins a gold Patek Philippe.

A generous Governor

The businessman, politician and philanthropist Nelson A. Rockefeller was one of the defining figures of American post-War history: he supported Franklin Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhower, served as Vice President under Gerald Ford – and for 14 years was Governor of the State of New York. And it seems that Rockefeller was not only a politician with staying power, but also a very generous boss: shortly after he had taken up his new post in the spring of 1959, he gave his adviser Roswell B. Perkins an 18-carat gold wristwatch by Patek Philippe as a thank you for his support.

On the back of the chronograph (reference 1463), Rockefeller had this somewhat cryptic dedication engraved: “R. B. P, Jan. 1 – Mar. 25, 1959, N.A.R.” The wristwatch made headlines in December 2014, when auction house Antiquorum offered the timepiece at a New York sale with an estimate of 150,000-200,000 US dollars. However, the Rockefeller Patek failed to acquire a new owner.

Photos: Getty Images / Antiquorum

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