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    samedi 29 août 2015

    6 Heures du Nurburgring : Porsche reste invaincu en qualifs ! / Porsche maintains unbeaten pole record!


    Porsche/Michelin a signé sa 4e pole position de la saison grâce à Marc Lieb et Romain Dumas (Porsche 919 Hybrid N°18), devant la N°17. Les Audi R18 e-tron quattro et Toyota TS040 Hybrid s’élanceront depuis les 2e et 3e lignes de la grille de départ des 6 Heures du Nürburgring.
    Dix-sept prototypes, dont six hybrides « usine » ont pris part aux qualifications LMP immédiatement après les GTE. Le thermomètre indiquait alors 23°C et malgré les nuages et quelques orages prévus dans l’après-midi, la séance allait se dérouler sur une piste sèche.
    La Porsche N°18 fut la première en piste avec Marc Lieb au volant, suivie de l’Audi N°7 (Fässler). Comme ce matin lors des essais libres 3, les deux Porsche pointaient en tête du classement après le premier run, avec la N°18 devant la N°17 pilotée par Timo Bernhard (+0s199)
    Alex Wurz a hypothéqué les chances de la Toyota N°2 avec un tout-droit dans l’herbe, alors que les Audi apparaissaient aux 3e et 4e rangs.
    Puis Romain Dumas et Mark Webber se sont installés dans les prototypes de Stuttgart.
    Un peu moins rapide que Lieb, Dumas est parvenu à maintenir la N°18 en pole, alors qu’un premier mauvais chrono de Webber permit aux Audi de pointer 2e (N°8) et 3e (N°7).
    Le pilote Australien s’est repris au tour suivant pour remettre la Porsche N°17 sur la première ligne de la grille de départ. Les Porsche furent les seuls prototypes à franchir la barre des 1min37s.
    Le meilleur tour de la séance a été réalisé par Lieb en 1min36s192. La Porsche N°17 a fini à 0s069 de la moyenne de la pole (1min36s473).
    « On m’a dit au dernier moment que j’allais être le premier pilote sur la N°18 », expliquait Marc Lieb. « C’est bien car on a de bonnes chances d’avoir un tour clair en tout début de séance. Le team et les ingénieurs ont fait du bon boulot. Notre voiture était très plaisante à piloter. »
    Les Audi ont conclu à plus d’une seconde de leurs cousines, et les deux Toyota à plus de deux secondes. La Rebellion R-One fut la plus rapide des LM P1 non-hybrides.
    En LM P2, la nouvelle Gibson-Nissan de Strakka Racing a encore prouvé sa pointe de vitesse avec Jonny Kane au volant, auteur du meilleur tour au premier run. Mais son équipier Leventis n’a pu conserver la pole qui est finalement revenue à l’Oreca05-Nissan KCMG N°47 devant les Ligier N°26 et N°28 G-Drive Racing.
    Le départ des 6 Heures du Nürburgring sera donné demain dimanche à 13h00.
    Porsche claimed its fourth pole position from four this season thanks to the combined efforts of Lieb/Dumas (1st) and Bernhard/Webber (2nd) who were nominated to qualify the N°18 and N°17 Hybrid 919s respectively. The N°8 and N°7 Audis, and the N°1 and N°2 Toyotas will occupy the second and third rows of tomorrow afternoon’s grid.
    The LM Prototype qualifying session featured a total of 17 cars, comprising the six factory hybrids, the three non-hybrid P1s and eight LM P2 machines.
    For the start of the 20-minute run (which saw qualifying revert to the WEC’s usual ‘average of two drivers’ system after the more conventional ‘winner-takes-all’ procedure applied at Le Mans), the weather was as nice as it has been all weekend.
    The thermometer stood at more than 23°C and the conditions were sunny, although a little cloudy – perhaps a sign of the storm that is now being predicted for later today.
    Happily, the track stayed dry for the pole shootout.
    Eager to get started was the N°18 Porsche which was first out of the pit lane with Lieb at the wheel, tailed by the N°7 Audi (Fässler).
    In keeping with the form shown during this morning’s free practice, it was the two Hybrid 919s that emerged on top after the first round of flying laps, the N°18 car narrowly beating its N°17 stablemate (Bernhard) by 0.199s.
    Wurz didn’t help Toyota’s chances when he went wide on grass and the two Audis logically appeared in third and fourth places.
    The Stuttgart machines pitted after a single flyer each, allowing Dumas (N°18) and Webber (N°17) to climb aboard.
    Although slower than Lieb, Dumas kept the N°18 car on top, but a poor first time from Webber allowed the Audis to go second (N°8) and third (N°7). The Australian made up next time round, though, to reassert the domination of Porsche which was the only team to lap underneath the 1m37s threshold.
    The session’s fastest time remained the property of Lieb whose 1m36.192s contributed to an average of 1m36.473s for his car. The second-placed N°17 Hybrid 919 ended up 0.069s adrift...
    “I learned at the last moment that I would be first out in the N°18 car,” reported Marc Lieb. “That’s good because you have a better chance of getting a clear track and ‘clean air’. The team and engineers did a fantastic job. Our car was so much pleasure to drive!”
    The Audis ended up more than a second behind, and both Toyotas were more than two seconds off the pace. The fastest non-hybrid LM P1 prototype was the N°12 Rebellion R-One (Prost/Beche/Heidfeld).
    In LM P2, the brand new Gibson-Nissan provided further evidence of its speed when Kane topped the class’s order early on. However, team-mate Leventis was unable to defend Strakka Racing’s advantage and Sunday’s field will finally be led away by the N°47 Oreca05-Nissan (Howson/Bradley/Tandy) which shrugged off pressure from the N°26 and N°28 Ligier-Nissans (G-Drive Racing) which came second and third.
    The 2015 6 Hours of Nürburgring will start on Sunday afternoon at 1pm. There will be no warm-up session.

    Kopecký leads on ŠKODA’s home round of the ERC




    Jan Kopecký leads round seven of the 2015 FIA European Rally Championship, Barum Czech Rally Zlín, after a fast, furious and very hot opening leg in his ŠKODA Motorsport Fabia R5.
    Kopecky, confiant, choisit d’ouvrir la route
    Co-driven by Pavel Dresler, Kopecký is on course to win the event for the fourth time and clinch another Czech national title after a dominant performance on a blisteringly hot day in southern Moravia.
    “It’s been a great day for us,” said Kopecký. “The Fabia R5 has worked very well. We hit a big hole on the first stage this morning, which shows how strong the car really is. We have made no mistakes, we have a good pace and we have built up a nice gap behind us.”
    Last year’s event winner Václav Pech is second, 35.4s behind Kopecký, in his Mini John Cooper Works S2000 – his local knowledge of the fast, bumpy and narrow stages ensuring an exciting battle for victory.
    Kajetan Kajetanowicz has a great chance to further extend his lead in the ERC, after a magnificent day in his Pirelli-shod LOTOS Rally Team Ford Fiesta R5. The Polish driver has been pushing hard – so hard, that he arrived at the end of SS5 with his brakes on fire.
    Craig Breen arrived in the Czech Republic second in the championship, but lost two and a half minutes and all hopes of victory after picking up a puncture on SS5. The number of punctures had increased to three by the end of the day, and the fight is now on to salvage the best result he can and maintain his strong fight for the ERC title in his Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16. He is 11th overnight.
    Despite it only being his second Tarmac rally, Alexey Lukyanuk is fourth in his Ford Fiesta R5 – the Russian and Estonian champion driving brilliantly in such unfamiliar conditions, saying that the experience he is gaining is “enormous”.
    Pavel Valoušek is fifth in his ŠKODA Fabia S2000 after an excellent mistake-free day. He is ahead of promising youngster Miroslav Jakeš (Citroën DS3 R5), while former ERC Junior star Jan Černý is seventh in a Fabia S2000.
    After a brief pre-event test in the wet, French 208 Rally Cup champion Charles Martin was unhappy with the set-up of his Peugeot Rally Academy 208 T16 at the start of the event. He lost 35s with a right rear puncture on SS2, but has felt increasing happier with the car and snatched eighth place on today’s final stage.
    Hermen Kobus is going well in his ŠKODA Fabia R5, and with a new car on a new event, the Dutch driver was rightly pleased with to be ninth after a good leg one performance. Antonín Tlusťák damaged the front of his Tajmac-ZPS Fabia S2000 on SS2, but a good run sees him complete the top 10.
    GPD Orsák Rally Sport Fabia S2000 team-mates Petter Kristiansen and Martin Hudec are enjoying themselves. The Norwegian driver is 17th after a trouble-free day, while the Czech former motocross rider is 18th on only his second rally since the Circuit of Ireland.
    Plenty of other drivers hit problems on leg one. SS4 was stopped after Martin Vlček crashed his ŠKODA Fabia S2000 into a gas pipe, and escaping gas forced a re-route of competitors! Sepp Wiegand had a disastrous start when an injector problem slowed his GPD Orsák Rally Sport-run ŠKODA Fabia S2000 on the opening Zlín super special. With no power, he pulled over to let a faster car overtake, but in doing so hit some railings and broke the right rear suspension. The 2014 ERC vice-champion then had to stop and replace a puncture on SS7.
    Number six seed Jaromír Tarabus stopped in SS3 with an electrical fault that led to a failure of his ŠKODA Fabia R5’s high-pressure fuel pump. Ford Fiesta R5 driver Roman Odložilik hit a log that stops drivers from cutting corners, and broke the connection to the left-front wheel. Raul Jeets crashed his MM-Motorsport Ford Fiesta R5 into a house on SS4 and Tomáš Kostka retired his stunning green Fabia R5 from fourth place after SS7.

    MotoGP : Marquez en pole à Silverstone / Silverstone pole for Marquez


    Vainqueur en 2014, Marc Marquez (Team Honda Repsol) a décroché sa sixième pole position de la saison en signant un nouveau record du tour lors des essais qualificatifs du Grand Prix de Grande-Bretagne, 12ème manche du Championnat du monde MotoGP à Silverstone.
    Le double champion du monde en titre a bouclé un premier tour rapide en 2.00.564 battant ainsi son propre record (2.00.691). L’Espagnol a enfoncé le clou quelques minutes plus tard en signant 2.00.234 lui assurant ainsi une sixième pole position de la saison.
    Leader du championnat à égalité de points avec Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) n’a pu rivaliser avec Marc Marquez pour la pole mais se place en première ligne en deuxième position. Avec 2.00.522, c’est le seul pilote à avoir battu l’ancien record de Marquez.
    Dani Pedrosa (Team Honda Repsol) complète une première ligne 100 % espagnole en 2.00.716.
    En retrait lors des essais libres, Valentino Rossi s’est ressaisi lors des qualifications pour se hisser sur la deuxième ligne (2.00.947), dernier pilote à être descendu en dessous de la barre des 2.01. Il devance les deux pilotes du team satellites Monster Yamaha Tech 3, Pol Espargaro (2.01.031) et Bradley Smith (2.01.140) qui évolue à domicile.
                            
    Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) et Andrea Iannone (Ducati) occupent la  troisième ligne. 
    Pilotes les plus rapides de la Q1, Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar) et Yonny Hernández (Octo Pramac Racing) sont parvenus à gagner une place en Q2 en finissant devant Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati), seulement douzième sur la grille de départ signant ainsi sa plus mauvaise qualification depuis Assen 2013. 
    Loris Baz (Forward Racing) s’est classé quinzième derrière Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) et son ancien coéquipier Stefan Bradl (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini).
                              Baz se qualifie premier de la catégorie Open en Angleterre
    The 2014 British GP winner Marc Marquez (Team Honda Repsol) collected his sixth qualifying victory of the season thanks to a new lap record for the British track, host of Round 12 of the 2015 MotoGP World Championship.
                             Márquez : « J’aurais pu être très proche des 1’59 »
    Marquez began by posting a benchmark of 2m0.564s to beat his own record before sealing his sixth pole position of the season moments later with a 2m0.234s.
    Joint championship leader Jorge Lorenzo (equal with his Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team-mate Valentino Rossi) failed to challenge but will start from second on the grid. His time of 20.522s also bettered the existing record.
                            Lorenzo : « Satisfait d’être en première ligne »
    Dani Pedrosa (Team Honda Repsol, 2m0.716s) will make it an all-Spanish front row.
    Valentino Rossi recovered from a slowish free practice performance to clinch a second-row start and was the only other rider to get below the 2m1s mark (2m0.947s). He finished clear of Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Pol Espargaro (2m1.031s) and home hero Bradley Smith (2m1.140s).
                          
    Row 3 will be the property of Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Andrea Iannone (Ducati). 
                          MGP-12-Aleix Espargaro-30
    The fastest Q1 runners Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and Yonny Hernández (Octo Pramac Racing) earned a slot in Q2 by lapping faster than Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) who will start from 12th, his worst qualifying position since Assen 2013. 
                           LBQ1Silv
    Loris Baz (Forward Racing) was 15th behind Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and his former team-mate Stefan Bradl (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini).

    Freefly Systems ALTA // Swing Arm City (Behind The Scenes)

    Freefly Systems gave us the chance to take the ALTA for a test spin in the desert.. so we loaded up our friends, forgot all our water and, took it to Swing Arm City.

    Freefly Systems ALTA // Swing Arm City (Behind The Scenes) from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.