Camp4 Car Reel

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Hołowczyc wins LOTTO Baja Poland

For the second time in a row and fifth in his career 

Krzysztof Hołowczyc (MINI 4All Racing) won LOTTO Baja Poland, eight round of this year's FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies. LOTTO Rally Team driver took the rally lead during the first running of nearly 150-kilometer long stage held at the military training ground in Drawsko Pomorskie. Overall, Hołowczyc together with his co- driver Łukasz Kurzeja, has won two out of five stages of the rally. Second place went to Nasser Al-Attiyah (also in a MINI), who extended his lead in the FIA World Cup. The podium was completed by a Dutch-Belgian pairing of Bernhard Ten Brinke and Tom Colsoul (Toyota Hilux Overdrive). After the rally come to an end Hołowczyc announced his retirement from cross-country rallying after a decade-long career highlighted by a Dakar podium finish earlier this year.

Final act of the rally, second running of the stage “Dobra” located by the rally park in Szczecin, was interrupted by a downpour. However the weather didn't have any impact on the front-runners. Hołowczyc, chasing his fifth victory in the rally, drove preservative being 20 second slower compared to his own time from the first running of the stage. The Pole, despite being 23 second slower than the Qatari at the final stage of the rally, won comfortably with over 7-minute advantage. Third driver of the rally Bernhard Ten Brinke won the first running of “Dobra” test. Making his comeback after a back injury Martin Kaczmarski, ended-up just outside the podium. Former motorcycle rider Marek Dąbrowski (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) finished fifth, ahead of another two-wheel specialist Jakub Przygoński (MINI All4 Racing) who was making his off-road car debut. Further places went to Adam Małysz (MINI All4 Racing), Miroslav Zapletal (H3 Evo) and Paweł Molgo (Toyota Hilux Overdrive).

In the T2 category Jarosław Kazberuk and Robin Szustkowski (Ford Raptor), representing LOTTO School of Champions, had an impressive run, taking the lead after the first running of the stage “Poligon Drawsko”. On Sunday the duo, due to a technical failure, lost their T2-category lead, however they were fastest on the final test. Eventually the victory in T2 went to Denis Berezovskiy / Ignat Falkov (Nissan Patrol Y62) of Kazakhstan. Klaudia Podkalicka (Mitsubishi Pajero) did a good job and finally ended up second in the T2 category. T3 was won by, known from traditional rallying, Aron Domżała and Szymon Gospodarczyk.

LOTTO Baja Poland was also a round of Polish Championship for Cross Country Rallies, where the victory went to Hołowczyc, ahead of Ten Brinken and Kaczmarski. 

In the FIA CEZ in T1 group Krzyszof Hołowczyc took the victory, in T2 Klaudia Podkalicka, in T3 Aron Domżała and in TH Piotr Gadomski.

In the Polish Cross Country Cup in S1 group Piotr Bugajski / Kamil Nowak (Nissan Patrol) took the victory, while Tomasz Stokłosa and Karol Trzebny (Mitsubishi Pajero) were the fastest in S2. Sebastian Kałużny (Husaberg FE03) was the fastest motorcycle rider, Paweł Samek (Suzuki LTR 450) was the best of two-wheel drive quads, Arkadiusz Lindner among four-wheel drive quads (Can-Am Renegade), while Łukasz Szymczak and Artur Jankowski (Can-Am Maverick) won the UTV category.

LOTTO Baja Poland 2015 leaders: 

SS 1: Nasser Al-Attiyah 

SS 2 – 5: Krzysztof Hołowczyc 

LOTTO Baja Poland 2015 stage winners: 

SS 1: Nasser Al-Attiyah 

SS 2: Krzysztof Hołowczyc 

OS 3: Krzysztof Hołowczyc 

SS 4: Bernhard Ten Brinke 

SS 2: Nasser Al-Attiyah 

FIA World Cup for Cross Contry Rallies standings after LOTTO Baja Poland 2015: 

1 Nasser Al-Attiyah: 201 

2 Vladimir Vasilyev: 179 

3 Reinaldo Varela: 97 

4 Marek Dąbrowski: 92 

5 Miroslav Zapletal: 84 

Quotes after LOTTO Baja Poland 2015: 

Krzysztof Hołowczyc / Łukasz Kurzeja (MINI All4Racing): 
- It all went really well for us. Now the really is over. Always up until the last moment you never know what is going to happened, but a few corners away from the finish line we know that we have won the rally. We didn't put a wheel wrong over the course of the rally and we managed to keep some big names behind. Nasser arrived here very tired and that played a role for sure. I've managed to maintain the gap even though he tried to push. Winning in front of your home crowd is something special. My co-driver was making his cross-country debut, but we worked really well together.

Nasser Al-Attiyah / Matthieu Baumel (MINI All4Racing):
- It wasn't an easy rally, but obviously we're really happy. Second place is very good in terms of the FIA Word Cup season standings. I would like to congratulate Krzysztof, he drove really well. I wish to take part in the rally also next year. 

Bernhard Ten Brinke / Tom Colsoul (Toyota Hilux Overdrive): 
- It was great rally for us. Baja Poland is an amazing, but a very specific event. It's very hard to compete against Mini which, thanks to its diesel engine, has a lot more torque. We have a petrol engine in our Toyota that plays to our disadvantage mainly in a sandy terrain.

Martin Kaczmarski / Tapio Suominen (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):
- I'm fourth and I have to take it as a success. We're made it to the end in one piece, so I'm very pleased. I regret that we have lost third place. The podium wasn't far away. Today's stage wasn't my favourite. I was simply scared to run that fast between the trees. 

Marek Dąbrowski / Jacek Czachor (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):
- Sunday was really good, we were really quick on the stages, whereas yesterday we were struggling with the set-up. All in all, I'm happy with the result.

Jakub Przygoński / Andreas Schulz (MINI All4Racing): 

- I'm really happy. Together with my co-driver we have kept really good pace. Our progression is our priority at the moment. I think that quite soon we should reduce the gap to the front-runners. Morocco is going to our next rally.

Adam Małysz / Xavier Panseri (MINI All4Racing): 

- It wasn't the best rally for us. I haven't been driving a rally car since may and I could feel that. Drivers who drive more than us have the experience on their side.

Zarco s’impose en solitaire à Silverstone/ Zarco takes fifth win of season in Moto2™

Le leader de la catégorie Moto2™ a été intraitable dans une course commencée sur piste mouillée et finie sur le sec.

              

Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) a excellé dans des conditions très difficiles au Grand Prix Octo de Grande-Bretagne pour décrocher sa cinquième victoire de la saison, la deuxième consécutive suite à celle de Brno, dans une épreuve que les pilotes avaient commencée sur piste mouillée. 

Concurrencé par Tito Rabat (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), Álex Rins (Páginas Amarillas HP 40), Álex Márquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) et Jonas Folger (AGR Team) en début de course, le Français a réalisé un dépassement décisif sur Rins dans le huitième des dix-huit tours de la course et a pris trois secondes et demie d’avance sur ses poursuivants en l’espace de deux tours. 

Alors que la piste séchait et que de nombreux pilotes se retrouvaient en difficulté sur des pneus pluie qui surchauffaient et offraient de moins en moins de grip, Zarco n’a eu qu’à calmement gérer son avance pour s’assurer une victoire indiscutable et poursuivre sa série record avec un onzième podium consécutif.

Vainqueur devant Rins et Rabat, qui a fait une courte sortie de piste en fin de course, Zarco porte son avance au Championnat à 85 points sur Rins, qui repasse devant Rabat, le Champion en titre, désormais à 88 points du Français. Malgré un pneu arrière complètement détruit en fin de course, Rabat a réalisé son meilleur temps sur le dernier tour afin de s’assurer la troisième place.

Après une très bonne course en République Tchèque, Márquez, le Champion du Monde Moto3™ 2014, a confirmé ses récents progrès en finissant à nouveau à la quatrième place, juste derrière Rabat et devant Jonas Folger (AGR Team). 

                

Qualifié en pole position, Sam Lowes (Speed Up Racing) a manqué son entame de course et a terminé avec une bien décevante sixième place à domicile, alors que les conditions semblaient idéales pour le pilote anglais. 

Autre spécialiste des courses sous la pluie, Anthony West (QMMF Racing) a pris la septième place devant Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP), Tom Lüthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten) et Ricky Cardús (JPMoto Malaysia), dixième avec trois secondes d’avance sur son ancien coéquipier Marcel Schrötter (Tech3 Racing).

Louis Rossi (Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2) a dû passer aux stands en début de course en raison d’un problème technique et est reparti sans changer de pneus pour finir en 27e position. 

Florian Alt (E-Motion IodaRacing Team) a été le seul pilote à miser sur les pneus slicks dès le début de la course et s’est arrêté juste avant Rossi, un pari qui n’a pas fonctionné puisque le jeune Allemand a terminé à la 24e place, devant Xavier Siméon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), lui aussi passé sur slicks un peu plus tard.

Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.

             

Johann Zarco extends his championship lead after a commanding race win in the wet, with Alex Rins and Tito Rabat completing the podium.

Ajo Motorsport’s Johann Zarco made it 11 podiums in a row and extended his lead in the Moto2™ World Championship standings after taking a commanding win during a wet race at the Octo British Grand Prix. The Frenchman crossed the line 3.360s ahead of Paginas Amarillas HP40’s Alex Rins, with Tito Rabat on the EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex completing the podium.

Heavy rain during the morning’s Warm Up session saw all the riders line up on the grid with wet tyres but it had stopped by the time the lights went out, leading to a dramatic and tense race. Frenchman Zarco showed that he was the master in the wet as he managed to preserve his tyres when a dry racing line appeared while many others struggled.

Zarco, starting from 3rd on the grid, was involved in an excellent early battle with Rabat and Rins with the three riders swapping the lead numerous times. On the second lap Zarco and Rabat almost touched, with Zarco running wide and dropping back to fifth. It took him until lap seven to work his way back to the front and take the lead. Zarco immediately set about creating a gap at the front as the others seemed to suffer from greater tyre degradation. By lap thirteen the gap between Zarco and second placed Rabat had reached 8 seconds.  There was a slight scare for the championship leader as Rins started to close him down in the final stages but he responded to take his 6th career GP victory by a comfortable margin.

               

Rookie Rins came out on top in an excellent scrap for second between himself, and the two EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex’s off Rabat and Alex Marquez. Rins made a move with 5 laps to go to secure second for his own, leapfrogging Rabat in the championship standings in the process.

              

Rabat (+5.527s) had led into the first corner and looked liked he could match the pace of Zarco in the early stages of the race, but after 8 laps you could visually see the rubber flying off his tyres. The reigning Moto2™ World Champion ran wide while fighting with his teammate Marquez for third on the penultimate lap, but managed to recover to take third and secure his fifth podium of the season.

Marquez (+6.489s) came from ninth on the gird to take his second fourth position in a row ahead of AGR Team’s Jonas Folger (+8.228s). Pole man and local hero, Speed Up Racing’s Sam Lowes, had a terrible start and was down in eighth by the end of the first lap. The British rider responded in front of his passionate home fans and fought back to cross the line in sixth.

             

Australian wet race specialist Anthony West (QMMF Racing) fought his way from 22nd on the grid to claim seventh. Sandro Cortese (Dynavolt Intact GP), Thomas Luthi (Derendinger Racing Interwetten), and Ricard Cardus (JP Moto Malaysia) completed the top ten.

There were crashes for wildcard Bradley Ray (FAB-Racing), Forward Racing duo Lorenzo Baldassari and Simone Corsi, plus Thitipong Warokorn (APH PTT The Pizza SAG).

Check out the full Moto2™ race results, and the latest Moto2™ World Championship standings.

Up next is the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini on 11th-13th September.

Rossi reprend la main avec un premier succès à Silverstone / Rain-master Rossi rules at Silverstone

L’Italien s’est imposé en maître sous la pluie au Grand Prix Octo de Grande-Bretagne.

Rattrapé par son coéquipier Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) au sommet du classement général suite à la victoire de ce dernier à Brno, Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) a réussi à reprendre l’avantage dans la lutte pour le titre MotoGP™ 2015 en réalisant une course tout simplement parfaite à Silverstone. 

Installés sur la grille sur pneus slick alors que la pluie commençait à s’intensifier, tous les pilotes sont rentrés aux stands à l’issue du tour de chauffe afin de changer de machines et de partir de la pit-lane, une situation inédite et dangereuse qui a rapidement été résolue par un drapeau rouge pour réinitialiser la procédure de départ, avec une course cette fois-ci déclarée sur piste mouillée. 

Second sur la grille, Lorenzo a réalisé le holeshot pour mener durant les deux premiers tours, avant d’être repris par Rossi et Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), qui était en pole position. Ces deux derniers n’ont pas tardé à faire la différence sur leurs poursuivants alors que Lorenzo, visiblement peu à l’aise sur piste mouillée, perdait plusieurs positions. 

Márquez a poursuivi Rossi jusqu’à perdre le contrôle de sa RC213V dans le virage n°1, à Copse, dans une chute dont il n’a pas pu repartir. Six secondes derrière Rossi, Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) et Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) se retrouvaient soudainement aux seconde et troisième positions. En pleine confiance, Petrucci a animé la fin de course en prenant l’avantage sur son compatriote et en rattrapant une grosse partie de son retard sur Rossi, pour finalement franchir la ligne d’arrivée trois secondes après le nonuple Champion du Monde. Le pilote de Terni s’offrait ainsi un superbe premier podium en Grand Prix, devant Dovizioso, qui retrouvait les places d’honneur après une série de résultats décevants. 

Quatrième à l’arrivée après être parvenu à se défaire de Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda), Lorenzo concédait douze points à Rossi avant les six dernières courses de la saison tandis que Márquez, suite à son abandon, se retrouvait à 77 points de l’Italien. 

Derrière Pedrosa, qui a fini cinq secondes derrière Lorenzo, Scott Redding (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) s’est offert la sixième place, son meilleur résultat en MotoGP™, en allant chercher son compatriote Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) en fin de course et en s’imposant sur ce dernier. 

Andrea Iannone (Ducati), Aleix Espargaró (Team Suzuki Ecstar) et Álvaro Bautista (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) complétaient le Top 10 devant Maverick Viñales (Team Suzuki Ecstar) et Nicky Hayden (Aspar MotoGP Team), qui remportait la victoire en catégorie Open pour la deuxième fois de l’année, devant Héctor Barberá (Avintia Racing) et Mike Di Meglio (Avintia Racing). 

Pilote Open le mieux qualifié, Loris Baz (Forward Racing) a fini seizième. 

Tombé dès le premier tour, Yonny Hernández (Octo Pramac Racing) avait été le premier abandonné et a plus tard été rejoint par Jack Miller (LCR Honda), qui a fauché son coéquipier Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) en chutant. Le Britannique est rentré aux stands pour ensuite repartir mais a finalement dû jeter l’éponge après une seconde chute. Sont également tombés Pol Espargaró (Monster Yamaha Tech3), qui avait pris l’avantage sur Smith dans la lutte pour la sixième place, et Stefan Bradl (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini). 

Cliquez ici pour accéder aux résultats.

                  

Valentino Rossi claims his fourth win of the season after a masterful ride in the wet, with Petrucci and Dovizioso completing the podium.

Movistar Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi produced a fearless ride in the rain to claim his first ever victory at Silverstone, and open up a 12 point lead in the MotoGP™ World Championship standings over his teammate Jorge Lorenzo.

There was drama before the lights even went out at Silverstone as it was originally declared a dry race, but rain on the grid prompted every rider to return to the pits on their warm up lap to swap for wets. This led to a 30-minute delay to allow the teams and riders to safely reform back on the grid.

When the action started in anger, Rossi enjoyed a solid start, before moving his way up from 4th on the grid to take the lead on just the second lap. Rossi managed to pass his teammate and main title rival Lorenzo at Village corner, much to the delight of the 73,000 fans at the legendary Silverstone Circuit.

He then tried to break away at the front, with only Marc Marquez on the Repsol Honda able to stay with him. Lap after lap Rossi and Marquez pulled away at the front, opening up a gap of 7 seconds to the 3rd placed Petrucci by just the ninth lap. The 36-year-old Italian was setting a blistering pace in the dreadful conditions, and it proved too much for even Marquez. The reigning MotoGP™ World Champion crashed out on lap 13 at Copse Corner to effectively end any chance he had of defending his title. The Spaniard now trails Rossi by 77 points in the standings, with just 6 races remaining.

Without Marquez to push him, Rossi seemed to relax and at one point it seemed as if the chasing Ducati’s of Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso would close him down towards the end of the race. Petrucci had reduced the gap to just 1.6s with two laps remaining, but Rossi got a signal from his pit board and upped the pace once more. The ‘Doctor’ going to take the race win by 3.010s

Octo Pramac Racing’s Danilo Petrucci delivered an incredible ride to secure his first ever MotoGP™ podium as the leading Satellite rider. The Italian, starting from 18th on the grid, rode through the pack superbly before getting involved in an excellent battle for second with Dovizioso on the factory Ducati Team GP15. Petrucci’s GP14 is known as a good bike to ride in the wet and he made sure that he secured his best ever MotoGP™ career result to the delight of his team.

Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso (+4.117s) completed an all-Italian podium to equal his best results of the season in Assen. The former 125cc World Champion started form 12th on the grid but rode superbly in the tricky conditions to secure his 29th MotoGP™ Podium.

Rossi’s main title rival and teammate Jorge Lorenzo (+5.726s) had a frustrating race. The double MotoGP™ World Champion led into the first corner, but found himself dropping back through the field at an alarming rate. At one point Lorenzo was as low as sixth before he seemed to recover and fought back to cross the line in fourth, limiting the damage to his title chances.

Dani Pedrosa (+11.132s) on the second Repsol Honda battled hard throughout the race to secure fifth spot. The Spaniard was right in the mix for the podium during the race but started to drop back in the latter stages, eventually crossing the line over 5 seconds behind Lorenzo.

EG 0,0 Marc VDS’s Scott Redding (+25.467s) won the ‘Battle of the Brits’ as he pulled off his the best result of his MotoGP™ career in front of his passionate home support. His compatriot Bradley Smith on the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha was a further second back, after he enjoyed a race long battle with his teammate Pol Espargaro, before the Spaniard crashed out at turn 3 on lap 14.

Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) finished in eighth ahead of the Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR of Aleix Espargaro in ninth.  Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s Alvaro Bautista secured the teams first top-ten finish on their return to the premier class.

Nicky Hayden (Aspar MotoGP Team) was the leading Open Honda in 12th ahead of the Avintia Racing duo of Hector Barberaand Mike Di Meglio, while his teammate Eugene Laverty crossed the line in 17th.

LCR Honda pair Cal Crutchlow and Jack Miller both enjoyed excellent starts to the race and found themselves battling for the final podium spot. Unfortunately Miller would take out his British teammate at Vale on the 3rd lap, with both men forced to retire. Stefan Bradl (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) also crashed out of the race with 8 laps to go.

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

Up next is round 13 in the MotoGP™ World Championship the Gran Premio TIM di San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini on 11th-13th September.

FIRST DANCE - Derek Bell, 1970 Ferrari 512M

(Part 1)

FIRST DANCE - Derek Bell, 1970 Ferrari 512M (Part 1) from Blackbird Automotive on Vimeo.

(Part 2)

FIRST DANCE - Derek Bell, 1970 Ferrari 512M (Part 2) from Blackbird Automotive on Vimeo.

J&P Cycles Sportster by RSD

Some said I was just doing what I was built to do. They'd say I was strong, made in America with American hands. That I could handle just about anything and to tell you the truth I did. And if you'd of told me I was going to get a complete redo I wouldn't of believed it. But I'm living proof, anything can happen and it probably will.

Ralph Lauren’s Automotive watches are perfect for Pebble Beach

You’ll see plenty of automotive-themed watches worn on the concours lawns at Pebble Beach this week. But perhaps the most apt is the Automotive Skeleton, the latest timepiece from the car-themed collection based on Ralph Lauren’s Pebble Beach-winning Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic…

Concours winner on the wrist

When the Automotive Skeleton was revealed in January this year, it became the latest addition to the Ralph Lauren Automotive Collection, which takes design inspiration from the fashion sage’s famous, curvaceous Bugatti. It features Amboyna Burl wood bezels and Elm Burl wood dials set in a shot-blasted, matt-satin skeletal case, which shows glimpses of the IWC movement, modified for purpose by Val Fleurier.

Photos: Ralph Lauren

You can find thousands of classic watches for sale in the Classic Driver Market.

China Grand Rally

Après un Dakar 2015 riche en enseignements, Peugeot Sport s'attaque à un nouveau défi : le China Silk Road Rally (initialement nommé China Grand Rally). C’est avec deux équipages 100% français que le Team Peugeot Total va disputer la troisième édition de cette épreuve dont la promotion et la direction sont assurées par Hubert Auriol (63 ans, triple vainqueur du Paris-Dakar) épaulé par Gilles Picard pour le road-book. Côté pilotes et copilotes, on retrouvera le duo Stéphane Peterhansel / Jean-Paul Cottret au volant de la première PEUGEOT 2008 DKR. L’autre voiture sera emmenée par Cyril Despres, navigué par David Castera.

RENDEZ-VOUS EN TERRE INCONNUE

Après l’Afrique et l’Amérique du Sud, c’est en Asie que, pour la première fois en rallye-raid, Peugeot Sport va éprouver ses machines dans des paysages grandioses traversant la Chine d’Est en Ouest. Sable, oueds, terrains meubles, durs ou caillouteux… rien ne sera épargné aux concurrents de cette épreuve longue de près de 6000 kilomètres et qui seront amenés à gravir la plus haute dune d’Asie culminant à 1609 mètres d’altitude ! Avec de nouvelles séances d’essais et quelques évolutions sur la PEUGEOT 2008 DKR, la confiance est de mise pour ce nouveau challenge grandeur nature dans « l’Empire du Milieu ».

BRUNO FAMIN, DIRECTEUR DE PEUGEOT SPORT (AVRIL 2015)

Nous avons programmé une séance par mois d’ici au Dakar 2016. Nous sommes confiants dans le concept et dans le potentiel d’évolution de la voiture mais la complexité vient une fois encore du timing qui est très serré. Notre programme d’essais et de développement est ambitieux. Nous avons d’ores et déjà avancé sur la performance moteur mais aussi sur le poids. Nous allons travailler les suspensions dans le but d’augmenter la vitesse de passage sur les obstacles. Côté châssis, c’est la stabilité de la PEUGEOT 2008 DKR que nous voulons améliorer en augmentant la largeur des voies d’une vingtaine de centimètre et l’empattement d’autant. Cette dernière évolution majeure n’apparaitra que pour sur le Dakar 2016.

 

LE PARCOURS DU CHINA SILK ROAD RALLY EN DÉTAIL

30 août : SS1 (Xi’An - Zhongwei). 102 km. Altitude max : 1934m. Sol dur / Terre et parfois pierres.
31 août : SS2 (Zhongwei - Alxa Zuoqi). 63 km. Altitude max : 1500m. Sable 10%.
01 septembre : SS3 (Alxa Zuoqi - Alxa Zuoqi). 153 km. Altitude max : 1400m. Sable 10 %.
02 septembre : SS4 (Alxa Zuoqi - Eji Naqi). 204 km. Altitude max : 1680m. Sol Dur 70% / Sable 30%.
03 septembre : SS5 (Eji Naqi - Alxa Youqi). 272 km. Altitude max : 1600m. Dur / Meuble / Dur / Sable.
04 septembre : SS6 (Alxa Youqi - Alxa Youqi). 202 km. Altitude max : 1800m. Sablonneux / Dur / Sable et dunes.
05 septembre : SS7 (Alxa Youqi - Alxa Youqi). 237 km. Altitude max : 1750m. Oued sablonneux / dur.
06 septembre : SS8 (Alxa Youqi-Zhangye). 167 km. Altitude max : 1600m. 100% sable dunes.
07 septembre : SS9 (Matinée de repos - Zhangye- Zhangye Desert Park 14h). 2 km. Altitude max : 1600m. Dur / Meuble / Dur / Sable.
08 septembre : SS10 (Zhangye-Jiuquan). 176 km. Altitude max : 1900m. Dur / Sablonneux.
09 septembre : SS11 (Jiuquan-Dunhuang). 244 km. Altitude max : 1700m. Rapide sur sol dur / Pierres / Oued sablonneux.
10 septembre : SS12 (Dunhuang-Dunhuang). 222 km. Altitude max : 2500m. Sable 50% / Dur 50%
11 septembre : SS13 (Dunhuang-Dunhuang) . 162 km. Altitude max : 2500m. Caillouteux / Oued / Sablonneux / Pierres

Distance totale spéciales : 2205,71 kilomètres
Distance totale rallye : 5656,13 kilomètres (avec liaisons)

PALMARÈS

Vainqueur auto 2014 : Christian Lavieille (Haval)
Vainqueur auto 2013 : Zhou Yong (Haval)
(Le China Silk Road Rally est une course ouverte aux autos, camions, motos, SSV et quads.)

VIDÉOS

Résumé 2014
http://chinarally.hubertauriol.fr/haval-team-videos-lets-go-back-to-cgr-2014
Résumé  2013
http://chinarally.hubertauriol.fr/china-grand-rally-2013-videos

LA ROUTE DE LA SOIE (SILK ROAD) ?

La Route de la Soie est à l’origine un vaste réseau de routes commerciales, maritimes et terrestres qui relie la Chine à l'Occident. C’est l'un des meilleurs exemples de commerce international à travers les âges. Elle tire bien évidemment son nom de la marchandise qui y transitait : la soie. Bien que l’on trouve des traces de cette voie de communication 2000 ans avant notre ère, cette route se développe surtout à partir du IIe siècle après JC sous la dynastie Han. La soie, très coûteuse, était utilisée comme monnaie pour, entre autre, financer la guerre entre les Han et les Xiongnu, de redoutables chevaliers. Cette route fut peu à peu abandonnée à partir du XVe siècle.

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Baja Poland : Hołowczyc knockouts the competition

Krzysztof Hołowczyc and Łukasz Kurzeja (Mini 4All Racing) took a commanding lead during the first running of the 144-kilometer long special stage held at a military training ground in Drawsko Pomorskie. The stage opened Saturday's leg of this year's LOTTO Baja Poland. Four-time event winner was more than four minutes faster then Nasser Al- Attiyah in a similar car. An impressive third time was set by Martin Kaczmarski who makes his debut behind the wheel of a Toyota Hilux Overdrive.

During yesterday's draft Hołowczyc chose to be the first car on the road, expecting that his good knowledge of the military area will play into his hands. Former European Rally Champion made the right call and was in a class of its own, beating two-time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al- Attiyah. Despite a severe time loose the Qatari was happy after the stage and stressed that his unfamiliarity was the main reason for loosing to Hołowczyc.

Martin Kaczmarski, who comes back to the sport after months of recovery from a back injury, turned out to be the revelation of the rally. After the stage Martin praised the organizers of LOTTO Baja Poland for preparing the rally at the highest level. Interestingly, Martin's co-driver, Tapio Suominen won the first round of this year's FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies, Baja Russia, as a driver. Two Dutch drivers ended up just behind Kaczmarski. Also driving a Toyota, Bernhard Ten Brinken (with his Belgian co-driver Tom Colsoul) finished fourth, ahead of his compatriot Erik Van Loon in another Mini.

Fourth driver of yesterday's super stage Marek Dąbrowski was off the pace this time and finished sixth, due to a power loose in his Toyota Hilux.

Vladimir Vasilyev, second in the FIA World Cup standings at the moment, finished behind Dąbrowski, complaining about recent lack of seat time in an off-road rally car. Ninth was, making his cross country car debut, Jakub Przygoński, who finished in front of two Toyotas of Paweł Molgo/Janusz Jandrowicz and former Baja Poland winner Alexander Zheludov/Anton Nikolaev.

Adam Małysz, co-driven by three time Polish rally champion Xavier Panseri, had his fair share of bad luck. Former ski jumping legend got lost and got a puncture what resulted in loosing 11 minutes.

Quotes after the second special stage of LOTTO Baja Poland:

Krzysztof Hołowczyc / Łukasz Kurzeja (MINI All4Racing):

– I've never had a suspension like this in my life. The car is amazing. They have improved so many aspects over the last six months I've been out of the car.

Bernhard Ten Brinke / Tom Colsoul (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):

– It was good after the start but, we pushed, but later we made a mistake and lost around 1.5 minute. In general it wasn't that bad.

Nasser Al-Attiyah / Matthieu Baumel (MINI All4Racing):

– It wasn't easy. We didn't know much about the stage. We did a good job and I'm quite happy, but Hołowczyc set an incredible time.

                                      

Martin Kaczmarski / Tapio Suominen (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):

– To be honest, I'm very pleasantly surprised with the stage, it was prepared superbly. Congratulations to the organizers. The car is brilliant, co-driver even better, and the driver... well, we will know after the final results of the rally. The stage was really nice, fast and I'm really pleased.

                          

Erik Van Loon / Wouter Rosegaar (MINI All4Racing):

– I've never been here. It's a new stage for me but it's a beautiful stage, very intense, twisty, with a lot of jumps. Everything was here. I've made a small mistake and lost a little bit of time but overall I'm satisfied.

Jakub Przygoński / Andreas Schulz (MINI All4Racing):

– It was and incredible stage. I really enjoyed driving here and we managed kept a good pace all the time. The car was brilliant and we had no navigation problems.

                        

LOTTO Rally Team’s Krzysztof Hołowczyc has confirmed his words that the military area around Drawsko Pomorskie is his natural environment. The Olsztyn resident co-driven by Łukasz Kurzeja (MINI All4Racing) set the fastest time on the Saturday’s last stage and now has an over 6-minute advantage over two time Dakar Rally winner Nasser Al-Attiyah competing behind the wheel of MINI as well. Before the Sunday’s rivalry, Hołowczyc has a commanding lead and targets his fifth triumph in LOTTO Baja Poland. Third overall lies Martin Kaczmarski – the fastest Toyota driver so far.

After a break in the service park located in the Rally Town in Drawsko Pomorskie, all crews once again went to the military ground for the second stage of the day. Once again, being first on the road Krzysztof Hołowczyc, who needed one and a half hours to overcome 144 kilometers in the sand and dust, took the fastest time. His result was almost 2 minutes worse than that which he obtained on the morning loop, but it was enough for gaining another scratch time. As expected, it was Nasser Al-Attiyah who crossed the chequered flag, as a second competitor with LOTTO Rally Team’s Martin Kaczmarski on the third spot.

It is interesting that 4^th place tie took guests from the Netherlands - Erik Van Loon (MINI All4Racing) and Bernhard Ten Brinke (Toyota Hilux Overdrive). Sixth place on the second run of section in Drawsko Pomorskie received Marek Dąbrowski and Jacek Czachor (Toyota Hilux Overdrive), who by the way have dismissed that the reason for their worse time one the first run of “Poligon Drawski" stage was caused by engine. According to Dąbrowski it was suspension that was set up inappropriately.

Seventh, this time, took Adam Małysz, who improved his previous result by more than 4 minutes, so before the Sunday’s competition, he moved up two positions. Jakub Przygoński (MINI All4Racing) is also improving his skills behind the wheel of the car and during the afternoon test he overtook the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies runner-up Vladimir Vasilyev. Baja Poland 2013 winner Alexander Zheludov (Toyota Hilux Overdrive) closes the top ten in the overall classification.

This is not the end of the excitement in this year's LOTTO Baja Poland. After Saturday's tough stages, competitors will face a double run of 65-kilometre “Dobra” test located near Szczecin. We should know the name of the winner of the eight round of the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies on Sunday afternoon August 30^th.

Quotes after SS3 of LOTTO Baja Poland 2015:

Krzysztof Hołowczyc / Łukasz Kurzeja (MINI All4Racing):
– We've won both stages and I'm already 6 minutes ahead of Nasser. I'm really happy and I wish to finish every day of a rally in a fashion like this. The advantage gives us a certain comfort zone, but we all know how cruel motor sport can be. Tomorrow there are two difficult stages awaiting us, so anything can happen. However the most important is the fact that, after being six months out of the car, I instantly felt at home in it. To be honest I was a little surprised when I realized that we won the first today's stage with 4 minutes over Nasser. We've drove really cleanly and I would like to thank my co-driver, Łukasz, who has kept pushing me.
                      
Nasser Al-Attiyah / Matthieu Baumel (MINI All4Racing): 
 –  I'm pleased with a quite good second place. During the second run of the stage at military training ground in Drawsko we had a puncture, that's why we've lost so much time. Given the circumstances, I've decided to focus on the points to the FIA World Cup for Cross Country Rallies which I would like to win this year rather than victory in this event. Nevertheless tomorrow I would like to speed up and put some pressure on Krzysztof.

Martin Kaczmarski / Tapio Suominen (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):
 – It was a great day for me. Espacially that this is my first cross country event after a year-long sabbatical. I equally happy and surprised with a third place. Above all, it was possible thanks to great effort of the team and my co-driver. Second running of the stage was a bit more difficult for me as I still suffer from a back pain. I'm really happy that there's plenty of Polish supporters along the stages. That helps me a lot. I'm also impressed with the organizers and how amazing stages they prepared.

Bernhard Ten Brinke / Tom Colsoul (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):
– The beginning of the second running of the stage was really good. We had a strong pace and as far as I know we were around second or third place most of the time. In the latter part of the stage Nasser caught up with us and used the Sentinel system. Later on he had a puncture and we overtook him. It cost us nearly a minute.

Erik Van Loon / Wouter Rosegaar (MINI All4Racing):
– Second running of the stage at the military training ground for sure was more bumpy than the first one. There was much more ruts. This is the first time I'm taking part in this rally so it's not easy to be fast right away. At the end it was a good day.

Marek Dąbrowski / Jacek Czachor (Toyota Hilux Overdrive):
– We got the set-up right during the second running of the stage and it was much better then the during the first one where I think I was driving to slowly. I should have been pushing a lot more.

Jakub Przygoński / Andreas Schulz (MINI All4Racing):
– The second running of the stage was much more difficult than the first one because there was plenty of wheel-ruts. I feel more and more comfortable in the car and I'm loosing less and less to the front-runners, so there is a progression. I'm really happy and I would like to thank my co-driver.

Adam Małysz / Xavier Panseri (MINI All4Racing):
– Surely it was better then the first running of the stage, but I'm still lacking the right rhythm. W lost the momentum on the first running of the stage and it was hard to bounce back. Happily enough we had no more adventures and we're still in the fight! 

                        

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 3^e et 4^e 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 2^e (N°8) et 3^e (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.