M O T O R S P O R T N E W S 2015 International Edition - January 2015 BELGIUM Nascar Whelen Euro Series: an American dream The Nascar Whelen Euro Series is re- served for hardened competitors and will welcome around 30 cars at each race in 2015. The Brass Racing team will defend the FUCHS colors in the 24 prestigious rounds of 2015 season. GREAT BRITAIN The three drivers of the team will race aboard a Dodge Challenger equipped with a V8 engine reaching 245 km/h. Byrne and Easton stay with PBM for 2015 The series will be a real thrill for the spectators. Read more on page 6 . Having won both the MCE Insurance British Superbike Championship and the MCE Rider's Cup in 2014, the Rapid Solicitors Kawasaki team of Shane 'Shakey' Byrne and Stuart Easton will stay with the Paul Bird Motorsport team for 2015. Byrne became the most successful rider in MCE BSB history when he took his fourth title at a dramatic final round at Brands Hatch in 2014. He is now aiming for an unprece- dented 5th MCE BSB title, whereas Easton, who has just won the Macau Grand Prix, will continue alongside Byrne in MCE BSB for the Cumbrian-based team on the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-10R. Shane Byrne said: “Whereas I had lots of very good offers from other teams, my main aim has always been to stay with the PBM team and I'm delighted to remain with Paul Bird for 2015. It's important to have the best team around you and given our success over the past three years, it's a proven and estab- lished package which I feel at home with. I'm even more determined to go out there and win the title again so I'm particularly pleased to get this all sorted now and we can focus on our preparations for next season.” The first race of the twelve-round 2015 season will take place at Donington Park in April. AUSTRIA Zorn : master of Ice Speedway Sponsored by FUCHS since 1998, the Ice Speedway rider Franky Zorn will celebrate this season 20 years of extreme sport. At 150 km/h on a bike with no brakes, he will defy the most prestigious riders in the world. He will have eight races to prove his determina- tion and to shine on the circuits in Sweden, Russia, the Netherlands, Austria, Kazakhstan and Germany. FUCHS lubricants: Silkolene CASTORENE R40S, Silkolene PRO CHAIN www.fuchs-oil.com M O T O R S P O R T N E W S GERMANY After the race-splitting three-hour break, which is a unique fea- ture of the Abu Dhabi event, the second part of the Gulf 12 The Black Falcon team Hours resumed under the floodlights, and it was yet another brilliant start as the BF #1 snatched the lead, while the BF #2 dominates in Abu Dhabi advanced to 2nd place overall. BF #2’s position was short-lived, however, as the chasing Pro- with a victory and a 2nd place Class Ferrari and McLaren got past, but the car’s lead in the Pro -Am class was completely unrivalled with the team running The Black Falcon team ended its 2014 motorsport campaign with three laps clear of its closest competitor. a fantastic result in the Gulf 12 Hours, finishing 2nd overall and In the Pro-Class, BF team looked for a second consecutive win taking the Pro-Am class victory in what was a high-octane race at at the event after leading right up to nearly the 11-hour mark, the Yas Marina F1 circuit in Abu Dhabi. “It was a great race. So but the AF Corse Ferrari managed to edge ahead during Black close all the way. Winning the Pro-Am class was a fantastic Falcon’s pit stop in the dying stages of the race. achievement and the car proved again to be strong and reliable”, said Sean-Paul Breslin, the BF team principal. The BF cars made a promising start to the weekend, with the BF #1 Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 of Bernd Schneider, Jeroen Bleekemolen and Khaled Al Qubaisi qualifying 3rd overall, and the BF #2 of Abdulaziz Turki AlFaisal, Hubert Haupt and Richard Muscat just a spot behind in 4th position. However, qualifying meant little for the BF drivers who enjoyed a flying start to the race on Saturday morning, with Jeroen Bleeke- molen in BF #1 moving past the pole-sitting McLaren 650S GT3 and the 2nd-placed Ferrari 458 GT3 to take the lead on the first corner, while Richard Muscat in the sister Pro-Am Mercedes moved to 3rd. The first half of the race saw the three leading cars constantly swapping positions as pit strategies differed. Eventually, BF #1 In the end, BF #1 had to settle with 2nd place overall, just crossed the finish line in 2nd place overall after six hours of three seconds shy of victory, while BF #2 took a dominant vic- racing, while BF #2 enjoyed an unchallenged run to 4th place tory in the Pro-Am class. overall and 1st position in the Pro-Am class. Next edition: December 2015 www.fuchs-oil.com M O T O R S P O R T N E W S FRANCE Boucou team: the power of expertise Michel Boucou, FUCHS dealer since 2007 and team-manager, ventures out with nine trucks in the Dakar 2015. Five of the trucks are competing. The mission of the other ones taking part in this prestigious long distance rally is, not to be first over the finish line, but to assist their customers in winning. These crew-drivers repair or replace the defective parts and find the right solutions to solve problems. “It is hard, de- manding and testing. Little sleep, always on-the-go and with a lot of pressure. This Dakar has had a difficult start. In the first four days, we only slept five hours and always outside on the dunes, under the truck but never in the bivouac”, said the boss. “We carry 180 tons of equipment on the nine trucks. We know our job very well. Most of the crew-drivers have between seven and 24 years of experience on the Dakar and the other members have been put through a difficult selection process.” Michel Boucou built up a very large company with profitability being a priority. “This year, I invested in an Iveco and a Daf of 1,000 bhp to be more competitive.” Their per- formance is recognized by the professional teams and their customer base grows each Dakar season. In 2015, big well- known teams as well as the leaders and favorites in the car class, such as Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and Argentinian Orlando Terranova, signed a very comprehensive and precise contract with them. “A real honor for our team”, marveled Michel Boucou. Dakar 2015 Argentina – Bolivia – Chile 665 competitors: 164 motorbikes, 48 quads, 138 cars, 64 trucks 53 nationalities 3.9 million viewers 1,200 hours of TV coverage in 190 countries Team Boucou’s customers: Mini X-Raid, South Racing, El Martillo Racing, Gordon, Mitsubishi Brasil, Colcar, Dakar Duster team FUCHS lubricants: TITAN CARGO MAXX SAE 10W -40, TITAN SUPER GEAR SAE 80W -90, TITAN CYTRAC LD SAE 75W -80, TITAN CYTRAC HSY SAE 75W -90, RENOLIT LXC 2, RENOLIT MO 2, MAINTAIN FRI- COFIN -25 www.fuchs-oil.com M O T O R S P O R T N E W S SOUTH AFRICA Monster Energy Super-X Championship: an impressive and unforgettable event The sights and sounds of 20 roaring dirt bikes blasting off the start gate, thousands of screaming fans, pyrotechnics and pure adrenaline filled racing might be over but the experience will live on. Supercross Africa transformed the Loftus Versveld Stadium into a supercross heaven seeing SA’s top riders take on some of the world’s best riders on this iconic circuit. The big name racers like USA’s Cody Gilmore, UK’s Jack Brunell, South Africa’s Michael Kok, France’s Thomas Ramette but also FUCHS’s riders, 2014 National MX2 champion, Kerim Fitz-Gerald, and Zimbabwe’s Jay- den Ashwell will show their real determination for the top spots on the podium. All of the 20 riders will compete for the monstrous prize of fifty thousand US dollars. Fans can look forward to jaw dropping displays of skill and speed by their favorite champions as they negotiate huge triple jumps and tight turns on powerful bikes, while engaging in this extreme racing. Fitz-Gerald put in a good ride to finish 4th on stage 2 and MX1 cham- pion Ashwell placed 10th, sending them to the semi-final. Ashwell who put in a stellar performance and took 2nd place won the best place in semi-final 2. In the overall standings, Fitz-Gerald climbed to 9th place and Ashwell ended up in 16th position. Between rounds, the masses were treated to FMX shows featuring Aus- tralian Blake “Bilko” Williams and South Africa’s Nick De Wit, Alastair Sayer and Jarred van Vuuren. The Monster Energy Girls paraded around the arena using a t-shirt cannon to shoot shirts into the crowd. A very cool and fun 50cc race also took to the track seeing the junior competi- Born in 1987, Kerim Fitz -Gerald rejoined the FUCHS tors take the opportunity to ride the small bikes on the big track. FUCHS team at the beginning of 2013. He uses all the prod- was present with a large stand, advertisements and a lot of banners ucts of the FUCHS Silkolene range.