>> ISSUE 24
BMW M5 with Marco Wittmann
EVERY EXHAUST NEEDS ITS OWN SOUND Jeffrey Herlings
TEN TITLES. AT LEAST!
ALENKA ARTNIK , freediver
To BE, where we are not supposed to Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager
MOTOG P TITLE ? NG IS TH E ON LY TH I NG M ISSI Interview with GERHARD BERGER
RIDING MOTORBIKES I WOULD HAVE KILLED MYSELF
A column by Toby Moody
Always Good Times
FILIP FLISAR
Ski Cross Slovenia Team
AMPHIBIO BLACK EDITION
The Amphibio Black Edition is the edge you need on perfectly groomed slopes. Step up your game with the enhanced state-of-the-art carbon construction and sleek design of the Amphibio Black Edition.
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C ont e nt s
A K RAP OV I Č Akrapovič Lifestyle Magazine Issue 24, November 2018 Akrapovič d.d. Malo Hudo 8a SI-1295 Ivančna Gorica Slovenia www.akrapovic.com Editor in Chief: Miran Ališič Publisher: Korpmedia d.o.o. Tomšičeva 1, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia www.korpmedia.si Managing Director: Mateja Kos ID No.: 2272237000 VAT No.: SI14601737 Client Coordinator: Primož Jurman Photo Editor: Bor Dobrin Art Directors: Slavojka Akrapovič, Neja Engelsberger, Saša Kerkoš Cover design: Zdenko Bračevac Content Editor: Jasna Milinković Contributors: Alenka Birk, Tony Dodgins, Matevž Hribar, Primož Jurman, Gaber Keržišnik, Jack Martens, Jasna Milinković, Toby Moody, Dagmar Pastors, Imre Paulovits, Lyndon Poskitt, Mitja Reven, Tina Torelli Contributing Photographers: Aleš Rosa, Alex Štokelj, Ben Galli, Bor Dobrin, Jernej Skrt, Jernej Prelac, Lyndon Poskitt, Gold and Goose Photography, Marc Robinot, Ray Archer, Uroš Podlogar Translation: Matjaž Horvat, Werner Schneider Proofreading: Katarina Mahnič Ad space marketing: www.yvision.ch Y.Vision GmbH, Poststrasse 9, 6300 Zug, Switzerland On the cover: Evolution Line (Titanium) exhaust system for the KTM 450 SX-F (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) Printing: Gorenjski tisk, d. o. o. Ulica Mirka Vadnova 6 4000 Kranj, Slovenia
Contents
05 Letter
06 Akrapovič News
12 Evolution
18 Champion
26 Visit With Us
30 Story
34 Interview
42 Story
46 Story
52 Drive With Us
58 Story
64 Story
68 Travel With Us
74 Original
78 High Gear
// Si NOTE All the longer articles in the Akrapovič magazine include a text that will be marked with the // Si sign and placed in a special frame. The Akrapovič company is based in Slovenia and this is why we decided to keep this part of the text in Slovenian as well.
Copyright notice This magazine and its entire textual and pictorial content are subject to copyright. Any reproduction thereof without prior written consent of the copyright holder is prohibited. The articles contained herein do not necesseraly correspond with the opinions of Akrapovič d.d. the publishers or the editors. Not for sale. Printed in Slovenia in November 2018 in 6.000 copies.
General Warning Because of the world-wide distribution of Akrapovič d.d. products, neither Akrapovič d.d. nor any of its subsidiaries make any representation that the products comply with the air and/or noise emissions laws, or labeling laws, of any jurisdiction. The purchasers are entirely responsible for informing themselves of the applicable laws where the products are to be used and to comply with those laws. Warning / USA Various U.S. states and the U.S. federal government have individual laws regulating the use of aftermarket exhaust parts and systems, especially as those parts and systems modify, remove, or replace original equipment catalysts. Please consult the appropriate laws in your area before installing any aftermarket part or system on your vehicle to ensure compliance with all applicable laws. Neither Akrapovič d.d. nor any of their subsidiaries or the sellers of the parts or systems make any representation that any of their parts or systems comply with any such laws. Warning / California California laws prohibit the use of any aftermarket exhaust part or system that modifies, removes or replaces original equipment catalysts unless the California Air Resources Board has issued an Executive Order regarding such part or system or unless the part or system is exempted by being used only on racing vehicles on closed courses. Neither Akrapovič d.d. nor any of their subsidiaries make any representation that any of their parts or systems has received such an Executive Order or that any of their parts or systems conform with the racing vehicles exemption. The purchasers are entirely responsible for informing themselves of applicable California laws and to comply with those laws.
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Letter
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photography Bor Dobrin
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PRODUCT AND EXPERIENCE A quarter of a century is a long time, especially in our technological world. Changes due to digitalisation have made our work a lot easier in many ways, mainly by accelerating development. Be it data measurement and analysis, CFD simulation or computer design with the aid of CAD models, the path from concept design to the final product is today in many ways completely different from the one taken two decades ago. Faced with increasingly advanced computer system capabilities, we are slowly beginning to believe that computers will soon not only autonomously perform their current functions, but also start making decisions for us. The existence of such a trend cannot be denied, as, to give just one example, it is impossible to imagine calculating the sturdiness of some designs without computer analysis. So will people still continue to play a significant role in the technological process? Despite forecasts that automation will replace humans, at least in some work processes, I remain an optimist. I firmly believe that we will retain our place as designers and manufacturers for as long as the products we make are meant for us, the people. We who manufacture exhausts and our customers for whom we make them are the ones who are imbued with an intangible but very real excitement when hearing the sound of an engine. We are the ones who enjoy looking at the aesthetic perfection of the end product and we are the ones who feel the product. Despite technological perfection and manufacturing quality, we must not forget that the value of the product lies in the emotions it stirs in its owner. A continuous search for new technical solutions remains the real challenge even in seemingly perfected cars and bikes. For example, just finding the best way to snake an exhaust through limited space is an art. When we finally find the optimal placement, sometimes after more than ten attempts, we feel immense pleasure. And this is the end goal, as it is precisely the shape and sound of the exhaust that create enthusiasm and pleasure. Digitalisation and automation, moreover, remain human tools
and accessories that facilitate and optimize human processes. Such tools give new impetus to humans, still the central actors of the process, and serve as an aid in eliminating practices and procedures that retard this creative drive. This recognition can also serve as source of our pleasure. Lastly I want to mention two more indispensable factors for our success – talent and many years of experience. Talent is often only mentioned when talking about sports and art and is in recent times often forgotten when discussing more pedestrian occupations such as crafts. However, regardless of the array of technical tools, the quality of each product in the end depends on employees' mastery. The deliberation of designers, consistency of foremen, skill of constructors, proficiency of welders, routine swiftness of mechanics, a designer’s feel for expressive design shape and the unique capabilities of numerous other employees are what gives value to our products. All effort without talent is wasted, all talent without practice and striving for mastery unexploited. This is not only true at our company, and I would be happy if such a guideline becomes part of the general and economic conscience of all who are part of the environment in which we exist. The future demands that we recognize the desire and talent for crafts at a young age and I am sure that a lot of the young have them. We must then utilise educational and training programmes in a free working environment to gradually develop these characteristics into actual mastery of handicrafts. Such mastery has for quite some time used more than merely hands, but will for a long time remain our guideline, means and purpose in crossing the boundary when a product becomes an experience. Alojz Slavko Trstenjak Head of Racing R&D
A k rap ov ič Ne ws
FORWARD TO THE FUTURE Akrapovič has expanded its range of state-of-the-art machines and testing equipment with a new high-tech durability dyno. The device is meant for mileage accumulation under special programmes, providing an even better testing environment for advanced exhaust systems development as well as allowing for testing of other motorbike parts, that are not necessarily linked to the exhaust. The fully autonomous 200 kW dynamometer for testing exhausts’ durability has its own fuel delivery system, eliminating the need for stopping and refuelling the bike, as fuel is added automatically. The tested bike is operated by a fully automated robot with a throttle actuator. The dyno provides a completely new
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service to Akrapovič partners, cements the company’s leading position in high-performance motorcycle exhausts as well as confirms its readiness for the arrival of the stricter Euro 5 emission standards.
Akrapovic at BMW Motorrad Days 2018 A year does not pass without Akrapovič making an appearance at the BMW Motorrad Days and 2018 was no exception. For the 12th time in a row, visitors to the Slovenian company’s exhibition area had the chance to come face to face with the newest Akrapovič exhaust systems for BMW motorbikes, ranging from products for scooters, adventure bikes and road bikes like the BMW S 1000 RR. One of the main draws was the fastest motorbike at TT Isle of Man, ridden by Peter Hickman of the Smiths Racing Team. Another notable guest during the three-day event was Željan Rakela, who has completed over 300,000 km on his BMW R 1200 GS Adventure and was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen to promote his book on riding around the world.
06 / 11
Akrapovič News
#DreamBelieveAchieve Kawasaki Racing Team rider Jonathan Rea continued to break records in this year’s WorldSBK season. He did not ease up on the throttle after riding to a record 60 th WorldSBK victory at Brno, but went on to notch up even more wins, culminating in a convincing double at Magny-Cours that secured his fourth world champion title. This was also a milestone for Akrapovič, whose exhausts have now for the first time won four WorldSBK titles in a row. “It is absolutely incredible to win four. Sometimes even after winning back-to-back championships, or three in a row, I have to say it is hard to find words to speak about what you have just done,” the excited Jonathan, who is also in the top spot in the “most consecutive race wins (10 before last round in Qatar)”, “most points in a single season”, “most podium finishes in a single season” and “most fastest laps in a single season” categories, commented after the historic achievement.
Pikes Peak record for Bentley Bentayga
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Bentley set a Production SUV record at Pikes Peak with a lightweight Akrapovič titanium exhaust equipped Bentayga W12. Sitting behind the wheel of the fastest serially produced car at the Race to the Clouds was Rhys Millen, who dealt with the 156 turns in a record-breaking time of 10:49.9, improving the previous record by nearly two minutes. To celebrate the record-breaking run, Bentley announced a production of a new Limited Edition Bentayga, strictly limited to just ten cars, as homage to the achievements of the Bentayga W12 on the mountain.
KTM’s perfect year Both Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders, Jeffrey Herlings, whose story is featured in this issue, and Jorge Prado won world champion titles in 2018. Herlings secured his first-ever MXGP title at the penultimate race in Assen, while the overall winner in MX2 was only decided at the last racing weekend of the season. The championship crown was contested by 2017 champion Pauls Jonass and his teammate Prado, however Jonass had to cancel his appearance on the final racing weekend due to a medical operation, giving Jorge his first MX2 overall win. The 17-year-old Prado is one of the youngest world champions in motocross as well as the first Spaniard to win this title. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing has come out on top in both categories a grand total of seven times in the last ten years, always with the help of Akrapovič exhausts.
Enthusiastic Alphand A few months after taking part in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge rally in the X-raid team MINI John Cooper Works Buggy, former skiing ace and Dakar Rally winner Luc Alphand stopped by the Akrapovič company, where he was taken to the R&D, titanium foundry, laboratory, measuring and Racing R&D departments alongside a much appreciated tour of the collection of race bikes and engines. After concluding the visit, hosted by company CEO Uroš Rosa, the fast driver had this to say: “My visit was just a blast, I was really impressed by the Akrapovič Factory in Slovenia. That’s the place where all the motorsports fanatics want to be; getting to see all the experience and expertise of the people there is just amazing.”
Price takes his first Toby Price, a Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team member, became world champion for the first time in his career by winning the final rally of the Cross-Country Rallies World Championship season, which was staged in Morocco in October. The former Dakar Rally winner’s title confirmed that he feels right at home on the KTM 450 Rally fitted with an Akrapovič. “I’m standing on the top of the world and it’s the best feeling ever,” said Toby.
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. Photo: Rally Zone, KTM Images
06 / 11
Akrapovič News
Night shift in Misano In August Misano was the venue for the first two night races in DTM’s history. Appearing as a guest driver was motorsport legend Alessandro Zanardi, whose modified BMW M4 DTM, fitted with an Akrapovič exhaust system, finished all the way up in fifth on Sunday’s race, an achievement he likened to winning gold. “At first I thought it was a joke when my engineer told me my position over the radio. I did not expect that,” said the grinning Italian who, together with colleagues from his team, toasted Joel Eriksson for his first DTM victory after Sunday’s event. Eriksson’s top spot finish makes him the second youngest DTM winner in the series’ history.
Kiara after Kiara
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This year’s Women’s Motocross World Championship was nail-biting right to the very end, before concluding in favour of defending champion Kiara Fontanesi. The FontaMX Yamaha Official WMX team rider won her sixth title in style by finishing first in front of the home crowd in Imola, Italy. “This one is for everyone,” said record holder Kiara after the racing weekend at the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit.
Dream team The 2019 Dakar, which will be held in Peru in January, will feature Akrapovič exhaust systems on MINI John Cooper Works Buggy racing cars, the vehicles of choice for Carlos Sainz, Stéphane Peterhansel and Cyril Despres, who together notched up a whopping 20 victories at the toughest rally in the world. “El Matador” will be defending his 2018 victory, “Mr. Dakar” Peterhansel, who is returning to the X-raid camp, will be chasing his record 14th Dakar victory, and five-time motorbike winner Despres will try to win his first Dakar on four wheels. The 2018 season finished on a perfect note for X-raid, with Kuba Przygonski’s podium finish in Morocco bringing home the 2018 World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies.
Colin Edwards drops by It was back in 2000 when Colin Edwards became WorldSBK world champion, repeating the feat on his Honda two years later. The American, who now works as an expert TV commentator, used a break between MotoGP races for his first tour of the Akrapovič factories, where he took in all the steps in creating an exhaust system, from tube manufacture and carbon-fibre parts production to the final assembly. Before visiting the production facilities, Colin stopped at company headquarters where he peeked into the Akrapovič foundry and the development and racing departments and was impressed by what he saw. As befits the first world champion with an Akrapovič exhaust, he embellished a Honda motorbike present at the site with his signature.
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217.989 km/h Apart from winning twice at the legendary TT Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, Peter Hickman also set a lap record. The Smiths Racing BMW team rider, fresh from his Superstock victory, not only won the prestigious Senior TT race on his BMW S 1000 RR, sporting an Akrapovič exhaust, but also set the fastest lap on the “Mountain Circuit” with an average speed of 217.989 km/h (135.452 mph). Nobody has raced faster on Man yet! Podium positions at this year’s races on the isle were taken by machines fitted with Akrapovič exhaust systems, with Michael Dunlop of the Tyco BMW team winning Sunday’s Superbike race.
First time on six As if the “regular” Mercedes-AMG G 63, for which the Akrapovič R&D department developed an aftermarket exhaust system, was not notable enough, an even larger beast made its way to Ivančna Gorica, a G Wagon Car Technology six-wheeler. This unique 6x6 machine left the company with a unique Akrapovič exhaust system, thus earning the title of the first six-wheeler fitted with an exhaust from Ivančna Gorica.
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06 / 11
Akrapovič News
DreamDrive to Akrapovic The eyes and ears of every petrolhead were in heaven on a beautiful September morning at the headquarters of Akrapovič, as the super sports cars of the DreamDrive group stopped by to see how exhaust systems are developed. The group drove all the way from the Netherlands and included a famous sound lover, the world-renowned DJ La Fuente, who sees sound as a universal language that brings people to understand each other without words. He loves to drive and he rarely listens to music while behind the wheel. “For me it is a place to relax, to be Zen. But if I don’t hear my V8, I only have V8 engines, it’s not the same. I need to feel it in my seat. It is a sort of meditation, but the car has its own character.” La Fuente and the rest of the group had a look at how exhaust systems are designed and noted the amount of passion and knowledge that is involved in the process: “You see people working here with their hands and with their expertise and you can see the passion.”
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Eleventh time on top Readers of PS magazine voting for best brands in 2018, put Akrapovič on top for the 11th time in a row. A big thank you to all who helped the Slovenian brand reach the number one spot in the exhaust systems category with a massive 82.8% of all votes, thereby vindicating the company’s efforts for product excellence.
Battling until the end 2017 DTM champion René Rast recorded an unbelievable winning streak towards the end of the 2018 season. However, even winning a record six races in a row was not enough to retain last year’s title. Rast set several milestones along the way, including giving Audi its 100th DTM victory and becoming the first DTM driver to score a perfect one-two since DTM switched to two races per weekend. He not only took his Audi RS 5 DTM to the pole at both races at Nürburgring, he also went to win both of them, picking up a perfect 56 point tally on the way.
Ev o lu t io n
12 / 17 Evolution
EVERY EXHAUST NEEDS ITS OWN SOUND Developing the Evolution Line (Titanium) exhaust for BMW M5 with Marco Wittmann
by Primož Jurman photography Uroš Podlogar, Akrapovič
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How can a successful racing driver take part in exhaust system development? Can he perhaps give it a personal note? BMW racing driver Marco Wittmann has already won the DTM series twice, so it was only logical that Akrapovič invited him to help design an exhaust system for the sixth generation BMW M5 (F90), which hit the market in 2017. Working together with the famous driver and Akrapovič Brand Ambassador who also came to test the product, the Ivančna Gorica-based company used all of its technical know-how, experience and procedures in its development. We were there to witness it.
Regarding sound, AkrapoviÄ? engineers focused on finding a note that would differ from the serial exhaust. The team wanted to transfer as much high-quality sound as possible into the cabin, which is well insulated in the M5, and achieve good alignment of the exhaust sound with the sound generator, which works through the car’s Hi-Fi speakers.
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Evolution
Marco Wittmann first told us about his role in developing the aftermarket Akrapovič exhaust for the model: “I got the opportunity to take part in the final phase of the development of the BMW M5 exhaust by testing a car fitted with the prototype product. I had a few goals in mind, which were set in cooperation with Akrapovič engineers. I tested the exhaust at low and high revs before sitting down with the boys to check if all was as it should be. The sound, the performance and everything else actually exceeded my expectations. The sound is amazing; it does not have the sharp tone of a competition exhaust, it’s just right for this kind of car but still quite sporty at higher revs.” Wittmann, the two-time DTM series champion with the BMW M4 DTM, which is fitted with an Akrapovič exhaust, has a wealth of technical expertise. “I associate the sound of Akrapovič exhausts with emotions. They always paint a large grin on my face, both on the track and also during everyday life. The sound of the racing exhaust is very direct, but I just love it when racing. I also believe that race fans love it, too, and associate competitions with this pure racing sound. Putting it plainly, competitive racing is associated with a specific soundscape and it is the sound that gives the spectators goose bumps. Our BMW M4s in the DTM series, equipped with Akrapovič exhaust systems, really do play a lovely tune. Cars for everyday use, including the BMW M5, are a different category and they entail certain compromises. Of course I like a great sounding car, but one must not forget that it will be used daily in all types of situations. Just look at the range of BMWs; M4, M5 and M6! All of them can be fitted
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with Akrapovič exhaust systems, but they also have their own and unique sounds, which depend on their use. Let’s take the BMW M4 – it happens that I use a BMW M4 DTM Champion Edition for driving on normal roads – it has a bit more sporty sound, while the other two are more tailored to daily commutes.
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BMW M5 is considered to be a more moderate and more refined sports limo, but its BMW genes, as befits the company’s tradition, give it a certain degree of sportiness. Its buyers use it for business trips, meetings, perhaps family outings, but also love to take it for a more sporty lap or two during their free weekends. This, alongside its visibility and differentiation from the serial exhaust system, formed the starting points when designing the Akrapovič for the model.”
IN SEARCH OF THAT RECOGNIZABLE AKRAPOVIČ SOUND Regarding sound, Akrapovič engineers – project leader Anton Šifrar, Simon Vipavec, Matej Bulc and their colleagues – focused on finding a note that would differ from the serial exhaust. The team wanted to transfer as much high-quality sound as possible into the cabin, which is well insulated in the M5, and achieve good alignment of the exhaust sound with the sound generator, which works
through the car’s Hi-Fi speakers. One of the fundamental preconditions was also getting ECE type approval. In line with the targeted customer profile in this particular market segment, another goal during the design was to achieve certain sound characteristics, as
sound and the performance – also throughout
objectively measurable by devices that record
the entire rev range.
and analyse the exhaust’s frequencies. This was
We must also stress the technological process
followed by sound engineers, who analysed the
and technologies, which are imperative in
recorded sounds while focusing on frequency
determining the development and achieving
analysis and presentation in tailored 3D graphs.
the set goals. The use of highest quality
Akrapovič engineers moreover paid attention
materials is of course a given, with titanium
to the subjective analysis of the sound. The
taking centre stage as the material on which
final product’s tone was determined by a
Akrapovič built its renown as a leader in
combination of objective measurement and
technological development. Titanium was also
subjective yet coordinated opinions of the
used in the creation of the entire M5’s exhaust,
team. Alongside all of the above the engineers
including the complex parts which were cast
naturally wanted to avoid any other unpleasant
in the company’s own titanium foundry. These
accompanying sounds and noises – in short,
include the X connection, the collectors and the
they wanted to create the best possible sound.
housings for both valves. Making the casts from
This was underscored by the fact that the
titanium was not a random decision, however.
era of the V8 is probably coming to a close,
The mechanical characteristics of this metal
making the sound of these machines even more
make sure that they play an important role in the
important.
sound quality and the tune of the exhaust. Apart from using the highest-quality lightweight
SOUND AND PERFORMANCE – HAND IN HAND
materials in the development of the BMW M5 exhaust system, the team also made use of Akrapovič’s laboratory, which carried out a number of analyses, investigations
While motorsport is dominated by grams,
and comparisons. These were important for
millimetres, performance and the search for
commencing with individual stages of the
that “something extra” that could give racing
development process, a meticulously planned
drivers the edge over their competition, a car
sequence. The result of this kind of approach is
for daily use is a method of transportation,
an exhaust system, which is very different and
where other priorities apply. In the case of the
highly recognizable, a characteristic that also
BMW M5 it was thus important to create a
impressed Marco Wittmann. “Without the use
recognizable sound. Moreover, every selected
of modern technological processes and state-
predefined drive mode needed a suitable
of-the-art technology, the type of development
balance between sounding refined and sporty.
as used by Akrapovič is not possible today. This
While chasing the appropriate melody, the
was also the case during the creation of the
Ivančna Gorica engineers did not forget about
BMW M5 exhaust system as the entire process
performance, where the main aim was to
included numerous hours of testing on the road
reduce backpressure throughout the entire
and in the lab, also utilising microphones and
rev range and for all the modes. Akrapovič
other assorted technology. Real development
also developed a special electronics kit for
requires a lot of know-how and experience,
the BMW M5 exhaust system, which makes
and I can tell you that the guys at Akrapovič
sure that the valves on the exhaust work in
have both. When I visited Ivančna Gorica for
such a manner as to harmonise both the
the first time, I was thrilled by how they can control, weld and bend titanium. Akrapovič
“I tested the exhaust at low and high revs
is the best in the world. If you look at any of
before sitting down with the boys to check
compare it to a work of art. The exhaust for
if all was as it should be. The sound, the
their products, any exhaust system, you can the BMW M5 is no different!”
performance, and everything else actually exceeded my expectations. The sound is amazing; it‘s just right for this type of vehicle but still quite sporty at higher revs.”
Marco Wittmann
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12 / 17 Evolution
C h am p io n
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TEN TITLES. AT LEAST! Jeffrey Herlings, 2018 MXGP World Champion
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“The next big thing”, he was called by many. And they were right: he could become one of the greats of his sport. At 24 he has already won 84 Grand Prix races. But he has too few world titles, three in MX2, to be exact, and one in MXGP. There should have been at least six, but twice already injuries have sabotaged his ambitions. In front of his home crowd in Assen, Jeffrey Herlings won his first ever MXGP title in only his second year in the highest class. At one point the Dutchman’s ultimate goal was to become a tenfold motorcross world champion and thus break Stefan Everts’ record. “But if you’ve had so many injuries as me, you start looking at things differently. I am only 24 years old and I have pretty much been through it all.”
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by Jack Martens photography Ray Archer, Red Bull, Bavo Swijgers
Champion
There are few 24-year-olds in The Netherlands that can afford their own house, let alone a massive villa with its very own driveway. Situated in a small village named Oploo in the southern province of Brabant, his massive house stands next to a provincial road and is surrounded by lush forests. Barring the driveway is a huge black gate with the letters J and H crafted into the metalwork. It is the cherry on top of the cake of a house boasting every kind of comfort. Herlings bought the place a year and a half ago, and has lived there alone since then. He does not have a girlfriend. “That doesn’t fit in my busy schedule,” said Herlings. “There is a world title to be conquered. Until then, everything else is on hold,” he told us a few weeks before Assen was on the line.
The difference between now and a year ago In 2017 Herlings debuted in the MXGP class. Before that he’d already defeated nine-time world champion Antonio Cairoli and other big names during several MX des Nations races. The expectations for the Dutchman were very high. However, early on in the season it went wrong. During a race for the Italian championship Herlings’ hand got injured. To add insult to the injury the hand also got infected, which delayed his recovery significantly. He started the season in Qatar with his hand in pain and failed to convince there. “It was not only the hand,” Herlings later admitted, “that winter was wild, motocross was a lower priority than partying. I was hanging out with the wrong crew, too. Early on in 2016 I was already the champion. Within the MX2 class there wasn’t really any competition. So I thought: ‘Who is going to do anything to me?’” That way of thinking turned out to be the wrong one. Herlings’ results in 2017 were not what they were supposed to be. His rhythm on the bike wasn’t good, which resulted in him driving over his limit to achieve even a decent end result. That often resulted in crashes. Sometimes innocent, but more often these crashes were heavy. It took until the second half of the season before Jeffrey found his way on the 450 machine. Out of the last six, he won five Grands Prix. Lommel was the absolute highlight. On the heavy sand circuit in Belgium a clash of titans unfolded between Herlings and Cairoli, which the Dutchman ended to his own advantage. At the end of 2017 Herlings decided that he had to change his ways in order to be eligible to compete for the world title. His starts had to be better, and he needed to lose some weight.
Lost almost 10 kilos What followed could be described as a complete metamorphosis in the winter of 2018. Herlings lost almost 10 kilos, he went from 83 to 73 kg and tirelessly worked on his starts. Hundreds, maybe thousands of times he kicked his KTM into gear from behind the fence with his mechanic and best friend Ruben by his side. “The start might be more important than the race itself. The big difference between this season and last year is that now I can start the race with the first five. I have to say that the bike also is so good this year. In combination with the Akrapovič exhaust the only thing I have to do is react as fast as I can. Last year I needed to start each time from a spot outside of the top 15. You already have to take so many risks to move to the front that the chances of injury are much higher. Those risks are a lot less this year.”
Injuries With the emphasis on the word “less”. Because for Herlings, there is no such thing as an injury-free season. In 2018 he managed to break his collarbone during training. “It seemed very innocent.
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18 / 23
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Champion
Jeffrey Herlings won his first ever MXGP title in only his second year in the highest class. At one point the Dutchman’s ultimate goal was to become a tenfold motocross world champion and thus break Stefan Everts’ record.
I fell in a corner and landed on my collarbone. When it comes to breaking bones, I am quite the expert these days. Therefore I instantly knew something was wrong.” Herlings had to miss one GP which saw his points advantage decline from 62 points to only 12. In Indonesia the “Bullet” was, as expected, present again. With barely any strength in his left arm and 17 days after the crash, he qualified as second, only to take the Grand Prix victory the next day. Everybody on the track had to watch with resentful respect how the unfit Herlings took the victory in the unforgiving Indonesian heat. A week later the second race on Indonesian soil took place. The result is history: Herlings dominated and won both motos. Against all odds Herlings had built up his lead again instead of merely reducing the damage done by his earlier injury. “I think I have never been so broken in my life,” Herlings commented. “I traveled to Asia with the expectation to do only damage control. Eventually I managed to actually increase my lead. That was perhaps the last thing I had expected. But I was very happy with it!” After Indonesia, Herlings won all the Grands Prix, which brought him the world title – one round before the end – on home soil. In front of 42,000 wild Dutch fans Herlings won his fourth title. Jeffrey: “And after this one I want as many as possible. But no longer at any cost. My goal was always to become a world champion ten times or more. To beat Everts’ record. But because of all the injuries I am only on three world titles where there should have been at least six. I hope to stay injury-free now.”
To come close to ten world titles Jeffrey Herlings may only be 24, but he knows exactly what he wants. He wants to race for as long as he can stay competitive. This is why the Dutchman has endless respect for his colleague Cairoli. “When I see how long he has been competing at the top, I can only have respect for that. I want that, too. But if I – even for a second – think I cannot compete any more for the world title, I will quit. To me, it is not worth it to ride around the 15th position again,” explains the champion. “I am too much of a winner for that. Cairoli wouldn’t do that either,” and reminds us to another great champion: “Compare it to Valentino Rossi. He has been riding for so long and is still in the front. I do realize, a 40-year-old motocross rider cannot do the same things a road rider can do. But if I stay healthy those ten world titles could come really close one day.”
Herlings may only be 24, but he knows exactly what he wants. He wants to race for as long as he can stay competitive. For this reason the Dutchman has endless respect for his colleague Cairoli.
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Champion
22 23
// Si Motokrosist Jeffrey Herlings (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) – svetovni prvak v razredu MXGP Nizozemskega motokrosista Jeffreyja Herlingsa so mnogi klicali “Naslednja velika stvar”. In prav so imeli: lahko bi postal velikan v svojem športu. Pri 24 letih je že zmagal na 84 dirkah za Veliko nagrado, vendar ima še premalo naslovov svetovnega prvaka: tri v razredu MX2 in enega v MXGP. Najbrž bi jih imel najmanj šest, vendar so mu poškodbe že dvakrat prekrižale načrte. Pred domačimi gledalci v Assnu je osvojil svoj prvi naslov MXGP v drugem letu nastopanja v najvišjem razredu. Po njegovem prvega med mnogimi. Nizozemec si želi postati desetkratni svetovni prvak v motokrosu, s čimer bi izboljšal rekord Stefana Evertsa. Nadarjeni mladenič danes gleda na svoje sanje iz drugačne perspektive. “Če preživiš veliko poškodb, začneš gledati stvari drugače. Star sem 24 let in do zdaj sem preživel že veliko,” pravi.
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Car Stuff by Mitja Reven
Car Stuff
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BMW M5 (F90) + 8.3 kW (11.3 HP)/5,700 rpm, + 21.3 Nm/2,300 rpm, - 9.4 kg (-32.6%), Titanium Carbon fibre tailpipe set, Carbon fibre diffuser – matte & high gloss Carbon fibre mirror cap set – matte & high gloss, Akrapovič Sound Kit
Mercedes-AMG E 63 / E 63 S (W213) + 15.1 kW (20.5 HP)/2,550 rpm, + 54.4 Nm/2,550 rpm, - 13.6 kg (-46.8%) Titanium, Carbon fibre tailpipe set – matte & high gloss
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Porsche 911 GT3/RS (991.2) + 5.5 kW (7.5 HP)/8,000 rpm, + 15.8 Nm/4,400 rpm, - 18.9 kg (-47.6%), Titanium Titanium tailpipe set, Carbon fibre diffuser – matte & high gloss
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Vis it Wit h U s
Visit With Us
Honda Racing BSB Team
AN INJURY-FREE RUN AND SOME GLORY by Tony Dodgins photography Honda, Steve Babb
Somewhat incongruously in the quiet Lincolnshire countryside, near Louth, stands Honda UK’s motorbike racing nerve centre. Running operations and acting as our guide to the facility is 54-yearold Havier Beltran, a Honda veteran and the man who helped Akrapovič win its first world champion title.
The fighting mind-set and determination to overcome injury and medical set-backs seem
Colin Edwards, 2000 WorldSBK Champion
First world title for Akrapovič
intrinsic to anyone involved in bike racing but
Havier Beltran has a long association with Igor
Havier Beltran, early on, realised he had more
Akrapovič and was part of the Castrol Honda World
brawn than skill. His parents owned a stud
Superbike 2000 success which featured champions
farm and there was plenty of opportunity to ride
Colin Edwards and Aaron Slight and brought
motocross bikes and get involved with things
Akrapovič its first world title. Says Havier Beltran:
mechanical. His first passion was riding and he
“That was fantastic racing. Colin won at diverse
had some success as an amateur before a racing
places like Kyalami, Monza, Assen, Oschersleben
injury made him reconsider his long-term goals.
and Brands Hatch, narrowly lost the crown to
So he made the decision to abandon competing
Troy Bayliss the following season but won the
and pursue his passion for bike racing through
championship back again in 2002 at Imola’s final
engineering. Honda stalwart Neil Tuxworth’s
race, with a record 552 points for the season! All of
right-hand man for many years, he now manages
those guys were special in their own way, Kocinski,
the Honda Racing BSB Team, as well as assists
Fogarty, Colin, Slight – all very different characters.
with the Isle of Man Road Racing and EWC
Seeing big differences in what motivated them to do
(Endurance World Championship) programmes.
well and be the best, was really interesting.”
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In 2017, early on with the new Fireblade, Honda signed a high-profile Isle of Man TT line-up of 23-time winner John McGuinness and media celebrity Guy Martin.
Playing catch-up
Havier’s passion for bike racing and engineering led him to the Castrol Honda World Superbike Team, where he played a big role in securing the first world title for Akrapovič in 2000.
The new Fireblade arrived quite late for the start of the UK 2017 Superbike Championship says Havier: “We got the bike in February and had to race it in March. We were on the back foot the whole year, trying to race and develop, and it was quite painful for us.” But, by year-end, Yorkshireman Dan Linfoot won at Silverstone and Oulton Park and Aussie team mate Jason O’Halloran set the fastest lap at Brands Hatch. The team was optimistic for 2018 but then had more setbacks: “We believed we had the combination of riders and machine to chase podiums but in round two at Brands Hatch, Dan broke his neck and then Jason broke his ankle, which totally disjointed the whole programme. Then Dan came back at Brands and broke his scaphoid. As far as results from the races go, we’ve achieved very little and that’s upsetting and disappointing.”
The Isle of Man pushes riders to another level As well as circuit racing, Beltran enjoys the different challenge and dynamic of road racing and endurance programmes, believing that the Isle of Man in particular, pushes riders to another level. “It’s a different mentality,” he says. “You see a lot of riders who are very good on the roads but there’s very few strong on both roads and short circuits.” Why don’t the respective skills seem to translate, I ask him spontaneously. “It’s a good question. Riders that adapt and get on with tight tracks like Cadwell Park in the UK tend to be good on roads. But riders good at tracks like Thruxton or Silverstone can struggle with Cadwell or Oulton Park. Whether it’s the close proximity of
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Visit With Us
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the barriers and trees, I’m not sure.” “Another thing is circuit knowledge at the TT: it takes years. You can go to Cadwell and test three days a week if you want but you can’t do that on the Isle of Man, where one lap is 37 miles. And if you go there as a young hothead, it can be a difficult situation. John McGuinness always says that the key is learning the course and understanding every curve and camber.” Havier lives local to the Louth Honda base and all the activity keeps his brain churning 24/7. “It’s certainly different to living in any built-up city area but the people are great and I’ve lots of friends outside racing,” he says. “I bought an old primary school 20 years ago and have been doing it up and renovating it.” Which tells you just how much spare time he hasn’t had! He also believes that with maturity comes an appreciation of what you have. This is a philosophy he applies when it comes to the relationships with his team’s trade suppliers and sponsors.
20 years with Akrapovič
Havier Beltran says that with maturity comes an appreciation of what you have. This is a philosophy he also applies when it comes to the relationships with his team’s trade suppliers and sponsors.
“We’ve been with Akrapovič 20 years this year, winning them that first world title with Colin Edwards. Every year we get asked if we’d be interested in moving. And the answer is, no.” But there is more about this relationship, as Beltran says: “I know Igor very well and they’ve been incredible to us as a team in a domestic championship where the supply goes through the importer, so we’ve had great support through Performance Parts and Colin Peabody in the UK. The guys bend over backwards to help us and we sometimes push the limit on some of the material. Sometimes in crash damage you might only bend the end can or the link pipe but when you investigate you might have opened up some of the collars further down. Then you’re running the bike and when it’s cold you can hear stuff vibrating and blowing.” “It’s an expensive system to change all the time but the product has been incredible,” says the Honda BSB Team Manager who also takes his bikes to the Akrapovič factory for a dyno run about once every two years to make sure they’ve got the optimal Akrapovič exhaust. “The fitment and quality is second to none.” But that’s not the only quality he praises a lot: “The other thing I really like is that Igor and the people haven’t changed. They’re still the same whenever I see them and long may it continue!” It seems the only change Beltran would really appreciate right now is an injury-free run in which man and machine can gel healthily and return Honda to former British Superbike glories!
30 / 33 Story
Sto ry
THE HARD WAY Lyndon Poskitt – 2018 Dakar Rally Malle Moto
As with most things in life, you can accept support or you can choose to work through it on your own. Team work is very fulfilling and I would not change my 2013 Dakar Rally which I successfully finished with my own team; however, I was always left wondering “what would it be like alone?”, just how the heroes of the original Dakar did it some 40 years ago. In 2017 I raced my first solo Dakar in a category known at Malle Moto. I self filmed the entire event and made a movie called “Malle Moto – The Forgotten Dakar Story” (available on YouTube). I finished 2nd in the category and 39th overall. In 2018 I tried again solo, this time armed with my experience from my previous attempts. Although, this year my intent was to win the Malle Moto, known by everyone as the most demanding category of the race. With no team, no mechanic, no support vehicle or anything, just me, my bike, my metal tote of tools and equipment and a tent. Here is my encounter.
Preparation is everything and in order to be able to repair the bike at the event, getting it ready by yourself is a crucial part of what it takes. I painstakingly built my bike from the ground up in
occupying it for a mere two or three hours.
You have to do everything by yourself
my garage at home, paying particular attention
Once you are up, you follow a routine. No
to every last little detail and making small
support means you have to do everything by
modifications to prevent issues along the way.
yourself so, I started by packing up my bed
A chest infection
and tent, getting dressed, having a quick wash, brushing my teeth and then running over to the food area for breakfast. Breakfast really is
Just days before the race start in Lima, I got a
important! Sometimes you can be on the bike
chest infection which put serious doubts as to
in racing mode for 12 hours or more, so it is
whether I would even be able to start the race.
important to get as much energy as you can. I
I delayed scrutineering till the very last moment
would often eat until I felt like bursting, simply
and tried to get better. In the end, I started the
from knowing that I needed as many calories
race feeling far from my best but in my head I
as possible. Wolfing down a kilo of pasta at
was not giving up; just getting to the start line
4 a.m. is not the most pleasant thing to do,
was hard enough.
but it had to be done – usually with some help from water and orange juice. Once loaded with
Every morning starts early. Motorcycles leave
food, I would pack my road book, grab some
first and the earliest bird is typically away at
energy bars and water, get my gear on and
4:30 a.m. Forget staying in bed, you always
head to the stage start. In the dark!
have to be up before sunrise. The closer you
The stages vary greatly throughout the rally,
are to the front of the field, the earlier you
as do the untimed liaison sections (between
have to start and, as the race progresses and
bivouacs and special stages). The liaisons
fatigue sets in, it gets harder and harder to
range from short, some 50 km or so, to
drag yourself out of your tent, sometimes after
gargantuan, up to 800 km in length. Staying
Text and photography by Lyndon Poskitt
30 31
focused and awake on the long liaisons is really hard. I would often listen to audio books, music or talk to myself to stay awake, especially as the race progresses and fatigue starts to set in. The weather systems during the race vary too; in the deserts of Argentina, temperatures rise to a brutal 50°C, while in Bolivia we reached altitudes of over 5000 metres on the Altiplano, making it difficult to breathe and stay warm, with the temperatures at times plummeting to almost freezing. The cold coupled with rain also made the riding extremely challenging. Having the right gear was a game changer; waterproof top, trousers and gloves were essential in keeping me dry, while battery powered heated vests helped maintain my core temperature on the long cold liaisons where you are not working hard enough to stay warm in the chilling, biting wind.
30 / 33 Story
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The toughest desert race in the world
means handing the bike over to the mechanics and
Rally racing is a navigational event, the
getting some rest. But for the Malle Moto guys,
directions and route dictated by a paper
This year, the terrain of the special stages
the mammoth task of servicing the bike begins.
roll and trip computer. The roll is prepared
varied greatly, ranging from the soft sand dunes
Changing tyres and mousses, oils and filters and
for the riders, it is done way ahead of time
of Peru, the wet mud and hard pack tracks
repairing any damage or broken items from the day.
and then pre-run again days before the
of Bolivia, and the dusty, rugged off-piste in
Changing the setup of the suspension and if you
event. Terrain changes because of rain and
Argentina. After just a few days, the Dakar Rally
are lucky, finding a few minutes to clean the bike,
even local construction etc., so the road
2018 was already proving why it is famed as
especially if it’s gotten muddy. Keeping the radiator
book needs to be updated daily, alongside
the hardest desert race in the world. It was
clean and flowing is essential. With no spare riding
personal markings to highlight dangers and
really a tough one and it was going to take all I
gear, you had to hang your clothes and boots
key navigational waypoints. Each rider has a
had to get to the finish. Stage distance varied
where they would dry the best for the morning.
different technique. For me and most Malle
from 200 km to 800 km typically in line with the difficulty of the terrain. Arrival time at the bivouac ranged from 3 p.m. in the afternoon to
No time for massages or therapy
Moto riders, it is essential to keep the time it takes to a minimum and we therefore only enter the key information, not necessarily
the early hours of the morning, all depending
Only when the work on the bike is completed,
such that makes you ride faster, just the
on how your day unfolded. At one point I arrived
which at minimum would take two hours for a full
info needed to keep you on track and safe.
to the bivouac area at 1 a.m. only to find that
service, comes the time to replenish the rider.
Marking the road book would take between
the truck with my tent and tools was not there
Dinner time! Food, and lots of it; again, taking
1 and 3 hours depending on the size and
yet, so I had to sleep outside on a borrowed
on as much energy as possible. By the half
complexity of the stage. And, finally, it is time
sleeping mat and jacket to stay warm.
way point the body is starting to take a beating
to get clean, though showering for me is
and the muscles begin to hurt. No time for
optional and I would weigh its benefits against
When the days stages and liaisons come to an
massages or therapy though, there’s still work
the amount of hours of sleep I could get. The
end, for most competitors the arrival at the bivouac
to do‌in comes the road book.
decision typically was to go to bed.
Rest day
over. Having started and finished three Dakar
the official Dakar rally releases. It can still be
rallies now, I can honestly say that preparation
viewed on YouTube today.
Rest day – a day in the middle of the rally
and smart riding is what pays off. You have
where there are no riding or special stages,
to stay focussed and keep busy in order to
This year, I again finished second in the solo /
is actually very inappropriately named for the
get everything done. A finish is a win for most
Malle Moto class, coming in after Olivier Pain,
Malle Moto riders; this is the only chance
privateers and in the Malle Moto class, every
we actually get to work on the bike for a full
finisher is considered a winner.
an ex-Factory Yamaha racer from France. It was also my best-ever finish, 33rd overall. I had a
day and, inevitably, there is no resting. My
smooth and successful race and one to be very
rest day was spent servicing my front forks,
Dakar 2018 was the most gruelling rally I have
proud of. I’m happy and proud, because I’m just
replacing parts on the bike and fixing small
done in my career and I started Rally Racing in
an average guy who loves to ride motorcycles
non-essential issues. All-in-all this amounted
2012. It was relentless and you needed mental
and share my adventures with the world.
to about 10 hours of work on the bike, leaving
and physical strength to get through it. The
And finally, I would like to thank Akrapovič
the remainder only for the essentials, food,
fans were amazing this year and I got numerous
for supporting me towards Dakar 2018 and
long awaited shower and road book.
new ones too with my daily video series from
providing music to my ears on every stage!
Every finisher is considered a winner
the race. I organised a 10 minute daily video feature and took my own crew to make this happen; a videographer / editor and a driver.
Only when you are finally finished with all
My good friends Dario and Rick followed the
your work each day, can you consider going
race, added their own footage to my self-filmed
to bed, often setting your alarm clock for just
videos, and created a daily feature releasing
a few hours ahead. If one thing goes awry,
it via satellite around the world every day. The
what’s known as the snowball affect can easily
series was called “Races to Places – Dakar
take over and before you know it your rally is
2018 LIVE” and received more views than
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I n t e r v ie w
34 / 39 Interview
RIDING MOTORBIKES I WOULD HAVE KILLED MYSELF Interview with GERHARD BERGER by Miran Ališič photography Bor Dobrin, WRI, HochZwei
His tally of ten wins in Formula 1 puts him far from the most successful crop of drivers. But it would be a great mistake to judge Gerhard Berger by his ten top of the podium finishes alone. The Tirolean from Wörgl was a wild teen, interested mainly in motorbikes and having fun, though he obviously inherited his father’s business sense, which came in very handy in his post-racing career, when he first took on the role of BMW Motorsport Director, then bought a 50% stake in Scuderia Toro Rosso, brought Formula 2 back from the brink for the FIA and is currently making sure that the DTM racing car series will keep on going after Mercedes’ exit. Gerhard Berger has always been someone special, an interesting interlocutor and, when occasion allowed, never minced his words. We hooked up for a chat at Red Bull’s Energy Station during the Austrian GP in Zeltweg.
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35
Statistics say that you won ten races during your 14 years in Formula 1 career. You crossed the finish line first while racing for Benetton, Ferrari and McLaren and twice you finished 3rd overall in the Formula 1 World Championship. But you never won the world champion title… You forgot to mention two things. I made a lot of money and stayed alive. That was worth something back then. Now, 21 years after having retired from Formula 1, do you regret missing out on the title? Also because you always raced in topnotch cars?
You will go down in history as the last driver who sat down and negotiated his own contract with Enzo Ferrari. In 1987 Mr Ferrari was an elderly gentleman, but still, what do you remember?
True, my family had a large transport company,
respect and renown. But there are some people
so I learnt the basics while at home. I also
in this story who had even more renown and
maintained good relations with my partners and
commanded even more respect. And that
BMW was my first partner in motorsport. They
is what negotiating with Enzo Ferrari looked
called me up one day and asked me to become
like. In his office you basically answered
their Motorsport Director.
everything with ‘yes, thank you’. These were not negotiations. Mr Ferrari said what he said and with a yes and a thank you. But the terms were
won it. But it just didn’t work out. Regarding
fair and advantageous.
race cars, though, I wasn’t in the fastest ones
the Ferraris I drove were never at the very top. But that still isn’t the crucial point. Had I been a bit more focused on racing, my racetrack results would surely have benefited. I always wanted to live a full life, have fun, go on pleasant holidays and have unforgettable race weekends. Nowadays, I would pay more attention to the important goals; I would focus completely on racing and the pursued objective – world champion title. You mentioned Ayrton Senna, who holds a special place among all Formula 1 drivers. He was extremely talented and usually completely focused. The two of you were competitors, but, even more than that, friends. How was that even possible?
You said ‘I was lucky’ a few times. I would rather say that you crossed paths with business a lot sooner.
exuded charisma and consequently earned
No, even though it would have been nice to have
I was racing alongside Senna in McLaren, but
after the racing.
We already discussed Senna, a driver that
stated his offer and I just responded at the end
all the time. That was perhaps only true when
this was sort of where my life naturally took me
The place we are at right now, Zeltweg, was where you raced for the first time in a car, a Ford Escort in 1979. But you were mainly interested in motorbikes, so how exactly did car racing happen? If I’d stayed with bikes, I’d probably have killed myself. Yes, that is what would have happened. You are right, I competed at many different
All your Austrian colleagues were an important part of the media world, both during or after their driving careers. Jochen Rindt had his own TV show, Niki Lauda worked for the German TV company RTL for many decades, Alexander Wurz is an excellent co-commentator on the Austrian public broadcaster ORF. Just you, the person who seems the most suitable of all for that role, never took part. How come? True, all of them. Even Niki, you’re quite right. You can only succeed in the media world if you’re critical and tell the truth to the audience.
bike races, as well as rode them on roads, I did speedway… A friend offered me a car, it was merely a coincidence, I came to a race at Zeltweg and won at my very first event. This kind of set the stage, wouldn’t you say? I read somewhere that you missed a mentor, somebody like Helmut Marko is at Red Bull now. Why?
“Nowadays, I would pay more attention to the important goals; I would focus completely on racing and the pursued objective – world champion title.”
I keep telling young drivers that fame and
And by doing so you lose all your old friends.
That’s life, I guess. If two people get along,
money, a lot of money in their early years,
Everyone makes mistakes and if your role is
if there’s the right chemistry, then it’s not
can destroy a career. In that situation it’s very
to point out the mistakes your colleagues and
impossible. This was the case with us, we met in
difficult to stay focused, to continue working
friends have made… Things can quickly go sour.
Formula 3, we got along well and became good
hard towards new racing goals. Advice from
friends in Formula 1.
someone like Helmut Marko, even though he is market-focused, can always help with becoming
After you signed with McLaren knowing Senna would be your teammate, did you believe that you could beat him? Of course. (laughs) I’d beaten all my teammates in all teams and all categories up to that point. I thought that history would keep repeating itself. I was a bit naïve about that, I admit. Nonetheless, I think that I raced well against Senna too, but was just unable to beat him. Ayrton was a very special guy. He made no mistakes even when behind the wheel of a race car, he did not have many weak points and this is why he ended up ahead of the rest of us. I remember Senna telling me in an interview that you were undoubtedly the world champion in negotiating the financial side of your contracts. True? Perhaps true, perhaps. But that championship was never official and points were never awarded for it.
better, faster, achieving even better results. Such a mentor makes sure that you don’t get too tempted by pleasant vacations, a full bank account or beautiful girls. This was the biggest lure in this sport and one I was unable to resist. Many drivers continue racing in various categories and on different continents after finishing with their Formula 1 career. You did not. I know that you had health issues and that your father passed away around that time. Was it a conscious decision to stop racing for good? I quit because I really had health problems. My body was unable to cope with the physical stresses that Formula 1 brings. But that doesn’t mean that I had it any easier than other drivers when the question what to do now appeared. I was lucky to have received an offer from BMW soon thereafter, that I bought half of Toro Rosso later… I was and am lucky to enjoy being in the world of business, that I can manage business,
What about your current work? How did you get excited about managing a racing series like the DTM? A similar opening was recently available for Formula 1 as well. No, I was not ready to circle the globe five times a year and do 20 races, and there are other reasons, mainly to do with Formula 1. I also have a young family and want to spend more time at home. The DTM offer therefore suited me to a T, I can do a lot of work from home, there are not too many races, they are all nearby in Germany or surrounding countries. I can drive instead of flying to all of them, I don’t spend every night in a different hotel, but mainly sleep at home. Let us briefly return to Toro Rosso. You swapped a 50% stake in Dietrich Mateschitz’s team for a 50% stake in your transport company. But you soon changed your mind and sold your half back to him. Why?
34 / 39 Interview
36
“You forgot to mention two things. I made a ton of money and stayed alive. That was worth something back then.�
37
I wanted to create a team that would have been
the negatives, we do it. Otherwise, we don’t.
a worthy competitor to Red Bull. We started
Take a look at Formula 1. It ran into problems
well, we had a solid racing car, we secured the
because there is too much democracy. The
services of Giorgio Ascanelli (Ayrton Senna’s
rule of unanimous decision-making has been
old engineer at McLaren), we won the first
in force for a long time. In such a competitive
race in Toro Rosso’s history, we had Sebastian
world of large teams and car manufacturers
Vettel racing for us, we created a lot of good
as Formula 1, there is no room for decision-
things. The problem was that we used Red
making through consensus. Democracy simply
Bull’s technology, similar to Ferrari and Haas
should not exist there. And something else has
today, for example. Williams and others who
changed. Today you deal with global companies
could not match our pace started complaining
and their interests, while in the past teams were
that we were not playing by Formula 1 rules,
owned by individuals, for whom racing was their
which meant that we were required to start
life. This is a very important difference.
developing a completely new race car with our proprietary technology. That meant that I needed twice the money I had already invested. I simply didn’t have that sum and Red Bull would have had to step in. It seemed wrong to me to have somebody else paying for my share. So I decided to bow out.
“I am in love with these Tyrolean hills of mine, I have two small children, a new family, and I adore seeing them grow up in the hills and with the animals.”
You have five children from three relationships, four girls of different generations and now a two-year-old son. You live at about the altitude of the middle station of the Sölden cable car in Tyrol. Has choosing a home there, after having lived in Monte Carlo for a long time, also meant a symbolic change of lifestyle? Yes, absolutely. I am returning to the roots. What you said is quite true. At a certain moment I simply didn’t want to live in Monaco any more, even though it would still have made more sense from the point of view of taxes. I am in love with these Tyrolean hills of mine, I have two small children, a new family, and I adore seeing them
DTM is at a crossroads. Mercedes is leaving. How to go on? It’s important to find the right balance, and
grow up in the hills and with the animals. But you would probably still want to have one of them, your son at least, test his mettle in motorsport?
mainly to create a sport where the driver does the winning thanks to his skills. The emotional
Of course, I’ll take my two year old son karting
component is extremely important. Fans need
next year. (laughs) I intend to leave such
to identify with our drivers through exciting
decisions to them and basically support them
shoulder-to-shoulder racing. We are here to
on their way. Every path they choose will be the
please the fans. Before we change a DTM
right one. Though, to be completely honest, it
rule, I check whether the change will make it
would bring a smile to my face if my son showed
cheaper for the teams or create more fun on the
a bit of interest and talent for karting at least.
track. If the positive consequences outweigh
// Si Gerhard Berger – divji mladenič s smislom za posel Gerhard Berger z desetimi zmagami v Formuli 1 statistično ne sodi med najuspešnejše dirkače. Toda velika napaka bi bila, če bi ga sodili le po njih. Tirolec je bil divji mladenič, ki so ga zanimali predvsem motocikli in razgibana mladost, po očetu pa je očitno podedoval smisel za posle. Preizkusil se je v vlogi športnega direktorja v koncernu BMW, nato kupil polovico moštva Scuderia Toro Rosso, za zvezo FIA znova postavil na noge Formulo 2, zdaj pa skrbi za to, da serija športnih avtomobilov DTM tudi po odhodu Mercedesa ne bo ugasnila. Vedno je bil zelo posebna figura in zanimiv sogovornik.
34 / 39 Interview
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Fantastic
IT’S GAME TIME Who doesn’t like to play with PlayStation? Now you can do it in style with the limited edition console in translucent blue and gold, designed to commemorate the over 500 million PlayStation units having being sold to date. That means 500 million adventures into the unknown and courageous stands against evil. This limited edition bundle of only 50,000 units includes a PS4 Pro Console with a 2TB hard drive, wireless controller, PlayStation Camera, mono headset and Vertical Stand. Let’s play!
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C E L E B R AT I O N O F S T Y L E To mark its 185th anniversary, the watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre took a new step in terms of mechanical and aesthetic expertise. The new watch Reverso Tribute Tourbillon Duoface brings together the flying tourbillion with the Duoface concept, two techniques that represent absolute sophistication. Originally the singular purpose of the Reverso watch was that it could be worn during polo matches without getting destroyed. Now this limited edition will be kept to a mere hundred pieces. Hurry, the clock is ticking!
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Sto ry
Luca Cadalora by Imre Paulovits photography Marc Robinot, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP
The Coach In the world of MotoGP, where a few thousands of a second decide the winner, even the best need an experienced observer who will spy on the other contenders during the short time available in practice and also bring their own mistakes to light. Just like Luca Cadalora does for Valentino Rossi.
With a deafening roar the MotoGP field
percent of additional information can decide if
accelerates from the tight corner down the short
someone is on the podium or not. Valentino has
straight before the bikes turn left and disappear
learned it from other riders’ examples and that’s
into the downhill bend. A man stands by the
why he hired me.”
road, his eyes moving in all directions under a baseball cap. He doesn't miss any of the world’s best motorcycle racers' motions. Luca Cadalora
Two cast in the same mould
knows what being fast is all about and he also
It all started with the fact that Luca Cadalora built
knows all the strengths and weaknesses of the
his own Yamaha YZF-R1 superbike just for fun.
current MotoGP elite.
“Valentino heard about it and invited me to attend
Since he appeared alongside Valentino Rossi
the practice day of the VR46 Riders Academy
in an official capacity for the first time two and
in Misano,” the 125 cc World Champion of
half years ago, he proudly displays his position
1986 and 250 cc World Champion of 1991/92
with the large inscription “coach” on his Yamaha
reveals. “We did a couple of laps together there
cap. But what could somebody still teach a
and chatted about riding for quite some time.”
nine-time world champion competing in his 23rd
A short while later Cadalora received a phone
Grand Prix season? “It’s not about teaching him
call. “Vale asked me if I would be interested to
something, but from along the track I can see
become his rider coach.” He felt honoured, but
things he can’t notice to this extent while on the
didn’t accept immediately. “I told him let’s try. I
track,” Cadalora explains. “Of course the team
didn’t want to be with him only for the purpose of
always watches the screens and Vale sees the
travelling, but only when it would really help him.
other riders on the track. But it’s always only an
Therefore I travelled with him to the test session
extract. And I add my own observations to these
on Phillip Island in February 2016. Valentino liked
extracts. Of course this doesn’t help so much.
it and so we are working together for the third
But when it’s about a few thousandths, one
season already now.”
42 / 45 Story
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Slowly the area along the track jumps to life. Stefan Prein appears on his scooter and takes the same position. The German does the same job for a different team. He was one of the first former riders who were hired to notice things not caught by the cameras and even the riders themselves. Cadalora takes his scooter and rides to one of the next corners. But even there he’s not alone. Emilio Alzamora is already there, he is the watcher for Marc Márquez. Then Andrea Dovizioso’s dad appears together with Ducati Team test rider Michele Pirro. When the riders pass by their eyes are following them. This bunch of top-class specialists looks like a group of meerkats when a herd of antelopes is passing by. They turn their heads almost in synchrony. They are deeply focused because the available time is short and precious. Then all of them notice an elbow slider on the racetrack and call for the marshals in one voice. Luca gets back to the job at hand and watches a quick S bend. He takes out a sketch of the track and notes something down on it. “I’m very old school with that,” he admits. “Some rider coaches do videos, analysing them with the riders. But if I would make videos or photos I would concentrate on this and I could miss things. That’s why I believe notes are more efficient.”
42 / 45 Story
Go-to guy for all He has seen enough. The 55-year-old Italian pockets his notes and returns to the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP box. Technicians from Michelin and Öhlins welcome and immediately question him, and when Valentino Rossi comes in, Luca immediately takes a look at the tires. But he doesn’t want to be the centre of attention. He only listens to what Rossi has to tell the technicians and takes more notes. “What’s most demanding only comes after that,” Cadalora reveals. “I am present at all team meetings. All the data is analysed there and matched with Valentino’s own observations. Then I add my input. Out of this data and the two subjective observations a strategy is created. And this happens after every single practice.” Was there ever a moment when his observations brought a clear advantage? “No, there was no such specific situation,” Cadalora admits. “But there are many tiny aspects, that, when added to those of the others in the team, can make a slight difference. And together this can give you the last tenth which decides between winning and losing.”
44
“Some rider coaches do videos, analysing them with the riders. But if I would make videos or photos I would concentrate on this and I could miss things. That’s why I believe notes are more efficient.” Luca Cadalora
45
Sto ry
46 / 51 Story
by Gaber Keržišnik photography Jernej Prelac
Visiting Luigi Dall’Igna, Ducati Corse General Manager
MOTOGP TITLE IS THE ONLY THING MISSING Just as I was contemplating whether a bottle of special wine is a suitable present for Luigi Dall'Igna, we arrived at a beautifully renovated house, located apart from other houses, on a steep hill not far from Vicenza. As we were making our way through a large garage towards the residential area of the spacious building, we passed an imposing old cellar door standing ajar. Through the opening I saw an exceptional wine cellar with dusty wine bottles of various sorts, brands and vintages filling wall niches from top to bottom. As Luigi Dall’Igna noticed the direction of my glance, I knew I'd brought the right gift. The Ducati Corse General Manager said with a smile: “I like wine. I meticulously collect various bottles and vintages. I'll show you my wine collection after we've had coffee. And we must also taste it, of course."
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“
I loved riding bikes when I was young, but was always more interested in technical stuff than riding. How bikes were built and how they worked. Luigi Dall’Igna
”
46 / 51 Story
but mainly in trips. I always rode my bike slowly and carefully on the road. Later my wife and I travelled all over Europe on a motorbike. This was my best holiday so far. I sold the bike after our first daughter was born. It's not that I’m afraid, but I simply haven’t been spending a lot of time at home in recent years. Races and the required travel take up a lot of time and when I am home I dedicate myself to my family. You can't take a family on a holiday on a bike. Or go skiing, my other passion. I love to ski and I went skiing a lot, but after the children were born, I put the skis away. I’m slowly starting to ski again. And my third passion – diving. I haven’t done a dive in a long time and I’d love to start again.” I had no idea that he was such an adrenaline addict. Bikes, skiing, diving… Based on the above I don’t expect him to play golf. “No, that I don’t, I really don’t,” he laughs out loud. During the races, Luigi Dall'Igna sits in a large racing seat, staring at a screen displaying the riders' lap times and usually watches the goings-on at the track with folded arms and a stony face. He But coffee first. The day is sunny and warm, the garden surrounding the house carefully groomed. “It’s a beautiful area and I like the house,” I complimented, whereupon the Ducati Corse General Manager stroked his chin, repeating the gesture we see him make during the tensest of race moments. “It really is beautiful and I love these parts. I was born not far from here and the house is a joint idea with one of my best friends, whom I’ve known since childhood. Each of us uses one half of the place, as it would be too big otherwise,” he said as we gazed at the massive wooden ceiling beams which reminded us of how houses were built a century ago. I turned on my recorder while Luigi Dall’Igna, sipping an aromatic espresso, embarked on his trip through time.
Beginnings on four wheels
remains almost emotionless until his riders cross the finish line. He mentioned a lack of free time. Is constant travelling becoming a chore? “No, that’s not the issue. It’s not really travelling in the way many people imagine it. I just leave home, get on the plane, go to the hotel, then to the race track and then retrace my steps. One sees a lot of hotels and racing circuits, but doesn't get to see a lot of places, doesn’t get to feel the culture.” What is Luigi Dall’Igna like while travelling? Is he a man of the world, or does he remain strictly Italian, looking for restaurants serving pizza and spaghetti even when half way across the world. Is he tempted at all by sushi while attending a race in Japan? “I'm not a typical Italian. I know exactly what kind of people you have in mind. (laughter) I like sushi and I eat it often. Whenever I travel to a different place, I try to get close
Did you know that Luigi Dall’Igna began his career on
to its culture. I’m interested in how people live
four wheels? The grey-haired man with a bohemian
elsewhere.”
beard, who looks more like a poet or a painter, smiles once again: “I loved riding bikes when I was young, but was always more interested in technical stuff than riding. How bikes were built and how they worked. After graduating and becoming an engineer, I wanted to work for a racing team or in a racing department. This is the best way to get to know things and learn how to do them. Race bikes use state-of-the-art technology. But I started in Padua, working for a team which was preparing racing Ferrari F40s for the IMSA series. Soon after my arrival that programme was shut down, so I moved to Aprilia. In 1992 I thus became the 27th employee in their racing department."
49
Three passions
Tree house Alongside exquisite paninis enticing us from a massive wooden table in front of us, Gigi offers to open a bottle of high-quality wine, 2005 vintage. “Let’s try this one. It’s excellent,” he says as we go for a stroll through his garden holding glasses of white wine. As we pass beds of ripe tomatoes flanked by shining purple eggplants, almost ready to be harvested, Gigi inspects the crops and takes us to a neat tree house, which looks as if it came from a fairy tale. “Do you like it? It’s very pleasant among the branches. Shady and cool in the summer. I like to sit here and sometimes even have a meal with the family on
Motorbike competitions are where his heart is. Does
the small terrace in front. Having a treetop lunch
he still ride bikes? “It’s perhaps interesting that as
with my nearest and dearest is always something
a bike rider I was never interested in competing,
to remember.” As the photographer continues
to press the shutter button and we sit amidst the leaves like a pair of mischievous boys, it becomes clear that we both share the passion for racing. Our conversation constantly veers back towards the racetrack.
A young and keen engineer I ask whether he became the General Manager of the racing department immediately after joining Aprilia. “No, of course not. I was just a young and keen engineer. I worked on the 125 and 250 cc two-stroke bikes then used by Aprilia for racing. I became the head of a project for the first time only later, when Aprilia decided to begin developing a 500 cc two-cylinder bike.” Nostalgic fans say that the only true races were those on two-stroke machines. The sound and smell of a two-stroke exhaust remains in your
“
I collect bikes according to their importance. The first win with a model or a brand means a lot to me. This office is where my milestones are.
”
Luigi Dall’Igna
Move to Ducati
blood forever, they say. Luigi Dall’Igna disagrees.
the leather armchair at the writing desk. There
“As early as 1997 I worked with Rotax as the
are a few more bikes here. The office, filled with
head of engine development for Superbike and
riders' helmets, old racing accreditations and
The successes in Superbike alerted the
I believe that a four-stroke engine has its own
other mementos, is also home to two modern
competition to Gigi. He was successfully
charm. We won a great many races on two-
era MotoGP Ducatis, a 250 cc Aprilia, once
wooed by Ducati, which had a good nose for
stroke bikes under my leadership. But when
ridden by Casey Stoner, a Gilera used by Marco
talent. But Luigi Dall’Igna himself also believed
Dorna decided to change its policy, I didn't
Simoncelli, a Dakar Rally motorbike and a set
in success. “That was a huge challenge and I
agree. My nod came despite our excellent
of winning Aprilia RSV4 superbikes, which for
love challenges. I felt no outside pressure. But
experience with two-stroke engines at Aprilia,
many years served as the weapon of choice of
pressure from within is a different story. I set high
which also meant that we faced large issues
Gigi’s invincible compatriot and Superbike World
goals for myself and I want to make them come
moving on to four-stroke ones. We had to adapt
Champion Max Biaggi. “I collect bikes according
true. I was missing something very important,
to a technology that was completely new to us.
to their importance. The first win with a model or
the title of world champion in the MotoGP
Up until 2006 all engines for Aprilia's racing
a brand means a lot to me. This office is where
category. I needed a MotoGP team that was
unit were developed by outside partners, mainly
my milestones are,” he adds as we examine the
well established, had more experience and a
Rotax, but some also by our British partner
machines. And what is, in his opinion, the most
larger budget. My goal for Ducati has remained
Cosworth. In that year we decided to develop
important technological milestone in modern
the same. But, well, we are still chasing that
the engine for the RSV4 bike internally.”
racing? “That came in 2006 when it finally
elusive title.” It will not come this year. Why is
became clear that two-stroke engines were on
that? “We were very close to winning it last year,
2003 brings a new challenge
their way out, even from lower categories of
but something is still lacking. I am convinced
racing. Aprilia decided to switch to four-stroke
that we have the best engine among all the
when we entered Superbike, but I think that the
teams. It is the most powerful and has the best
key to our success in the years that followed
characteristics regarding power delivery. It uses
In 2003 Luigi Dall’Igna decided to leave Aprilia
was our belief in the technology we developed
our Desmo system, a trademark of Ducati, as
for a new challenge. “I left to work in Barcelona
while racing with two-stroke models. I am talking
well as a 90-degree angle between the cylinders.
for the Derbi brand, but I soon became part
about electronics, which was already very much
After arriving at Ducati, I thought that we should
of the old company as Piaggio, which already
present back then. Almost everyone was using
have changed the angle to 75 or 80 degrees, but
owned Aprilia, bought Derbi just a year after
Magneti Marelli at the time, but I believed that
now I am convinced that the 90-degree angle is
my move. So I was back with Aprilia." We were
we could successfully transplant our own system
the best.”
standing next to Alvaro Bautista's red 125 cc
from 125 and 250 cc to Superbike. It turned out
Aprilia racing bike sporting the number 19, now
I was right. It was a risky move, but it paid off.”
hanging on the wall of the office, just behind
46 / 51 Story
Cooperating with Akrapovič since 1997 The exhaust must also play a part in the winning package, I chip in playfully, but Luigi Dall’Igna continues in a serious tone: “I have been cooperating with Akrapovič since the very beginnings, that is since 1997, when Aprilia began developing its first two-stroke engine for Superbike. I wanted Akrapovič to build us an exhaust for an off-road bike, the one we used for Dakar, but the company was regretfully overbooked with other projects at that time. All four-stroke engines fitted to motorbikes of all brands and during all times used Akrapovič exhausts exclusively. I sincerely believe that a really well-made exhaust system for a racing bike can only be a product of Akrapovič. They have better technology than other manufacturers and the exhaust plays a key role on a racing motorbike. The space is limited, the forces immense and the temperatures extreme. Another key factor is weight. Many things can go wrong with an exhaust and when selecting it I trust Akrapovič alone.”
Favourite rider – Tetsuya Harada Luigi Dall'Igna did not take long to choose his favourite rider: “Tetsuya Harada. An exceptional person and a great rider. Also the only one with whom we failed to win the championship.” Taking another sip of wine, he thinks for a minute before continuing: “I believe that the best period for racing is here and now. Currently there are six or seven riders who are capable of winning every race. There are many bikes that are closely matched. We watch amazing races and thrilling fights between very competitive bikes and riders. This is the golden age of racing.” The time will also come for Ducati to finally claim its crown and it will likely come very soon. We shake our hands, say thank you for a pleasant afternoon and are seen off by Gigi's shout: “See you at the next race.”
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// Si Luigiju Dall’Igni manjka le še naslov v razredu MotoGP Luigija Dall'Igna, direktorja Ducati Corse, smo obiskali na njegovem domu blizu Vicenze. Sivolasi mož z bohemsko bradico je bolj podoben pesniku ali slikarju kot inženirju. Kot mladenič je rad vozil motorje, a so ga še bolj kot vožnja zanimale tehnične stvari – sestava motocikla in njegovo delovanje. Ko je diplomiral in postal inženir, si je želel delati v dirkaškem moštvu. Začel je v Padovi, kjer so pripravljali dirkalne Ferrarije F40 za serijo IMSA. Leta 1992 je odšel k Aprilii in leta 2003 k znamki Derbi v Barcelono, a je bil kmalu znova del stare druščine, saj je le leto pozneje Piaggio, ki je že bil lastnik Aprilie, kupil tudi Derbi. Konec leta 2013 je Dall’Igna prestopil k Ducatiju. “To je bil velik izziv. Zunanjega pritiska nisem občutil, drugače pa je z notranjim pritiskom, tu si postavim visoke cilje, ki jih želim uresničiti. Manjkalo mi je še nekaj zelo pomembnega, naslov svetovnega prvaka v razredu MotoGP. Potreboval sem moštvo, ki ima v tem razredu odlično ekipo, več izkušenj in večji proračun. Moj cilj pri Ducatiju je ves čas enak. Še vedno čakamo na naslov prvaka,” je med drugim povedal Luigi Dall’Igna, ki s podjetjem Akrapovič sodeluje od leta 1997.
Driv e Wit h U s
52 / 55 Drive With Us
AUSTRALIAN SOIL WITH
The name Phillip Island evokes several responses. Some simply see it as a small island in southern Australia, not too far from Melbourne, others know it for its Penguin Parade, which draws at least 3 million tourists a year, while others still immediately think of motorsport, since the island is home to a famous circuit of the same name. We covered the track‘s 90 years of motorsport history in a new Volkswagen Golf R. 52
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by Miran Ališič photography Ben Galli
CROATIAN ROOTS DISCOVERING PHILLIP ISLAND IN A VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R
MORE THAN JUST GP Time to return to the present. Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a modern track which has been hosting the Australian motorcycle GP since 1989. It is a diverse circuit with numerous rises and dips and fast flowing turns that riders adore. The current circuit was built in 1988, after its predecessor was renovated and shortened to 4.4 km. This is where the Golf R felt more at home, though we did not race it on the track. The international public knows the track almost exclusively for its Australian Motorcycle GP, while the circuit itself hosts several additional car as well as bike races. Its manager, who also maintains a lovely museum next to the course, is clear: “MotoGP is our most prestigious event, but we make money on other days through other
The trip from Melbourne was a peach. Most
types of activities and races.” These include
of the 140 kilometres are done on a two-lane motorway, with only the final part on a regional road, passing by farms and free range cattle. If you are behind the wheel of a Golf R with a 4-cylinder 228 kW (310 hp) engine under
FIRST AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX WINNER ARTHUR TERDICH
its bonnet, the 100 kph motorway speed limit becomes a big nuisance. Perhaps the
Rich Australians mainly raced in Austins
manual 6-speed gearbox would have been
and Bugattis, the then pinnacles of racing
a better fit for the circuit than our Golf R’s
technology. The race consisted of four long
7-speed automatic DSG transmission. Not
straights and four right corners. It remained
far from the town of San Remo, named after
unchanged since its 1928 inaugural event,
the famous Italian resort, we crossed the
apart from being renamed the Australian
bridge connecting the mainland with the well-
Grand Prix in 1929. Its first winner under the
known isle. Phillip Island was first settled by
new name was Arthur Terdich in a Bugatti
the aborigines, while European conquerors,
Type 37A, the grandson of an emigrant from
arriving around 1840, used it mainly to raise
the village of Lovran near Opatija, Croatia.
various animals needed for the Melbourne Zoo.
The prize was a set of silverware in an elegant
The short crossing by ships and ferries was
cupboard. So where is this prize now?
replaced in 1940 by the first bridge, creating
Incredibly, 90 years later it is still (or yet again)
an influx of inhabitants and an uptick of tourism.
only some 500 metres from the finish line of
Racing included, since the bridge allowed a
the Phillip Island road racing circuit. Nigel
proper racetrack to be built. But let us go back
Terdich, Arthur’s grandson, has never raced a
to the first Grands Prix on the island. They
car in his life, but rather worked as a professor
took place on 10 kilometres of public roads in
at Melbourne University. His hobby is old
the shape of a square which still exist today,
motorbikes which he repairs and restores in
though only the signs at the turns remind one
the garage behind his house, and he came to
of its racing past.
Phillip Island after retiring. “Yes, you were quite lucky to have found me, since I’m the last male offspring of the Terdich family,” he joked during
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a modern track which has been hosting the Australian motorbike GP since 1989. It is a diverse circuit with numerous rises and dips and fast flowing turns that riders adore.
teatime, when we also surprised him with info regarding his great-great-grandfather’s origins. “I finally got to know what the sign on grandad’s summer house on the Mornington Peninsula meant – above the door it said Lovranka, but nobody knew what it meant.”
promotions and test drives, with the Golf R having already been featured on the track, as we were told while we were looking for the best place to shoot a photo that would clearly capture the wonderful background of meadows and ocean, the trademarks of the Phillip Island racetrack. Due to the diverse nature and turns of the circuit, we decided it would be better to test the Golf’s Launch Control system on the mainly empty parts of the former GP circuit. An enviable 4.6 seconds from 0 to 100 kph. The 1929 Bugatti Type 37A, while of a similar shade of blue as our Golf R, would have stood no chance against modern technology. Our Golf would also be recognised by many for its sound if it were fitted with R-Performance Titanium exhaust system of Akrapovič. The sound of Akrapovič is quite recognizable on Phillip Island as most of the best MotoGP teams have been using Akrapovič exhausts for quite some time.
52 / 55
Drive With Us
COMPLETED CIRCLE AT THE END OF THE WORLD The first winner of the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island was a descendant of a Croat from Lovran near Opatija, the town which also used to host road races for the Yugoslavian Grand Prix, before it was moved to the modern and purpose-built Grobnik circuit near Rijeka. The very first Yugoslavian GP at Grobnik was won by Australia’s Gregg Hansford in 1978 in classes 250 and 350 cc. As the first Australian MotoGP at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit was organised in 1989, the Australian race could be said to be a sort of a spiritual successor to the Yugoslavian GP at Grobnik, which lost its GP status just two years later. Both circuits are located close to the sea, both include comparable turns for motorbike racing and Australian racing pioneer Arthur Terdich’s roots stem from a location very close to Grobnik.
Some see Phillip Island as a small isle in southern Australia, not too far from Melbourne, others know it for its Penguin Parade, while others still immediately think of motorsport, as the island holds a famous circuit of the same name. 54
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Arthur Terdich, right, grandson of an immigrant from Lovran, Croatia, was the winner of the first Australian Grand Prix on Phillip Island in 1929.
by Alenka Birk photography PR, Lars Norgaard
AFRAID OF THE LION? Then stop reading at once! But if you ever wondered what it would be like to sleep next to a lion, you can spend the night at ZSL London Zoo in the Gir Lion Lodge, a wooden cabin next door to a pride of Asiatic lions. The forest oasis is inspired by the welcoming charm of hotels in the lions’ native Gujarat in India. Overnight guests can experience after-dark zoo scenery with a private tour at sunset and early in the morning. Discover what happens when the visitors go home and wake up to the sounds of roaring lions, hooting langur monkeys, squawking parrots and flamingos. www.zsl.org/zsl-london-zoo/gir-lion-lodge
NORTHERN LIGHTS -
Arctic summer is pure magic, but in autumn and winter the northern lights and abundant arctic nature are just marvellous. Immerse yourself in the world of glass igloos, log cabins, rooms in “Santa’s Home” and other miracles of the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in Finland. You can do crazy stuff – go on husky, reindeer or ice fishing safari, aurora hunting or midnight sun spotting. If you come at the right time you can even admire the northern lights and the twinkling of the bright starry sky from one of the glass igloos. Aurora borealis season starts in late August and lasts until the end of April. www.kakslauttanen.fi
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Crazy Stuff
HE HEARS THE RAINBOW Meet the world’s first cyborg artist, Neil Harbisson, Catalan-raised, Britishborn contemporary artist and cyborg activist best known for having an antenna implanted in his skull and for being officially recognised as a cyborg by a government. The antenna allows him to perceive visible and invisible colours via audible vibrations in his skull, including infrareds and ultraviolet as well as receive colours from space, images, videos, music or phone calls directly into his head via internet connection. He identifies himself both as a cyborg and as transspecies. You can meet this person, who no longer feels 100% human, and his artwork through his speeches at events all over the world. Check it out! www.cyborgarts.com
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NEW DIMENSION Are you one of the many people who lives in urban surroundings where you are exposed to constant stress? The best way of overcoming stress is life in nature. But that entails rent, construction or purchase of real estate. Instead you can take a step into a mobile world with Smartdome Constructions, based in Slovenia, and buy yourself a transparent dome home that can be easily taken apart and moved. With the possibility of placing units on slopes degraded areas and with a unique design, this mobile dome provides a new dimension of living in the country. www.smartdome.si
Sto ry
One of the world’s best publishing houses
Pocket books after all by Dagmar Pastors photography Taschen, Alice Springs, J.Paul Getty Trust
58 59
In German orthography it’s a simple hyphen, but it could quickly make a couple of thousand euros difference. Latest example: in October the art book publisher Taschen (meaning pockets) published the ultimate Ferrari book. Ferrari, 514 pages, leather bound. Written by the Italian Formula 1 pundit Pino Allievi, a man who used to dine with the legend, Enzo Ferrari. The monumental edition has its price – 25,000 euros!
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Story
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Taschen delivers the myth bound in Ferrari red for only 5,000 euros. Marc Newson designed the display case, made of aluminium and resembling the legendary Ferrari 12-cylinder engine. The first 250 copies (emblazoned with the eye-catching prancing horse) are signed by Enzo’s son Piero, the recently deceased former Ferrari Chairman and CEO Sergio Marchionne and his successor John Elkann.
Already in business at age 12
Story
“worked” as early as at the age of 12 for the youngest of five children, whose parents were
In the meantime the question of who might buy
both doctors. He sold second hand comics from
the book is only secondary for Benedikt Taschen
the USA, opened his first shop in Cologne aged
(57), founder and chairman of the publishing
19 (Benedikt Taschen), where he also offered
house. “We never published something purely
his huge collection of comics for sale. “Bene’s”
for money,” the native of Cologne, who resides
big breakthrough came with money he borrowed
in Los Angeles, said in an interview with the
from an aunt: at a leftover stock fair in the US
Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper. “It may sound
he bought 40,000 leftover copies of a Magritte
strange, but I really never did it. We always saw
art book from England for one dollar apiece. In
the program as a family and friends circle. In most
Germany he successfully sold them for 9.95
cases it also worked out then.” The business
German marks apiece…
Taschen editions obviously qualify as an investment, similar to works of art.
60 61
14 Taschen stores Taschen stores in Los Angeles, New York, London, Milan, Paris, Cologne and in other cities sell the publisher’s entire product range. And since 2017 his 33-year-old daughter, Marlene, a resident of Milan, manages the stores and more than 250 employees together with her father. She is chairing the implementation of the global strategy and the company’s aims. At the Symposium of the German Book Trade she outlined the company’s strategy. “Art books are sold in a huge number of copies for a small amount of money in several countries. The proportion of text should be small and therefore translated for a low price. Titles that promise success are diversified: limited editions, trade editions, poster sets and postcards as well as accompanying exhibitions in own galleries yield revenue at various levels.” Nevertheless, says Marlene Taschen, the planning of the range by Benedikt Taschen was “always intuitive”. Why did the senior authority step aside so readily? “Firstly this is a sign that I really hold her in high regard,” the proud father gives his reason for the decision. “When she asked me if we could work together I immediately agreed. She has abilities I lack. And now she is the chief executive – I am very happy about it. There is hardly any business where you could make more mistakes than in this one. And
$ 20,000
Today’s value
$ 20,000
$ 10,000 (154%)
$ 2,000
$ 1,500
(667%)
$ 4,500
(400%)
“TASCHEN books are almost designed to be collectible. It’s very common for a TASCHEN book to gain value almost instantly.”
(1,333%)
Richard David, Abebooks, the world’s most popular platform for antiquarian books
$ 4,500
(375%)
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1999
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2006
2007
Ed. of 10.000
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2007
2008
2008
2008
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furthermore, we are producing our books in several languages, too. One could make many mistakes on each single page – and then they would say: ‘What kind of stupid people are these?’And as we don’t want to make any mistakes, all that we do is very complex and takes a lot of time. It could only work with a team functioning well.” An example of the lengths – and expense – Taschen is willing to go to during the production of art books: at the exhibitions paintings are taken out of their frames to be photographed. The museums don’t like that, but because of the many details the high quality is necessary. Do all these efforts still pay in the internet era? Taschen, who resides in Los Angeles in the Chemosphere House of avantgarde architect John Lautner with his third wife Lauren, says: “There is tremendous competition, because many paintings have become available on the web in the meantime. But it’s also a challenge to do something else. If you want to give somebody a reason to get a book, then you have to do something for it, too – regardless if the book sells for ten or a thousand euros.”
It was Marlene Taschen’s initiative Or 25,000 euros, just like the newly published massive Ferrari tome. The fire-red masterpiece was Marlene Taschen’s initiative. She was thrilled by the enquiry from Ferrari, created the Limited Edition and immediately catapulted it to a position among the top five of the most expensive art book projects ever released by Taschen. At the very top one finds MoonFire, which contains works by Norman Mailer
2016
$ 5,000
Art Ed. of 250
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Taschen stores in Los Angeles, New York, London, Milan, Paris, Cologne and other cities sell the publisher’s entire product range.
and comes with genuine lunar rocks – for 575,000
has quadrupled in value. Benedikt Taschen,
euros! The smaller version (with just one rock) would
also a collector of contemporary art since 1985
be available for just 75,000 euros – but it’s sold out.
and famed worldwide in this field as well, is, in the meantime, not too boastful about these
Taschen editions as an investment
developments and his lifetime achievement. “Back then we bought the US edition of Magritte for a dollar and sold it for 9.95 Deutschmarks –
Let’s take the coffee table book by Helmut
and the dollar was on par with the Deutschmark
Newton, weighing a whopping 30 kilograms,
at that time. We were lucky. In principle I believe
which was offered in 1999 for 1,690 euros.
in luck. Far too many successful people think
Today it is worth over 22,000 euros – Taschen
that it’s only them that are responsible for their
editions obviously qualify as an investment
success. But that’s total nonsense. You can do
similar to works of art. The Hockney coffee
whatever you want, but without luck...”
table book (6,500 euros), published in 2016,
// Si Taschen – ena najboljših založb na svetu Nemška založba Taschen s sedežem v Kölnu spada med najboljše na svetu. Zadnji presežek podjetja, ki ga je leta 1980 ustanovil Benedikt Taschen, je ep o Ferrariju na 514 straneh z usnjenim ovitkom. Napisal ga je italijanski strokovnjak za Formulo 1 Pino Allievi, ki je dobro poznal Enza Ferrarija. Monumentalna izdaja stane 25.000 evrov, cenejša različica v Ferrarijevi rdeči barvi in bolj običajnem zavitku je na voljo za 5.000 evrov. Na prvih 250 primerkov so se podpisali Enzov sin Piero, julija 2018 preminuli šef Ferrarija Segio Marchione in njegov naslednik John Elkann. Benedikt Taschen se ne ukvarja s tem, kdo kupuje takšne knjige. Pravi, da se morda sliši smešno, vendar knjig nikoli ni izdajal zaradi denarja. S posli se je začel ukvarjati pri dvanajstih letih, ko je prodajal stripe, ki jih je naročil v ZDA. Z devetnajstimi leti je odprl prvo knjigarno v Kölnu, z denarjem, ki si ga je sposodil pri teti, pa je uspel s posebno domislico; na sejmu v ZDA je po dolar kupil 40 tisoč primerkov umetniške knjige Reneja Magritta, v Nemčiji pa jih je prodal po 9,95 nemških mark. Založba ima trenutno 14 podružnic po svetu, med drugim v Hollywoodu, New Yorku, Londonu, Milanu, Parizu in Kölnu. Od leta 2017 založbo z več kot 250 zaposlenimi vodita Benedikt Taschen in njegova hči Marlene, ki živi v Milanu.
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Sto ry
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To BE, where we are not supposed to What draws humans, beings shaped by evolution to live on dry land, which entails lungs instead of gills and legs with feet and toes instead of fins, what pulls them under, towards the inky depths where whales and squid roam, an environment where but a momentary lapse could cause a freediver to remain down below forever?
by Matevž Hribar photography Bor Dobrin, Martin Zapanta, Alex St. Jean
ALENKA ARTNIK , freediver
“What’s happening to me is not yet researched in detail and not discussed too often.”
The story of Alenka Artnik, a 37-year-old native of the Slovenian coast who boasts 27 national and three world records, was no fairytale before her first dives into the deep blue. But when asked whether she still wants to talk about it, she does not flinch: “Absolutely! No censorship! I think we all have it within us, but society unfortunately does not accept it all that well. If you live a ‘regular lifestlye’, it is a difficult thing to shake off, because regular life obligations prevent you from… taking some time off and working things out. It is amazing how we pretend that everything is all right,” she almost angrily raised her voice, “that we are all super happy while in reality we just do not dare to talk honestly about it.” What is she talking about? In short: her father was an alcoholic and her brother a drug addict and despite frantic attempts by the parents to save him he lost his fight. Her mother passed away far too early, the father, though he defeated alcoholism, died of cancer and so the last vital family connection is with her sister. They remain always in touch though they are often on different sides of the world. Alenka, a former competitor in sprint kayaking, finished school at the age of 18 and then spent eight years working in a sports shop. She spent those years mostly seeking herself. And then water appeared in her life again: just half a year after starting with horizontal underwater swimming in Ljubljana’s swimming pools, she achieved decent results at the finals of the 2013 AIDA Pool Freediving World Championships in Belgrade. Two years later she turned course by 90 degrees and began
my safety mechanism. I couldn’t relax and enjoy
pleasure, when I only take the goggles, fins and
diving into the deep. After reaching 50 metres
the dive without a buddy. To be honest, when
perhaps a camera, I catch myself simply…simply
below sea level and feeling extremely well
diving by coral reefs, I want to go deep enough
forgetting…forgetting that I need air, that I am
before, during and after the dives, she decided
for the colours to disappear.”
human and will soon have to surface for some
to turn her life upside down as well: she bought
more oxygen.” She does not abuse her skills
a one-way ticket to Egypt’s Dahab, a freediving
But why would one even want to be somewhere
by using them for underwater fishing, but as a
Mecca on the coast of the Red Sea with its 90
where we do not belong, where we do not have
vegetarian she does sometimes break her own
metres deep Blue Hole. After diving to a depth
to be and where danger awaits us to boot?
rules and eats a fresh fish caught by friends as
of 83 metres with bi-fins and 92 metres with a
“Why wouldn’t you want to be under water? I
she does not support mass fishing.
monofin and following six months of practice
love water. It is my element. I feel phenomenal
in the Philippines, she announced at the 2017
there, deep down without air. Holding one’s
The desire to train hard and the ability to relax
world championship off the Caribbean island
breath, apnea, releases certain hormones,
is Alenka’s superpower, but our champion, who
of Roatan, in front of the world’s best, that she
causes processes in one’s body that afterwards
can hold her breath while being still for six and
will go down to a hundred. “The evening before
make one feel extremely good, relaxed, peaceful.
a half minutes, has another ace up her sleeve.
the competition I saw that I was the only one to
Water is one giant mirror of what is happening
She no longer needs to equalise pressure as
announce 100 metres. That was one of the most
on land. If you are under stress when dry, you will
she freely falls towards the record depths.
beautiful dives of my career.”
get a double dose when underwater. Water is a
“What’s happening to me is not yet researched
fabulous element.”
in detail and not discussed too often. Up until
She upped, sorry, lowered the ante again this
70 metres I equalize the pressure normally, by
year, by equalling the then world record of 105
What if she were able to find the same level of
using the mouth fill technique. But in the past
metres by Italy’s Alessia Zecchini. It was not
relaxation in the environment that humans call
year...” she stops for a while, looks towards the
to last long though, as the pair was outdived
home, on land that is. Would she still be seeking
ceiling, then back towards me, “...my body has
just three days later by Japan’s Hanako Hirose.
the balance a hundred metres below the sea?
perhaps adjusted so well to the pressure and I
Even though she felt she had some reserve,
She thinks for a while before retorting: “We could
have this great ability to relax so much that the
Alenka did not pick up the gauntlet. She remains
then stay under water even longer,” she refuses
body starts doing the equalizing on its own. I wrote
firmly on solid ground despite these fantastic
to let go of her love. “Can you imagine? Then we
to Aharon Solomons, the almost eighty-year-old
achievements. This is shown by the fact that
could be like dolphins. The underwater world
encyclopaedia of freediving, if he knew what I was
when diving without her safety “buddies”, she
is abnormally phenomenal, amazingly beautiful.
talking about. He answered with a single sentence:
never goes more than 15 metres under. “This is
Sometimes when I dive just for my personal
‘Thank you Alenka, now I feel a bit less alone’.”
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Tr av e l Wit h U s
68 / 73 Travel With Us
Morocco
TEA IN THE SAHARA Mohammed noiselessly appeared out of thin air with the desert sand muffling the sound of his steps. You do not hear anyone arrive or leave here, neither a fox nor a Bedouin. “Would you like a Coke?” I asked him. He shook his head and pointed to the teapot. “I‘ll make tea,” he said, took off his sandals and kneeled on the sand. He first lit a fire and waited for the embers to appear. Every move he made was perceived by our eyes as if in slow motion. The man with the furrowed face exuded perfect peace.
by Tina Torelli photography Tadej Maligoj, Bor Dobrin
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After the water boiled, he began pouring it almost religiously, added green tea leaves, to which the Bedouin also add herbs from the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert, followed by sugar, saffron, sage, absinthe and acacia resin. Then even more sugar and more pouring and finally some fresh mint until thick frothy tea appeared from the kettle. He first offered a glass to a man and then to me – a woman. After the man returned the glass, he quickly rinsed it with water and poured some tea for himself. While I was sipping the last drops of Berber whiskey, as the locals call it, a makeshift stall for products made from marble and fossils, which are found in abundance around Erfoud, appeared on the rug. Our playful attempt at bargaining went unheeded as did our claim that we really did not need all of his wares. But just as I needed someone to make tea before, so he needed the money now. We emptied our pockets and created an equilibrium, with Mohammed silently vanishing into the night. On the rug, lent to us for the desert trip by our friend Ismael, remain an ashtray, a soap holder and a trinket box.
Letting go The desert night is surprisingly cold, and, had we not been able to withstand it on the roof of the Toyota pickup that we had rented from the local sheriff, we could have spent the night in the downy embrace of one of the luxury hotels shaped like a Bedouin caravanserai, marketed in the third millennium on Booking.com. Five – or more – star luxury accommodation in Morocco is within physical as well as financial reach, so travellers must be careful not to let excessive luxury derail them from the life which is so vibrantly present everywhere in the country. In Merzouga, the sunrise is worth more than gold. The desert fortunately forces you to go with the flow, so we woke up with the sun, sat on the rug and ate dates in absolute silence. We erased all traces of ourselves before the wind could and, with Ismael’s invitation for a family feast in hand, returned to Erfoud.
A revelation through tajine Sandals fill the area in front of the entrance to the simple house, like the entrance to a mosque, and the air smells of freshly scrubbed floor, pancakes, couscous and tajine. Members of Ismael’s family are sitting around the table on colourful pillows, and debates about life surrounding the couscous are only interrupted by the sound of munching fingers. The landlady rips pieces of a large flatbread and gives them to the guests, while the tajine, into which we dip the bread, unravels the secret of Morocco to the two foreigners. It is bubbling in an earthenware pot and contains all the wealth of the country: vegetables, potatoes, beef and lamb, olive oil, preserved lemons, dates, raisins, prunes, all
68 / 73 Travel With Us
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68 / 73 Travel With Us
twenty-seven spices of the ras el hanout spice mixture and chilli. Tajine combines all four tastes. Tajine means survival and pleasure, it is a symbol of being practical and creative. I catch myself wondering at how rare the things in life that make one feel complete are, and how rare are the places where such completeness is as simple and tangible as a pot that is named after the dish served in it.
Medinas and souks Al Maghrib or the Western Kingdom is that patch on the map where 50 shades do not suffice to describe anything. The medina quarters are the bursting heart of Morocco; their energy is sometimes pleasantly exciting sometimes violent, but in every case a medina is difficult to describe and hides its jewels under a thick layer of frenzy. One of the routes to the heart of Marrakesh leads through the Jamaâ El Fna square, where snake charmers, falconers, monkey trainers, soothsayers, henna artists, street performers, musicians and con artists flirt with the visitors in the shade of the Koutoubia Mosque’s minaret. The heaps of oranges produce litres upon litres of sweet juice, squeezed daily by the vendors. At the end of the stalls, the medina then sucks the travellers into its insides and throws them into a labyrinth of souks where one can buy anything, from a lantern to an elephant. Mysterious doors lead to charming old hotels, schools, mosques and hammams, while palaces, in whose atriums newlyweds sip their Moët & Chandon, appear in front of one’s eyes as if mirages. The medina in Fes is composed of two quarters, the older Fes el Bali and the newer Fes Jdid, with the whole composing the largest car-free zone in the world. Due to the oldest continuously open university in the world, Al Quaraouiyina, established in 859 CE by Fatima al-Fihri, a daughter of a wealthy merchant, Fes is also known as Africa’s Athens.
Decadence of the One Thousand and One Nights Finding a luxury hotel or accommodation in Morocco is as easy as finding sand in the desert. Its boutique hotels, created from former palaces with interior gardens or riads, by far surpass the famous hotel chains in beauty. The classical riad in Fes was used as a backdrop by U2 for their Magnificent video. The 60s Tangier, Essaouira and Marrakesh saw the disembarking of Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Mick Jagger, Frank Zappa and Robert Plant, their guitars in tow. Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge hosted Andy Warhol, Paul and Talitha Getty as well as Karl Lagerfeld in their “Snake’s House” in Marrakesh’s medina. In the 80s the Saint Laurent - Bergé couple purchased the Jardin Majorelle botanical gardens, planted in 1923 by the French Orientalist Jacques Majorelle. The
villa in the cubist style and painted in vibrant
72
blue today houses the Islamic Art Museum, the Berber Museum and the Yves Saint Laurent Museum.
Pure pearls
73
Morocco is fortunately also full of places less touristy than the fashionable city of Chefchaouen, and which offer different types of beauty. The Todra Gorge near the town of Tinghir is said to be one of the most beautiful wadis in the world, with Tinghir itself also well worth a visit. At 1,740 metres above sea level, Imlil functions as the base camp for the climbers aiming to conquer the Jebel Toubkal mountain and reminds one of a Swiss mountain village, only that the trees are full of monkeys rather than squirrels. Moulay Idriss, Morocco’s holy city, was named after the country’s first Muslim ruler and only opened its accommodation to non-Muslims in 2005. Nearby, the columns of Volubilis, a former major Carthaginian trade centre and the former capital of the kingdom of Mauretania, reach for the sky. The Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou is so evocative that it was used as a backdrop for numerous films including Gladiator and Jesus of Nazareth.
Life on all four cylinders Morocco, where life flows extremely slowly, is, ironically, a place where stopwatches are often whipped out. The first Rally du Maroc was organised by the Royal Automobile Club of Morocco in distant 1934. In 1958 Morocco even hosted its one and only Formula 1 race – the final race of the season, which was won by the still living Stirling Moss. Morocco is nowadays no longer crossed by the Dakar Rally, as it was a whopping 29 times between 1979 and 2007, but rather by the Africa Eco Race. The country is moreover swamped with “gazelles” during the all-female Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles du Maroc. It is also the location for the Touareg, Panafrica and Merzouga rallies from the Dakar series. A vintage cars rally is another annual event, but now we are already nesting a story within a story. My point is that a trip through Morocco should be taken as a rally adventure; not by driving at the same speed but rather with the same spirit.
// Si Potovanje po Maroku Noč v maroški puščavi lahko preseneti s polarnim mrazom. Če ne zdržite v njem, lahko noč preživite v mehki postelji enega od luksuznih hotelov v obliki beduinskega karavanseraja, ki se v tretjem tisočletju tržijo na Bookingu. Pet- in večzvezdnični luksuz je v Maroku na dosegu roke in denarnice, zato mora biti popotnik pozoren, da ga preveč udobja ne odvrne od življenja, od katerega utripa vsaka celica dežele. V Maroku lahko srkate čaj, ki vam ga v puščavi pripravi beduin. Lahko poskusite okusni tajin, v katerem se prepletajo vsi štirje okusi. V njem so vsa hranila in je tekočina; tajin pomeni preživetje in užitek, je odraz praktičnosti in ustvarjalnosti. Lahko obiščete medine, suke in veliko lepih krajev…
O rig in al
Ivan Skrt, pianist
The drive for total freedom by Jasna Milinković
photography Jernej Skrt
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Ivan Skrt, a Slovene pianist of brilliant technique and clear aesthetics, directs his vision into wider musical landscapes while boldly maintaining his sincerity and freedom. He graduated from the famous P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and toned his skills at the École Normale de Musique de Paris. He matured into a pianist whose bold presence unyieldingly seeks new challenges in his repertoire and who discloses to the audience his clearly executed stories – be it water, a game of light and shadows or the contrast between black and white.
Original
His open-air recital was unforgettable. Sitting
What does piano mean to you?
thus like a boatman, who makes aware these black stones that give him directions in the
on a stage placed on the Soča river under a stone bridge in his hometown of Kanal ob Soči,
Piano is the complete matrix of life known. On
initially white and inconspicuous river. Complex
he mesmerised a 2,500-strong audience with
the one side the lifeless black and white keys
or simple, fast or slow, meandering between
his renderings of Chopin, Liszt and Scriabin.
which, together with the rest of the mechanical
them creates the shape and nature of a work of
In recent seasons his recitals enthused the
apparatus, the hammers and strings, allow for
music. At the beginning it is difficult to avoid the
Parisian Salle Gaveau and the renowned halls
an unlimited amount of expressive combinations.
black rocks, but later, as the direction becomes
of Buenos Aires, La Plata and Montevideo. In
On the other hand exists a living hierarchy
clear, sailing becomes easier. A recital can offer
May of this year the 37-year-old put together
of action in the shape of a human body. At
both. An exhilarating but also a tiring clash with
a programme in Ljubljana’s Gallus Hall, which
the very top reigns the head, which offers
dangerous obstacles or a leisurely tour ride
explored the unfathomable dimension of death.
seemingly limitless memory and so-called
well marked in advance. But it can also offer
As he says himself, music has the capacity to
ideas, but also hosts the fear of losing both
something that is neither one nor the other.
prompt the listener into recognising a complete
abilities. Fear creates bodily spasms and these
Sometimes a truly curious boatman can realize
presence, a brittle state without thought – a type
retard musicality. Even though the head, this
for a moment that neither him, the boat nor his
of death, which for a short moment pulls down
almighty data storage located at the pinnacle
learnt path are the most important things in life.
the shackles of the past and future.
of the body, has slowly acquired a monopoly
Such a boatman can in the moment of this deep
over human activities, it plays no major role
revelation simply and boldly let himself go with
You are seen as a character in the world of
in piano playing, at least not in that final vital
the flow of the river, even though that means
classical music, both in terms of your piano
phase, when live music is being enthroned. It is
that his laboriously constructed boat will shatter
skills and the complexity of your projects.
the body below that matters more for creating
at the first obstacle. Such headless courage
Wider musical and life thoughts can be
the all-encompassing, the rich, the wonderfully
births intelligence which takes him, like a man
discerned from them. How did all this art
relaxed sound of the piano. The body creates
drowning, to a musical sea, were width, depth,
come together within you?
the complete breath that so resembles natural
peace and wealth abide.
creative processes. If the head allows, after Ever since I can remember, I have had the
putting up a stubborn resistance, breathing
Your repertoire is extremely wide-ranging.
drive for total freedom rooted in me. The drive
becomes completely liberated – the pure core
Do you have a composer you like more than
for that primary and never recognisable force
of musical imagination. This energy of the
the rest?
that makes life possible. Life that is rich, fresh
torso without the tension can use the hands
and always original, like some wild grape that
and fingers to transform the hard and lifeless
I like composers whose work provides a
expansively grows over the, usually, dull and
mechanic nature of the instrument.
powerful and capable musical engine. The
monotonous façade. From this all-encompassing play of nature, a thinking being germinated at
pianist in this case provides the fuel and more How do you select pieces to perform at concerts?
an unknown time and for an unknown reason.
so an exhaust system of sorts in the shape of his touch. It can be a safe, training, factory
Even though it places stunningly diverse walls
I look for music that is rich in structure. This
exhaust, but such a – usually coarse and rigid
on its outside, the hapless identity at its hidden
satisfies the primary needs of the head, which
– steely musical approach unfortunately does
and deepest core always remains a drab angular
longs to solve difficult problems and continually
not exploit the wealth of options a quality engine
cube. Unable to face the horror of its internal
erect new and complex structures. But because
provides. Every musician who has seriously
void, it continuously fills it with ever new interior
the true bursting energy of music is hidden
devoted himself to his instrument, sooner or
pieces or, when the space to be filled becomes
right within the freedom from meticulously
later discovers that the essence lies in a loose
too cramped, invents wider forms of itself. But
crafted complexity, allowing it to appear
and free lightness. But it requires a lot of
these inventions, fruits of a cold mechanistic
necessitates the artist to answer how much of
coordination between the head and the breath,
process and accumulated past experience,
this condensed tension he is ready and capable
a lot of courage devoid of aims or desires to
are hopelessly removed from the quality of
of uncompromisingly sacrificing. The difference
give birth to a musical approach lighter than
a seed that nature creates. This seed, with
between demolishing a modest retaining wall
titanium with the richness of sound more
its unmeasurable internal combustion, gives
or a tall skyscraper is obvious. When a richly
precious than gold.
birth to ever new and ever passing seasons,
decorated vertical and relatively static rigidity
whose authentic and comprehensively colourful
implodes completely, its hidden energetic
creative existence provides a stark contrast to
potential is disclosed in all of its splendour.
the calculating greyness of angularity. What the
Such energy and liberated in such a way, paints
so-called art can thus do is to resist the walls
the most stunning and most unique musical
erected by limited thought. However, once
images. As they vanish in the dust, they leave
art realizes that the only tool with which it can
behind the priceless beauty of silence, charged
tear those walls is once more limitation itself,
with the secret of an inexhaustible potential.
it also drops the false conviction that an artist is something special. A man is thus left with
What is the biggest challenge when
nothing more than to – as attentively as possible
preparing your recitals?
– wonder at his own human delusions with every passing moment and to, during the rare moments
The only challenge is the ability to let go
of complete relaxation from oneself, wonder
completely and uncompromisingly, after fairly
at the wondrous life, which, like wild grapes,
conducting exhaustive analytical preparations.
miraculously overgrows all his accumulated
The role of a musical reproducer is to reanimate
rigidities.
the soundscape, originally envisioned by the composer. This soundscape has been written
Critics say that the piano is your resonant
in black symbols – musical notation – on the
imagination. Is that true?
whiteness of the music paper. A musician is
“Ever since I can remember, I have had the drive for total freedom rooted in me. A drive for that primary and never recognisable force that makes life possible.”
74 / 77
Original
76
Ivan Skrt’s daring presence defiantly seeks ever new challenges of a pianist’s repertoire and unveils its clearly derived stories to the audience.
77
H i gh Ge ar
78
High Gear
78
by Toby Moody illustration Natan Esku
Emotions of Motorsport
The Real World Can Wait Until Tomorrow Those of us who never make it into racing, either bike or car, may get our thrills from attending race events, watching them on TV, being knowledgeable about it or even being part of motorsport in another way, for example being part of a team, working at a track or as a supplier. So, what gives us the trackside thrills? Close racing is obviously one of the top thrills we take from motor sport, gripping the sides of the sofa as the competitors near turn one. “Who will lead into the first corner? I want my team to win. I want my hero to win.” I will never forget jumping off the sofa and really letting it all out at home when Jenson Button took the lead on the last lap of the 2011 Canadian F1 Grand Prix in 2011. Ditto during the finish of the BSB championship of the same year, with Tommy Hill winning the crown by 0.006 of a second ahead of John Hopkins at Brands Hatch. There will have been many other moments commentating on TV, but you may have heard them…! If you are actually at the side of the track, the thrill is meanwhile seeing a car in an evocative or historic setting. The first time I went to a Monza F1 event, I wandered off towards the Ascari chicane, found and climbed up a small building with a flat roof and joined about twenty odd people watching the track. Here I was in Italy, having driven there in a very nice car without a care in the world, watching F1 cars among people who simply got it. They appreciated the Ferraris at the front as much as the guys at the back who were trying just as hard, all that while being surrounded
by the sound, the fever and the trees of the Monza Royal Park. You almost expected the ghosts of the Old Man, von Trips or Rindt to appear. It felt so good that I simply had to share the experience, so I rang a friend on my old Nokia phone to tell him how wonderful it was. Only I could not hear a single word he said, but that did not matter as I had shared the experience. The same ghosts are almost palpable during the 24 hours at the Nordschleife or at the Suzuka MotoGP, but if it is history that you want to see made, then Mugello is the place. The home of the Italian MotoGP is always the one I tell people to go to, especially so that they can tell their grandchildren they saw Valentino Rossi race at Mugello. The madness and the sheer love of the sport unites everyone for the weekend. It is a similar feeling for many at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The now four-day event in the English countryside allows visitors to brush shoulders with heroes they had when growing up, or make new friends with an introduction along the lines of: “I had a poster of that car on my wall as a kid.” That feeling of standing there and being taken back to teenage years is another fantastic emotion that motorsport evokes. I find the trip to the Le Mans 24 Hours a major experience for watching cars, particularly after sunset. It is just total escapism watching the world’s best cars race flat out past you at the venue that essentially hasn’t changed all that much since those 1960s pictures of GT40s or
70s pictures of Porsche 917s. Four classes mean an enormous range of technology and drivers racing over nearly 14 km of mythical French tarmac… It is simply stunning and an event that, were it suggested today, would never be approved by the fun police. But there is no way they can stop the one we already have. Ha! While racing wheel to wheel is one thing, sound is the sense that stirs the soul the most, whether it is an F1 Ferrari V12, a Honda 250 6, a Subaru Impreza 555, a V16 BRM, a screaming Kawasaki Superbike from 1993 or the latest Porsche 911 RSR. 60 years cover those cars and bikes, but even today both young and old unite in their love of the sheer aural exhilaration and thrill of the revs with the spine-tingling effect they have on any motorsport fan. Maybe that is the key to it all? Real world? We will deal with it tomorrow.
“Who will lead into the first corner? I want my team to win. I want my hero to win.”
Toby Moody International motorsport TV broadcaster for both two wheels and four, having commentated on MotoGP for 19 years.
The article here does not necessarily correspond with the opinions of Akrapovič d.d., the publishers or the editors.
Follow @tobymoody / Twitter and Instagram
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