Akrapovič Magazine vol. 8 by Akrapovič

Contents

05 LETTER

06 AKRAPOVIC NEWS

10 Moto Action

12 Revolution

18 Hot Stuff

19 Car Stuff

20 PORTRAIT

26 Interview

32 FANTASTIC

34 Ride With US

40 on the road

44 Crazy Stuff

46 STATE OF THE ART

52 AUDIO FREAKS

56 ORIGINAL

Akrapov 62 HIGH GEAR

// Si NOTE All the longer articles in the Akrapovič magazine will 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.

AKRAPOVIČ Akrapovič Lifestyle Magazine Issue 8, June 2011 Akrapovič d.d. Malo Hudo 8 a SI-1295 Ivančna Gorica Slovenia www.akrapovic.com

Printed in Slovenia in June 2011 in 15.000 copies. 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 necessarily correspond with the opinions of Akrapovič d.d., the publishers or the editors. Not for sale.

Publisher: Korpmedia d.o.o. Tomšičeva 1 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia www.korpmedia.si

ID No.: 2272237000 VAT No.: SI14601737

President: Miran Ališič Marketing and advertising manager: Mateja Kos Pregelj Printing: Littera Picta d.o.o. Rožna dolina, cesta IV 32, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

Letter

What a difference 20 years make It was May 1987. Just married, young, full of optimism and with great expectations we were embarking on a new period of life. The first step was of course the honeymoon – to Spain, Barcelona more precisely. We were living in a grey age back then just before the breakup of Yugoslavia. Exchanging our limited means from dinars to German marks on the black market was then fully entrenched in the country. The adventure already started at the Ljubljana airport, where we were told the flight was cancelled and that our only chance was to drive 150 kilometres to Zagreb, where a plane would be leaving in three hours. A wild drive on the limits of safety, through red traffic lights and way outside all regulations saw us arrive at the last moment. But we still had to undergo a thorough customs check, where a bit of bad luck would mean that we would be dispossessed of all the money we hid in our luggage. Then we finally boarded the flight, accompanied by the grumbling airline personnel. We caught it by the skin of our teeth, but we were flying towards our honeymoon destination. After arriving to Barcelona, we found a hotel on Rambla, rented a room and headed out to town. To the bank first, to exchange marks to pesetas. We were in for an immediate shock. We realised that our means were even more meagre than we thought, considering the prices in Spain. We quickly went back to the hotel, used some excuses to retrieve our luggage and left to find something more affordable. The dark alleys of the old city centre began filling up with completely different inhabitants, it was getting a bit scary. But we still managed to find a place in an out-of-the-way street that our budget could take. The morning brought a different and brighter image of the city we were set on exploring. The architecture, Gaudi, Sagrada Familia overwhelmed us and charged us with incredible energy. Because the video for the official theme song for the Barcelona Olympics, sang by one of my still favourite singers Freddie Mercury together with Monserrat Caballe, was only shot a

Editor-in-chief: Gregor Šket Photo editor: Bor Dobrin Photo Assistant: Jernej Prelac Art directors: Neja Engelsberger, Saša Kerkoš

Contributors: Miran Ališič, Alan Cathcart, Primož Jurman, Gaber Keržišnik, Mitja Reven, Gregor Šket, Slavko Trstenjak Contributing Photographers: Bor Dobrin, Jernej Prelac, Aleksander Štokelj

few weeks ago on the stairs leading to Montjuic, we topped our day by climbing to the magical fountain in front of the Palacio Real, which offers fantastic views of the city ... The next time we visited Barcelona was 20 years later, in May 2007. No more Yugoslavia, no more border checks, both countries using the EURO, travelling is easy. The drive from the airport alone and our arrival to the Arts hotel fascinated us with how the place had changed. Completely new districts were built, and especially buildings with amazing architecture. We naturally wanted to relive the old memories. After a lengthy amble through the old part we found a deserted house, which used to house our hotel. It looked as if the place had been closed for a long time. Then we went on to Montjuic, a long walk, ascended the famed stairs, reached the top and were in a twist of fate presented with a parked Kawasaki ZXR 1000 fitted with our exhaust. And beside the bike stood a young couple in love, reminding us of our carefree motorbike years. Just as we could not even dream twenty years ago that we will see a product bearing our trade mark right here, the young couple also could not know that they were being watched by the designer of the exhaust they bought for their bike. We were flooded with emotion, twenty years of vision, hope, hard work, occasional huge risks, ups and downs, but we managed to make it to the top. The circle is complete. But the next moment another thought intruded – is this all that can be achieved? Montjuic is a fantastic but a rather small hill and we cannot stop here, it is in human nature to continue ascending. And this thought created my life philosophy, aimed at researching new development directions and discovering how far and high we can reach. Igor Akrapovič – Owner and Founder

Client co-ordinator: Neil Morley Translation: Matjaž Horvat Lectorship: Michael Manske

On the cover: Exhaust System for 2000 Colin Edwards’ WSBK Honda VTR 1000 / RC 51 - first Akrapovič world champion Photo by: Aleksander Štokelj, Studio 54

Akrapovic voted “Best Brand” in 2011 Akrapovič has been voted the Best Brand in 2011 for motorcycle exhaust systems, according to the readers of German motorcycle magazine Motorrad! At Akrapovič we are especially proud that our exhaust systems are endorsed by 68.2% of Motorrad readers. This success is made even sweeter by the fact that Akrapovič has now received the Motorrad readers’ acclaim for the sixth year in a row, dating all the way back to 2006, the first year the magazine held Best

Brand voting. These excellent results serve to reaffirm Akrapovič’s business strategy and the company’s reputation on world markets and at the same time present an incentive and proof of the high quality workmanship of all the company’s employees. It is also a great achievement to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary!

Success at Dakar Rally 2011 This year Akrapovič was more actively involved in the Dakar rally, an incredibly difficult race, in which the endurance of both man and machine is continually pushed to its limits. We were using the Dakar Rally as a welcome opportunity to test the endurance of our exhaust systems on a KTM 450 Rally Replica and we did it. Spanish rider Marc Coma won his third Dakar title, ensuring the tenth

consecutive prize for KTM and a triumphant debut for the newly developed KTM 450 Rally bike. In addition, second place went to KTM rider Cyril Despres, who was also equipped with an Akrapovič exhaust. Slovenian rider Miran Stanovnik, nicknamed “Desert Fox”, and his KTM Akrapovič-coloured bike, finished one of the toughest races of modern times in an excellent eleventh position. (Photo: KTM, Akrapovič)

2011 Shows & Events We will be expanding our Shows & Events program this year. In 2011 Akrapovic will be exhibiting for the first time at the Frankfurt International Motor Show in September where we will show our latest car products. In November we will be at EICMA, the Milan Motorcycle Show, celebrating our twenty years with friends and members of the media. If you are at this must-see motorcycle event please ensure you visit our stand where we aim to have some iconic bikes from our twenty years of racing. Later that month, we return to the leading car custom show in the USA, SEMA in Las Vegas. The Morsus custom bike will also be attending a number of motorcycle customer events in Europe and North America between now and the end of December. Details at www.akrapovic-custom.com.

06 / 09

Biaggi visits Akrapovic stand in Milan Show

World Champions Lorenzo and Biaggi use Akrapovic

On the heels of the motorcycle fair in Cologne, Germany at the beginning of October comes the EICMA motorcycle fair in Milan, Italy in early November. Akrapovič was among the companies displaying their new products for 2011, and the exhibition also featured the attractive racing bikes ridden by Max Biaggi, Antonio Cairoli, Ayrton Badovini, Loris Capirossi, and Cal Crutchlow. Max Biaggi, the 2010 World Superbike champion, was among the many visitors to the fair, where he received recognition for his achievement from Akrapovič CEO Miloš Dežnak.

Photo: Yamaha

At the start of the 2011 racing season we at Akrapovič are extremely proud that the reigning MotoGP World Champion Jorge Lorenzo and his teammate Ben Spies will be using Akrapovič exhaust on their works Yamahas. Italian Max Biaggi, the reigning world champion in World Superbike series, will continue using his Akrapovič exhaust this season as well. This means that riders with Akrapovič exhausts will this year carry plates with the number one in both flagship motorcycle racing series.

Akrapovic business conference 2011 At the start of March, the Akrapovič company held its second business conference (following the first in 2008) called ABC – the Akrapovič Business Conference. The event in Slovenia, the seat of the company, was attended by 55 agents and distributers from 39 countries. The basic aim of the meeting was to forge closer ties with our worldwide representatives, who were also acquainted with the future strategy of the company by the management. Part of the activities aimed at

Akrapovi] News

strengthening the Akrapovič brand took place in workshops and the guests were also invited into our production facilities. Apart from workshops, the participants had a chance to hear a talk by Slovenian globetrotter Benka Pulko and see for the first time the Morsus show custom bike. This machine symbolically announces the entry of the Akrapovič company into the custom bike segment.

Our 57 World Champions 2000

2008

Colin Edwards (Honda), World Champion WSBK Joerg Teuchert (Yamaha), World Champion 600 SS

2001 Andrew Pitt World (Kawasaki), World Champion 600 SS 2002

Colin Edwards (Honda), World Champion WSBK Juha Salminen (KTM) World ENDURO Champion (overall and 400-4T class) Thierry Van den Bosch (KTM), SUPERMOTO World Champion

2003

Juha Salminen (KTM), World ENDURO Champion – overall & over 500 4S: Joel Smets (KTM), World WMX Champion - 650 World ENDURANCE Champion: Team Suzuki GB Phase One (Suzuki)

Steve Ramon

2004 Ben Townley (KTM), World WMX Champion – Class MX2 Yves Demaria (KTM), World WMX Champion – Class MX3 Juha Salminen (KTM), World ENDURO Champion – Overall & Class 2 Samuli Aro (KTM), World ENDURO Champion – Class 3 Thierry Van den Bosch (KTM), World WSM Champion – Class S1

Tyla Rattray (KTM), MX2 World Champion Sven Breugelmans (KTM), MX3 World Champion Steve Ramon, Ken DeDyker (Suzuki), MX1 Constructors World Champions Chad Reed (Yamaha), AMA/FIM Supercross Champion Bernd Hiemer (KTM), World Champion, S1 Samuli Aro (KTM), World Champion E3

2009

Ben Spies (Yamaha), World Champion WSBK Cal Crutchlow (Yamaha), World Champion, 600SS Chris Pfeiffer (BMW), Freestyle World Champion Ivan Cervantes (KTM), Indoor Enduro World Champion James Stewart (Yamaha), AMA/FIM Supercross Champion

Oriol Mena (Husaberg), Junior World Enduro Champion Stephanie Laier (KTM), FIM Women’s World Champion Johnny Aubert (KTM), WEC E2 World Champion Pierre Alexandre Renet (Suzuki), World Champion MX3 Marvin Musquin (KTM), World Champion, MX2 Ivan Cervantes (KTM), World Champion, E3 Team Yart (Yamaha), Endurance World Champion

Colin Edwards

2005 Sven Breugelmans (KTM), World WMX Champion – Class MX3 Ivan Cervantes (KTM), World ENDURO Champion – Class 1 Samuli Aro (KTM), World ENDURO Champion – Class 2 David Knight (KTM), World ENDURO Champion – Class 3 Boris Chambon (KTM), World WSM Champion – Class S2 2006

Yves Demaria (KTM), World Champion MX3 Bernd Hiemer (KTM), S1 World Champion Ivan Cervantes (KTM), Enduro E1 World Champion Samuli Aro (KTM), Enduro E2 World Champion David Knight (KTM), Enduro E3 World Champion

2007

Bernd Hiemer (KTM), World Supermoto Champion – Class S1 Tyla Rattray (KTM), World Champion, MX2 Juha Salminen (KTM), World Enduro Champion, E1 Ivan Cervantes (KTM), World Enduro Champion, E3 Steve Ramon (Suzuki), World Champion, MX1 Manufacturers World Champion Yamaha WSBK Chris Pfeiffer (BMW), Freestyle World Champion

2010

Max Biaggi (Aprilia), World Champion WSBK Tony Cairoli (KTM), World Champion, MX1 Marvin Musquin (KTM), World Champion, MX2 Carlos Campano (Yamaha), World Champion, MX3 David Knight (KTM), World Enduro champion, E3 Stephanie Laier (KTM), FIM Women’s World Champion Lorenzo Santolino (KTM), Enduro Junior World Champion Manufacturers World Champion Aprilia WSBK

Chad Reed

06 / 09

Riders Quotes WSBK Max Biaggi, 2010

World Champio

best on the planet. ust systems are the ha ex ič ov rap Ak that the talled to my bike.” “I could easily say before they were ins en ev s thi e lik m ng the Actually I was treati

James Stewart, ampion: 2009 AMA/FIM Supercross Ch that stands out for me is how well

the thing “I love the pipes. They are so good and the they don’t seem to last that long but and s they are built. I’ve used a lot of pipe rised surp was when I first started using them, I Akra is built for the long haul. Also few times. pipes as you guys got it right the first at how little testing we did with the ge.” chan s system when track condition We usually only change from our main

Ben Spies, 2009 WSBK

“They are the best for my

bike.”

Loris Capirossi:

“I really like it, the guys have been very helpful and have done a great job to make the system for the bike.”

Miguel Duhamel:

“Great power delivery fro m the Akrapovič system.”

World Champion:

Chris Pfeiffer, Freestyle World Champion:

“I simply adore the build quality and the looks. I’m also very enthusiastic about the exhausts’ development. Akrapovič has an amazing brand image, nothing comes close to them.”

Akrapovi] News

World Class Athletes

A milestone for the Akrapovič company was reached at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, which featured a sports car whose underbelly included a factory fitted titanium exhaust system, designed in Slovenia. Today the Ivančna Gorica factory can proudly say that its exhausts are fitted into several prestigious sports cars from all over the world. Following Frankfurt, Akrapovič also got going in the aftermarket segment, where the company’s full steam ahead in research and development resulted in the first Akrapovič aftermarket car exhaust system being produced the year after. Our two exhausts, the type-approved Slip-On and the performance-oriented stronger, lighter and pleasantly loud Evolution for BMW M3 broke the ground and are nowadays considered best selling products as well as a part of our ever more extensive range. On average Akrapovič adds a new product every month or two to its car range, which currently includes luxurious brands, such as Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes, Corvette, Audi, Mitsubishi, Nissan and others. The company is also active in sports racing, where it develops and produces exhaust systems for quite a few distinguished partners. Due to the nature of several of the contracts, these partnerships have not yet been revealed to the public, but Akrapovič employees always get a huge smile on their face when a racing car equipped with an exhaust system that was made by their skilled hands ends up at the highest step of the podium.

Akrapovič won the German Porsche Sport Cup Championship with the Porsche 911 GT2, also thanks to its exhaust, which brought more power, reduced weight, improved the weight distribution and the handling of this Porsche model.

Akrapovič closely cooperates with the renowned Manthey-Racing team, which is considered to be among the best Porsche tuning and racing outfits. The Akrapovič exhaust contributed to the success of the team, which has been practically unbeatable at the famous 24 Hours Nürburgring race.

Moto Action

COLIN EDWARDS

TORNADO WARNING By Gaber Keržišnik photography / portrait Yamaha / action Honda

COLIN EDWARDS IS ONE OF THE NICEST RIDERS IN THE MOTO GP PADDOCK. IT IS ALWAYS A PLEASURE TALKING TO HIM, WHETHER IN A FRIENDLY CHAT OR FOR AN OFFICIAL INTERVIEW. YOU ALWAYS KNOW HE WILL CRACK A JOKE OR DIVULGE A JUICY TITBIT ABOUT THIS OR THAT. HE HAS BEEN RACING IN MOTO GP IN THE LAST YEARS, BUT SINCE HE IS UNFORTUNATELY NOT WINNING ANYMORE, HE TOOK ON THE ROLE OF AN ENTERTAINER. THAT IS WHY HE HAS SUCH A NUMEROUS FOLLOWING AROUND THE WORLD. AND WHILE THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS LAST CHAMPION TITLE IN THE SUPERBIKE KEEPS DRAWING NEARER – HE WON FOR HONDA IN THE 2002 SEASON – THE TEXAS TORNADO ACTUALLY WON HIS FIRST TITLE TWO YEARS EARLIER USING AN AKRAPOVIČ EXHAUST SYSTEM, THEREBY WINNING THE FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP FOR THE AKRAPOVI∞ COMPANY IN THE SUPERBIKE CATEGORY. WE INVITED THE FIRST SUPERBIKE CHAMPION WITH THE AKRAPOVI∞ EXHAUST FOR A COFFEE AND CHAT AT THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR COMPANY.

Œ HOW DO YOU REMEMBER THE 2000 SEASON?

Ugh, it was quite difficult. It really wasn’t easy. The first season with a new bike. A new two-cylinder engine. And we won the first race. It was difficult even though we had excellent results. But we also had a couple of poor races, where we simply had bad luck with the tires, which didn’t work properly. But in the end it proved to be a great season. We won the championship. Œ DO YOU HAVE ANY OF YOUR WINNING SUPERBIKES AT HOME OR YOU SIMPLY DON’T FEEL SO STRONGLY ABOUT THEM TO WANT TO PLACE ONE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

No, I don’t have one at home. But Honda has promised me one. I signed a document that the bike is mine and that I’ll get it as memorabilia. But not while I’m racing. Once I finish my career and retire I was promised to get it.

Œ JORGE LORENZO WON THE MOTO GP LAST YEAR WITH A RECORD TALLY OF POINTS. IF I’M NOT MISTAKEN, YOUR TITLE ALSO CAME WITH A THEN RECORD-BREAKING 552 POINTS.

Hmm … interesting info. I don’t remember that, but it’s quite likely. I know that we didn’t finish on the podium only at the first race of the 2002 season, when we came in fourth. But then I was on the podium at every other race. And being first or second. It’s probably true that I set a superbike record. Well, at least it was back then, I don’t know if it still stands.

Œ YOU USED TO REGULARLY TAKE PART IN THE RACE OF CHAMPIONS AFTER THE SEASON. YOU WERE GOOD BEHIND THE WHEEL. DO YOU STILL DRIVE RACING CARS?

No, no … well only rarely. We do have some gokarts in our training camp and we use them to race

around, but I only rarely sit behind the wheel of a racing car. I do own a Ford Mustang with a built-in rollbar and I let off some steam in it sometimes, but no more than that. Oh, and a friend of mine has a racing Subaru and we occasionally barrel along a bit. Maybe one day when I’m older. When I stop racing on two wheels. Œ AND HOW’S YOUR TRAINING CAMP DOING? IS IT POPULAR AND WHAT IS ITS PURPOSE?

The Texas Tornado Boot Camp is meant for all who want to improve their bike riding. The first applicant was 57 years old and the next one 20. So we have programmes for people of all ages. All our

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Moto Action

5 Minutes Before The Race

instructors are professional racers, whether it be on or off the road. And if you look at me, I would not be sitting here now if I hadn’t had gotten all my experience. The camp also offers a lot of useful information and teaches what is necessary to know and feel to handle the bike. We teach those who want to race and those who want to hone in their skills for their daytrips to the track. Be it road or off-road enthusiasts. And because one person can’t know everything, there’s more of us. To teach everything and everyone.

Œ YOU STARTED YOUR CAREER IN OFF-ROAD RACING. DO YOU STILL USE A MOTOCROSS BIKE? MAYBE JUST FOR PRACTICE?

Not now. But I did before. I practiced a lot on a cross bike. Up to about four years ago when I stopped for four months and then went on the track again. You see. my problem is that I can’t ride slowly. I put my helmet on and fully opened the throttle. And on the track we have some long jumps and many difficult combos. I just wasn’t any good that day. I either jumped too far or stayed in the air for too long and that can be dangerous. I was doing stupid things that day and was all over the track. I couldn’t get my brain in order. I couldn’t slow down. I kept telling myself: “Ride slowly and carefully,” but I just couldn’t do it. The hand just kept opening the throttle. I did eight laps on that day and

then decided. I loaded the bike back on my truck and said goodbye to my friends. They said: “Hey, where’re you going, we just got here?” And I told them what I felt. “Guys, have a nice time. Nobody pays me to do stupid things around here and I feel I’ll get hurt if I continue. Have a nice day and bye.” And that was that. That’s when I finished with motocross and I haven’t sat on such a bike since then. Motocross is great but can get dangerous. Sometimes I ride around our camp, but I don’t ride for real or for practice anymore. Œ KEVIN SCHWANTZ ONCE TOLD ME THAT A NEW TRACK IS BEING MADE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, THAT SHOULD PLAY HOST TO MOTO GP IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS AS WELL. HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO TAKE PART IN A HOME RACE?

I heard something about that. But I have no info. I don’t know whether anything is being done. But it would be fantastic to race on home turf. Not that it would be of any help in popularising the sport. You see, we’re still cowboys in Texas and in reality nobody there is interested in motorbike racing.

Œ COWBOYS, EH? DO YOU SHOOT ANY GUNS IN YOUR CAMP THEN, AS COWBOYS SHOULD?

You betcha. We have all types of firearms. Guns and rifles of all types and models. We shoot like crazy. We also play paintball, anything which bangs.

Tornado Warning Colin Edwards je eden izmed najbolj simpatičnih dirkačev v paddocku Moto GP. Debata z njim je vedno prijetna, pa naj si gre le za prijateljski klepet ali pa za uradni intervju. Vedno veš, da bo ustrelil kaj smešnega in da bo povedal kakšno sočno o tem in onem. Zadnja leta nastopa v razredu Moto GP in ker žal ne posega več po zmagah je prevzel vlogo zabavljača publike. Ravno zato ima širom po svetu številne navijače. Bliža se desetletnica njegovega zadnjega naslova prvaka v razredu superbike, ki si ga je s Hondo pripeljal leta 2002. A Texas Tornado, kot se glasi njegov dirkaški vzdevek, je dve leti pred tem, že osvojil svoj prvi naslov in takrat podjetju Akrapovič, z istoimenskimi izpuhi na svojem motociklu pripeljal prvi naslov svetovnega prvaka v superbikeu. Ob dvajsetletnici podjetja smo prvega superbike prvaka z Akrapovič izpuhom, povabili na kratko kavo.

Revolution

20 years of evolution by Slavko Trstenjak photography Aleksander Štokelj, Branko Cvetkovič, Bor Dobrin, Slavko Trstenjak, Akrapovič Archive

When I began work at the Akrapovič workshop there were a total of six of us, including Igor. Despite our primitive tools and manufacturing machines we already began creating demanding exhausts for Ducatis and Kawasakis way back then. Our equipment at the tome consisted of: three welding torches, a press, lathe, belt sanding machine and drilling/bending machine for pipes, made under Igor’s specifications by Ivo Bric from Ljubljana. Those were the tools used for manufacturing exhausts, which, however did not fundamentally differ in principle from our current products. In those days we were specialised for the entire range of Ducati sport bikes as well as several Japanese racing models.

Igor knew from the very beginning that he wanted something more than what was available on the market then. That is why we used stainless metals for the pipes from the start. Moreover, only in the first year were our muffler coats round and made from eloxated aluminium. We quickly grew dissatisfied with offering the same as other manufacturers and started using carbon for mantles and sleeves already in 1992. Our daily hunt for new solutions was greatly aided by the dynamometer – a device for measuring the engine’s power. Because there were only a few engine test beds in private ownership at that time in Europe, we quickly became a development partner of numerous racing teams.

(I would like to mention here that during our first six years in business we also tuned four-stroke engines for Yugoslavian and foreign riders and this experience greatly aided us in understanding the functioning of such engines.) The dynamometer and the bending machine were in the first few years operated exclusively by Igor. Nobody else was allowed to use the device’s computer – that was until he realised that I already tested several exhausts for my engine on it. But the key reason for Igor allowing others to use it were his frequent colds and sinus infections. The large dose of enthusiasm of all employees was always accompanied by curiosity and the perennial

12 / 17

Revolution

It is hard to write memoirs when the overwhelming number of everyday events keeps replacing the

older ones. Some things seem as if they happened in a different life and only appear as a faded sketch of what was happening ten years ago.

“What would happen if I … ” Combined with the constant and immense desire to make something better, this meant that we often tested until late in the afternoon or even at night. Because I am very well acquainted with the excitement that comes from being able to test a morning idea in the same afternoon, I understand well where this passion for development comes from! The quick turnaround at the prototype workshop where we could turn the majority of our ideas to practice on the same day allowed us to do our work in the way that we did. At that time the work and tasks by the less than ten employees often coincided and complemented each other. With the exceptions of new employees, we all

worked in several areas. Getting the pipes ready for bending in the morning, testing in the afternoon and packaging and delivery after that - all done by one person. Thanks to some innovative individuals we also managed to create numerous tools and devices by ourselves. That was hugely important back then when money was often in short supply and we greatly aided the workshop’s growth by making as much as we could ourselves! We gained a solid foothold on the demanding German and Italian markets in the first five years. This allowed us to employ even more workers and before moving to a new workshop just shy of thirty of us were crowding in a house that was never meant to

accommodate such a number. Market demand was growing and with it the requirements. This is why in 1995 we began manufacturing legally certified reflection mufflers for the European market. A giant step forward in that period was our introduction of the 060mm diameter tube. Nobody else had used such pipes before and our main reason for using them was the bending of thin-walled tubes. But our bending machine was not suitable for bending pipes of such dimensions, which is why we experienced numerous problems at first. An even larger measure of ingenuity was required as we began using titanium as none of our bending and pulling tools were made specifically for use with this metal.

comparable to such products used in the global aeronautics industry. Our striving for progress also led us to use the then unutilised high temperature-resistant components. As already stated, the expansion of our manufacturing processes resulted in hiring new workers and we were eventually forced to leave our workshop for the deserted manufacturing halls in the nearby village of Malo Hudo. In 1998 we began renovating the newly bought premises and soon thereafter moved to the “big halls” - not that they remained looking big for long. We could label this as the decisive period as this was the time when the Akrapovič workshop gradually transformed into a company. The compa-

ny’s lightning growth and expansion also brought its own problems, especially the disproportionate size of departments and the lack of middle management. But the design of the new building spoke for itself and newly acquired equipment catapulted us to the top of exhaust system manufacturers. The departments seen by the company owner as fundamental for growth and success were greatly expanded. This meant a number of new machine tools and the start of constructing a new development centre. Erecting the new development building was not only a great boon for the company, it also set completely new industry standards! For example, we ordered a then unique machine for manufacturing tubes which gave us the

‘97

‘98

‘96

It took us the next four years to completely master the technologies necessary to produce the most demanding titanium exhaust systems. This meant that by 1999 we were manufacturing and delivering our exhausts to Aprilia and all Japanese works companies in the WSBK class. What was peculiar back then was a total absence of any practical overhead. We only drafted our first muffler sketches in 1996, when we needed the designs to get the certification from Germany’s TÜV. The years between 1994 and 1996 were filled with changes and innovation. We made substantial progress when we switched over to carbon components, made in Slovenia. Even then their quality was

12 / 17

Revolution

period when we made the first complete exhaust for Honda Civic cars competing in the BTC Championship in the UK. Interest in our products quickly grew, resulting in our expansion to ultra light airplanes and vessels. In the latter field we co-developed the first water jet ski with the Hydro turbo engine. Because one of Igor Akrapovič’s key guidelines is investing in new technologies despite their sky-high costs, we introduced a new process of pipe transformation - Hydroforming - in 2004-2005. Meanwhile our direct in-house capabilities and the 24 hour availability of advanced technologies gave and keep giving us the edge. Widening our scope of technologies and purchasing new

devices gradually allowed us to become a trendsetter, as also witnessed by cases where our Japanese partners despite their high technological development decided to cooperate with us because of our responsiveness and short turnover dates. After 2005 we began to increasingly consider entering the car market. This resulted in building a new modern development centre for car testing and emission measurement. The demand for our composite products meanwhile required us to go up a gear in rapid development and the opening of a hi-tech branch in Podpeč, equipped with state-ofthe-art technology in the manufacture of composite materials.

‘01

‘09

‘02

ability to use titanium pipes of our choice, something extremely rare at that time. And the then new test bed building still generates respect from our competitors and partners. By expanding our technological range we also increased our offerings and expanded to new markets on the other side of the pond. We also managed to achieve ever greater perfection by continuously cooperating with Japanese teams, which only settled for the best. We began delivering our exhausts to the Honda GP team in 2002. In 2004 we used 3D models and exotic Inconel alloys to create exhausts for F1. These two and other achievements served as important references in talks with future customers and partners. This was also the

Slavko Trstenjak

2011

12 / 17

Revolution

Since 2000 we also employed numerous workers, both in manufacture as in development and other departments. Our highly-trained personnel greatly aided us in the changeover from a workshop to a modern company. A lot of time was taken up with managing documents and design schematics – something we were not bothered with in the past. This was also one of the prices we had to pay for out rapid growth, for which we were ill-prepared in several areas. But we managed to create a clear and unique corporate image and became a trendsetter in the aftermarket exhausts market. The landmark year was 2006 when we passed an audit by sports car manufacturer Porsche. Due to impeccably executed projects we gained new key references, allowing us to cooperate with other partners in the car industry. The increase in the scope of such cooperation resulted in the construction of a

laboratory and testing facility, both also indispensable for our foundry during our foundry operations. The foundry, purposely build to cast titanium alloys, is one of the few of its kind in Europe. The new technology housed in it allows us to manufacture the majority of components in house. These are mainly the parts that cannot be made in the classical manner due to their specific geometric characteristics. Such capability additionally provides us with the possibility to enter new industries that require titanium alloys not typically used by exhaust system manufacturers. We are also seeing that past hard work in the car segment is bearing fruit and has shown to be the right path for further development. The use of new technologies, materials and improved designs are also bearing fruit for bike exhausts, which will help us to maintain our top spot and continue progressing

in our core industry. But I am beginning to wonder after listing all these facts: has all of it really happened in merely 20 years? The Akrapovič company today employs 500 workers at two locations and is proof that we all pulled together in the right direction. Our future course is clearly plotted and there is no reason not to expect that ten years from now we will be looking at something so large that we cannot even envisage it today.

17 // Si

20 let evolucije Težko se je lotiti pisanja spominov, ko pa ob dnevni nasičenosti dogajanja že sproti marsikatera stvar nehote preide v pozabo. Za nekatere stvari se zdi, kot da bi se bile zgodile v nekem drugem življenju in se kažejo zgolj kot nekakšen obris dogajanja izpred desetih let. Ko sem pričel z delom v delavnici Akrapovič, nas je bilo skupaj z Igorjem šest. Kljub temu, da so bila orodja in obdelovalni stroji še zelo primitivni, smo se že takrat lotili izdelave zahtevnih izpuhov za motocikle znamk Ducati in Kawasaki. Dejstvo je, da smo imeli tri varilne aparate, prešo, stružnico, tračno brusilko, vrtalni stroj in krivilni stroj za cevi, katerega je po Igorjevih predlogih nardil Ivo Bric iz Ljubljane. In s tem orodjem se je izdelovalo izpuhe, ki se v osnovi niso dosti razlikovali od današnjih. Tedaj smo bili specializirani za celostno paleto Ducatijevih športnih motorjev, kot tudi za nekatere japonske drikalne motorje ...

Hot stuff

Hot Stuff from Akrapovič 18

Akrapovič exhaust systems are designed for riders who demand maximum performance from their motorcycles. They feature exceptional production quality, hi-tech materials, increased engine performance and of course amazing sound and appearance. The change is also visual, as our mufflers Ducati 848 EVO perfectly fit the exte+ 8 HP/5900 rpm rior line of modern - 4 kg motorcycles and add a clean racing image.

K 1600 GT/GTL + 2 HP/5870 rpm - 3 kg

Husqvarna TE 449 + 3 HP/6650 rpm - 1 kg

Gas Gas EC 200/250/300 + 1 HP/6380 rpm - 0,4 kg

Vespa GTS 300 + 1 HP/7000 rpm - 3 kg

Honda SH300ie + 0,4 HP/7500 rpm - 4 kg

Car Stuff

Car stuff

Welcome to our range of aftermarket exhaust systems for cars. We offer complete, partial, open or street legal products that significantly improve performances. We use only the best and exclusive titanium and stainless steel. We combine these two materials with high technologies and craftsmanship of our welders that divide this exhausts systems from anything else on the market.

Ferrari 458 Italia + 11 HP/6370 rpm + 26 Nm/2400 rpm - 14 kg Titanium

Mercedes-Benz C 63 AMG + 12 HP/3550 rpm + 22 Nm/3720 rpm - 19 kg Titanium, cast tail pipes

Volkswagen Scirocco R + 4 HP/5700 rpm + 4 Nm/4670 rpm - 3 kg Stainless steel

Renault Clio RS + 8 HP/4300 rpm + 13 Nm/4200 rpm - 7 kg Stainless steel

JORGE LORENZO GUERRERO

A MAN OF HIS WORD by Gaber KerĹžiĹĄnik photography Yamaha

A small TV screen in my commentary booth above the stands at the start/finish straight shows the riders in the final moments before the start of the race. As the camera passes from one contestant to another it is possible to compare their attitude before the red light goes out. The tension in the air is so dense you could cut it with a knife. You can almost hear the adrenalin buzzing above the racetrack. As if you were standing below an electricity pylon and listening to the voltage humming inside the thick wires. Even though the start/finish line and the stands are very noisy and everything is buzzing like a beehive, it seems that absolute silence descends on the track moments before the start of the race. I even think that birds stop singing for a minute or two.

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Portrait

I watch as the riders recede into their own worlds. Some are listening to music, others are silently staring into the space ahead. As the camera again pauses at the rider in pole position, he grins lightly. He lifts his middle and index fingers on his right hand to make the V symbol. V for victory. Even though he is wearing sunglasses, it is obvious that his eyes are focused on something far in the distance. He is looking all the way down the straight to the first corner, where the best motorbike riders of the world will be racing to in a few moments. Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo, the MotoGP 2010 world champion, is interested only in one thing. Victory. And by the end of the 2010 season he collected a whooping 35 of them in different categories. He stood on the top step of the podium nine times last season alone and took his tally to a class record breaking 383 points, earning his first world champion title in the premier class and the third world champion title in his career. “This is a big and very important day. Today I’ve won something I’ve dreamed about all my life,“ he said after coming third in Malaysia last year, thereby sealing his desired title. This achievement has allowed Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero, born on 4 May 1987 in Palma de Mallorca, to enter the pantheon. At the age of three when his father made his first motorbike and when he took part in the first local minicross race, nobody thought that little Jorge would one day be crowned world champion. Nobody but him. But the first signs of his talent for riding on two wheels soon became apparent. He won the local »Balearic Island« motocross championship title at the age of 14 and then moved to track racing. While his life was naturally full of ups and downs, his path has all the time led upwards towards motorbike legends, those who have managed to achieve the maximum. To conquer the Mount Everest of track motorbike racing. With a record tally of points and domination throughout the season, Jorge reached Everest’s summit in 2010 without the need for extra oxygen. This is true despite murmurs by many that his climb was greatly facilitated this year because of the injury of his works Yamaha teammate and 9-time world champion Valentino Rossi. “Jorge won the title fair and square. Even if I hadn’t had that fall in Mugello, I don’t know whether I

could have beaten him this year. He had a perfect season and done his job with aplomb. He completely deserves the title because he was practically perfect throughout the season. He has grown up to be a great rider and champion,” Valentino Rossi rejected all the speculation regarding Lorenzo’s title when I asked him about that during this year’s ski holidays in Madonna di Campiglio. It was the comparison between Lorenzo and Rossi that was the most debated topic last season. Two riders on the same motorbikes. Two big names. Lorenzo, the young and ambitious contender for Spain and Yamaha and the established motorbike legend Rossi, who was saying goodbye to the Japanese team. Could Jorge be the new Valentino? Could he be the one to take the place of the 9-time world champion when he retires in a few seasons? Speculation on this topic is usually centred on crowd pleasing, i.e. thinking of and carrying out skits and other “funnies” in the lap following the race. Lorenzo continues the tradition which was most prominently brought to MotoGP by Rossi. “I don’t want to mimic Valentino, as many people accuse me of. I think it’s fun to celebrate victories with rehearsed skits, they raise the attractiveness of the competition and bring in the crowds. This is good for the popularity of the sport and is part of the show. I’ve been doing the same after victories in the 250cc class and will continue to do so in the future. For myself and for my fans,” Jorge describes the moments when he jumps into a pond wearing his complete race gear, walks like an astronaut on the lunar surface or performs as a member of The Beatles. The lollipop man, as called by his fans after appearing at the podium with the said object in his mouth simply because one of the lollipop makers was his personal sponsor, rode his first Grand Prix race in the 2002 season. He joined the GP caravan on the second day of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, just after reaching the required 15 years of age. He had to forego free practice on Friday, a day before his birthday when he fulfilled the FIM-set requirement. He reiterated his talent and the desire to succeed in Misano in 2007, where his 16th victory brought him the title of the most successful Spanish rider of all times in the 250cc class, overtaking compatriots Dani Pedrosa and Sito Pons who notched up

15 wins each. After winning his last 250cc world champion title, Jorge received an invitation that he could not refuse. He was asked to join Yamaha just one year before the enforcement of a rule that newcomers to the MotoGP class cannot compete in works teams. Jorge was entrusted with a noble task. To defend the blue colours alongside one of the most successful riders in the world. Even though his first few races on the 800cc bike proved that Jorge can be frightfully fast, his first two racing seasons largely passed in him getting adjusted to a considerably more powerful machine. “Crashing is learning,” Australian Anthony Gobert said once and this was mainly the way Jorge Lorenzo learnt his trade. This was a period of numerous crashes, with the most memorable ones coming in China and Laguna Seca in 2008 – the latter resulting in a considerable injury. This was a painful period for the young Spaniard as he managed a grand total of seven serious crashes in only three months. But Jorge raced even when injured, thereby proving that pain is temporary but glory is eternal. Who does not remember the picture of his mechanics taking him off his crutches and putting him on his bike after he injured his ankles? It immediately became clear that Jorge is fast and that he will become a champion, as he took the pole on his first and the opening race of the MotoGP season in Qatar. He managed the same at the following Jerez and Estoril races as well as winning at Estoril for the first time. He thus became the youngest rider in the history of MotoGP to stand on the podium for three consecutive times in his first season. It was immediately clear that changing from a two-stroke to a fourstroke engine will not present any problems for the Spaniard. “My heart is devoted to two-stroke technology. This is the real racing concept. But woefully gazing at something that is fading into the sport’s history makes no sense. One should keep the happy memories of the past and focus on the coming technology,” he told me in Valencia in 2007 after saying farewell to the 250cc class where he had won two world champion titles. I also asked him then whether he feels any emotions regarding the end of the 250cc class and the arrival of its replacement – the new Moto2 category. New technology for racing bikes appears at the start of every season. And during the year. Evolution and revolutions. Tiny changes and upgrades. Also for the specially developed Yamaha YZR M1, Jorge’s weapon in defending his title in the 2011 season. As it is a rule that you do not radically change but merely upgrade a winning design, the biggest outside change, also visible to the untrained eye, might be a new exhaust system. Apart from their partnership in the Superbike world championship and numerous other motorsport categories, Yamaha is this season relying on the technical support by the Slovenian Akrapovič company, possibly the maker of the technologically most refined exhaust systems in the world, in the MotoGP class as well. This has brought the blue team with Jorge Lorenzo another step closer to retaining its world champion title. Jorge is undoubtedly capable of doing that, as proved by winning the title last season. And by doing so he also proved something else. That he had

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Portrait

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grown up. That the last two seasons have transformed him from a boy to a man and a mature rider. He gained experience and reliability and kept the edge that has made him renowned on the track and resulted in fans of many other teams judging him unfairly. Maybe it is his movie-star build, maybe the comedy skits after victories that sometimes look arrogant or maybe his self-confidence and reassuring appearance that makes him look slightly aloof. But only to those not in the know and those who judge him solely from the other side of the fence that separates the paddock and the track. Those of us who meet him every weekend at various tracks around the world hold a different opinion. Despite his successes in the last years, Jorge remains firmly on the ground. He is still the friendly boy who always finds the time to chat or at least answer a question. He is a racer who knows how to smile for the camera and cordially shake your hand before the interview. Jorge Lorenzo is one of the more accessible riders and can only say no with a difficulty. To both the press and the numerous fans who want his autograph or a group photo. And, well ... it also pleases us, the reporters, when we feel an unexpected tap on the shoulder as we wait to return our keys at the counter of the airport’s a rent-a-car shop on the Monday following the race. “I saw you here and just wanted to say hi,“ he said before continuing on his way with a small suitcase in hand and a friend or aide at his side. Jorge Lorenzo is a rider with a sense for his surroundings and other people. A star in the proper

sense of the word representing a new generation of riders, who know how important the attitude towards fans, spectators, journalists, cameras and all the rest is. Who realise the importance of image in the media world. This is why he is considered as one of the riders with the most developed sense of communication. He deftly uses the internet to communicate with his fans. He publishes reports on his blog, manages his website and reports on successes, changes and other action by tweeting or posting Facebook updates. But he has another manner to express his principles and emotions. For example through various motifs on his racing helmet. Do you still remember the one with the colours of the Barcelona football club? This is how Jorge expands his territory. He marks the conquered land after winning the race by putting up a flag saying “Lorenzo’s Land”, which has a while ago become his most visible trademark. You can also glimpse at how full of surprises he is if you closely watch this year’s season or read his biography, written by Ernest Riveras Tobia. Yes, I admit ... I was a bit sceptical at first as well. Before I picked it up, I was wondering what can a young man under a quarter of a century old say about his life. I then read the book in one sitting and was simply stunned by the story and the colourful events in his career. And Jorge’s book is not entitled “My Story So Far” just for the kicks. It is crystal clear that he will need at least one follow-up, as the biggest successes of this young rider, nicknamed “Por Fuera” or “X fuera” after his daring overtaking on

Portrait

the outside, are still coming. And Jorge foretold them. With his words, actions and results. If Jorge says something, then it sticks. I know that because I interviewed him on camera in Valencia in 2007 when he concluded his career at Aprilia as the 250cc world champion. It was already known then that he would be moving to MotoGP class and Yamaha next year. And you know … it was not the same Jorge Lorenzo that sat opposite me at the table in that tent. I kept feeling that I was talking to a child. A boy in a red shirt and a lollipop in his mouth. My final question was. Now that you have again become the 250cc world champion, I would like to know when you intend to win the same title in the MotoGP class? He answered without blinking: “In 3 years!” Yep, Jorge was a man of his word again.

Do you feel a diference with a new Akrapovič exhaust system?

Do you prefer a louder bike with no muffler or the oposite?

There have been many changes to the bike this year so it’s hard to identify a single difference, but the bike is better than last year and has improved.

I like the bike to be loud, it’s great to hear exactly what is going on when you are riding.

Mož beseda Majhen TV zaslon v moji komentatorski kabini nad ciljno tribuno dirkališča prikazuje dirkače v zadnjih trenutkih pred štartom. Ko se kamera sprehaja od enega do drugega, je moč primerjati obnašanje posameznikov, preden na semaforju ugasne rdeča luč. Napetost v zraku je tako gosta, da bi jo lahko rezal z nožem. Zdi se, kot da je moč slišati adrenalin, kako brenči nad dirkališčem. Kot bi človek stal pod električnim daljnovodom in poslušač pretok napetosti po debelih žicah. Čeprav je na startno ciljni črti in na tribuni zelo bučno in vse brenči kot v čebeljem panju, se po drugi strani zdi, kot da v zadnjih trenutkih pred startom zavlada popolna tišina. Mislim, da celo žvrgoljenje ptičev za minuto ali dve izgine. Spremljam dirkače, kako se umikajo v svoj svet. Nekateri poslušajo glasbo, drugi nemo strmijo predse. Ko se kamera ponovno ustavi na dirkaču, ki stoji na najboljšem štartnem položaju, se ta le rahlo nasmehne. S sredincem in kazalcem desne roke v kamero pokaže črko V, ki simbolizira zmago. Kljub temu da nosi temna sončna očala, je jasno, da je njegov pogled zazrt daleč naprej. Pogled seže vse tja do konca ravnine v prvi ovinek, kamor se bo že čez nekaj trenutkov zagnala gruča najboljših motociklističnih dirkačev sveta. Španca Jorgeja Lorenza, svetovnega motociklističnega prvaka sezone 2010 v razredu Moto GP zanima le eno. Zmaga. In teh je do konca sezone 2010 osvojil kar 35, v različnih tekmovalnih razredih. Samo lani je devetkrat stal na najvišji stopnički in osvojil rekordnih 383 točk, kar mu je seveda prineslo prvi naslov svetovnega prvaka v najvišjem tekmovalnem razredu, sicer pa že tretji naslov najboljšega na svetu v njegovi karijeri. »To je velik in zelo pomemben dan. Danes sem osvojil nekaj, o čemer sem sanjal celotno svoje življenje.« je dejal po dirki v Maleziji lani, kjer je s tretjim mestom osvojil tako željeno lovoriko. S tem se je Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero, 4. maja 1987 v Palmi de Mallorci rojeni mladenič, vpisal med nesmrtne.

Interview Igor Akrapovic, founder

Dare To Dream

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Interview

by Gregor Šket, Gaber Keržišnik photography Bor Dobrin, Akrapovič Archive

Long before the dream there

ilishly hard to achieve. “If

the hair, goose bumps during ac-

ter, then too much must be just

were the passion, joy, wind in celeration, the smell of freedom … That is why a philosophy was at the same time being created

all by itself, a philosophy that’s

nothing special really, but dev-

some is good and more is bet-

enough,” are the words that

de facto nail Igor Akrapovič, the founder and owner of the Akrapovič brand.

An ELECTRO TECHNIC by trade, Igor has been studying and improving two- and four-STROKE engines since childhood. His greatest love was motorbikes. He was an excellent racer with the added advantage of having an inventor's streak. It often happened at the start of a race that he was literally catapulted far into the front. It seems almost incredible that today’s distinguished gentleman was an untamed colt in his youth – in the best sense of the word. He could just go on telling you anecdotes and many are not suitable for public. And from all this pleasure, passion and enjoyment he began to build a trademark which is today a well-established name in the motorbike world.

He was driven by an insatiable desire for perfection since his

teenage years. It was in his blood. His brain, senses and knowledge teamed up to look for ideas to turn good into better and

better into the best … But even that did not satisfy him; he kept

asking himself how to improve the best. He and his faithful companions have been pursuing the answers to this question daily for the past 20 years of this fantastic journey.

Let’s paraphrase the eternal question of what came first – the chicken or the egg, or in your case, the passion for motorbikes and speed or a brilliant business idea? There’s no doubt about that. In my case the passion for motorbikes lies at the start of everything. It all began when I was eight years old. Back then I was trying to figure out how to get my first motorbike, well a moped. When I was eleven, I finally got my first Tomos. At fifteen I de facto confiscated my brother’s Kawasaki 500 – luckily he was serving in the army right then – and returned it to him intact. My brother also owned

slowly started to tune them for several Italian and Austrian teams. Between 1983 and 1989 I worked in my father’s workshop which made plastic products. And then I decided, also because I was spurred on by my wife, to start my own company. I bought my first premises in Ivančna Gorica and that is how it all began. I first tuned motorbikes, but soon moved to manufacture of exhaust systems as it became obvious to me that there were not enough such first-class products on the market.

What were your aims and plans at the beginning?

Even at the very start we were looking beyond Slovenian and Yugoslav borders. We actually managed to get a solid position in some neighbouring countries from the beginning.

a Ducati, which I occasionally borrowed as well. And I had my own MZ back then. At eighteen I bought a crashed Yamaha from a friend of mine Vinko Jerman, whose many problems included no forks and no front wheel. I scavenged my brother’s Kawasaki for the missing parts and came in second at my first race on the bike and actually won the next event. Later I bought a new Yamaha in Italy and started pursuing racing with greater zeal..

Who were your youthful idols?

In my young years Kenny Roberts and Kevin Schwantz. The latter even visited our factory last year, which was a special experience for me.

But I have to stress that our origins coincided with Slovenia leaving Yugoslavia and that made our work much harder. I remember that we faced numerous problems when importing pipes from Italy. But things soon started to turn for the better. We had a quality product. Our first racing entry was Germany’s Pro-SuperBike series, where we equipped all teams in 1994. After German champion Johann Schmidt routinely beat the competition on his Kawasaki equipped with our exhaust system, Kawasaki contacted us in 1996 with a request to test our products. In 1999 we worked with all major Japanese motorbike producers – Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha. In 2000 Colin Edwards became our first world champion. Until now we have won 57 world champion titles in various categories.

How about your family, how did they react to your need for speed and motorbikes? They were not too happy, so I never had any large sums of money and had to get the parts and other equipment from wherever I could.

When did your passion turn into business? Later I started racing in the superbike category on the Yugoslav and then the Alpe-Adria regional level. I was reasonably successful and often stood on the highest step of the podium. But looking back from the present, it was even more important that I learnt how to change, improve and modify bikes. So I

Have you ever thought what path you would choose if you had to do it all over again and exhaust manufacture wouldn’t have been an option?

Because I was basically 100% focused on motorbikes in all their incarnations from an early age, I can’t easily imagine what else I could be doing. If I had to, it would need to be linked to technology, maybe to cars.

How were you received abroad? You probably seemed quite exotic due to your country of origin. If I’m not mistaken, an American magazine dismissed you as pipe benders from Balkans? A lot of snubbing was going on at the beginning. But our reputation kept growing year after year. All who visited our factory were surprised by

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Interview

our way of doing things, fascinated that we do everything in house that we invest into machines, development and cooperate with top-level experts. Our products have been at quite a high level from the very start. Today we boast a state-of-the-art factory, with the inside complemented by its looks. The chief merits for that go to my wife Slavojka, who designed all the buildings. She also has the upper hand on marketing and overall visual appereance of the company.

Have you dared to dream 20 years ago that you would once have the brand that AkrapoviÄ? is today?

My ambition very early on was to one day manufacture the best exhausts for motorbikes. But I never expected the company to diversify as much as it has today.

Would you change anything if you started anew?

Once you hit extremely rapid growth, you need to make certain decisions, even if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re 90 or even 85% certain they will work. This means that some 10 to 15% of the choices were wrong. If we wanted to work with 100% probability, we probably wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to develop so quickly. Mistakes have to be taken in stride. What is important is that

the majority of your decisions are correct, this is the basics of entrepreneurship and life in general.

Technology in all areas has advanced more in the past 20 years that in all previous history. How is that expressed in your industry or how difficult is to continually be abreast with all innovations?

We invest the majority of our profits in technology, new machines and development. This separates us from competitors, who invested more means in marketing. Our factory is technologically exceptionally well equipped.

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My co-workers often make jokes at my expense, saying it would be better if I never visited any machine tooling fairs as I seemingly buy every new machine and device I see. But I’m convinced that gives us the main competitive edge over our competitors.

How has your perspective of motorbikes changed in this period?

It changed quite a lot. If nothing else, I’m quite a bit older now. Currently I don’t even own a motorbike. And I have a good reason for that. If I had one, my son would confiscate it in a heartbeat. I was much calmer when he was riding motocross bikes, rather than race around the

bikers. We realised then that these are two completely different worlds. We started from scratch …

What are your personal preferences when buying a car?

I am ruled by emotions as well. I have to like its looks and it has to be quick enough. I’m naturally also interested in the interior, in how I feel inside the vehicle. And I place an increasing importance on how many kilometres I can do with a single tank of petrol. I have owned several sports cars where you had to turn into a gas station after only 300 kilometres. On long distance trips, since i do a lot of travelling I want to do at least 600 kilometres on a single tank.

Interview

neighbourhood. The second reason is a lack of time. And the third is safety, as public roads are really quite dangerous playgrounds for more sport or race oriented bikers. For such activities the only place is racetrack, of course.

What did you feel when watching the first race your son competed in?

Yeah, I admit, it was pretty stressful. So I understand my parents who were worried about me, even though they were by far not as aware of the potential dangers as I am looking at my boy.

What about other races? Do you follow them?

The Akrapovič products are so accomplished and refined that many compare them to works of art. If you were to do the same, which artist would you find the most common ground with?

We have been dealing with these comparisons. We also made some such products and used them for promotional purposes. My wife even displayed some of them in her gallery. Design does truly play a major part in our products. An exhaust is a very visible component of a motorbike. Apart from everything else, it plays a key role in accentuating its shape. While exhausts are not so noticeable in cars, even there those ten centimetres can exude nobility, power, energy … My position is that if I don’t like the looks of our products, neither will the customer. Nevertheless I consider that our

Oh yes, we most certainly do. We watch all events on the TV and go to quite a few in person. We are looking forward to this year’s Moto GP championship with great excitement, as we will provide our exhaust systems to the current world Champion Jorge Lorenzo.

After numerous successes in the motorbike world, you entered the world of cars a few years ago. How difficult and stressful was the transition? It was a considerable challenge for us. We were actually somewhat disappointed at the beginning, when we realised that we do not enjoy the same recognition among car lovers as we do among

products are on a high level of industrial design, but real art is still few steps further.

Can your passion to motorbikes be compared with your zeal for audio components?

Of course. Both pleasures are meant to bring happiness for the soul. And both also release the finest feelings in me. Several really fantastic moments are linked to the two.

Besides you, who deserves the most credit for the successful development of the Akrapovič company?

That must surely be my wife Slavojka and Slavko Trstenjak, who has been working with us since the beginning.

Recent years have seen the focus shift to ecology. Does your industry also properly respect the environment and does that bring additional challenges?

We recycle all titanium waste. Titanium is very forgiving in this respect. We also operate an emissions laboratory. This means we do European homologation tests by ourselves and are only occasionally checked by German TUV. Also, our exhausts are lighter. If your car weighs 30 kilos less, you’ll reduce your emissions as well. I personally don’t believe in electric cars. I simply do not see a real alternative for the petrol or diesel engine. The so called cleanliness of electric energy makes people forget where this power comes from.

And we could also discuss the production and recycling of the batteries. And some of the efforts are actually hilarious, for example producing methanol from corn – the amount of the plant used for a single 80-liter tank is more than an single person consumes in one year. This seems utter nonsense to me, using foodstuffs for fuel. But on the other hand I am also convinced that highly developed conventional engines still give space for the reduction of fuel consumption by at least 30 to 40 percent. And this is the direction we should put some additional efforts.

How do you see the Akrapovič company in 2032?

segment, where the majority of manufacturers try to reduce the vehicle’s weight, thereby substantially improving handling and reducing fuel consumption.

How do you feel when you see a motorbike sporting your exhaust system somewhere on the other side of the world and you realise how respected your brand is?

I have to admit I feel really good when I see a motorbike or a car fitted with our exhaust. This is a huge recognition for me and the entire team.

I see the largest potential for growth in the car

Drzne sanje Že mnogo pred sanjami so bili strast, veselje, veter v laseh, kurja polt ob pospešku, vonj po svobodi ... Vzporedno se je kar tako sama od sebe rojevala filozofija, ki pravzaprav ni nič posebnega, le doseči jo je zelo težko. “If some is good and more is better, too much must be just enough,”so besede, ki na vseh nivojih kratko in jedrnato opisujejo Igorja Akrapoviča, ustanovitelja in lastnika znamke Akrapovič. Že kot najstnika ga je gnala neustavljiva želja po popolnosti. To je imel v krvi. Njegovi možgani, čutila in znanje so združili moči in iskali ideje, da bi dobro postalo boljše, da bi boljše postalo najboljše ... A tudi to ga ni zadovoljilo, vedno znova se je namreč spraševal, kako bi najboljše postalo še boljše. In to vprašanje si skupaj z zvestimi sopotniki na tem fantastičnem potovanju iz dneva v dan zastavlja že dvajset let. Skoraj nevejrjetno se zdi, da je bil danes uglajeni gospod v mladinskih letih neukročeni divjak v najboljšem pomenu te besede. Anekdote bi lahko pripovedoval v neskončnost in mnoge niso za javnost. In iz vsega tega veselja, strasti in užitka je začel graditi blagovno znamko, ki je danes pojem v motociklističnem svetu.

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Fantastic

Armand de Brignac Presents The Midas: The World’s Largest Champagne Bottle In a world where everything that’s better is bigger, The Midas is no exception. Armand de Brignac, luxury Champagne from the award-winning Champagne Cattier chateau of Chigny-les-Roses, France has created The Midas. It is a massive 30 liter vessel equivalent to 40 regular-sized 750 mL bottles and weighs 100 pounds. The Champagne’s name and bottle color pay tribute to the mythological Greek king, whose touch turned everything to gold. Each metallic bottle of Armand de Brignac is crafted by hand and features two Ace of Spades insignias and four hand-applied pewter labels. The bottles are then placed in velvet lined boxes with an engraved nameplate. Meant to pay tribute to France’s haute couture heritage, each bottle is luxurious inside and out.

Lexus LFA Undeniably the new Lexus LFA is a thing of beauty. The athletic and slick new Lexus supercar boasts 552 horsepower at 8,700 RPM, a 4.8-liter V10 engine and 354 lb.-ft of torque at 6,800 RPM. It goes without saying this car is a dream to drive.

S.T. Dupont Gold & Diamond Samurai Set S.T. Dupont, founded in Paris in 1872, has come out with a new ultra-luxe limited edition lighter and fountain pen set designed in homage to the storied military nobility of feudal Japan. The Samurai Prestige Lighter and Pen set, limited to just 20 pieces, is priced at about $66,000 and comes complete with a display stand and matching katana or samurai sword letter opener. The rare and exceptional creations for gentlemen from S.T. Dupont feature a chiseled piece of solid rose gold set with hundreds of white diamonds and textured black leather and silk ribbon accents.

Platinum Tequila Bottle Worth 3.5 Million 33 The EXCLUSIVE 3.5 million dollar bottle of tequila was designed by the “Diamond District’s” GM diamond creator, Ami Mesika, to celebrate the launch of Tequila LEY 925. The blinged-out bottle is made of 3.6 kilos of pure platinum and 6,400 diamonds, for a total weight of 415 carats. Unsurprisingly, the Guinness Book of World Records has named it the most expensive bottle in the world.

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Fitbit: A Mobile Body-Monitoring System Although you may always feel like someone is watching you, the end result could turn out to be a great $99 investment toward improving your overall wellness. Fitbit is a mobile electronic accessory that is as easy to tote around as a cell phone, as it keeps track of the way you do the things you do. Being small and light, a Fitbit can be worn around the waist (it comes with a belt), placed in a pocket, or clipped to undergarments. The mobile tracking device has the same type of 3-D motion sensor as used in the Nintendo Wii®. This is what enables it to track calories burned, number of steps taken, and total distance traveled without beeping buzzing, or attracting unwanted attention. A wireless base station also is included. When the Fitbit is placed near its base station, it will upload stats to your personal account on Fitbit.com. Up to 30 days of information can be stored. The account on Fitbit.com is free and syncing software is required. A fully charged unit last five to 10 days. The system works on both PCs and Mac computers. For more information, visit Fitbit.com.

Ralph Lauren Bugatti-Inspired Sporting Watch For only $13,200 you can be the proud owner of a Ralph Lauren Sporting Watch. It takes inspiration from the vintage ride owned by the designer, the 1938 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic coupe. This watch combines the luxurious wood finish of the Bugatti with a matte black dial which are inspired by the car’s interior. Part of the Sporting collection, the watch features Arabic numerals, arrowshaped hour and minute hands and an elm burl frame. Ralph Lauren said that when he does his designs, he aims to create an “entire world.” He added that with this vision, he has come up with numerous products for over 40 years; from making a man’s suit down to the tie, women’s clothes, children’s outfits, outfitting their homes, designing their luggage and handbags and creating their fragrances.

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Michael Pribil & Helena Schwarzkopf

ON THE CHASE by Primož Jurman, Mitja Reven photography Bor Dobrin

“WHICH IS FASTER, A CAR OR A BIKE?” IS A PARAPHRASED HAMLET-LIKE QUESTION. THE ISSUE WHETHER A CAR WOULD BET THE BIKE ON THE RACETRACK OR VICE VERSA HAS BEEN TORMENTING PETROLHEADS SINCE THE CREATION OF MACHINES WITH INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE. THERE CAN BE NO GENERAL ANSWER, AS TOO MANY FACTORS INFLUENCE THE RESULT. INSTEAD OF ARGUMENTS, THIS DEBATE OFTEN TURNS TO BIAS. CAR LOVERS ARE CHEERING FOR THEIR OBJECTS OF AFFECTION, RIDERS DO LIKEWISE FOR BIKES. BUT BOTH SIDES – SWEPT BY THE CHEERLEADING ATMOSPHERE – OFTEN FORGET THE BASIC FEELING THAT A QUICK PACE AROUND THE RACETRACK BRINGS. THE SHEER PLEASURE, REGARDLESS OF SPEED. EVEN THOUGH IT FEELS NICE TO BE THE FASTEST!

The Akrapovič company has been manufacturing motorcycle exhausts for 20 years and teams using them won a total of 57 world champion titles. We can safely say that we have quite a rich history in motorcycle racing. When we decided to move into the aftermarket car exhaust segment in 2008, some riders resented the betrayal of the motorbike “Idea”, while the car market received us with both scepticism and interest. We succeeded. We have proved in the past three years that we have the ability to achieve toplevel results on four wheels as well, as we twice won the prestigious 24 Hours Nürburgring as well as the German Porsche Cup. We have shored up our reputation enough in these years to be trusted by even such heavyweights as the BMW – our exhaust systems even roar on their safety cars and bikes in the MotoGP World Championship.

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PREPARATIONS FOR THE CHASE Because we serve both the car and motorbike worlds, we decided to create a joined car and bike story about the chase on the track and provide the (definite?) answer to this darned eternal question. We nurtured the idea for quite some time and it finally happened at the end of 2010 when BMW invited us to take part in recording a video to determine the answer. The scenario envisaged two days of filming in Akrapovič’s Slovenian plant and on the track. The problem? Winter and snow, as we were in mid-December. The logical choice was the Grobnik racetrack located near the Croatian Adriatic port city of Rijeka which enjoys a milder climate with usually no snow in December. The story has the bike rider and car driver betting on who is faster, prepare their vehicles at Akrapovič and then do their best on the track. There were two, well actually four, stars: the BMW S 1000 RR bike, BMW M3 car, rider Rico Penzkofer and driver Nico Bastian. The first is an experienced rider who went through hell and high water, including in such races as the ones on the Isle of Man and in Macau and is competing in the Endurance World Championship. The other is young, brave, just starting his professional career after successes in go-cart and various car cup competitions. The mechanical stars were the RR bike with a standard weight of 202 kilograms, fitted with a complete Akrapovič exhaust and sporting nearly 190 HP; competing against the 1,600kg M3, with Akrapovič’s Evolution exhaust and 430 HP. THE CHASE IN THE PLANT... After agreeing to the scenario, we started filming with the German partners from the Serviceplan

agency and Slovenia’s Arkadena. Our development building looked more like a Hollywood studio on that snowy day in December with cables, cameras, camera tracks, spotlights, monitors and everything else associated with proper filmmaking – including a director that came all the way from South Africa. Repeats of scenes and new takes went on for a full day and an unaware outside observer would likely say he was in an anthill – but one where everybody knew what to do an how to do it. The interplay of lights and precisely set camera angles made the state-of-the-art technology employed at the factory look as if it came from a hi-tech centre. With flames busting out of the bike’s exhaust and thundering of the car on the test bed, we knew that the video will be the real deal! Additional work on the car and bike with Akrapovič exhaust is a necessary task for anyone serious about racing, as the complete exhaust adds up to 9 HP to the S 1000 RR and a whooping 22 HP to the car! After finishing shooting in the factory, we changed over to a hotel bar, where the protagonists made their bet and then we filmed the conclusion. Well, actually two of them. In the first one Rico wins, forcing Nico to dress as a woman and in the second they reverse the roles. The guys naturally received their fair share of ribbing when dressed up and were a little bit embarrassed. But we all waited for the next day to see how much they are worth on the track. ...AND ON THE TRACK Compared to the snowed-up interior of the continent, the Grobnik racetrack was luckily without snow, but moist, cold and windy. No matter, both machines thundered and roared with Nico and Rico also doing their best in these difficult conditions. As Nico went drifting in his M3 through the final turn he looked on the edge and when told that

“hey, that’s not ..., watch it,” merely shrugged his shoulders saying that everything was under control and that he wanted to drift. OK, we believed him. Rico meanwhile spurred his RR on the back wheel, he certainly has the skills, even on a slippery track. The repeats and changes between takes, overtaking, sheer enjoyment in the machines’ sound, a huge downpour in between resulting in “wet track” warnings, placing the cameras on the bike and the car, intermediate photo-stops and chasing the final moments of daylight. A day can pass quickly and we wrapped it up with interviews and by packing the gear - we are satisfied, the material will now go into post production. www.facebook.com/akrapovic www.youtube.com/myakrapovic

On The Chase »Kdo je hitrejši, avto ali motocikel?«, je parafrazirano hamletovsko vprašanje. Debata kdo je hitrejši na stezi, avto ali motocikel, muči bencinske navdušence že od časov rojstva strojev z notranjim izgorevanjem. Splošnega odgovora ni, saj na rezultat vpliva vse preveč faktorjev. Namesto argumentov pri tej debati čestokrat glavno vlogo igra pristranskost: avtomobilisti navijajo za svoje, motoristi pa na drugi strani dokazujejo svoj prav. Oboji pa ob takem navijaškem vzdušju radi pozabljajo na temeljni občutek, ki ga prinaša hitra vožnja po dirkališču. Na užitek, ne glede kako hiter si. Čeprav pa je lepo, če si najhitrejši! The Chase je odgovor ...

ˇ exhaust: Technical data AkrapoviC S 1000 RR with (Titan): Max. Output: 198 PS and 118 Nm Weight: 197 kg ˇ M3 with Evolution AkrapoviC System (Titan): Max. Output: 442 Ps and 435 Nm Weight: 1.620 kg

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foto description

Discover the bolD new shaDe of luxury

Vathi - Aghios Nikolaos • T: +30 28410 62600 • F +30 28410 62622 • gran.melia.crete@solmelia.com • www.granmeliacrete.com

On the Road

CHILE Fin del Mundo by Miran Ališič photography Chile Tourism

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Go Wild

“If you don’t like it, go somewhere else,” is the usual retort of a slightly miffed Chilenian at a traffic light, shop, the counter of a public office ... Pride is something that is taken very seriously in South America. If you still continue to talk back, it can get nasty, as the natives are quite ready to get into a fight for Chile, regardless of the consequences. The blood pressure of calm, silent and reserved Chilenians can swiftly rise on such occasions and their blood might quickly boil. But nothing of the sort can be felt when landing on Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benitez airport, where over 10 million passengers cross in and out of the country every year. Everything is clean, quiet and orderly as if you came to Zurich and not the south-western boundary of South America. Switzerland on the other side of the world is another phrase that you will often hear in Chile. More than that, as you travel south, you will encounter numerous symbols of the Helvetian Confederation and proud people from the land of the white cross, the grand- and great-grandsons and daughters of the tamers of this wild but fertile land behind the Andes. No wonder they love order.

But this would be too simple a description of this narrow country between the Andes and the Pacific, which is over 4000 kilometres long and barely 200 kilometres wide. Everything is a desert in the north, a mixture of greenery, fjords, snow and ice in the south and all of it lapped by the mighty Pacific, which provides life and food to the inhabitants and at the same time menacingly warns of its destructive power, especially after huge undersea earthquakes which deluge

the coast by tsunamis. People in Chile have very different looks. The majority look like native Indians and this is not a coincidence. They differ from the neighbouring Peruvians but are also unlike the Argentinians on the other side of the border. Peru is much more native Indian, Argentina more European, while Chile straddles the boundary between the two. The Spanish and Italian conquistadors killed all the Indians in Argentina several centuries ago, but the Mapuche,

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a warring tribe from the south of Chile, managed to control large swathes of land during the colonisation and even a century after Chile declared independence in 1810. They still live in their reserves and occasionally cause grey hairs to the powers that be in Santiago. But only a few tourists make it to the villages at the foot of the Andes where the Mapuche reside. Chile divided its tourism activities into two parts. The northern desert part is developing also with the help of the Dakar rally that has been residing in Atacama for a few years already, while southern Chile offers cruises around Cape Horn, treks on the steppes of Patagonia, trips to the glaciers high in the Andes, looking at penguins on the coast of the icy Pacific and, for the richest and most persevering travellers, trips to Antarctica. The end of the world or fin del mundo is the locally designated name for these parts, even though neighbouring Argentina uses the same term for Ushuaia, touted as the southernmost city in the world. Well, several kilometres further south and on the other side of the sea channel that belongs to Chile lies Port Williams, a village with a military base, but it is far from a tourist des-

tination. It is often repeated in Santiago that fin del mundo belongs to them and was cleverly stolen by the Argentinians who made Ushuaia into a tourist attraction. “All this is the fault of our politicians, our governments, who do not provide adequate infrastructure in Chile’s Patagonia, as we have no airports, roads or other links with the rest of the country,” grumble elderly gentlemen in suits who enjoy cafe con leche in the surrounding coffee shops before settling down for a game of chess on Plaza de Armas, Santiago’s main square. And they tell the truth, travel is only possible on Argentina’s side of Patagonia, which has paved roads, airports and tourist destinations with one- to five-star accommodation. Quips in Santiago’s newspapers that fin del mundo is in Port Williams and not Argentina’s Ushuaia, regardless of the latter’s wooden board stating the said and used as a backdrop for all tourist photos, are something completely ordinary. The land border dispute in Patagonia was settled by Pope John Paul II only three decades ago, while the maritime border between Chile and Peru is now being debated by the international court in the Hague.

Fin del Mundo

kri tudi zavre. Nič takega ni slutiti ob pristajanju na letališču Arturo Merino Benitezpri Santiagu, oknu v svet, kjer vsako leto mejne prehode in letalske roke prečka več kot deset milijonov potnikov. Vse je čisto, tiho, urejeno, kot bi prišli v Zürich, ne pa na skrajni jugozahodni rob Južne Amerike. Švica na drugi strani sveta, je še eden izmed izrazov, ki ga boste često slišali v Čilu. Ne le to, ko boste šli na jug, boste videli tudi veliko simbolov helvetske konfederacije in ponosne ljudi iz države belega križa, ki so vnuki in pravnuki krotilcev divje, a rodovitne zemlje za Andi. Ni čudno, da ljubijo red.

“Če vam kaj ni všeč, pa pojdite tja, kjer je bolje,” je običajni odgovor rahlo jeznega Čilenca na semaforju, v trgovini, pri okencu nekega javnega urada... Ponos je nekaj, kar v Južni Ameriki jemljejo zelo resno. Če po tem še ugovarjate, lahko postane nevarno in vroče. Za Čile so se kaj kmalu pripravljeni stepsti, ne glede na posledice. Mirnim, tihim, vase zaprtim Čilencem kaj takega požene kri po žilah, in kaj hitro lahko ta

For long decades tourists were not a common sight in Chile, mainly after General Augusto Pinochet with the assistance of US intelligence services overthrew the democratically elected President Salvador Allende, a socialist who wanted to create a more just society for all Chilenians. The rich minority felt threatened and supported Pinochet’s coup, which resulted in scores of killed political opponents, including the Chile left’s martyr Allende who died in the La Moneda presidential palace. Despite the country’s return to democracy more than two decades ago, (Pinochet even organised and lost a referendum on his dictatorial rule) the cracks and wounds from that time remain. The majority of Chilenians are united in their belief that Pinochet’s liberal market economy model and a welcoming business environment placed Chile as the number 1 economy among South American countries, and the majority also claims that the model enlarged the differences between the rich and the poor and created a society where the rich can do anything and the poor are being increasingly marginalised and pushed to the outskirts. This might be the reason why the left, even though it ruled the country after the fall of the dictatorship in the 1980s until last year, did not change the economic model. The society’s Americanisation has also become entrenched with consumerism flooding the country and leaving social rights in the background. Public healthcare and education are at rock bottom and the best positions in the society are only guaranteed by going to private schools, which are out of reach for the majority of the inhabitants. The 6-million Santiago, which is home to a third of the country’s population, is actually composed of two cities – the Santiago Oriente on the east which looks like Monte Carlo, Geneva or Luzern with its splendour, cleanliness, beautiful streets, localities, private houses, villas and flats – and, well, Santiago, the home of the remaining majority. The distribution of wealth has caused

people from Santiago to work in the rich part of the city as gardeners, maids, cooks, drivers … This provides enough means for survival, the system allows the poorer part of the population to drive around in Korean and Chinese cars, go to holidays in wooden houses at the sea or lakesides in the south, ride buses and therefore muffles more vociferous and determined protests against this form of liberal capitalism. “This is paradise on Earth if you have a lot of money,” say the men during a game of chess on the main square and they are probably right. Weather in Santiago and central Chile is perfect for half of the year: there is no rain, the sky is blue, the temperatures divine, staying at around 10 degrees Celsius at night and between 25 and 30 degrees Celsius during the day. There is practically no moisture in the air, only in the winter can you experience some rain, clouds and the accompanying smog. “But winter here is what spring and autumn is like for you in Europe or Northern America,” consoles another chess player. Santiago is but an hour’s drive from the cold and wild Pacific, a beckoning place for lovers of pristine nature, and less than an hour away from the heart of the Andes where you can ski in the winter and go hiking amongst the numerous geysers and glacial lakes in the summer. The extremely amiable climate and lush land might be the main reasons why Chile became a major player on the fruit, vegetables and quality wine market, but this topic is so extensive that it would require special treatment in a dedicated article. Fin del mundo is therefore more than just the end of the world, it is a country of natural and social opposites and well worth a visit. Unless you are a die-hard fan of Florida or the Canary Islands, it is also an excellent place to spend your retirement or wait for the passing of northern winters.

Crazy Stuff

Crazy Stu ff

Vacation in Ireland: The Lore of the Land

HOUSE NEŽA - The Perfect Stop after a Long Bike Ride In the middle of the most beautiful nature, surrounded by the majestic Alps, and right in the centre of Kranjska Gora, you will find the Hiša Neža (Neža House) with its five luxurious apartments. All of the units come with deluxe and sumptuous furnishings, including an external Jacuzzi and sauna, while the colder days and nights can be whisked away by the crackling of your fireplace. Upon arrival you will be greeted by a complimentary drink, coffee and snack. For that perfect rest and relaxation, indulge in our versatile offerings, including Thai massage, freeride trips, sports equipment rental, airport pickup and delivery, horse carriage rides and more. During your stay you will never be more than a call away from our attentive staff, who will make sure that your vacation meets your most demanding needs. The Hiša Neža also organises various activities for different occasions. Come and be spoiled by top-quality wines, cheese, coach rides through an idyllic village and candle light dinners for two at a select local restaurant. For more info on Hiša Neža and our facilities please visit: www.hisaneza.si

With its rolling green hills and lunar landscapes, Ireland is an enchanting island located on the northwestern tip of Europe. While many are already aware of its beauty and cultural relevance, it is often those hidden treasures located off the beaten path, that provide the most cherished memories. Begin your journey in the city of Dublin by exploring its Georgian streets and visiting its historic landmarks. Hit the road and discover the Lore of the Land with a driving tour through the streets of Galway, Connemara, Clare and Limerick. Go where the island takes you and make your way through the vast and varied terrain of the Connemara region. With its savage beauty of its lake and mountain scenery, Galway and Clare is known as the “land of the castles” and the medieval city of Limerick. Be sure to stop at the Belvedere House, cross the River Shannon, explore the Spanish Arch, and make your way to Clifden, where you will stay at the magnificent Abbeyglen Castle, which offers a panoramic view of both the city and

the bay. Additional area highlights include the 5,000-acre scenic mountains of Connemara National Park, the lakeside mansion, Kylemore Abbey, a scenic drive through Leenane, a quick visit to Rathbaun Farm, topped off with a sea cruise through Killary Fjord, where you’ll enjoy the hidden gems nestled along its coast. Travel to the Burren region and visit the Cliffs of Moher, a spectacular five-mile long cliff, which rises almost 700 feet above sea level, before stopping in the heritage town of Kilrush, where you can board a ferry to north County Kerry. After arriving in Tarbert, continue through Listowel and make your way to Tralee for a two-night stay at the Ballyseede Castle. Before your trip comes to a close, be sure to spend a few leisurely hours in the medieval city of Limerick.

Wine is for the soul.

Water is for the body,

ARSENAL DESIGN

MOVIA, KRISTAN»I» MIRKO & ALE© Ceglo 18, SI-5212 Dobrovo v Brdih Slovenia T: +386 5 395 95 10 F: +386 5 395 95 11 E: movia@siol.net www.movia.si

State of the Art

How Custom is Custom?

by Gaber Keržišnik photography Aleksander Štokelj

The question how custom can custom be, might be better put in the form how custom can custom be today. The word that I see as signifying being different, distinct and unique has lost some of its shine in the past years. Or some of its meaning, actually. Because it is bloody hard to be different let alone unique in the avalanche of all possible ideas, even just in the world of motorcycles. This is especially so, because motorcycle manufacture, yes even of the hand-made “custom” originals, keeps exploring pretty similar avenues, even if it does not always seem so. Less than a decade ago, custom shows around the world featured bikes with seats barely above the ground, the thinnest possible front tires and hefty

rear tyres up to 300 mm wide and later even wider. Fashion trends for that period were clear. Everything else looked ridiculous. However, such a bike will today only excite interest if parked in front of your local health centre – seen at any proper motorcycle show will only make you look ridiculous. Somewhat like wearing white tennis socks with black leather shoes. The concept has been surpassed. The fashion dictates something different nowadays, but even the products from today’s greatest masters will one day feel obsolete. The aim is to make a bike that will remain unique and will eternally look contemporary. And that is the hardest thing. This can only be achieved by the best global experts, the gods of

custom design. And even they do not succeed with their every product. And, of course, prices for such pieces of art are approaching heavens. In short, top-level customizing makes it clear that there exist general trends about what is beautiful and modern in a given moment. And if that is so, then the trend is even more present in manufacturing, where the products are not hand-made but welded together by robotic arms on an assembly line. This again brings us to motorcycles and their accessories. The “custom” segment is becoming increasingly popular. The word custom became recognized after the dying out of the word chopper which has previously described all motorcycles

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State of the Art

To announce Akrapovič’s entry into the custom market the Company decided to build its first ever custom show bike – The Morsus. Named to reflect the scorpion like attributes of the machine derived from the name of the Company’s owner Igor Akrapovič and one whose logo continues to base itself on this formidable creature.

that did not fall into the sports or off road segment. We might connect them most with travel motorcycles as comfortable travel was supposed to be their primary aim with their cosy seats, foot rests and long handlebars. Cruising. Yes, you all know that Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper broke the ice with the movie Easy Riders. I do not think that I will be much off the mark if I write that Harley’s panhead named “Captain America”, featured in that film, was the father of all of today’s custom bikes. Harley Davidson was leading the way. The East followed and at that time also mainly copied. Well, this has changed nowadays. The Japanese have their own ideas, the Italians think in their own way. Not only

the legendary Yamaha Virago or Suzuki Intruder, now we have the crazy Ducati Diavel and the different Honda Fury. The segment was so attractive that even BMW had a go some years ago with its R 1200 C. All these completely different motorcycles still fall into the “custom” or “chopper” segment, even though we are talking about completely different classes and types of bikes, whose philosophy has nothing in common. In short, the “custom” segment has grown in ways unforeseen. And it is still expanding. But, as said, the manufacturers of both motorcycles and accessories are moving in a similar direction. And that nullifies the point of distinctiveness and uniqueness.

While the Akrapovič company is known for its use of cutting-edge materials such as carbon fibres and titanium and its exhausts sport modern designs and quality manufacturing, the company will not veer away from the current design trends in the custom segment. So while the high-tech materials and quality manufacturing will remain, the designs will not yet buck the trend. Hallelujah, ladies and gentlemen ... the apocalypse begins now. When I often deliberately teased the company’s founder Igor Akrapovič during my interviews by asking when will Akrapovič enter the “custom“ segment, he, as a staunch lover of sport road motorcycles, always made a wry face.

TomaĹž Capuder, Dreamachine

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But he never said never. His answer always went along these lines. “The custom segment is definitely a real niche market. It has enough space for our brand, but with a different philosophy from the rest. We are currently too busy anyways with orders from other segments. Especially the supersport and off road. But when we’ll expand our capacities and production, we might offer exhausts for this type of motorcycles as well.” Ladies and gentlemen, as you probably know, Akrapovič is regularly expanding and boosting its output due to increased demand. This is why Mr. Akrapovič’s “someday” finally happened several days ago as the company announced it was giving in to many years of urging by some of the most famous names in the custom segment and announced it was officially entering it.

We discussed the topic of entering the new market with Akrapovič Product Manager, Thomas Friedrich. “We always start by looking at the competition and checking what customers want. We found Harley riders wanted great looks and especially the right sound. Extra performance too and of course the ability to personalize their machine. Our custom range tides all these boxes and we are especially pleased with the sound. Its a deep resonant sound, unmistakable and perfect for these machines. Better still the rider can adjust the sound to accompany the ride too.” “Akrapovič custom range was developed with the same designer who designed The Morsus. Each system complements the bike it was designed for whether Sportster, Touring, Dyna or Softail models. Even better customers can mix and match the modular components and create their own look.” I am not exagger-

State of the Art

ating when I say it seems the word custom has got some of its original meaning back. And speaking of meaning why create The Morsus? Thomas continued: “We decided to create something very original to announce our entry into the custom market. With our partners at Dreamachine The Morsus emerged from a series of sketches and meetings between the team here at Akrapovič and the guys at Dreamachine. From above this one off machine resembles a scorpion, intentionally to mimic the company logo but on two wheels. We also wanted to showcase what we are known for – not just exhausts but the use of materials like carbon fiber and titanium.” By the time you read this, Akrapovič new custom products will be available around the world and The Morsus will be doing its own world tour. You can check this out on Akrapovič custom website: www.akrapovic-custom.com I admit. I am smitten...

You can find out more about The Morsus and the Akrapovič range of custom exhausts by visiting www.akrapovic-custom.com

Umetnine Vprašanje, kako custom je lahko sploh še custom, bi morda bolje definirali z vprašanjem, koliko custom je danes sploh še lahko custom? Beseda, ki po mojem mnenju ponazarja drugačnost, posebnost in unikatnost, je v zadnjih letih nekako izgubila na veljavi. Oziroma na vrednosti. Kajti ob poplavi vsemogočih domislic, če se omejimo zgolj na področje motociklizma, je zares hudičevo težko biti drugačen kaj šele unikaten. Še posebej zato ker gre izdelovanje motociklov, ja tudi tistih ročno izdelanih “custom” unikatov, vedno v precej podobno smer, čeprav se temu ne zdi vedno tako. Še pred slabim desetletjem smo si na custom šovih po celem svetu ogledovali motorje, ki so imeli sedež le malenkost nad tlemi, čim tanjše prednje kolo in zajetno zadnjo gumo širine do in kasneje celo preko 300 mm. Modne smernice za to obdobje so bile jasne. Vse ostalo je delovalo smešno. Danes motor narejen po tem receptu, vzbuja zanimanje samo še, če je parkiran pred lokalnim zdravstvenim domom, na kakršnemkoli resnem motociklističnem šovu, pa boste z njim izpadli smešno. Nekako tako, kot če bi v črne usnjene čevlje obuli bele teniške nogavice. Koncept je enostavno preživet. Danes je moda drugje, a tudi to, kar lahko izpod rok največjih mojstrov vidimo danes, bo nekoč delovalo preživeto. Cilj je izdelati motor, ki bo ostal unikaten in ki bo večno aktualen. A to je najtežje. To namreč uspeva le največjim svetovnim mojstrom, bogovom customiziranja. Pa še njim se to ne posreči z vsakim izdelkom. In ja, jasno, cene tovrstnih umetnin se vzpenjajo do neba. Dame in gospodje, kot verjetno veste, če redno berete magazin, ki ga držite v rokah, se pri Akrapoviču redno širijo in zaradi izjemnega interesa povečujejo proizvodnjo. Zato je pred dnevi napočil tisti Akrapovičev “nekoč” in oznanili so da popuščajo dolgoletnemu prigovarjanju nekaterih najbolj znanih customizerjev in da uradno vztopajo v segment custom motociklov. Sprva seveda le z omejenim izborom izpušnih sistemov za motocikle, kasneje bodo jasno širili modele, obliko in še kaj.

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Akrapovič Custom Product Range 51

»The Akrapovič Custom Range for Harley Davidsons will suit those Harley riders who seek a bit more exclusivity. Riders who appreciate fine European craftsmanship, outstanding performance, design, and of course the unmistakable deep resonant sound of Akrapovič.« Thomas Friedrich, Akrapovič Product Manager

Harley Davidson Sportster Slip-On Line

Akrapovič has put into production a range of its premium exhausts systems targeting the most popular Harley Davidson models – starting with the Sportster and Touring models and then adding the Dynas and Softails this summer. The Akrapovič custom range for Harley Davidsons provides the rider with the following benefits: Outstanding Design: Designed with a leading custom specialist the Akrapovič designs complement the individual style of the motorcycles. Pure Performance: Akrapovič exhausts are famous for their impact on performance born from twenty years of racing success. This enhanced performance starts with the choice of materials, the development, design and manufacturing process. Each system is developed individually for the model resulting in more horse power and more torque.

Deep Resonant Sound: The unmistakable deep resonant sound of Akrapovič has been carefully tuned for that authentic custom experience. You can adjust the sound to accompany the ride. Unique Features: Akrapovič Custom Range for Harley Davidsons also offer a number of unique features. Notably each model comes in either an Open Line or Slip-On Line version. Open Line: The Open Line transforms the look and sound of the original machine. Uniquely on the Open Line, unlike many competitors who use a baffle, Akrapovič Open Line uses a real silencer. This enhances both performance and sound characteristics. The Open Line includes header, silencer and heat shield, an optional noise reduction insert is also available.

Harley Davidson Touring Slip-On Line

Slip-On Line: Akrapovič Slip-On Line provides full EC noise and emission homologation but still with enhanced performance, looks and sound. The Catalytic converter is removable for those markets where this is appropriate. The Slip-On Line features an Optional Valve System enabling you to adjust the sound level with a simple switch and no dirty hands! The Slip-On Line offers an upgradable modular system so you can mix and match how the system looks. You can change the end caps, add a Valve System, add a Noise Reduction insert.

AudioFreaks 52

AUDIO FREAKS

CLEARAUDIO

CLEAR STATEMENTS by Andrej Krbavčič photography Bor Dobrin, Clearaudio

THE BEST SPEAKERS ARE USELESS IF YOUR AUDIO SOURCE IS NOT UP TO PAR.

This was the first statement by Robert Suchy the head of the German Clearaudio company. And also if you lack such a demonstration area, was our near-silent rejoinder. Close to 70 square metres! Three pairs of speakers that would feel huge in every normal living room almost seem lost here. Oh well, even the Statement, the biggest, heaviest, most beautiful and best turntable at the moment, almost seems lost as well. Robert turned a couple of switches at the turn-

table, preamplifier and active speakers. While cups of coffee were cooling in our hands, the electronic and mechanical components were warming up. The saloon showcases the company’s currently produced turntables, tonearms and cartridges below their photographs in golden frames. It is a sight indeed! We droll and yearn a little, just the tonearms could fill a room: standard-length radial ones and longer, made from ebony, carbon, wood, metal ... Then there are the tangential ones that move in the same way as the cutting machine that engraves the master record - the Statement’s one looks like a bridge construction crane and it is not much smaller either. We sit down and Robert reverentially places the black record on the

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EVER SINCE THE GERMAN COMPANY CLEARAUDIO CREATED THE UNIQUE STATEMENT TURNTABLE, NO AUDIOPHILES WERE LEFT COLD BY THE PRODUCT. MEDIA IMMEDIATELY CATAPULTED CLEARAUDIO HIGH INTO THE HIEND, WHERE BUT A FEW STARS ARE LEFT SHINING. BUT IN REALITY THE COMPANY’S MORE DOWN-TO-EARTH PRODUCTS PLACED IT UP THERE LONG BEFORE, AS A PRODUCT SUCH AS THE STATEMENT CANNOT BE CREATED WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, DREAMS, IDEAS, IMAGINATION AND FORTITUDE. CLEARAUDIO FOUNDER PETER SUCHY SAID THAT NO INDUSTRY PRODUCES SO MUCH BALONEY AS THE HI-END, THE TOP OF THE AUDIO INDUSTRY. BUT WE SAW THAT THEY DO NOT.

turning altar. Then the music sprinkles, thunders, drips, rolls, cuts and caresses, music that with eyes closed cannot be differentiated from a live orchestra or band. The violin has a marzipan sound, it does not scream and I finally begin to like it. The bass drum, timpano and cymbals are masochistically real and present, they are not just the trembling membranes on top-notch speakers. And what is perhaps the weirdest thing of all: there is no Statement. You can see it, the record turns, the needle is obviously reading something, but you cannot hear it in any way. You do not hear the platter’s bearing, the needle is not painfully navigating the grooves like a speeding bobsleigh, you cannot recognise the record, you cannot hear the ground, there is no feedback from the speakers, there is no colouration. There is only music, complete and unembellished, practically ab-fi, absolute fidelity. Or is it? Robert now demonstrates how speakers react to different levels of impedance. He starts with 5 ohm and the excellent flute player Aleš Kacjan yells out: “Leave it! This is how a violin sounds, you can hear every minute detail!” I prefer the less ethereal 25 ohms, another person likes 200 ohms best, this is where it sounds rambunctious and dynamic enough to him. But this is no longer the question of quality in reproduction, this is about the taste and perception of the listener and the ability to adjust it accordingly.

THE CD WILL DIE – IT IS DYING ALREADY

This is Robert’s firm belief as we walk down the corridor, covered with recognitions and awards. “Even in the very modest two to three thousand euro price range the turntable will sound better than a similarly priced CD player. Also note that the sales of CDs are in steep decline while the production and sales of vinyl records are on the rise.” Also at Clearaudio. The company works analogously, analogously to let us say a pet shop. It does not only produce turntables, accessories and accompanying electronic equipment, but also their food. Records that is – and still some CDs as well. This is the correct and smart way: turntables are not needed if there are no records. Robert showed us a device for engraving the matrix. Clearaudio receives recorded music because they do not (yet) do production and compression of records. Unlike CDs, the vinyl records are almost eternal if you treat them well. Clearaudio also makes cleaning machines for records – they are driven by a Slovenian motor and are designed with the same care as the turntables and amplifiers. And it matters what kind of cloth or brush the machine uses for dusting the vinyl - only microfibers are allowed.

WE RESPECT SOME OTHER MANUFACTURERS, THEY ARE VERY GOOD – BUT MAYBE WE ARE SOMETIMES BETTER

“We do about 80% of the work ourselves, the rest is done by partners. We start with the raw materials, mainly duralumin, acrylic glass, stainless steel and carbon fibres, but also with special ceramics, plastics and bulletproof wood - this is a material with exceptional characteristics: high density, resilience to mechanical forces, moisture and temperature and an uncommonly noble look. It is not cheap, a square metre of two-inch raw wood costs around 900 euros. It is made of half millimetre-thick layers of wood, crossedglued under 60 tonnes of pressure. A bullet cannot pierce such a plate. We manipulate the wood on CNC stations and then varnish it seven times, the same as violins. This means we manually sandpaper every layer of varnish and then put on another layer. But this not about being ornamental, this material has exceptional construction and acoustic characteristics.” We knock on wood.

THERE IS NO INDUSTRY WITH SO MUCH BALONEY AS THE HIGH-END.

Peter Suchy, the founder of the Clearaudio family company, actually used a much stronger term than baloney. We found him sitting in the workshop for manufacturing cartridges, supervising the winding of the coils. That Clearaudio is not just a load of tosh is also proven by the fact that they produce the smallest freely wound coils in the world. They are even supplying them to the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). If nothing else, this has to be a pretty good reference for the company, right? Peter, a nuclear physicist and mathematician by trade, is still immensely active. He develops cartridges and claims that ears are

the most sensitive organ. The company is currently producing the Goldfinger Diamond V2, the best cartridge with a movable coil with a total of 12 magnets and a dynamic range of an astounding 100dB. The casing is made from 14-karat gold, the coils from 24-karat gold and that is not for show, it is to guarantee as perfect characteristics as possible. Such a cartridge requires seven working days. The device for sorting magnets was also created by the company as it was impossible to buy on the market. All in all the company produces 15 different cartridges, fit for every purpose and wallet size.

MY BIGGEST MISTAKE WAS TO HAVE BEEN A PERMISSIVE PARENT.

One should not take this statement by Peter seriously – you can see that he is extremely proud of his kids and their achievements. We were out in the corridor again and Robert dropped some titbits about the company. Peter, the father, and his wife escaped from the then Czechoslovakia in 1968. Peter is also a good guitar player and treated himself to a respected amplifier and speakers, but was not satisfied with audio reproduction quality. This is why he created better speakers and some of them are still playing in the factory. The name of the company sounded international when Peter unveiled in 1979 the first movable coil cartridge with the needle holder made from boride. (An alloy of boron and metal.)

TAKE THE BEST AND MAKE IT BETTER, ONLY THEN IT IS JUST GOOD ENOUGH.

That also was said by Peter Suchy and now serves as the company’s motto with daughter Veronika taking care of human resources and operational business, son Patrick heading the development and design department and son Robert managing marketing and exports as well as having been designated the CEO by Peter. They have

Jasne izjave (Clear Statements) Odkar so pri nemškem podjetju Clearaudio naredili statement, edinstveni gramofon, ga ni audiofila, ki ne bi imel česa pripomniti s tem v zvezi. Clearaudio se je medijsko hipoma izstrelil visoko na nebo hi-enda, kjer se blešči samo še nekaj zvezd. V resnici je tam že dolgo z bolj prizemljenimi izdelki, saj statementa ne moreš ustvariti brez predznanja, izkušenj, sanj, zamisli, domišljije in srčnosti. Peter Suchy, ustanovitelj Clearaudia izjavlja, da nikjer ne nakladajo toliko kot v hi-endu, vrhu audio industrije. Ampak oni ne, smo ugotovili.

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made it. Clearaudio today has a small factory in Bavaria’s Erlangen, a quaint 1000 years old university town. The factory employs about 40 people and you would of course expect some of them to be Czechs. But it also has a Ukrainian, a Pole, a former US soldier in charge of accounting and consumer service and, yes, there are plenty of Germans as well. Have they felt the crisis? Yes, sales dropped by about 10%, but they managed a EUR 6.9m turnover last year and are realistically aiming for at least EUR 7m this year. They are a bit behind with the orders, which is both good and bad. Just as we visited one of the CNC machines was being repaired, which will add another day or so to the delay in meeting the orders.

WE TRY TO CREATE WITH OUR EARS AND OUR HEART.

A clear if incomplete statement. They obviously also use their heads, hands and modern technology. The things that they cannot do by themselves are made by equally capable partners – the end surface treatment for a number of parts is being carried out at the famous Carl Zeiss company – what more could you wish for? As you walk through the workshops you feel that the work is very relaxed. An amiable environment, quality music, a poster or two with female silhouettes where men are working or a family portrait at a woman’s workplace. An unforced tempo allows for precision and completeness of handwork. Robert says that installing a sensitive cable through the tonearm is called a wedding: and if something goes wrong there, it is termed abortion. A wedding can take from five minutes to half an hour, it is not always without complications and is therefore carried out by the much more patient women. Clearaudio was also in talks with Akrapovič regarding the production of carbon tonearms, but the technology is too specific. Now they use the same intermediate product as the one used for radio antennas of the Leopard tank. Manufacturing the components utilises clockwork precision, as only that allows for quick assembly, topnotch settings, level quality range and a perfect result. The buyer often cannot fully realise all the hard work and procedures used in creating the end product, but the perfect audio reproduction is obvious. The intermediate and final quality control seem ludicrously demanding. The motors are sourced from specialised companies,

while the company uses first-rate care and innovation to guarantee their uniform running. At the end the turntables go through a 48hour stress test. The electronic components enjoy the same amount of care. A prototype is constructed first, with maturity for serial production of the component and technology taking a whooping two years. But as it happened, we were not all that excited about the shape of the new top-of-the-line preamplifier. But I will put that down to the fact that it was standing next to the amazing Statement turntable. And the Statement just humbles everything around it. All of these factors allow Clearaudio to score top grades for its range of turntables and other products. I saw for the first time an excellent and simple idea – a pendulum weight for vinyl records. All of the weights I have seen so far were central, but only a pendulum one can align the record for that perfect sound.

WE MANUFACTURE PLEASURE

I admit I was awed but not convinced when I saw (not heard) the Statement for the first time. This turntable simply cannot sound as good as its design and looks. As stated by Peter Suchy, there is baloney in the hi-end and I feel the same about top-class clocks and watches. But now I have heard it. And the difference is obvious. Robert told us that the first one was only built to present what the company was capable of, to attract attentions at fairs. To show what can be built when money is not an issue. Surprisingly, orders started pouring in. By the time we visited they sold seventy-two of them, but are adamant that they will end production once they reach one hundred. After all this is a unique product. It weighs between 350 and 380kg, depending on the buyer’s requirements. The raw materials for one Statement alone cost EUR 18,000, says Robert. We are now not dealing with technical characteristics of this incredible product – we are merely admiring it with out ears, eyes and fingers. Robert adds that design was especially demanding: 380 kilograms of metal, acryl and wood must not look awkward. Even though various reasons will likely prevent us from owning a Statement, we can be consoled that the company’s cheapest turntable, the Concept, is a full-blooded Clearaudio.

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“This is wine!” a l e š k r i s ta n č i č - t h e w i n e m a ke r

by Gregor Šket photography Bor Dobrin, arhiv Movia I could proclaim him an entrepreneur, winemaker … But he calls himself a farmer, being fully aware of all the negative connotations of the word. But to be a farmer like him is to be a huge heap of positive attitude, simple logic, common sense, cordiality, love for the soil and toil, toil, toil … One of the first things one notices on Aleš are his robust hands. You think about how many grapes these fingers have caressed already. But these strong hands only exert their true meaning when he opens his mouth. When he starts talking about wine, his face emits a very special radiance. He could talk about wine to infinity and beyond. A mix of rural common sense, knowledge and skills spontaneously creates thoughts we could easily label as poetry. This was also noticed by Italian caterers, who drove to the village of Cegla in the Goriška Brda region from the south of Italy. Even Alberto di Girolamo, the legendary sommelier, who also catered for Queen Elizabeth of England and Winston Churchill, asked him if he was an actor. His performance is literally a stage show. But he is not an actor; this is what he is like. Aleš Kristančič is a natural guy. He does not act, does not pretend. He does his job with passion and commitment. His self-confidence is built on genuine foundations. If you are good at what you do there is nothing wrong in being aware of that. And he is. That he is playing in the top league was told to him by others as well. The most distinguished wine experts placed him amongst the dozen of the world’s top wine creators. His wines are adored by the most prestigious chefs on the planet, including Lidia Bastianich, Alain Ducasse and Gaston Blumenthal. The Wine & Spirits magazine proclaimed Movia a winery of the year in 2010. He keeps searching and looking for new solutions. The results of his achievements include the Lunar and Puro wines. The first is produced completely naturally, employing the moon and its cycles. And Puro is a sparkling wine turned upside down. You have to open it with a special opener so that the residue empties into water. When Aleš Kristančič starts on the topic of wine, his eyes literally come to light. “Wine’s a very complex thing. At the same time it’s essentially a very simple and sociable thing. It’s more of the spirit than of the body. Wine is basically picked grapes, full stop. But sadly more than 99% of wine isn’t like that. You don’t have to be a huge expert. You have to be alive and let your emotions carry you. And then you produce more saliva. Like a salivating animal. Saliva also

never runs out when making love.” He knows that wine was not thought of by people, only found by us in nature. And that is why it holds a completely unique place. Of course only if it remains as it was envisaged at the beginning – natural. Several thousand years ago humans were not able to easily get to wine. They did not have the means to repair their unruly behaviour to nature. They did not buy their lives in a bag, adding as necessary if they destroyed something. Wine is co-created by fungi and bacteria. Without their invisible work it would remain juice forever. Wine begins only when the animal and plant parts join. “Wine really is fantastic. Its mission is to keep reminding us that we are here to enjoy and not the other way round. But pleasure also requires work. Wine moreover only fulfils its mission if it doesn’t leave a dumping ground behind. I often get asked how I realised all these things. I keep repeating that I inherited them. It has been like that in our family for a long time. That’s how my father, grandfather, greatgrandfather … thought like. But I admit that in my younger years I was in conflict with myself. As a kid I was thinking why the hell do I have to work of Sundays when I would rather be at a game. But grapevine knows no Sundays or holidays. Certain things have to be done at a specific time, you can’t leave them for tomorrow. In nature you have to work with feeling. If you are smart and perceptive you can also use the forces of the universe. They can help you, but can also be on the opposing side. Farmers have known how to do that for a long time. They didn’t think why produce was better during certain lunar periods. They took that for fact and respected it.” He did not get the answers he sought at the agricultural college. He felt that his father’s musings about the moon, nature and harmony were much more logical and sincere. But he also wanted to see how the really great masters do things. He talked his father into calling his friend Pietro Pittaro, an Italian professor who knew Movia from the times of his grandfathers, and tell him: “Pietro, our Aleš would like to have a peek at the world of winemaking!” That is when Pittaro used the bonus he had for only the best of his students. He sent Aleš to Château Pétrus and Romanée-Conti. There he began by sweeping the cellar, but it slowly emerged that he knows a bit more than that and something might become of him. At the end he was given a green card, meaning that he could drop by whenever he wanted. He did not tell them that he was only there to get the knowledge he was so far denied.

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His father and Aleš often stood on opposing banks. The father’s principal guideline was to be the first in the vineyard in the morning and the last at home at night. For him being good did not mean going to bed with the chickens, but rather being able to work all day, party all night and work all day the next day. He naturally expected the same from his son. But that was not always the easiest thing to do for a young lad. This plus and minus, fire and water, happiness and hatred, war and peace have been intertwined throughout Aleš’s life. But when the topic turned to wine, the father and son forgot all what was said and buried all the hatchets. Then they always spoke with one voice. Wine was their highest aim that nothing could take down. “Our approaches are not quite as fundamentally different as it may seem at first glance. We both understand very well the period in which we live and create. But we are both aware of our tradition, mission and our advantages. And not just the two of us, my grandfather, my great-grandfather … too. “My father got the most out of the circumstances in which he lived. His life achievement is preserving the tradition of winemaking at Movia. Because he wanted to remain a winemaker at any cost, meaning his end product would be his own wine and not grapes that are then mixed with those of others, he never joined a cooperative. You can imagine the problems we had because of that under the previous regime. Here, right on the border, it was even more obvious that those living on the other side only a few hundred metres away had everything while we faced immense struggles. And my father knew exactly what to do to keep the Movia tradition alive in those strange circumstances. When I think back now about some of the things he had done that I as a teenager found incomprehensible, I completely understand him. I understand that he had no time to deal with some of our eminent customers, who came from far away to buy our wine. I know why he left important Italian customers and went for a night of drinking with the village chief police officer. He must have had a pretty thick skin to have survived all that. You see, we only got our telephone line in 1991. Everything else we needed we got through secret channels. If we wanted better corks, we bought them in Italy and smuggled them to Yugoslavia. If we wanted to buy a tractor, we had to buy two more for those who could otherwise prevent us from getting on with our work. And I know thousands of similar stories. Before my father, my grandfather experienced similar problems with the fascists. We really must have loved our wine immensely and believed in it to have been ready to make such risky decisions.” But Aleš was the Kristančič who made Movia into an international success story and thereby opened a path to the world to numerous other winemakers from the Goriška Brda region. He told his father as a teenager: “Papa, our wine will be drank by presidents!” He had just the right mixture of charisma, audacity and youthful courage to make some seemingly heedless choices that later turned out to be the right ones. He discovered where his true clients gather and drove without a driving licence to government protocol buildings in Podvin, Grad Otočec, Vila Bled, Vila Podrožnik, Brdo pri Kranju and sold the wine at ten times the price. They cursed at him in the beginning but a week later started calling him, asking for more and more ...

Whenever something went wrong and his father despaired, Aleš consoled him by saying: “Papa, don’t care about them. We will sell our wine to America!” America held a symbolic importance for him, similarly as it did for all those immigrants from Sicily. It meant a hope, a new world ... He then happened to meet a Slovenian living in Cleveland and talked him into selling Movia wines. The acquaintance was ecstatic and immediately took him to Slovenian clubs in that city. “I realised in the first club that this is not it. On the way back I stopped in New York, bought a guide to the best restaurants and went from door to door. So it happened that I knocked on the door of Felidia, owned by Lidia Bastianich, which was then renowned as probably the best restaurant in Manhattan. When I told the “wine manager” who I am and where I come from, he responded: “Wait, are you the Movia boy?” It emerged that Ms Lidia comes from our neck of the woods and had asked my father five times to sell wine to her – but he didn’t take her seriously.” But the American story actually began in Italy. Aleš says that he is one of those who happen to be at the right place at the right time. In his case it was because of Carlo Petrini, who founded the Slow Food movement in Italy in the second half of the 80s. Petrini joined forces with several likeminded people from different parts of Europe. But he was looking for someone from the Eastern bloc. And this is how he discovered Aleš Kristančič, who suddenly saw doors open to the highest culinary circles. Petrini also set up a meeting with one of Italy’s largest winemakers and distributors Angelo Gaja. Because Aleš was slightly late due to a traffic jam on the highway to Verona, Gaja treated him coldly. He did not like that some Yugoslavian was late. “And then I ran into my acquaintance Mauro Lorenzone, owner of a well-known winery in Venice, who took me to the other side of the fairgrounds where a right party was taking place already. On the stage was a guy who looked vaguely like coming from the circus. He was wearing one red and one green shoe and an unbuttoned shirt. This was Luca Gargano, a legendary liquor merchant, who even supplies exotic drinks to Alain Ducasse. We gave him a sample of our Pinot Grigio. He made a gulp and asked ‘Is this really Pinot Grigio, did it spend time in wooden barrels?’ I replied ‘Yes, for two years and a half!’ When he heard that he loudly proclaimed ‘Where is this wine from, this is my wine!’ At that moment Gaja, about whom I’ve completely forgotten in all the hubbub, entered the tent as well. I made an entirely instinctive decision not to cooperate with him but rather with Gargano. I told Gaja ‘Maybe I’m just making the biggest mistake, but my heart has made the call. With all respect to you, I found out that you can only be the agent for your own wines. Your attitude towards me already completely extinguished my passion, will and pleasure the first time we met.’” Carlo Petrini even wrote this story in the first publication of his movement. Since then Movia wines received awards from all over the world. The winery is visited by distinguished guests who taste the wine with respect. Even the Wine Spectator magazine ran a six-page article on Movia. But Aleš keeps his feet firmly on the ground: “I see it as a great success. Of course we are pleased by that. But this is not our mission. We just create wine …”

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movia Movia is not merely a designation for the wines and the winery that lies on the border between Slovenia and Italy. Movia is a way of life in all of its grandeur, natural purity and owner’s honesty. Movia signifies eternity and above-high quality standards that wine lovers seek all over the world. From easygoing classics through a range of mature wines with excellent ageing potential to eccentrics that you cannot find anywhere else in the world. Movia is a family farm located in Ceglo and includes 54 acres of numerous prime winegrowing locations straddling the border between Slovenia and Italy. On the global wine market today MOVIA stands for wines that excite with its specific character and exceptional elegance. These wines contain traces of the most noble viniculture and winemaking tradition that often surpass the boundaries of generally accepted and valid oenological practices. The first step towards getting to know MOVIA wines is the Vila Marija trademark, a range of young and fresh wines from youthful vineyards. The next step contains wines from select loca-

“To je vino” Lahko bi razglašal, da je podjetnik, vinogradnik ... A sam zase pravi, da je kmet. Zavedajoč se vseh negativnih prizvokov te besede. A biti kmet kot je on je ena sama pozitivnost, preprosta logika, zdrava pamet, prisrčnost, ljubezen do zemlje in delo, delo, delo ... Ena izmed prvih stvari, ki jih opaziš na njemu, so robustne roke. Pomisliš, koliko grozdnih jagod so že božali ti prsti. In te močne roke dobijo svoj pravi pomen, šele ko odpre usta. Ko začne govoriti o vinu, njegov obraz preplavi nek prav poseben žar. O vinu bi lahko razpredal do neskončnosti, do večnosti. Kombinacija zdrave kmečke pameti, vedenja in znanja spontano ustvarja misli, ki bi jim z lahkoto rekli poezija.

tions (Turno, Gredič), which in turn lead to the winery’s main trademark – the MOVIA wines with its black label. We give enough time to these wines to reach full maturity right here in our cellar, so they reach the market several years after the grapes for them have been picked. The range is supplemented by the Puro sparkling wine which sets new milestones in the making and range of such wines. In short: we revived preclassical procedures that leave out the use of sugar for continuous fermentation of wine in the bottle and gave the consumer the pleasure otherwise only felt by winemakers when disgorging the wine. Old procedures and new takes on wine are even more pronounced with Lunar, which is, the same as Puro, created without adding sulphite. Movia wines are made with the utmost respect for nature, without oenological procedures or filtration. They require suitable keeping, meaning an appropriate cellar. Our product range is topped of with Esenca, wine made from dried grapes, a line of products based on grapes and a selection of homemade grape marc spirits.

To so opazili tudi italijanski gostinci, ki so se v Ceglo v Goriških Brdih pripeljali z juga Italije. Celo Alberto di Girolamo, legendarni sommelier, ki je stregel celo angleški kraljici Elizabeti in tudi Winstonu Churchillu, je vprašal, če je igralec. Njegov nastop je takorekoč igralska predstava. Pa sploh ne igra, takšen pač je. Aleš Kristančič je naraven tip. Nič ne igra, nič se ne pretvarja. Svoje delo opravlja strastno in predano. Njegova samozavest ima realne temelje. Če si v nečem dober, seveda ni nič narobe, če se tega zavedaš. In on se. Da je v najvišji ligi, so mu povedali tudi drugi. Najbolj natančni vinski kritiki so ga uvrstili med dvanajst najvplivnejših vinarjev na svetu. Njegova vina obožujejo najslavnejši kuharji našega planeta, ko so Lidia Bastianich, Alain Ducasse, Gaston Blumenthal. Revija Wine & Spirit je lani Movio razglasila za vinarno leta ...

Don't bother. We are booked anyway ... Korpmedia d.o.o. Tomsiceva 1 1000 Ljubljana Slovenia tel: +386 1 4269600 fax: +386 1 4269601

www.korpmedia.si

Akrapovic / 62

Column / High Gear

IGOR AKRAPOVIâ

Œ EXHAUST EXPERT

by Alan Cathcart illustration NatanEsku THE AKRAPOVIâ COMPANY MARKS ITS 20TH BIRTHDAY THIS YEAR, AND THE IGOR AKRAPOVIâ LIFE STORY COMES STRAIGHT FROM A HOLLYWOOD MOVIE SCRIPT – EXCEPT THIS TALE IS TRUE. FROM IMPECUNIOUS ROAD RACER IN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY ON THE POINT OF IMPLODING INTO A MULTIFRONT CIVIL WAR STAMPED WITH THE STIGMA OF RACIAL CLEANSING, TO BEING ACCLAIMED 15 YEARS LATER AS ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR IN SLOVENIA, IS BY ANY STANDARDS A REMARKABLE TRANSFORMATION. BUT IGOR AKRAPOVIâ IS A REMARKABLE MAN, WHO’S EARNED HIS EPONYMOUS COMPANY’S SOARAWAY SUCCESS AND A-1 DUN & BRADSTREET BUSINESS RATING THROUGH A COMBINATION OF HARD WORK, COMMERCIAL HONESTY, CLEVER DEVELOPMENT, AND AN INSISTENCE ON QUALITY THAT’S MADE HIS NAME SYNONYMOUS WITH EXCELLENCE IN EXHAUSTS, DELIVERING ADDED PERFORMANCE COUPLED WITH DEPENDABLE DURABILITY. ALMOST TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, YOU MIGHT THINK – UNTIL YOU TRY A BIKE FITTED WITH ONE OF HIS PIPES OR CANS, AND REALISE THAT, JUST THIS ONCE, THE LABEL DIDN’T LIE, AND THE REALITY LIVES UP TO THE BILLING. Yet it must have seemed improbable back in 1991, when Igor’s company was originally founded under the Skorpion name, that a supplier from a tiny postCommunist country struggling to make the transition to capitalism, would one day be recognized as the world’s top manufacturer of such a key performance component as a motorycle’s exhaust system. But that’s just what’s happened, with Akrapovič exhausts at one time simultaneously adorning all four Japa-

nese factories’ World Superbike team entries - and up to three rival MotoGP racers rubbing handlebars in the Akrapovič R&D shop run by Igor’s right-hand man Slavko Trstenjak, his partner in developing the motorcycle exhaust systems acclaimed as the finest in the world. For the roll of honour they’ve earned on the racetrack, including World Superbike and World Supersport titles, and successive German Pro Superbike crowns plus AMA Superbike victories, including several Daytona 200 race wins, says that’s what these systems indeed are – enough to deliver comparable aftermarket success in dealerships round the world, and to convince the Ford Motor Company to come calling, with the insistence that Igor change the name of his company to avoid confusion with their Scorpio car! “Ford’s lawyers obviously ran out of ideas how to justify their retainers,” says Igor sardonically, “so they made out Ford were getting upset that our hand-made titanium exhausts risked devaluing their mass-produced sedans. We laughed a lot at that – and immediately changed the name to Akrapovič, to stop them getting any richer!” The Akrapovič factory in Ivancna Gorica, 45 mins. south of Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana, produces 65,000 exhausts each year, around 25,000 of them complete systems, the rest slip-on silencers. “About 60% of the complete systems are made in titanium,” says Igor, “and since this weighs 45% lighter than stainless steel, that’s a worthwhile performance bonus just on its own. The latest grade titanium is as durable as stainless, thanks to the special alloys incorporated in it by our suppliers Nippon and Kobe Steel in Japan - they supply it to us as flat-coiled ribbon, and we hold up to 10 million Euro of titanium in stock. Race teams prefer titanium silencers to carbon ones, because carbon is only 5% lighter than the 0.5 mm thin titanium sheet we use for the silencer wrap, but the metal ones are more crash resistant, whereas carbon gets crushed easily - and they can also be repaired quicker.”

Akrapovič produces its own titanium tubing from 18mm up to 85mm in diameter, with a wall thickness of 0.8 or 0.9 mm, on a massive Italian-made tube-forming machine. “This was a big investment for us,” declares Igor Akrapovič, “but it’s been a big advantage having total control of our tube material in terms of quality and availability. We’re the opposite of our competitors – we don’t spend money on sponsorship and advertising, and we never pay to put our sticker on a bike. We rather spend it on new machines, and the men to make the best exhausts in the world on them.” Having produced the tubing, the next stage comes in shaping it, a task carried out by the British-made Addison tube-bender, or by the pair of hydroforming machines – one Swiss and one German one, using ultra-high water pressure to shape the pipes into the often intricate shapes a modern system demands. “Nobody worked with titanium on a hydroformer before we did,” says Igor. “This gives us the flexibility to make quite complicated designs for maximum performance, without accepting compromises for manufacturing reasons. But there’s still a big human element in exhaust manufacture, even with the hydroformers – one Kawasaki system, for example, has no less than 190 different parts. We can use machines to create those parts, but we need skilled workers to assemble them with the TIG-welder.” Having been assembled, each individual exhaust is then checked for dimensions and digitally calibrated, with its DNA stored on a database. This means that, should it be damaged in a crash, its owner can be sent the necessary replacement parts that are guaranteed to fit exactly. Akrapovič systems don’t come cheap – but you sure get what you pay for….. Happy birthday, Igor & Co.! Just keep on keeping on making the best exhausts in the world.

There are many reasons why Akrapovic exhaust systems are so highly rated. The finest European craftsmanship. The application of leading-edge technology. Twenty years of race proven Pure Power. But we think it will be the unique designs and the unmistakable, deeply resonant and adjustable sound, that will convince you. Akrapovic: The worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; s leading motorcycle exhaust systems are now available for your Harley. Make Your Own Sound.