READY FOR DIRT QUAKE ?

Dirt Quake minus 10 days, since first day i saw the poster i knew i couldn't miss this event. i've been dreaming of FlatTrack since years, and decided this would be the right time to break the ShortTrack cherry. i have never experienced riding on an oval, so i entered the race and will have my first attempt

on race day. ok this is a bit sketchy as i may be slow or unable to handle it, but it worth a try, and at least i do have a weapon for that : my 73 BSA B50mx Short-Tracker. i own this sexy beauty since a year now, and have been able to ride it only on straight asphalt. the bike is tiny as i like and narrow as a model's ass, light, brutal and almost ready to race. can't wait to be on site at Coventry's Speedway sharing the experience with all the cool guys from UK.

PICK UP PARTY

The good guys at Rocker SpeedShop in Paris are throwing a cool event on saturday may 12th.
i'll be there for sure.

8 DAYS OF PERSOL

Last fall, i've been part of a very cool project that was launched last month for iconic eyebrand Persol.
i've been asked with 7 other contemporary filmmakers to direct a "carte blanche" video.
every artist had just a word to work as a starting point then was free to express himself. each word symbolizes one step in the making of a Persol product.
i was given the word “INSPIRATION”

Inspiration can come from a smell, a noise, a colour, a curve, whatever, but i decided u don't necessarly get it and sometimes need to go on  a quest for it.
I thought i mainly find inspiration on the road, so i jumped in a plane to LA, then cruise for three days and 1400 miles in my Boogie Van helped with my good friend Steve Zeitzoff, and pretty much freestyle filming landscapes and atmospheres on the road. very simply.
My idea is that Inspiration isn't something easy to catch, even if you have it in you, you might need, sometimes to look for it or just look for the mental state or cencentration required to get connected with yourself, and...get inspired.

Go check http://www.persol.com/international/days and take some time to also watch the other films directed by such artists as Ari Marcopoulos, Gregoire Alexandre, Asa Mader, Alistair Taylor-Young, Fabio Paleari, Katerina Jebb and Yi Zhou.

A big thank you to Hanni El Khatib for the music.
here are some stills from my film, travel high !

Additional camera : Steve Zeitzoff
Editing : Marc Aurele Vecchione
Production Manager : Benoit Giraud
Production : OSFA films for L'Ecurie
Agency : Publicis
Post Production : Digimage
Music : Hanni El Khatib
client : Persol Brand

DIRT QUAKE

Sideburn mag from Uk is throwing what seems to be the coolest & funniest racing event to come in 2012.
Short Tracking for everybody and any kind of bikes. there s even a Chopper class !
as they ususally say : " It's not what you ride, it's how you ride it”

Once again great art from Adi Gilbert

Back On Track

Sorry y'all again for almost a year of silence. since Pikes Peak i've been kinda busy, and had to work a lot. not too many time for bloggin, and the gap gettin bigger everyday, an uncatchable delay. i'll try to do some flashback posts, but let's focus on the present for now.
i'm back on O.S.F.A ready to experience more, and on the side should really soon get my first ever ShortTrack experience in UK. stay tuned.

89th PPIHC RACE DAY

this legendary race is for early risers ! on race day, Steph Oldschool and i made it to the pits for 3.50am. there was already a 3 miles line of spectators waiting at the toll gate. 

Coffee time with Joe Blackwell, Glenn Cox and Stephane Lascols. Glenn is a fast racer from New Mexico, he'll finish 4th later today in the 1200cc class with his KTM Superduke.

FAN FEST

it's a tradition, Fan Fest the night of the last practice day. 40 000 people meet in the streets of Colorado Springs to eat, drink, watch historic racing vehicles on display and some fmx air shows. we didn't spent too long on location, woke up at 2.00 am, werent ready to party, and reached a good sleep very early.

"Steph Oldschool" is wacked, so am i

GO PRO

Go Pros are great, and conveniant, but all the accessories are crap. so many vibrations on my bike climbing the hill, that GoPros clamps broke twice, and i was lucky on raceday, some cool peeps gave me my GoPro back when i was coming down after racing. well it sure isn't perfect yet, but they sell so much of those that i'm sure they'll improve soon some better clamping systems. otherwise, i do have some ideas....

at least you can check what it is when all riders are going down the hill after each practice run. most of us just coast watching the view. crusing in the middle of 150 bikes at 14000ft is something for sure.

WICH FUEL ?

after riding the practice with high octane, i went back to pump gas to compare. of course the altitude in Colorado Springs isn't the same, so we drained, put again some 112, drained again tried different fuel cocktails. Damn the bike felt so fast in the city compare to the mountain.

PPIHC PRACTICE DAY 3

Last day of Pratcice. Top section. the pits take place on "Devil's Playground". breathtaking when the sun comes up. it's a bit cold at 4.00 am.

a morning in heaven. long fast curves full speed chest on the tank. great sensations. the end of the top section was a lil less fun for me as it was long straight uphills, i felt like i could ad cranks & pedals to my bike like a ol fashioned moped, she was battling so hard and couldn't get higher rpm's.

after Practice, Stephane who walked for hours in the mountain to find good spots and i were exhausted, everybody was left before we realised. and we just stayed a bit chillin with Travis 747 and his cool dog "Baja".

Driving the Boogie Van down the mountain was sketchy. after half way we had to stop for 45mn to let the brakes cool down, the ranger measured 480°f !

TRAVIS NEWBOLD #747

                                                               Travis and his dog Baja.
                                                                  check his blog Here

THE LONE DUCK

couple hours and few burritos later, Stephane and i were making it to The Lone Duck Campground. the Lone Duck is the closest campground near the race, the owner is a motorcycle enthusiast, and a bunch of racers meet there every year for years. after practice it's mechanic time and everybody work on anybody's bike. they do it all there, change tires, cams etc...anything. the vibe is ubercool and positive.

after manyconfigurations, we decided to check the air filter. it was dead. there wasn't any at the local store Apex, so Joe decided to build one out of 2. because the TR6C offers only a very limited room.

it was a good effort, but didn't work well, the room is so tiny, the carb would suck the foam that was too close. so i decided to take it off and to ride naked. no air filter. it did actually work well.

some of the fastest guys stay the entire week at The Lone Duck, like the Lee brothers or Travis Newbold. i've read about Travis few months back on the Sideblog, and was happy to meet. we instantly got along, this guy is a supafast and nice motherfucker. wor ! we ended up staying at the Lone Duck sleepin in the Boogie Van for the rest of the trip.

Jimi Heyder came all the way from Vermont with his Airstream, we was fast on his 250 RM.

MEET JOE BLACKWELL

i ran few runs with vintage class racer Joe Blackwell from Ohio. he saw i was battling with carburation and offered me some help "i got tons of jets we'll make your bike maybe run a little better..."

ROAD RACER or SUPERMOTO ?

many different riding styles meet at the PPIHC. it's just up to you, but during raceday those tight turns were invaded by small rocks and gravels, i was moe confident with my leg out.

DEVIL S PLAYGROUND

the beginning of the top section offers big fast curves. that's something.

RIDERS MEETING

Every morning at 5.00 am before practice starts, there is a riders meeting to warn all riders of the dangers of the mountain, and remind everybody the safety procedures. it ends with a prayor because one of the racer's a priest, and a fast one. well i believe in my own church, the Church of Coolness, but this won't hurt me, and right before hitting the mountain W's, it helps getting more confidence.