Stumbled upon this 4-minutes gem the other day. Usually, Group B rallying footage isn’t the best. Well, back in the 80s we didn’t have HD videos, so most of the stuff that you can find on YouTube is low definition. Yet, this video is in HD! The audio track is chill, with mostly not-terrible music and some original ambient sound. In the end, a pretty neat video for the rally fan.
Videos
What do you know? Toyota CAN make cool liveries…
Revealed yesterday, a special livery for La Sarthe this year. It’s not something original or particularly artsy, but a homage to the beautiful TS-020 (GT-One) of 1998. Even so, still MUCH better than the bland, tasteless, weak, flavorless, vapid, insipid, uninspired, flat, dull, mild and savorless current black-red-and-white liveries.
So, is there hope for Toyota? 🤔
A nation thriving for speed
Though this video came out last year, I only found out about it a few days ago. Unfortunately however, YouTube (or the authors?) will not allow to embed it, so you need to click HERE or on the pic above to see it. In a nutshell, it’s a 47-minutes long documentary on the Silberpfeile. Well, though the authors do a fantastic job on explaining the origins of the cars, they almost exclusively focus on the land speed record attempts of both Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union. Grand Prix racing, in theory the primary reason for Germany’s National Socialist Party funding the two companies, is barely cited. Furthermore, they pay special emphasis to Bernd Rosemeyer’s accident, and basically cite en passant the previous record attempts. Nonetheless, the research is fantastic and the historic footage is awesome.
So, though it could be seen as maybe incomplete, with no mention to GP racing and barely nothing on other LSR attempts by the Silberpfeile, it’s still a fantastic way to spend 47 minutes 😎.
Safari Rally Kenya 2025
While at the gym this morning, resting in-between exercise series (one of those moments when you’re uncertain if you want to die or just go home?), I looked up to the big screen TV. Normally I don’t even know what’s showing on the TV, since I just want to get the torture over as soon as possible. Yet, today I looked up and to my astonishment they were showing a recap of the 2025 Kenya Rally, that ended this Sunday 23rd. Well, I than had to watch it, and boy, as always, the Kenya Rally was wild! And once again, DirtFish produced a great video on the race, so if you have 8 minutes to spare, it’s a nice watch.
And before someone asks, I’m not at liberty to confirm or deny the rumor that today’s gym session was not 100% optimal…
Shop Tour 2024 2.0
The last update I posted was in the beginning of the year, and as expected, my shop grows 😎. So, what’s new? I think that the biggest news is that I bought a circular hand saw. From Bosch, it’s a GKS 18v-57: 18v and with a 165 mm blade. Not the biggest of blades but for my needs perfect, and with a custom track guide that I made, just awesome. Though I was salivating for a circular hand saw for some years, I have to say it was not my best acquisition this year. That would be the GDR 12v-110 impact wrench. Also from Bosch, 12v and small, and yet let me tell you: I should have bought one years ago. One of those tools that you really don’t need, but once you have one, you don’t know how could you have lived without it. Damn how it simplifies and speed up a LOT of jobs!
Moreover, I also got a small auxiliary work bench (Worx WX01), since my 40+ years old Black & Decker one was kind of tired (and a bit crooked 😁). Besides that, more clamps, an anvil (made from a train track section!), new wall signs, a new drill set and other small stuff. Oh, and I almost forgot: with the GKS 18v-57 I made a couple of stools. In fact, one of them I made specifically for the shop. With wheels, now I can role around the shop with my butt firmly seated 😂. All in all, a productive year for my little shop.
The 959 at the Paris Dakar Rally
A few days ago, the great John Ficarra, through VINwiki, released an AWESOME video about the Porsche 959 at the 1986 Paris-Dakar Rally. As always, John Ficarra’s ability to spin a delightful tale is just outstanding. If you have 15 minutes and have at least a minor interest in the 959, I urge you to watch it. Absolutely fantastic! 😎😎😎
How a Spark model is made?
Spark just released a short video showcasing their manufacturing process. VERY interesting to watch 😎.
F1 in the 60s
Since I’m not a parade aficionado, I’m not the greatest fan of F1 😂. God, those races are boring – there’s more excitement off the track than during the race. Yet, it wasn’t always like this. Up to the 70s (80s?), things were way more thrilling. For instance, look at the current Grand Master Parade, the Monaco GP. Thrilling as paint drying nowadays, in the 60s it was awesome. Up above you can see this, and in 4K. The only issue is that the video is dubbed, with car sounds added in post-production (the original movie was like this). And due to the remasterization, some parts of the shot are shaky. Even so, a delightful 10 minutes, proving that F1 is not always bad. Or better saying, was once cool 😕.
Shop tour!
Been a while since I posted an update about how my small shop is shaping up. The big news is that I finally (!) bought a router 🤩! From Makita and battery-operated (18v), the DRT50Z is a very decent piece of kit. I also bought a set of bits from Bosch, which I think will cover most of my needs. However, these bits are 1/4″, and Makita ships the DRT50Z with two collets, in 6 and 8 mm sizes 🙄. Therefore, I had to order a 1/4″ (6,35 mm) collet, that arrived today. This afternoon I tried it out on some scraps of wood and the end result looked great.
Can’t say I have any specific job for a palm router right now, yet I’m looking forward to making wood chips fly 😁.
And how is Forza Motorsports doing?
Well, Turn10 fixed most (all?) of the stability issues. Therefore, currently it’s totally playable without you wanting to throw the XBox out the window. There still are some “missing” features, like no damage in single player – if you flip (!!) the car nothing breaks 🙄. Frustrating, if you want more realism. Graphics are still sketchy in some parts, and the livery editor is the same neolithic thing of 10 years ago. Yet, worse of all, is if you setup a race session with multiple cars, sometimes a few cars are rendered like a chassis base with four wheels with the pilot sitting inside 😣. Totally ridiculous.
With all that, and specially having EA WRC at hand, I’m not playing much. The game is (now) essentially OK, however I got so pissed at it in the beginning that currently I can’t be bothered about it 😕.