Letter From Europe

LETTER FROM Europe

Yet another world's longest rally

Just when you thought that the world’s biggest and longest off-road rally was either the Paris-to-Dakar extravaganza or the upcoming Trans-Americas event, along comes something even bigger and longer: the Paris-to-Peking rally. Slated to take place from August 20 to October 10, 1987, this 9950-mile rally is being organized by the same team responsible for the annual Tour de France bicycle race, itself the biggest and best event of its kind in the world. With sponsorship from two major French newspapers, including the sporting daily L'Equipe, the Paris-Peking event seems certain not only to take place but also to pro-

vide the greatest off-road test yet of skill, durability and resourcefulness on two wheels.

As of now, the planned route is from Paris to Turin, Italy, then to Belgrade, Yugoslavia and Ankara, Turkey, and on to Syria and the Jordanian capital of Amman, Colonel Gadhafi and his like permitting. From there, riders will strike across the Arabian desert to the Gulf state

of Abu Dhabi (permission has already been given for this sector by the Saudi Government), and then to the port of Muscat for a short boat ride to Karachi, Pakistan. After enduring the searing heat of the desert, competitors will then encounter the high-altitude cold of the North West Frontier, en route to Kabul, capital of Russian-controlled Afghanistan. The final stages will run across the northern part of China to the capital, Peking.

This event should present some pretty tough problems of logistics and, above all, political persuasion. But if anyone can pull it off it’s the French, even if all the necessary visas for riders should take up several passports.

Cobas/KTM

A few hundred miles away from Paris, on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees—but several light years away in terms of competition— there’s a European frame kit about to go into production: the Cobas. The prototype first proved itself on the track, even though it’s powered by the most unlikely of engines: a 250cc KTM single-cylinder twostroke MX engine. Spanish designer Antonio Cobas is considered one of the most influential on the current GP scene, but as his successful trans-

formation of the K100 BMW “Flying Brick” into a race winner proved, he’s nothing if not versatile. Now the Barcelona-based factory has come up with a budget version of the Rotax-engined bike that several riders compete on in the 250 GPs, using the same geometry but less-exotic materials and hardware. Cobas first tried out the design, fitted with the KTM engine, in the flourishing Spanish championship for single-cylinder bikes—a series that gives young hopefuls a start up

the racing ladder. Ridden by 18-year old Alberto Puig, who was in his first racing season, the Cobas-KTM blitzed the opposition. Now Cobas is installing a modified RZ350LC Yamaha engine for TT F2 world-championship racing; it also is producing a street version employing the RZ engine, which will be available later this year. The streetbike basically looks identical to the racer, with the addition of full instrumentation, and front and rear lights blended into the bodywork. —Alan Cathcart