2016 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship - Results and TalkTouring Cars 

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Frosty threw in the Henry Ford museum being next to Ford headquarters. no doubt, for those not in the know. ;)
 


He also went to see a hockey game at the United Center in Chicago.

 
Detroit is in Michigan. Not Illinois. "Da Bears." :p
 
Okay, I'm more than "jumping the gun". I'm like in my own race. With Dodge possibly coming here, soon, what better way to showcase a Charger than in Supercars? Might take a while to develop but, c'mon. That bad boy smells of potential. We missed out when it was a pace car. Fiat-Chrysler can jump on the category, as more and more are into the series.
 
There was a lot of talk about Chrysler joining with the 300C back when the grid was first opened to new manufacters; popular opinion had them joining forces with GRM. But I'm pretty sure they decided not to enter.
 
FCA must be licking their lips at what the future may hold here in Australia.
Post 2017, they'll be the only 4-door V8 available unless you up the ante, pay the premium & go Euro.
Unfortunately, the current Challenger, like the current Camaro, was designed as a LHD only so we'll have to wait for the 2018 newbies if we desire one for the driveway.
As for any interest in Supercars, I think they obviously crunched the numbers when GRM was courting their involvement & they didn't stack up. Shame.
 
Yeah, the canned the idea. Thing is, the 300 sells without marketing. People know what it is. A Challenger would sell just as well as the Mustang. I guess Chrysler see motorsport here as, will it move them forward, backward or leave them as they are.
 
Yeah, the canned the idea. Thing is, the 300 sells without marketing. People know what it is. A Challenger would sell just as well as the Mustang. I guess Chrysler see motorsport here as, will it move them forward, backward or leave them as they are.
The latest I've read is that FCA are closely monitoring the way the new Mustang leaves the showrooms & if they see it as worthwhile, they'll seriously look into joining the party with the Challenger.
However, they did say engineering a LHD design for a RHD market is a lot more expensive than if it was designed for both markets from the get go.
 
Speedcafe is running a poll ahead of the 500th ATCC/V8SC round to determine who the people believe is the greatest driver of all time.

I personally voted for Peter Brock, just ahead of Jim Richards, but I must say, I'm pretty surprised that Whincup is leading the poll currently considering he's only proved he can win in the best car in the field, whilst others, like Brock, Richards and Skaife (for example) have won in cars that weren't the best thing on the grid. No disrespect to Whincup, he is incredibly talented, but in no way should he be in the Top 5.

So I guess to get some discussion going, who is the best driver of all time in your eyes?
 
Speedcafe is running a poll ahead of the 500th ATCC/V8SC round to determine who the people believe is the greatest driver of all time.

I personally voted for Peter Brock, just ahead of Jim Richards, but I must say, I'm pretty surprised that Whincup is leading the poll currently considering he's only proved he can win in the best car in the field, whilst others, like Brock, Richards and Skaife (for example) have won in cars that weren't the best thing on the grid. No disrespect to Whincup, he is incredibly talented, but in no way should he be in the Top 5.

So I guess to get some discussion going, who is the best driver of all time in your eyes?
Peter Brock
 
I nominate Craig Lowndes for two reasons. One, he's remained competitive for a period spanning 20 years and, two, he holds the record for the most wins.
I grew up a Peter Brock fan & believed the sun shone from somewhere within his pants. He was an incredible talent behind the wheel, great with the fans, a media darling & knew how to give a sponsor enormous value for money. However, when you analyze just how many years of PB's career he had the best funded operation and the best car on the grid, those numbers start to lose their shine in my opinion. In current terms, it would be like Lowndes going to play in the DVS with his current car. If possible, have a look back at the huge gaps in qualifying times in the Group C days. Nowadays we can fit a whole grid in between some of the times set for a period front row!
It's this very point that brings me to Jamie Whincup. He's a six-time champ in the most competitive class of racing in the modern world period. Not just tin tops. Everything. Sure he's in the best car but you've still got to put the thing on the front row to be in with a chance of taking the win in such a close category. The only thing going against J Dub is, as @NW48 memtioned above, he hasn't won in something other than an A+.
His strike rate is phenomenal though.
 
I picked Lowndes but, I prefer Richards. I only got to know about Richards from when he retired and racing Porsches in the Targa New Zealand.

I knew about Lowndes when I watched the late '90s races on Speedvision. Especially when he raced the green-eyed monster.

The main reason why prefer Richards, is because he raced the Super Tourers and the M6. Plus, the man still races high horsepower TCM rides.

Still, Lowndes is my pick in that list because he's exciting to watch. It's as though he is dirt track racing all the time. He does the "Meryl, swing away..." every lap.
 
I voted Whincup. Its hard not to considering his achievements, 6 Championships, 4 Bathursts, almost 100 wins. Lowndes is my favourite driver but you cant knock those stats and plus Jamie has time on his side (at least a little bit). It will be interesting to see what else he can achieve over the next years.
 
I voted Whincup. Its hard not to considering his achievements, 6 Championships, 4 Bathursts, almost 100 wins. Lowndes is my favourite driver but you cant knock those stats and plus Jamie has time on his side (at least a little bit). It will be interesting to see what else he can achieve over the next years.
In my eyes, stats aren't everything (hence why I rank Senna and Gilles Villeneuve as some of F1's best, and rank Schumacher lower). Back when the likes of Brock, Johnson, Richards and Moffat made their name, there were fair less races than there are now, so if the same format was to be used, there would be a case for those records broken by Whincup and Lowndes to still be standing today.

Arguably more rounds should make the championship harder to win, but when you have the best car on the grid, and the cars aren't as physically demanding as they were, it makes a strong case for driver's of yesteryear to take that claim.

But it's getting harder and harder comparing different generations of racing.
 
Wow, no Larry Perkins....
 
In my eyes, stats aren't everything (hence why I rank Senna and Gilles Villeneuve as some of F1's best, and rank Schumacher lower). Back when the likes of Brock, Johnson, Richards and Moffat made their name, there were fair less races than there are now, so if the same format was to be used, there would be a case for those records broken by Whincup and Lowndes to still be standing today.

Arguably more rounds should make the championship harder to win, but when you have the best car on the grid, and the cars aren't as physically demanding as they were, it makes a strong case for driver's of yesteryear to take that claim.

But it's getting harder and harder comparing different generations of racing.
It's why I disagree with having these kind of comparisons.
 
In my eyes, stats aren't everything (hence why I rank Senna and Gilles Villeneuve as some of F1's best, and rank Schumacher lower). Back when the likes of Brock, Johnson, Richards and Moffat made their name, there were fair less races than there are now, so if the same format was to be used, there would be a case for those records broken by Whincup and Lowndes to still be standing today.

Arguably more rounds should make the championship harder to win, but when you have the best car on the grid, and the cars aren't as physically demanding as they were, it makes a strong case for driver's of yesteryear to take that claim.

But it's getting harder and harder comparing different generations of racing.
Cars aren't physically demanding? You've driven them?

Because with that statement it's clear you haven't.
 
Cars aren't physically demanding? You've driven them?

Because with that statement it's clear you haven't.
Did you even read my statement?

Because with that statement, it's clear you haven't.

and the cars aren't as physically demanding as they were,
Never did I say that the cars aren't physically demanding. All I said was that they aren't as physically demanding as they once were.

The cars are still a handful to drive today due to little downforce, no TCS, no ABS and around 650BHP at the rear wheels. Motorsports are a hell of a lot more demanding mentally and physically than most sports.
 
Did you even read my statement?

Because with that statement, it's clear you haven't.


Never did I say that the cars aren't physically demanding. All I said was that they aren't as physically demanding as they once were.

The cars are still a handful to drive today due to little downforce, no TCS, no ABS and around 650BHP at the rear wheels. Motorsports are a hell of a lot more demanding mentally and physically than most sports.
Yeah but you don't see drivers running around today like this do you? So I would safely say current race cars are more physically demanding than anything from the past.

 
Yeah but you don't see drivers running around today like this do you? So I would safely say current race cars are more physically demanding than anything from the past.


Yes we do. Albeit, not in a race, but a segment on Inside Supercars on Fox Sports has a driver do a lap of the track coming up and has them walk you through a lap of the track.

But again, it's pretty contentious to argue either way with this as both have their strong points and weak points.
 
Yes we do. Albeit, not in a race, but a segment on Inside Supercars on Fox Sports has a driver do a lap of the track coming up and has them walk you through a lap of the track.

But again, it's pretty contentious to argue either way with this as both have their strong points and weak points.
Those aren't during a race.
 
Yesterday and today have their pros and cons.

Yesterday: Sheep skin seat covers, roll down windows, not much impact protection, metal body panels

Today: Cool suits, more aerodynamics, safer driver environment, higher lateral g's, acceleration and braking forces, replaceable body panels.

This calls for V8SC to do a comparison. :) I'd love for Frosty to drive a few of the old cars around any circuit and have someone like Richards or Bowe drive a new car. V8SC should do that for this retro festival thing they have planned. Imagine how tight the RX-7 must have been when throwing it around the mountain. I've chatted with Alan "Uncle Alan"(as my daughter says it) Moffat several times. He's not a vertically challenged man.
 
Although my username suggests that Craig Lowndes is my favourite driver, I voted for Mark Skaife because he has achieved a lot in his career, and he's the very reason why I love the Holden Racing Team so much, apart from the fact that my dad drives a Commodore. Yet it isn't just bias people, he is a genuine racer who has a lot of talent, more than Jamie Whincup I say. However, let's not forget about the young Skaifey on the Bathurst podium in the controversial race of '92, whilst Richards had his now legendary spat.
 
I just noticed Allan Grice isn't on that list either...
 
We can see why Frosty was in the USA.
http://www.speedcafe.com/2016/04/12/winterbottom-still-chasing-nascar-chance/
V8 Supercars champion Mark Winterbottom has underlined his ongoing desire to earn a start in NASCAR after returning from his latest trip to the United States.

Winterbottom made a flying visit to the US between his recent Symmons Plains and upcoming Phillip Island V8 Supercars commitments as part of a tour with sponsor The Bottle-O.

The trip was to include a day with the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Chicagoland Speedway in which Winterbottom and the guests would sample the program’s NASCAR ‘experience cars’.

Rain at the 1.5 mile oval however saw the day cancelled, leaving self confessed NASCAR fan Winterbottom disappointed.

The 34-year-old is open about his desire to compete in at least one of the second-tier NASCAR Xfinity Series’ road course races in future.

He has made one-off starts in the Brazilian V8 Stock Car Series’ showpiece co-driver event in recent years but missed out this season due to a date clash with V8 Supercars.

“It wasn’t a test but it would have been cool to drive one of the cars just to see what they’re like,” Winterbottom told Speedcafe.com of the cancelled Chicagoland laps.

“I’d like to do an Xfinity Series race just to go and race different people, like in Brazil, to just see where you stand.

“NASCAR is a pretty easy transition for us if it’s a circuit race, so you’d want to do something that you’re competitive at.


Winterbottom with Richard Petty at the 2012 Sonoma NASCAR race

“Proof shows that Marcos (Ambrose) and Owen Kelly and pretty well every Australian who’s gone over has done well, but it’s hard to get in because it’s only two or three rounds.

“They all want money as well and that’s not what we want to do.

“But if an opportunity came up we’d definitely have a go.

“NASCAR is a cool sport and I’ve been following it a few years.”

While keen on NASCAR and the Brazilian Stock Cars, Winterbottom says he has no desire to chase drives in Europe’s booming GT scene, which largely consists of pro-am endurance racing.

Winterbottom was approached by Prodrive co-owner Rusty French about a possible GT3 start in this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, but elected instead to spend the time holidaying with his family.

“I like categories where the top 10 is covered by a tenth of a second,” he said.

“That’s why I love the racing in Brazil, because it’s like our racing, and NASCAR is the other one that I’d love to do.

‘The good thing about Brazil is that they hand-select drivers from around the world, where with NASCAR they want money.

“GT stuff I’m sure is cool but it’s not really on my radar.”

After achieving his career goals of winning Bathurst and the V8 Supercars Championship in recent seasons, Winterbottom isn’t planning on exiting the category any time soon.


Winterbottom speaks highly Brazil’s Stock Car series

Winterbottom moved into V8 Supercars via the Dunlop Series in 2003, before stepping up to the main game the following year.

“Getting results and winning races is the motivator, so if I can do that for the next 10 years I’ll keep at it,” he said.

“You’re always tempted by other things, but even the NASCARs, the technology in them is still very basic compared to ours.

“You always look for other things, but I think what we’ve got is just as good if not better.

“I don’t know how long I’ll race for, but there’s at least three more years here (at Prodrive) and we’ll look at it after that.”
 
Those aren't during a race.
Which, again, if you read what I said, you would know I mentioned that;
Yes we do. Albeit, not in a race, but a segment on Inside Supercars on Fox Sports has a driver do a lap of the track coming up and has them walk you through a lap of the track.
 
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