Virgin Australia Supercars Championship - Archive

[Sharky.]

Whincup's move was a racing incident imo, he was right on the A-pillar which is how far forward the rules state you have to be for a "clean" overtake. I just so happened that this was Surfers Paradise and going up the inside is potentially a recipe for disaster.

The Lowndes call was marginal, Craig was locked up and he tried to make the corner, so it's not like he wanted to hit Ingall. Also, if you watch the replay you'll see he got a tap from one of the HRT cars which unsettled the back of his car, making him even more crossed up... and you can't exactly slow down a car when it's pointing at a 45 degree angle to the race line!

At this point I suspect a certain someone *cough* Paulie *cough* will accuse me of being a Triple Eight/Ford fanboy. Yes I'm a Ford fan, yes I've been supporting 888 this year, yes I can't stand the slimeball that is Rick Kelly, but I thought his (= Rick's) black flag was very harsh. As the commentators mentioned at the time, a few laps after the black flag was issued the fuel would stop pouring out as the tank emptied - and that's exactly what happened. Poor showing by the stewards this year!

I was disappointed to see Fabian get shoved into the fence lap 1 race 2 (I'm looking at you, Mr McConville), I really hoped he was going to do well that race

 

[Paulie]

Whincup's move was a racing incident imo, he was right on the A-pillar which is how far forward the rules state you have to be for a "clean" overtake. I just so happened that this was Surfers Paradise and going up the inside is potentially a recipe for disaster.

The Lowndes call was marginal, Craig was locked up and he tried to make the corner, so it's not like he wanted to hit Ingall. Also, if you watch the replay you'll see he got a tap from one of the HRT cars which unsettled the back of his car, making him even more crossed up... and you can't exactly slow down a car when it's pointing at a 45 degree angle to the race line!

At this point I suspect a certain someone *cough* Paulie *cough* will accuse me of being a Triple Eight/Ford fanboy. Yes I'm a Ford fan, yes I've been supporting 888 this year, yes I can't stand the slimeball that is Rick Kelly, but I thought his (= Rick's) black flag was very harsh. As the commentators mentioned at the time, a few laps after the black flag was issued the fuel would stop pouring out as the tank emptied - and that's exactly what happened. Poor showing by the stewards this year!

I was disappointed to see Fabian get shoved into the fence lap 1 race 2 (I'm looking at you, Mr McConville), I really hoped he was going to do well that race

I never said Whincup's move was dirty. TBH I don't know what to think of it personally, it was an aggressive move that's for sure, but he did kind of just reach that A pillar before contact. Bargs could have wound off the steering lock maybe to give him room, but anything off the line was death this year.
Tander didn't hit 888, 888 hit him! He locked up and Tander was already againt the wall, Lowndes just slid into him slightly so there wasn't much Tander could do. Yes Lowndes didn't do it intentionally, but he bagged it up big off the line and then over-fought his position into turn 1 which ultimately ruined someone else's (Ingall's) day. That's why he got a black flag, because he was able to continue without losing ground after wrecking someone else all on his own.
The Kelly call was just plain rediculous, I'm glad the commentators were on it. If I were in Kelly's position I probably would have just stayed out.

Oh, and it definitely wasn't McConville's fault Fabian crashed! Fabian got a push from someone else and smacked into Cam who was already going straight up the side against the wall.

 

[Sharky.]

I thought Rick's comment over the team radio said it all: "I'm not pitting!"

 

[Paulie]

I hope this is an omen for FPR next year, because Ford need to have a competitive team towards the front next year.

 

[AyJay]

Holdsworth was fined for "inapproriate clothing" in the driver introductions

 

[Paulie]

Did you read what he did? He sticky taped his race suit to the front of his body, and when he turned around he was only wearing his jocks and nothing else. Now with all the grid girls, Miss Super GP girls and all other girls parading around in just bikinis, why was Holdworth fined? They're at a beach too, and as disturbing as it can be, some guys wear *gulp* DTs. Do they get fines?

 

[L_Hamilton]

I hope this is an omen for FPR next year, because Ford need to have a competitive team towards the front next year.

Yeah since 88 and 888 are changing to Holden, FPR are going to have to hold the flag for Ford fans. Same goes to Jim Beam Racing.

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

Did you read what he did? He sticky taped his race suit to the front of his body, and when he turned around he was only wearing his jocks and nothing else. Now with all the grid girls, Miss Super GP girls and all other girls parading around in just bikinis, why was Holdworth fined? They're at a beach too, and as disturbing as it can be, some guys wear *gulp* DTs. Do they get fines?

JUST wearing "Budgy Smugglers" should be a fineable offence. THAT was tame. Some people need to see the comedic side of things a little more

 

[Sharky.]

Yeah since 88 and 888 are changing to Holden, FPR are going to have to hold the flag for Ford fans. Same goes to Jim Beam Racing.

*cough* Stone Brothers *cough* Paul Cruickshank *cough*

 

[CAMikaze]

Holdsworth was fined for "inapproriate clothing" in the driver introductions

Did you read what he did? He sticky taped his race suit to the front of his body, and when he turned around he was only wearing his jocks and nothing else.

Maybe he should have dressed up in a t-shirt and swimtrunks with the sponsor labels stitched or screen printed on and carry a surfboard with car's livery and number painted on it instead?

Speaking of surfboards, they make for appropriate trophies given where the race was held over the weekend. Dunno if the A1 GP winners would have gotten something similar.

 

[Paulie]

Maybe he should have dressed up in a t-shirt and swimtrunks with the sponsor labels stitched or screen printed on and carry a surfboard with car's livery and number painted on it instead?

Speaking of surfboards, they make for appropriate trophies given where the race was held over the weekend. Dunno if the A1 GP winners would have gotten something similar.

Hmm, that doesn't sound like much of a practical joke.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Seems that while Formula One is going through dangerous times, the V8 Supercars have their own little quiddities. On the one hand, Tony Cochrane and the Powers That Be are looking to re-acquire one Racing Entitlement Contract in the near future, possibly from Tasman Motorsport / SprintGas Racing (honestly, they should just revoke them from Dodo Racing and Hi-Tech and get those idiots off the grid before they kill someone). They already have one of the original thirty in their possession after the IntaRacing debacle. Rivalling this is Tony d'Alberto, who is leaving Rod Nash Racing at the end of the season and looking to go his own way by establishing a team of his own with one of SpringGas' RECs. At the same time, though the Car of the Future program, set for 2012, suggests that a third and possibly fourth manufacturer could join - no idea who they might be - but they would no doubt have to buy into existing teams because they won't be able to acquire an REC of their own. If there are four manufacturers in the future and the Powers That Be are hanging on to twenty-eight licences as the ideal number and there is an even split, that means seven of each marque. I can't imagine newcomers would be interested in joining if the field is heavily leaning towards one manufacturer, so a lot of teams would have to be convinced to switch marques.

Elsewhere, Fabian Coulthard will go from Wilson Security Racing to Walkinshaw Racing in 2010, running a third factory Holden. Ford aren't letting that pass them by too lightly, with Rod Nash Racing (Team Bottle-O) going the other way and signing on as a satellite team to Ford Performance Racing, much like Britek did with Stone Brothers. And speaking of Britek, Fujitsu is joining Coulthard and TeamVodafone in the mass defection to Holden, swtiching from backing Jason Bright to Garry Rogers Motorsport. There's no word on what Birght will do, but he did steal pole at the Island. Troy Bayliss has been tipped for a full-time ride next season, as a part of some sort of alliance between TeamVodafone and Paul Morris Motorsport that is vaguely alluded to in the article, but which I can't find any mention of.

And that's about it. If you kept up with it all, contrgratulations ...

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Whincup won the first race at the Island.

*Waits for Paulie's inveitable bashing of Craig Lowndes, dangerous driving, communism, puppies, bad sportsmanship and "Team Cheatafone" ...*

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Whincup won the first race at the Island.

*Waits for Paulie's inveitable bashing of Craig Lowndes, dangerous driving, communism, puppies, bad sportsmanship and "Team Cheatafone" ...*

 

[Sharky.]

Bright wins the "better luck next time" award.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Whincup takes pole for race two. Davison ninth, Tander eleventh.

 

[Paulie]

Well that was Ford's weekend. Luckily I don't have to bash Lowndes, he's been doing it all by himself with consistent repeat offences.

 

[Sharky.]

he's been doing it all by himself with consistent repeat offences.

Isn't that a Lowndes-bash in itself?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Isn't that a Lowndes-bash in itself?

My sentiments exactly.

 

[Sharky.]

And before Paulie comments on the latest Lowndes "incident"... Bargs had it coming, what with poking and prodding the 888 car for laps on end. Hell, the commentators pretty much said Bargwanna deserved to fly off the track backwards...

 

[Paulie]

I didn't even see most of race 2, I was out playing basketball. The fact of the weekend was Whincup was unflappable and if Davison wanted to win a championship it's weekends like this you're not allowed to have.

Yeah yeah, blah blah interludes, keep calling me a fanboy, I know a few people that avoid this forum because of your ramblings.

So now, I'd really like to know which 3 manufacturers are interested in joining. I also think they should increase the numbers of cars to 35 to help ensure even spread of cars.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

And I know a few people who avoid this forum because you go ahead and make provocative statements. But I'm perfectly capable of having a reasonable discussion, which I will now demonstrate:

So now, I'd really like to know which 3 manufacturers are interested in joining.

Toyota are the obvious ones. I don't know how they've been faring of late, but at one point there they surpassed both Ford and Holden for domestic sales. I suppose they'd use a Camry, but I don't think there's a V8 variant. The Aurion is the model they use to compete directly with Ford and Holden, but it doesn't come with V8 -they best they can maange is a 3.5L V6 supercharged - and they've really had a downturn in sales. That said, my information is only good until April, so they may have had a resurgence. They're the obvious choice.

The only others I could think of would be Mitsubishi with the 380, but that was under-selling and has been discontinued. Subaru might field a fifth-generation Legacy, but that car isn't available in Australia and certainly isn't made here, but I could see it as being a possibility if they're looking to set up shop here. Especially since the Car of the Future program isn't expeced to be ready until 2012; it gives them plenty of time to get in. And maybe the Mazda 6 MPS, but once again, it's the wrong engine, given Mazda's love affair with the Wankel rotary.

I also think they should increase the numbers of cars to 35 to help ensure more cars.

Well, their argument is that they want to maintain a constant grid. And after that debacle that was the IntaRacing affair, can you really blame them? I don't see any problem with an expanded grid - ie if Toyota wanted in with a factory team, it wouldn't be a problem - it's just that giving RECs to small one-car operations is a risky business.

 

[Paulie]

I would not be half surprised if Lexus entered with an IS F. Toyota have only recently made clear they wouldn't enter unless it was the same drivetrain as one of their road cars, so I think the Aurion/Camry don't stand a chance. (BTW, the TRD Aurion with the supercharged V6 was discontinued when TRD shut down for lack of sales).
The Mazda 6 MPS is and always has been a turbo 4, but as far as I know the new 6 doesn't have an MPS version even in Japan, and it might be physically too small for V8 SC.
The new Legacy is sold as a Liberty in Australia like it always has been, I wonder if Subaru would want in.......
I think a Shaguar XF would be good to see in the series. With 3 other manufacturers still interested they must be going to let overseas built cars in, because Toyota is the only other manufacturer that builds cars here.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I would not be half surprised if Lexus entered with an IS F. Toyota have only recently made clear they wouldn't enter unless it was the same drivetrain as one of their road cars, so I think the Aurion/Camry don't stand a chance. (BTW, the TRD Aurion with the supercharged V6 was discontinued when TRD shut down for lack of sales).

Well, the exact Car of the Future regulations are yet to be decided, so it's possible something can be worked out. But if the regulations allow multiple drivetrain configurations and Toyota are the only ones running a particular layout, would they still be interested.

The Mazda 6 MPS is and always has been a turbo 4, but as far as I know the new 6 doesn't have an MPS version even in Japan, and it might be physically too small for V8 SC.

I think the 6 MPS may just be the domestic name - I know it's also called a Mazdaspeed6 elsewhere. But if they don't have a V8 model, I don't think they should actually be allowed to enter. Do we really want to see a NASCAR-like approach where the cars are Mazda and Toyota in name only?

The new Legacy is sold as a Liberty in Australia like it always has been, I wonder if Subaru would want in.......

They've had success with it before, though admittedly in other marques. They've obviously had a close association with Prodrive in the past, and Prodrive did a British Touring Car program a while ago. I don't know how they did or what they ran, but since they've apparently given up on their Formula One aspirations, they may well do something.

I think a Shaguar XF would be good to see in the series. With 3 other manufacturers still interested they must be going to let overseas built cars in, because Toyota is the only other manufacturer that builds cars here.

Firstly, may I ask where you're getting this number of three manufacturers? I only know of the suggestion of two, or has that changed?

Secondly, Jaguar is an interesting choice. Aren't they owned by Ford? Or were they sold on, like Aston Martin? I think the Jaguar XF would be a very polarising choice; even moreso than Ford vs. Holden, if that's possible. I think it was around 1985-ish that the Bathurst 1000 was opened up to allow cars running under International Group A regularions, and it was a Jaguar XJS that won. I can't imagine they'd be warmly received if they entered. Which I suppose is all the more reason for them to jump in; it would be interesting to see how the Ford vs. Holden rivalry played out if there were someone out there that they wanted to beat more than each other ...

 

[Paulie]

The regulations we know of so far is that they will definitely still be RWD V8s, so that's a no for Toyota.
I'm getting 3 from that "Future Car Now" article in the V8 SC website, where they said that they had approached 7 other manufacturers and have followed up with 3 of them afterwards meaning there are 3 other manufacturers that might be interested in joining. I think they can only take 2 more though?

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I'm getting 3 from that "Future Car Now" article in the V8 SC website, where they said that they had approached 7 other manufacturers and have followed up with 3 of them afterwards meaning there are 3 other manufacturers that might be interested in joining. I think they can only take 2 more though?

Ah. I missed that one line when I quoted the aritcle earlier. The writer seems unconvinced that having a full quota of three manufacturers will actually happen.

I don't know how many they can take; I don't know if there are any provisions for a maximum or minimum number of manufacturer.

 

[Sharky.]

Bring in the new GT-R and watch all hell break loose. Now THAT would make for an, ahem... interesting... series.

 

[Paulie]

Bring in the new GT-R and watch all hell break loose. Now THAT would make for an, ahem... interesting... series.

If Nissan gets that we get Corvettes, which go very very well in GT racing. It fits the bill, GTR race cars are RWD V8s.

Ah. I missed that one line when I quoted the aritcle earlier. The writer seems unconvinced that having a full quota of three manufacturers will actually happen.

I don't know how many they can take; I don't know if there are any provisions for a maximum or minimum number of manufacturer.

See, we can have a normal conversation without you needing to accuse me of fanboyism, or vice versa, and defending ourselves.......

 

[prisonermonkeys]

See, we can have a normal conversation without you needing to accuse me of fanboyism, or vice versa, and defending ourselves.......

Yes, we can, but don't forget - sometimes what you can can easily provoke people into degenerating into those conversations.

 

[Paulie]

Yes, we can, but don't forget - sometimes what you can can easily provoke people into degenerating into those conversations.

I'm a fairly passionate fellow and I don't like some of the things Lowndes does on track, he just has a few too loyal followers, can't please everyone. That doesn't make me a fanboy, and it doesn't make me a narrow minded tool either.