Virgin Australia Supercars Championship - Archive

[Paulie]

Plus what's with Reynolds not getting a full time drive next year? He was just starting to show promise.....

 

[Mad94d]

Plus what's with Reynolds not getting a full time drive next year? He was just starting to show promise.....

Yeah agreed. He was quite quick at Sydney.... He got into the top ten shootout and everything. Ah well, "That's racing".

 

[TheBigMan045]

He's probably got something lined up in supercup in europe (Porsche gt3) he is one of the best Porsche drivers in this region along with Craig Baird and Matt Halliday

 

[Ian Poole]

Actually watched the Homebush race, what a track and what a circuit! Okay, we only see highlights over here on Motors TV but it still looked awesome!

 

[Mad94d]

What GRM has been doing in their spare time.

It’s a busy time for V8 Supercar teams … or is it?

Garry Rogers Motorsport is in for one of its toughest off-seasons of all-time. The Victorian-based team is building a new VE Commodore, it’s painting every body panel in the shop to accommodate new naming-rights sponsor Fujitsu, and to top it off, the season starts in less than 10 weeks!

But all this hasn’t stopped the GRM crew from having a little Christmas fun with team driver and Sydney Telstra 500 podium finisher Michael Caruso.

Foolishly, Caruso left his dark blue Mazda 121 road car at the workshop last night (that’s right, Caruso drives a Jelly Bean!)

When he returned to the shop this morning, it had a new livery.

The team has fully wrapped the 121 with the left over stickers from this year’s Vavoline Bathurst car – and the’ve done a pretty damn good job of it!

“I left at four o’clock yesterday afternoon, and I noticed a few of them staying back, but I didn’t really pick up on it,” Caruso told Speedcafe.com.au today.

“They said that they stayed around until 9.30pm last night, had a couple of beers and this is the result.”

One might think that being a 26-year-old man, whose occupation is being professional race car driver, might have a slightly more modern, performance road car.

Not Caruso. He’s happy with his ‘A-to-B’ machine. Well, he was up until this morning …

“That’s my beast,” he says with a touch of pride.

“I haven’t driven around town yet, but I’m sure I’m going to be pretty embarrassed. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it.

“There’s no doubt that the 121 is a great little car. Mazda don’t give me anything, but with this, I think they should now! I seriously haven’t done anything to it for the last three years and it still runs around.

“I think, though, given the body shape of the vehicle, the new scheme will only assist the aerodynamics of the car. It will no doubt now be a faster and safer road car!”

Apparently, the Valvoline Cummins Mazda 121 is now parked out the front GRM’s shop with a sign on it that reads “For Sale *– $5000.”

While the GRM crew enjoy its Christmas prank, there’s a lot going on at the Dandenong team’s workshop.

“All the cars are completely stripped at the moment getting painted inside and out,” Caruso said.

“We’re testing on February 8, so we’ve got to get both my car and Lee (Holdsworth’s) car completely stripped, get them back together and get them ready for test.

“There’s going to be some big nights ahead."

 

[TheBigMan045]

The Fujitsu livery looks pretty good, all in red

 

[Paulie]

, nice 121 Caruso.

 

[LSX]

Haha that's pretty good. I never thought you could wrap a car that fast, but I guess if it's your job, it'd take no time at all. Wonder what it would cost to get a GTO wrapped in HSV dealer livery.

"Whats that honey?? Holden? what?"

 

[TheBigMan045]

If its all just one sticker (easy to design) it can easyly done in a afternoon, next door to where I work is Goblin House a Signwriting company they covered their work car in a afternoon in a carbonfibre vinyl looks pretty grouse

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Murphy has joined Paul Morris Motorsport, alongside Russell Ingall. He'll drive the #51 Castrol Edge Commodore for 2010.

 

[Mad94d]

Murphy has joined Paul Morris Motorsport, alongside Russell Ingall. He'll drive the #51 Castrol Edge Commodore for 2010.

Well no surprises there really, should be good that team.

 

[Paulie]

I think that will be a great combo, those 2 have been found fighting on track for years, they should drive each other more I think.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Just so long as they don't drive into one another. You know Muprh will do a Jarno Trulli and blame it on Ingall regardless of what happened ...

 

[Paulie]

Err, yeah, sure...........

Even if that were the case, Ingall doesn't take crap from anyone, he'll give what he gets.

 

[CAMikaze]

Murphy has joined Paul Morris Motorsport, alongside Russell Ingall. He'll drive the #51 Castrol Edge Commodore for 2010.

Well no surprises there really, should be good that team.

Well now that that has been set in stone a question comes to mind. What would you rather have happen to you as you work on your car?

• A. Get lectured by "The Enforcer" like in those SuperCheap ads
• B. Get thwapped with a dipstick by Murph like in some of the Castrol ads.

Either way, you're pretty much between a rock and a hard place.

 

[TheBigMan045]

Murph just needs a decent car as proven in the last few events of the year, and with PMM in an association with T888 they will be another force to be reckoned with in 2010

 

[DRIFT4EVA]

I personally wanted to see Ingal in the Castrol car and Murph in the Supercheap car.... Back to the way things were for the both of them haha

 

[Mad94d]

Who remembers this famous accident?



Personal favourite of mine, the controversy over this was just massive. I remember watching it live...

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Don't start.

 

[Mad94d]

Don't start.

I won't, to not to talk about Kelly and Lowndes. It actually ruined Todd Kelly's race as well. He was on for a clean sweep until that accident.

 

[marchi]

Who remembers this famous accident?



Personal favourite of mine, the controversy over this was just massive. I remember watching it live...

Honestly, If Lowndes is going to squeeze a driver like that, he got what he deserved. Yes you can defend, but you have to respect a clearly faster driver.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Yes you can defend, but you have to respect a clearly faster driver.

And that "clearly faster driver" has to respect the circuit. When was the last time anyone successfully passed around the outside without incident at the third corner? The answer is never, and so my eternal question is this: what was Rick Kelly even doing there to begin with? It's a bit like Cameron McConville trying to take Steven Owen a tthe end of the main straight in the enduro this year: Owen was way off the racing line, but McConville was trying to go around the outside of him on a line that would seriously compromise his approach through the first and second corners.

At best, the Lowndes/Kelly incident was a racing incident where the blame was shared 50/50 and Kelly just happened to fare better. At worst, and given some of the displays by Holden drivers throughout the weekend - Tander constantly blocking in the first race, Skaife forcing Lowndes to take a dangerous line through Hayshed - it was a deliberate attempt to push Lowndes off. Those other incidents might have been isolated, but the fact that at least three incidents involving overly-aggressive Holdens happened during a race meeting that would decide the championship cannot be ignored. This is Moscow Rules at its finest: once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but three times is action by the opposition.

But then, you've heard all of this before: to me, Rick Kelly is no better than Michael Schumacher at Jerez in 1997. There is no argument that will talk me down - Rick Kelly cheated because he was afraid he couldn't beat Lowndes in a straight fight. My brother got Todd Kelly's autograph at the Sydney 500 and Rick was right there alongside him. I could tell from the way Rick Kelly was talking to some fans just before us that he's as insecure as Nigel Mansell was.

I'll shut up now. I really don't want to have this argument again. We all know how it's going to end, though i do have to ask why someone felt the need to bring up a three year old argument again.

 

[TheBigMan045]

So now with GRM with more money and the same drivers who else thinks they will become a strong contender for the title next year?

 

[Paulie]

So now with GRM with more money and the same drivers who else thinks they will become a strong contender for the title next year?

They'll probably be much of the same but with more consitency, maybe not title contenders, but you never know.

Edit: \/ Same post time FTW .

 

[Mad94d]

Yeah, GRM should be fast. They were at the end of this year, so next year with more money and 2 good drivers they should be very strong. At least I hope so anyway.

 

[marchi]

Skaife forcing Lowndes to take a dangerous line through Hayshed - it was a deliberate attempt to push Lowndes off.
.

Mate you need your eyes checked. Lowndes was alongside Skaife who hit the inside curb racing side by side bouncing him off on to Lowndes. Skaife has never been a driver to level himself to something so pathetic, that he'd take out one of his best mates.

And that "clearly faster driver" has to respect the circuit.

And what the hell is that? Rick was up the inside and Lowndes chopped across on him.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Mate you need your eyes checked. Lowndes was alongside Skaife who hit the inside curb racing side by side bouncing him off on to Lowndes. Skaife has never been a driver to level himself to something so pathetic, that he'd take out one of his best mates.

Skaife was much slower than Lowndes at the time. It was years ago, so I can't rightly remember it, but I seem to recall him either being on an outlap, inlap or and aborted flyer.

And what the hell is that? Rick was up the inside and Lowndes chopped across on him.

Lowndes couldn't see him. It's called a blind spot for a reason. How can Lowndes - or any other driver, for that matter - be expected to be aware of another racer in his blind spot while in the thick of the action. Kelly was never going to pass there, and even if he'd got up the inside of Lowndes, he'd have been off-line for the next corner. It begs the question of what the hel he was doing there in the first place.

Look, let me set this straight: to me, Rick Kelly cheated to win, that weekend saw one of the most disgusting examples of bad sportsmanship in the history of Australian touring cars and you're not going to convince me otherwise on either point. Countless other people have tried, and none have succeeded. You will not be the first, so you'd be better off keeping it to yourself. I'm not about to start another flame-war here, especially over something that happened three years ago and would be pretty much forgotten if it weren't for Holden fans who keep dragging this crap up all over again. I'm not in any mood to be arguing it, but it's my experience that with the mentality of most Holden fans, they seem to think they can win the argument if there is no-one on to argue with. The sheer fact that you keep having to bring it up means you're insecure as hell about it.

 

[TheBigMan045]

How about a new rule? We shall never speak of the incident at phillip island 2005

IT HAPPENED!!!!! Its done and now in another decade. I got over it, im sick of hearing the whingers and the whiners, let this be the last of it

Another grumble to the ford fans, Does anyone remember the early days of V8s when there were exactly 4 drivers in fords and they werent down the back either, with 3 championships in the first 5 years. The point im trying to make here is Quality over quanity

 

[Paulie]

I'm surprised we haven't heard more about the Car of the Future yet, all the teams were briefed but not the people who make their money, the fans.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I'm surprised we haven't heard more about the Car of the Future yet, all the teams were briefed but not the people who make their money, the fans.

The teams may still be debating about it. I can't imagine it would go ahead if the teams were opposed to certain points.

Plus, the holiday season has only just ended. The last race was on November 6th, so I'm pretty sure everyone would want to go and do their own thing for a while and not worry about it too much. Then there was Christmas and the New Year ... it kind of call rolls into one. There's no hurry.