Virgin Australia Supercars Championship - Archive

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Holden or Ford

  • Holden

    Votes: 209 36.2%

  • Ford

    Votes: 175 30.3%

  • Ford and Holden

    Votes: 64 11.1%

  • Nismo

    Votes: 74 12.8%

  • Erebus

    Votes: 7 1.2%

  • Nismo and Erebus

    Votes: 6 1.0%

  • Volvo

    Votes: 43 7.4%
  • Total voters
    578
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I personally think there should be a rule implemented where The driver who wins the championship must remain with the team he won it with for the next season regardless, to try and defend the title
 
That's not really fair, though. A driver has the right to race for whoever he wants to. If that means changing teams after he has won a championship, then so be it. The problem is that you get the likes of Simon McNamara trying to secure as many drivers as possible for the sake of controlling the grid. While some may say he's got every right to do that, McNamara's problem is that he's not interested in controlling the grid for the purposes of racing. He wants all the championships to be won by Holdens for the sake of the brand. He's already made it pretty clear that he considers the series of the Holden's property when he told manufacturers looking to join the sport that there was nothing in it for them. Plus, Holden have picked up Tekno Autosports for 2011, with Team Mother moving from being Dick Johnson Racing's satellite team to the Triple Eight garage. It's pretty clear that McNamara wats every car on the grid to be a Holden and for Ford to have just a passing presence, so that the championship can boast that it is two makes. The problem is that with twenty-eight cars on the grid (the #10 REC has been purchased from Walkinshaw Performance by V8 Supercars), the Powers That Be have done nothing to control the split between Holdens and Fords. It should be fourteen Fords and fourteen Holdens, but going into 2011, it's looking like it's going to be twenty Holdens and eight Fords. As one manufacturer gains more control over the grid, the less competition there is - but the likes of Simon McNamara don't care about that.

The thing that gets me in all of this, though, is the way Holden fans claim the champion's victory as their own. Jamie Whincup moved to Holden this year, so suddenly his 2009 championship was a Holden victory. And if James Courtney does the same, the fans will claim that 2010 was also a Holden championship - but if ever it went the other way, with a Holden champion going to Ford (not that McNammara would ever let that happen), they'd claim that the championship won in a Holden was Holden's to claim. They're such hypocrites and bad sports that they give a country that prides itself on fair competition a bad rap. Theyr'e a disgrace.
 
yeah that too annoys me. I'm personally a Holden fan, but I love good racing too.
 
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The thing that gets me in all of this, though, is the way Holden fans claim the champion's victory as their own. Jamie Whincup moved to Holden this year, so suddenly his 2009 championship was a Holden victory. And if James Courtney does the same, the fans will claim that 2010 was also a Holden championship - but if ever it went the other way, with a Holden champion going to Ford (not that McNammara would ever let that happen), they'd claim that the championship won in a Holden was Holden's to claim. They're such hypocrites and bad sports that they give a country that prides itself on fair competition a bad rap. Theyr'e a disgrace.
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Ford fans are just the same in that aspect.

I agree about the equal amounts of cars too, shame that V8S bought the #10 REC. Now they've got what they've wanted all along, the magic 28 car grid...

Anyone else remember the days where we'd start a normal round with 36 cars?
 
That was a pretty spectacular crash with the top three. Also pretty sad that Murph might not get a drive in the 2011 season :( .
 
Murph will only be doing enduros. He's still handy for Bathurst
 
SVX
Also pretty sad that Murph might not get a drive in the 2011 season :( .
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I don't think it's that great a loss - I've never throught much of Murphy. He's always come across as hotheaded and arrogant, and to this day, I'm convinced he dliberately crashed into Marcos Ambrose at Bathurst that one time. Overhead footage shows what looks suspiciously like Murphy turning right going into the cutting, which he had no reason to do, and his trajectory took him straight into the side of Ambrose, taking them both out. I don't have a motive, but I'm sure that if Murph did it, he did it because Ambrose overtook him after pressuing him into a mistake. Murphy has always struck me as being of the Nelson Piquet Jnr. Persuasion (though as Murphy came before Piquet, it really should be Piquet is of the Greg Murphy Persuasion) in that if he ever has a bad run, he blames the engineers, the strategist, the other competitors; anyone but himself. He can't put his ego aside and admit "Yeah, that was my fault". His rant about how young drivers with bigger bank balances than reserves of talent read like it was written by a bitter old man who couldn't accept that there were younger and faster drivers out there.
 
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and to this day, I'm convinced he dliberately crashed into Marcos Ambrose at Bathurst that one time..
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Don't even start with this.
 
yeah I wouldn't lead on with that either. That's a discussion where it's either one or the other, which in turn will lead to an argument
 
I'm not going to start on it - but I can't voice an opinion on Murphy's presence on the grid without mentioning it.
 
Let's put it this way...we nearly came to blows multiple times in high school about this....and I'm in the USA.
 
DRIFT4EVA
Murph will only be doing enduros.
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Wait, what? For a minute there I thought you said Murph is only doing the endurance events... :odd:
 
Sharky.
Wait, what? For a minute there I thought you said Murph is only doing the endurance events... :odd:
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according to Skaifey, Crompo and Aaron Noonan, Murph made the announcement just the other week. He was already unsure about a full time drive so just said stuff it
 
Yeah, he's angling for a Triple Eight enduro drive ... I'm willing to bet they'll take Skaife again as one of their drivers, and Steve Owen if he doesn't get promoted to PMM.
 
Well, it's official: Holden have bought James Courtney's #1 for 2011. The series is officially dead.
 
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Well, it's official: Holden have bought James Courtney's #1 for 2011. The series is officially dead.
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Ha ha ha! You're so far from the truth it's unreal. V8SC is about the best racing series in the world right now. Great racing, great mix of tracks, great TV coverage. If you think V8SC is dead, I suggest you YouTube some World Touring Car races, or even DTM. Both series as dull as ditchwater to watch.

V8SC needs to successfully navigate the transition to the new car, but then it'll be fine. For a domestic series in a small (by populous) country, it's doing amazingly well.
 
While the series itself may not be dead, the inter-marque competition sort of is. The first thing I thought when I read interludes' post was that Holden basically bought back the #1 because Whincup failed to defend it this season. It's Holden being monopolising - they *must* have the #1 on a Commodore, no matter what the cost. Ford isn't allowed it, and if Ford does gain the #1 through actions on the track, the Holden bigwigs simply open the chequebook.

It doesn't kill the series, but it does transform it from a battle between Ford and Holden on the track to one between the two manufacturers at the bank.
 
Sharky.
It doesn't kill the series, but it does transform it from a battle between Ford and Holden on the track to one between the two manufacturers at the bank.
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Which in turn kills the series, because it stops being about racing and starts being about marketing. Honestly, VESA should have stepped in years ago and worked thing so that either marque could, at the very most, control 50% of the grid. They haven't, and now Holden have nearly 75% of it. We've already seen them move to prevent other manufacturers from entering the sport by claiming there is nothing in it for them, and I'm willing to bet that McNamara will tell all his teams to hold onto their RECs into 2012, even if they cannot see the season out. This will force new manufacturers to buy RECs from Ford, who will not be in a position to sell because they need every car on the grid they can get. Thus, there will be no way for manufacturers to break in because the four RECs VESA control will have to be divided up between them. Simon McNamara couldn't care less about racing - he treats the sport as his own personal marketing platform where so long as Holden are winning, it doesn't matter how it happens. I'm predicting that by 2012, Holden will control 90% of the grid, and Ford's only representation will be one or two cars down in 28th place.
 
I think maybe 60% max for a manufacturer would be good, but it has been the way for a while now. Ford just arent as willing to spend the $$$ on having more cars and supporting the teams carrying their badges as what Holden have been. We cant forget that Ford withdrew their funding from a lot of teams including Triple 8 who ran their last year as a Hogs Breath branded car. Ford basically handed their best team to Holden without a fight.
 
Yeah, but Ford figured that T8 and DJR were successful enough and established enough to be able to stay competitive on their own. They re-routed the funding to FPR and SBR in the hopes of getting them equally competitive for less money. It's much more sensible than Holden throwing money at anything that moves.
 
Simon McNamara has always seemed arrogant to me, even before buying out all of Ford's top drivers/teams. The earliest example of this that I can remember was when he 'suggested' that Cameron McConville should get rid of the predominately blue colours on his helmet and add more red. Holden don't really want anything other than the #1 on the windows on their cars, and it shows, especially when a young driver doesn't reach the Holden team's expectations, they are sent to Ford and if they become successful, are bought back by Holden (eg. Whincup, Davison, Coulthard and now Courtney). If they don't do as expected with Holden, they are sent back to Ford again (stand up Will Davison).
The old saying "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday" doesn't apply anymore (except to the most biased of supporters, but they're hardly going to buy another brand of car anyway). The car brand with the most sales for the past few years in Australia is Toyota, and they don't even participate in any major national racing series after they quit the Australian Rally Championship.

Interludes, you're not alone in thinking that the series is officially dead. Whilst the racing can at times be some of the best in the world, the politics is ruining it, especially as the fanbase is one of the most loyal in any motorsport across the world (to quote Russell Crowe's Bathurst intro, "You are either red or blue, there's no in-between") and to add to this the cars are becoming too far removed from any roadgoing Falcon or Commodore.

I've almost completely lost interest in the series and I am not going to support any driver, for fear they will be bought out by McNamara and his group of Holden marketing men. I'll admit that Ford are also to blame for the 888 defection to Holden and if a new manufacturer joins the series I will support them (I've heard rumours about BMW joining if the COTF is close enough to the DTM cars but I'd doubt Skaife - another arrogant Holden loyalist - would allow that).
 
I don't think Skaife is that bad. While I couldn't stand him as a driver, he's probably my favourite commentator. He's easily the most insightful, and while I haven't been watching that much of late, he doesn't seem to take sides in the event of an accident or a tangle. If he says that another manufacturer is willing to join, then I'd take him at his word.

My infamous hatred for Holden has also cooled in recent years. While I can't stand McNamara and will never have any love for the likes of Kelly, I won't complain too much if a GRM or a BJR wins the race. They're independent enough that they don't get caught up in the politics. Even when the other teams try and rope them in - when Roland Dane said Triple 8 wasn't going to protest James Courtney's return to the track in Race 25, it was pretty obvious he was pointing it out in the hopes another team would. In that respect, Dane is a perfect match for McNamara. Rather than just state what they want outright, they prefer to manipulate and manoeuvre the other teams to do their bidding.

Personally, I'm hoping that FPR can get their act together next year. I doubt I'll watch the season, but if Frosty - and whoever is in #6; hopefully Davison in an ironic twist - will be able to pull their act together and take a fourth-straight Ford victory. Or maybe van Gisbergen; after getting shafted by the stewards in Surfers and by his fuel tank in Sydney, he's overdue for a race win. And the best part will be that Holden won't be able to buy them. If they want the #1 back, they'll have to do it (dare I say it) the honest way.

Also, SBR have released their IRWIN livery for 2011:

irwin-new-344x228.jpg


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If you ask me, I reckon it looks like a tradie who owns an FPV and is a fan of the series has done his own livery up for it based on his favourite team. That said, I think we need a better-angled and higher-resolution shot like that Trading Post FPR I posted a page or two back
 
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on a different note....murphy back to full time driving with kelly racing taking over bargwanna's seat who in turn takes over J Richards seat. If JR does amazing through his cemo and can return to racing for the endros he will a prime signing
 
Steven Owen has been confirmed as Greg Murphy's replacement at Paul Morris Motorsport, sponsored by VIP Petfoods. He'll carry the #67, freeing up the #51 if Murphy gets a gig at Kelly Racing as has been reported.
 
Fantastic new livery for Russell Ingall:

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Fantastic new livery for Russell Ingall:

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Atleast other drivers will see him in the mirror, just before he gives them a love tap :)
 
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I love the looks, the sound and the action of these cars on your lovely tracks. Every once in a while, SPEEDTV favors us with a peek at them.

Appreciatively,
Dotini
 
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Fantastic new livery for Russell Ingall:

00116592-image.jpg
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I really wish that V8's would go back to running numbers on the front doors rather than those stupid yellow stickers.
 
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