2013 V8 Supercars Discussion

Sly Dux wrote:So is it just me or is Brighty the instigator of the lap 1 crash of the last race? Looks like he got a few taps then once around the turn "gave back" the taps with interest triggering the whole situation?

Sure was, not that he would have know that slade was there.

V8 Supercars wrote:
Matters arising from Qualifying for Race 19:

There were no issues

They have put it in the to hard basket - deemed a racing incident.

What doesn't add up (and this isn't a T8 Bash) but lowdnes was pinged a MASSIVE 15 points (effectively one position) for causing the stack yesterday - trashing 6+ guys races from the damage caused - I like lowdnes as a drive but this doesn't seem right.

How can causing so much carnage have such a low penalty when a drive through cost a driver near the front of the field 50+ points? trust me i was grinning more the chris o'tool about whincup got the PLP and pissed when it happened to frosty - but the penalty's dont fit the crimes.

Turn around one car and loose 50+ points
Wipe out a chunk of the field 15 points.

Lowndes braked late and gave a slight tap but courtney rammed him into tander which started it, wasn't all lowndes.

It's official, Volvo will be running with GRM next year
http://bit.ly/1ajqMbE

Q: What has changed in V8 Supercars that allows Volvo to enter the Championship in 2014?
A: V8 Supercars’ Car of the Future strategy – which debuted in 2013 – helped open the door for Volvo to go V8 Supercar racing.
What is Car of the Future?
In brief, the Car of the Future (COTF) aims to broaden the appeal and ensure the long-term viability of the Championship by introducing new cars and events, improving driver safety and reducing the cost of running a V8 Supercar.
More than four years of work has gone into the project, which essentially creates a common car platform from which manufacturers can now build-up a car and enter the series. These changes make them cheaper to construct, stronger, safer and more relevant to the modern motoring market.
Why V8 Supercars?
V8 Supercars is one of the biggest categories in the world and offers enormous exposure to all manufacturers, current and future. Volvo has recognised the immense strength of the brand; and we are thrilled to have them on board as a fifth manufacturer.
How did this come about?
Since the introduction of Car of the Future many car companies has expressed interest at varying levels. Talks with Volvo have been underway for some time with this the culmination of those discussions.
When was the deal done?
The decision was made by the Board of Volvo Car Group in Sweden recently. Quite literally the final paperwork was completed just this morning.
Why is COTF important for V8 Supercars?
For a range of reasons. It opens the potential for more manufacturers, such as Volvo, to join the Championship. It also helps underpin the viability of the category and its racing teams and is a case of evolution, rather than revolution.
How many more manufacturers do you envisage?
V8 Supercars has always said whilst there is no limit careful consideration is given to each potential manufacturer, its business and sporting case and positive impact on V8 Supercars.
Who is next?
There is certainly interest from other manufacturers in the market at varying levels. It would be too early to say if we would have a sixth manufacturer or not. And at any time these types of discussions can be quite sensitive and need a high level of confidentiality behind them.
Why should they join V8 Supercars?
There are significant and major benefits for car companies and sponsors to be part of the V8 Supercar brand. These include national and international exposure, high levels of safety awareness, technology, worldwide audience, television coverage, online reach, on-track attendance and so on.
When were COTF cars introduced to the V8 Supercars Championship?
All V8 Supercars Championship cars on the grid at the first race of the 2013 season were built to COTF specifications – as will the Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercars in 2014.
Will the arrival of Volvo mean more cars on the grid in 2014?
The grid size will remain at the present number of 28 cars in the foreseeable future. There are 28 Racing Entitlements Contracts (RECs) and V8 Supercars will add no more. With two Volvos, four Nissans and three Mercedes, the remaining 19 cars will be Holdens and Fords. All new cars will be built to Car of the Future specification.
Will the Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercar be a silhouette car?
No. The Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercar will retain the DNA of its road-going version with opening and closing doors, genuine panels and fixings (head and tail lights, grill, etc) and the same shape and styling of the road car.
This is in direct contrast with NASCAR’s silhouette-style cars, which are constructed of sheet metal draped over a base chassis. Different manufacturers are only distinguishable by decals in NASCAR. This is not the case with V8 Supercars.
How many Volvos will be on the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship grid?
At present there will be two Volvo Polestar Racing S60s on the grid – all run by Garry Rogers Motorsport from their Dandenong race team HQ, and in close collaboration with Volvo Car Australia, Polestar and Volvo Car Group in Sweden. All of Volvo’s discussions about joining V8 Supercars have been with Garry Rogers Motorsport – there has never been any dialogue with other teams.
When does the first Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercar hit the track?
This will be announced in due course.
When will the first Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercar race?
The new Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercars will be on the grid for the first race of the V8 Supercars Championship 2014 season.
What model Volvo will race in the V8 Supercars Championship?
The Volvo S60.
What engine will the Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercar use?
The Volvo 4.4-litre production V8 modified for racing in this Championship. Further details on the V8 Supercar race engine will be released in due course.
I thought Volvo’s global engine strategy involved 4-cylinders only?
A race engine application is very different from a street engine application. We believe that our new VEA four-cylinder engine family can challenge V8 engines on power, torque and refinement, but at the same time we would not allow the current V8 Supercar engine regulations stop us from entering one of the world’s best touring car championships.
Volvo recently decided not to enter the World Touring Car Championship after a season of evaluation, and now you enter V8 Supercars. What is the reasoning behind this decision?
An entry in any motorsport program is a simple question of return of investment. Both WTCC and V8 Supercars provided a strong case to Volvo. However, in late 2011 we decided to focus all racing participation with the S60 model – V8 Supercars provides a perfect fit from this perspective.
When did Volvo last compete in the top level of touring car racing in Australia?
Volvo Car Australia last competed in Australian touring car racing as a works team between 1995 and 1999, where it successfully campaigned the 850 Sedan, 850 Estate Wagon and S40 Sedan. In addition, Volvo won the 1986 Australian Touring Car Championship with Robbie Francevic in a Volvo 240T. Its last Bathurst 1000 start came in 1998 with Jim Richards and Rickard Rydell winning The Great Race in a Volvo S40 – 15 years ago this October.
Is Volvo open to other manufacturers joining the Championship?
Volvo prides itself on being the first factory-backed luxury car brand to join the V8 Supercars Championship. Volvo would welcome any manufacturer to join Australia’s premier motor racing series.
Are further manufacturers expected to follow Volvo’s announcement and join the V8 Supercars Championship under the Car of the Future rules?
V8 Supercars expects further manufacturers to join Volvo in the Championship. The sport aims to grow to 18 events in Australia and worldwide (from the present 15 Championship events) over 40 weeks in future years, as well as continuing at the Australian Grand Prix each year.
Is Volvo Car Group head office in Sweden funding this move into racing?
No, the program is funded by Volvo Car Australia. The global resources of the Volvo Car Group and Polestar, Volvo’s performance and motorsport partner since 1996, are being utilised by Garry Rogers Motorsport now to facilitate the development of the Volvo Polestar Racing V8 Supercars in readiness for the 2014 season.
Does Garry Rogers Motorsport become a fully-fledged factory team?
Yes, Volvo Polestar Racing will sport a clear brand presence on the race cars and all other elements of support, collateral and other activation mediums. Major sponsor profiles will remain and Garry will comment on that further.
Why have you chosen Garry Rogers Motorsport as your race partner?
Garry Rogers Motorsport has depth and history in V8 Supercars, and has impressed time and time again with their ability to function competitively and punch above their weight on budgets smaller than their rivals. Garry is also a racer in the truest sense of the word and this appealed to Christian Dahl (Polestar’s owner) who, along with Volvo Car Australia, was impressed with their operation, management and simple team structure. We think Garry Rogers Motorsport is the perfect partner for Volvo Polestar Racing and we look forward to working with them collaboratively and closely.
How long is your contract with Garry Rogers Motorsport?
It’s a multi-year contract. Success takes time, of course – and we certainly won’t be making any bold statements when it comes to racing KPIs – but we’re in this for the long haul. As the V8 Supercars Championship continues to make strides to better reflect the fast-changing Australian automotive landscape, we feel there’s no better place to showcase our S60 model line.
Are Volvo’s dealers involved?
The Volvo Dealer Network have been involved in this proposal, are aware of the plans, and are fully supportive of our entry in to V8 Supercar racing.

My 2014-2016 grid:

6 Holdens (T8 and HRT's + Dalberto and Ingal)
6 Fords (FPR and DJR)
4 Nissans (Kelly's)
3 Mercs (SBR/Erebus)
2 Volvos (GRM)
2 Toyota or BMW (Teckno)
3 Audi (BJR)
2 Chrysler (LDM)

If ldm is ever anything more than a customer team then ill glue my thumb up my ass for a week

sempeR wrote:If ldm is ever anything more than a customer team then ill glue my thumb up my ass for a week

You'll love it too

The controversy over the decision not to penalise Jamie Whincup for having a crew member on the grid just as the start of Race 17 at Hidden Valley was about to take place continues.

During the half-time break of the Super Sprint race last Saturday, Whincup's Triple Eight team, having forgotten to refill the driver's cool suit with dry ice, scrambled to make amends as the grid was cleared.

Stewards allowed the team to do so without the normal penalty being applied on safety grounds given the heat and humidity in Darwin, with Whincup suggesting he would have struggled to compete in the race without the cool suit.

Ford Performance Racing team boss Tim Edwards labeled the non-penalty as a "disgrace" considering all teams were "time-pressed" during the 15-minute half-time break of the race.

Now, fellow team boss Garry Rogers has added his support to Edwards' claims with a sensational criticism of the stewards on Garry Rogers Motorsport's website, in an article called, "Inefficient bureaucracy fails yet again."

Regarding Whincup and the non-penalty, Rogers writes:

"For those of you who saw the race from Darwin, you will have noticed there was a variation to rule 9.2.13 which states, 'Cars that exit Pit Lane will do one (1) reconnaissance lap, at the end of which each Car must stop on the grid in its allocated grid position. No personnel will be permitted on the grid with the car.'

"The variation to this rule allowed by the stewards, sighting safety issue were involved again exposed the inefficiencies of the judicial system of our business.

"The Pit Lane Officer, obviously attempting to carry out his job, was seen in intense discussion and badgering from (Triple Eight team principal) Adrian Burgess when he had realised that his team had not utilised their pitstop efficiently and had failed to refill the drivers cooling system with dry ice during the allowed work time.

"Cleary what occurred then was totally outside of the rules and Mr. (Steve) Chopping, one of the Stewards of the meeting, whom I spoke to, defended the Stewards decision by stating this was a safety issue and therefore a variation to the rule was permitted.

"To be quite frank this was cop out again from this group of "merry keystone cops" who in my opinion are more concerned about sipping lattes and red wine and having a jolly fine time than correctly administering the regulatory matters that are our business.

"All the V8 Supercar teams have invested substantially and are representatives of their various sponsors.

"To be victims of such blatant shortcomings that can alter the race results is just a disgrace.

"The facts are every team knew the rules and were all allocated the same time for the half time work related activities. The team in question failed to carry out their work processes correctly.

"This is not a safety issue as Mr. Chopping states it was clearly an over sight by the team. They should have been penalised by bringing the car back into pitlane and filling the container after the recommencement of the race, which would have obliviously affected the race result. Mr. Burgess knew that.

"As a secondary example of the team's inadequacies, the door on Car 1 was left open and a pitlane official had to close this. This is also not allowed under the rules.

"It is extremely disappointing that such a professional sport/business with expectations to challenge other major sporting activities for both promotional and sponsorship funding can have results that are affected by the inadequacies of the stewards."

Whincup went on to win the race, though his Sunday campaign was impacted by the stewards penalising him for spinning rear wheels at his pitstop in the final race of the weekend.

"Credit where credit is due, they did allow us to fill up our ice box for my health and safety," he said regarding the dry ice incident. "It is probably a grey area."

NoRecoil wrote:

sempeR wrote:If ldm is ever anything more than a customer team then ill glue my thumb up my ass for a week

You'll love it too

I'm a bad gurl

New Norton livery.
http://www.v8xmagazine.com.au/index.php/9-news/928-new-look-and-name-for-norton-nissans

I cant upload pics atm, but anyway. Earlier in the year before clipsal, both Nissan paint schemes had touch ups around the head lights and surrounding areas. The JD car looked wayy better but the Norton car went backwards. Even the lastest version of the Norton car is lacking the design around the head lights and up the bonnet that would make it look soooo much better.

Compare pics from smp test and round one onwards to see what I mean.

Also, it needs black wheels! Its hard to make some corporate logos look fast unfortunately.

Slades new livery

For anyone unsure of Maro Engel's skills at the wheel (new Merc Driver), heres a Qualifying time sheet he posted today from when he raced Formula 3. he's 12th - but check out the company

Andy Priaulx who has a long history with T8 is the second driver, entering as car 10 (the number being the hint (Turn 10)

Winton Fast Facts:
1. This year’s V8 Supercars Championship is already on track to be the most competitive ever with 10 different drivers – Craig Lowndes, Shane van Gisbergen, Fabian Coulthard, Jason Bright, Scott McLaughlin, Jamie Whincup, Will Davison, Mark Winterbottom, Garth Tander and Chaz Mostert – claiming race victories across the first eight events of the season.

It’s just the second time in over 50 years of championship history that this has occurred.

A total of seven different teams – Red Bull Racing Australia, Tekno Autosports, Brad Jones Racing, Fujitsu Racing GRM, Pepsi Max Crew FPR, Holden Racing Team and Dick Johnson Racing – have claimed victories, the first time since 2001 that seven teams have won races within the first eight events of a season.

And the competition has been strong in very recent times – seven different drivers and six different teams – have won the last seven races in the championship.

2. Chaz Mostert’s last-start win at Queensland Raceway was indeed a popular one and helped turn 2013 into an historic season from a rookie perspective.

Mostert and Scott McLaughlin have both won races in their first full-time V8 Supercars Championship season – it’s the first time in 17 years (since Craig Lowndes and Russell Ingall in 1996!) that two first-year full-time pilots have won races in a season.

Mostert’s Ipswich success was the 81st ATCC/V8SC race victory for Dick Johnson Racing and its first since Jonathon Webb won in the wet at Sydney Olympic Park in 2010.

Fabian Coulthard has also won his first race this season, meaning there have been three first-time race winners in 2013 – it’s the first time since 2006 that a season has seen such a number of breakthrough performances for young full-time drivers.

3. Holden has sealed its fourth consecutive Champion Manufacturer Award in the V8 Supercars Championship.

The new VF Commodore has won 20 of the 24 races completed in 2013 and given Holden its 10th Manufacturer’s crown since the award was introduced in 1999.

While Holden can not be beaten for the trophy with 12 races remaining, Ford has picked up the pace in recent times – three of its four race wins this season have come in the last seven races.

4. Much is made of the ‘home test track’ advantage in the V8 Supercars Championship, however the numbers clearly show that the ‘invading’ Queensland-based teams have dominated Winton in recent years.

Queensland-based teams have won 9 of the last 11 races held at the circuit since 2008 with six taken by Triple Eight and three by Dick Johnson Racing.

The only Victorian teams to stand up to the visitors have been the Holden Racing Team (one win by Garth Tander in 2008) and Brad Jones Racing (one by Jason Bright in 2011).

A total of 19 cars in the field of 28 use Winton as their home test track.

5. While it may not be their home test track, Red Bull Racing Australia should be looking very good at Winton if their recent record of podium finishes there is any guide.

A Triple Eight driver has finished on the last 11 podiums in succession at Winton from 2006 onwards with Jamie Whincup taking eight from the last 10 and Craig Lowndes six of the last eight. (Note: Podiums were achieved for the overall round in 2006, 2007 and 2008 and in each individual race from 2009 onwards).

6. Winton is Ford Performance Racing’s long-time test track, however it has never been kind to the factory Ford team, which has just one single race win there in its 10-year history.

Jason Bright won a race for the team at Winton in 2006, but since then Mark Winterbottom has taken a record four pole positions and not been able to convert any of them into victories.

7. One more Armor All Pole Position award will allow Jamie Whincup to break his own record for most pole positions in a V8 Supercars Championship season.

The Red Bull Racing Australia pilot has equaled his 2010 record with 10 poles so far this season and looks set to set a new mark in 2013.

Whincup has claimed 41.66% of the poles this season - in 2010 he took 38.46% of them.

However, no one seems likely to ever top Peter Brock’s perfect record from 1980 when he had a 100% pole-winning season – eight from eight!

8. Four drivers are making their first V8 Supercars Championship appearance at Winton, though three of them – Scott Pye, Chaz Mostert and Scott McLaughlin – have experience last year in the Dunlop Series round at the same circuit.
Pye finished second for the round with McLaughlin fifth and Mostert sixth.

Maro Engel is the fourth ‘first timer’ at Winton in the #9 SP Tools Mercedes-Benz AMG E63.

9. Winton is known as ‘The Action Track’ and the Pedders STP Safety Car data sure does support that statement.
The Safety Car has appeared in 21 of the last 26 races (80.76%) at Winton since 2000 – a very high percentage in comparison with other circuits.

The last time there was a full race weekend completed at Winton without the Safety Car making an appearance was 1999.

Last year the Safety Car appeared in both the Saturday and Sunday races.

10. A field of 34 cars has entered for Round Five of the Dunlop Series at the Winton 360 – it’s the biggest field the series has seen at Winton in six years.

This year is the 10th time the Dunlop Series has competed at Winton and it’s the second biggest field the ‘DVS’ has had there, second only to the bumper 37-car field of 2007.

Former Dunlop Series runner-up (and two-time DVS Winton race winner) Luke Youlden will make a return to the category in a Brad Jones Racing-run Commodore, while rookie South Australian Josh Kean makes his debut in an ex-James Courtney, Holden Racing Team Commodore.

11. Chanel 7's own Matthew White will try to mention Jamie Whincups name more than 6 time a minute in an attempt to break his previous personal best and possibly set a new Guinness World Record.

Dazza4610 wrote:

JamieWhincup#1 wrote:Big rumors going around that the wildcard car at the Bathurst 1000 that is being run by Red Bull Racing will be sponsored by XBOX and will also feature FM5 as part of the livery.
V8Supercars and Bathurst in FM5 ???

hmmm, been talking to someone the last few days, and this is sort of making sense... or I am reading too much in to it.

Tastyyx wrote:

Love it when a rumour comes true!

Now CL, how about a lap around the mountain in that car... I will drive this time! (email sent  )

Skaife Racing.....

NoRecoil wrote:Skaife Racing.....

I recon he will engineer the car, or at least mentor the drivers for T8.