V8 Supercars
The V8 Supercar is a category of touring car racing that evolved in Australia in the early 1990s. International touring car regulations seemed destined to preclude the Australian-built Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, to the disappointment of a majority of fans who had watched a long history of Ford-Holden battles in Australian touring car categories since the 1960s. In its early days, it ran in opposition to the "official" super-touring category, which ran cars under the international regulations, but gradually the bulk of sponsorship, driver talent, and fan attention drifted to the V-8 category leaving the super touring as an amateur category.
The regulations are designed to balance the desire for technical competition and fast vehicles with the requirement that costs are kept reasonable, racing is reasonably close, and the cars bear some resemblance to production models. The cars are based on either Commodore or Falcon production bodyshells, but from there almost every component is modified and some (such as differentials and gearboxes) are identical in all cars in the category. Engines are 5.0 litre V8 with pushrod actuated valves and electronic fuel injection. Both Ford and Holden engines are based on racing engines from their respective US parent companies. Engines are restricted to 7500 rpm, and in this configuration most of the cars put out around 450 kilowatts of power. Basic front suspension configuration is similar to the road cars, whilst rear suspension is a "live axle" design, and spring and damper design is unrestricted. A "control tyre" is supplied to all teams. A standard "aerodynamic package" of spoilers and wings is supplied to the teams, and is tested so the two makes have as similar aerodynamic characteristics as possible.
The category is highly commercially successful, with several new events on street circuits in Adelaide and Canberra drawing upwards of 50,000 people on raceday and the Bathurst 1000 endurance race continuing its popularity.
Whilst the racing through the field is close and aggressive, the quasi-factory Holden Special Vehicles team has, over the course of the decade, usually held a slim but decisive margin over its rivals. The team was owned by Arrows Formula One team owner Tom Walkinshaw until Walkinshaw's financial problems forced a sale, initially to Holden itself but from there to driver Mark Skaife.
V8 Supercar Championship Series
Year
Driver
Make
Team
1993
Glenn Seton
Ford
Glenn Seton Racing
1994
Mark Skaife
Holden
Gibson Motorsport
1995
John Bowe
Ford
Dick Johnson Racing
1996
Craig Lowndes
Holden
Holden Racing Team
1997
Glenn Seton
Ford
Glenn Seton Racing
1998
Craig Lowndes
Holden
Holden Racing Team
1999
Craig Lowndes
Holden
Holden Racing Team
2000
Mark Skaife
Holden
Holden Racing Team
2001
Mark Skaife
Holden
Holden Racing Team
2002
Mark Skaife
Holden
Holden Racing Team
2003
Marcos Ambrose
Ford
Stone Brothers Racing
Notable figures involved in the category include:
- Mark Skaife, 5 times champion, 3 x Bathurst Winner
- Craig Lowndes, 3 times champion, 1 x Bathurst Winner
- Glenn Seton, 2 times champion
- Marcos Ambrose, 1 times champion
- John Bowe, 1 times champion
- Greg Murphy, 2 x Bathurst 1000 Winner
- Paul Radisich WTCC Winner
- Steven Johnson, Son of Dick Johnson
- Russell Ingall
- Garth Tander
- Steven Richards, Son of Jim Richards
- Max Wilson, ex-F1 test driver, ex-Champ Car World Series
- Alan Jones, F1 World Champion
- Larry Perkins, ex-F1
External links
Referenced By
2003 in sports | AutoRacing | Auto racing | Automobile racing | Autosport | Motor racing | Motor sport | Motorsport | Race car | Racecar
|
