Some V8 competition at last!
At last! I can see some wider interest building in the V8 Supercars, particularly for those of us who enjoy a V8 rumble that’s not necessarily burbling from underneath the bonnet of a Holden or Ford. For over a decade, Holden and Ford have been the two marques battling it out for supremacy in the V8 Supercars Championship. Thankfully, the pin has been pulled on only allowing Ford and Holden to race in this championship and we’re going to see other cars entering into a very competitive V8 racing series.
Nissan has had big success in past years when the regulations for the racing allowed Turbo power and AWD. The Nissan GTR cleaned up in the early nineties. Authorities changed the format soon after Nissan’s success, only allowing Class A racing to encompass Australian-produced Holden and Ford 5.0-litre V8s to race each other. Class B racing included 2.0-litre cars that observed the FIA Class II Touring Car regulations. In my view, the spectacle was never quite as good. I enjoyed watching Volvo’s and Commodores battling it out alongside a BMW 635 CSi, M3 and Jaguar – to name a few of the cars involved in what was a highly entertaining series. I guess, that just shows my age!
Things have changed, and CotF (Car of the Future) is the naming for the new Class A racing format for 2013. The welcome changes in regulations have now loosened to open the door to other car manufacturers that are RWD, V8s that are based on a current four-door sedan shape which is a production model.
So who’s joining the racing party, which has now started? Mercedes are racing their Erebus Motorsport V8 racing car that’s based on the E-Class sedan. Race 1, The Clipsal 500 Adelaide, had Tim Slade finish 15th for Mercedes. Race 2, on the same track, had Lee Holdsworth finish 17th for Mercedes.
Nissan have their V8 racing car which is based on the Nissan Altima four-door sedan. Race 1 had Rick Kelly finish 11th for Nissan, while Race 2 had James Moffat finishing 13th.
Craig Lowndes finished race 1 in first place seated in the cockpit of a Holden Commodore race car, while race 2 had Shane van Gisbergen place first in another Commodore. At present, Holden dominate the standings.
I have heard rumours of Lexus entering the championship, and wouldn’t it be good to see a BMW back in the competition, again.
Catch up with the racing action at http://www.v8supercars.com.au.
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