Recent Posts
V8 Supercars is set to lose one of its most enduring and experienced drivers today with the upcoming announcement of Mark Skaife’s retirement at a Melbourne press conference this afternoon.
This will see the end of a 20 year plus career for the Holden favourite, which is due to come to an finish at the completion of the 2008 series, and includes 5 Bathurst wins and five touring car championships.
This year’s series hasn’t really gone to plan for the 41 year old veteran with a number of rounds plagued by mechanical faults and driving errors. The highlight of Skaife’s championship this season would definitely be his amazing win, along with team mate Garth Tander, at the Phillip Island 500 just a couple of rounds ago, but this success was closely followed by a crash at Bathurst’s Mount Panorama a couple of weeks later which Skaife later admitted was driver error.
In a tussle on the top of the Mountain with Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup on lap 102, Skaife locked a brake just before Forrest’s Elbow.
“I just blew it,” Skaife said afterwards, “it was a mistake. I locked a wheel at the righthand kink before the Elbow.
“The right front locked then the left front and I just couldn’t pull it up before it got into the wall at the Elbow.
“It wasn’t a big hit, but it was enough to do same damage.”
Ford’s Will Davison is touted to be favourite to take Skaife’s place in the Holden Racing Team for the 2009 championship series but neither Davison or the team will confirm the rumours. However he is expected to announce that he has signed on the dotted line soon.
“Hopefully in the next couple of weeks something can be sorted,” he announced in an interview last week but refused to rule out staying with Ford for the upcoming championship series.
“There’s lots going on and either way it’s going to be very exciting for me next year,” he stated, describing next year’s offers as “awesome”.
“And it’s something I’ve worked hard at to get in that position.”
“A Holden deal is on the table, I have made that clear, but I am working through all of the possibilities.
“Soon all the pieces of the puzzle will become a fair bit clearer.”
Thankfully this is unlikely to be the last we see of Mark Skaife in Australian motor sport as he is expected to have a number of options available to him following the end of the 2008 V8 Supercar series, including the possibility of joining fellow ex-driver Neil Crompton as an expert commentator for the television coverage.
All we can say for sure is that if you are a driver in any aspect of Australian motorsport, watch out if you are up against a rookie called Mark Skaife next season and get used to looking at the back of his car!
September 27th 2008 03:16
Following the recent potentially life-changing spine injury to Grant Denyer, after a mishap with a monster truck, Ausdrill Ford Rising Stars Racing (FRSR) Team has announced that WA driver Karl Reindler will replace the former weatherman and motorsport commentator at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
“We have known Karl for some time and taken a fair interest in his Fujitsu V8 Championship drives this year”, said Jim Morton, FRSR team owner.
“Karl is a pretty impressive young man and has packed a lot of racing into his 23 years.
“We think he will fit perfectly with the team as he is a fast learner and is very fit.
“He began racing karts at age 14 and progressed to win state championships and then competed in the top class of karting, CIK, until 2001,” Morton continued. “He then moved on to Formula Three winning races and becoming the Australian Formula Three Champion at only age 19.”
Reindler has also spent time in the competitive British F3 series and has a mechanical engineering diploma.
“This year Karl has been driving for DVS Championship winning team, Howard Racing and has been a consistent top-five runner,” Morton said.
“Right from the start of the season at Clipsal he was competitive at a track that can tend to be a bit overwhelming for V8 rookies. Howard’s team manager, Warren Davis, has been impressed with Karl’s progress and this helped influence FRSR’s decision to choose Karl.”
Reindler will be a busy boy at the Bathurst 1000, racing in the Fujitsu support races in addition to the main event.
“I would especially like to thank all those drivers and managers who contacted us regarding this drive,” Morton said. “It’s a difficult time for us as Grant has been an integral part of our campaign this year and he helped the team to its best ever result at Phillip Island.
“The team has a very close bond with Grant and on behalf of all the team we wish him a speedy recovery.”
Sentiments which are echoed throughout both the car racing fraternity and Grant’s non-racing fan base.
Denyer has expressed dismay that his season has been cut so devastatingly short in a recent message posted on his website http://grantdenyer.com.au/.
“You know how I love my motor-sport - and this is one of the hardest realisations - but I have to pull out of all my racing commitments for the rest of 2008. It's hard considering this has been my best racing season ever having won my first two V8 races and leading the field in the 2008 Mini Championship,” he wrote.
But the spine is a delicate thing and we can't take any chances at this time. I'm being so well looked after by the amazing neurosurgeon Dr Richard Parkinson and staff at St Vincents Hospital in Sydney and all the signs are good for a 100% recovery ... if I take the time to rest for the next few months.
To leave a message of support for the bed stricken Grant Denyer, visit his website and follow the links.
September 27th 2008 02:50
Following an announcement by Jeld-Wen, naming rights sponsor of James Courtney’s Falcon, Stone Brothers Racing will soon be on the lookout for a new major sponsor for the number 4 Ford.
The sponsorship contract, which expires at the conclusion of this year’s championship goes back to a time when Marcos Ambrose was the team’s leading driver and became a naming rights deal when Courtney took over from Ambrose, who left the championship to pursue other racing interests in the States.
Although Jeld-Wen have admitted the relationship between themselves and SBR has been “great”, they have ultimately decided that it is in the company’s best interests to change their advertising direction.
“Our decision to sponsor a whole car in 2005 was part of a branding exercise to introduce Australian homeowners to the Jeld-Wen name,” Jeld-Wen spokesman, Bruce Tosello said.
“With that job now complete, we're headed in a different direction for 2009 so we remain fresh and competitive in the eyes of our customers.
“Both on and off the track we've been incredibly lucky that Marcos and James have added such a dynamic element to our customers and businesses across the country making the investment a more than worthwhile experience.”
Stone Brothers co-owner Ross Stone is positive about the future.
“In the business of professional sport it is inevitable that commercial partnerships go through change,” he said. “V8 Supercars is more dynamic and competitive than ever before.
“The increase in profile and professionalism in the sport in recent years has been ten-fold and makes a V8 Supercar sponsorship a very attractive option.
“For commercial entities that are looking for new ways to develop their image and increase their exposure, V8 Supercars can provide a great vehicle for the right company, so we are optimistic heading into 2009.”
This isn’t the first time in recent years SBR has been forced to replace a major sponsor after Caltex pulled out suddenly in 2007, so Stone knows there are opportunities around every corner, “and we will now put those into action and move forward into 2009,” he said.
“It will be an exciting year with the debut of the Ford FG and the developments with the new E85 fuel… we are looking forward to it.”
September 17th 2008 23:50
Good news for V8 Supercar fans!
It has been announced by V8 Supercars Australia Chairman, Tony Cochrane, that the Gold Coast round of the 2009 championship will definitely be going ahead, despite problems with the IndyCar series leaving Surfers Paradise off next year’s provisional schedule
[ Click here to read more ]
September 17th 2008 00:55
The inaugural Phillip Island 500 km endurance race, held last weekend, has been hailed a crowd-pulling success by V8 Supercars Australia. Compared to the Sandown 500 last year, the 2008 L&H 500 pulled attendance figures of 54,929 over the three day event, 3802 more than last year’s 500 km race.
Despite the fact that the Phillip Island Grand Finale in 2007 managed to attract almost 68,000, V8 Supercars Australia Chairman, Tony Cochrane, is pleased with the numbers
[ Click here to read more ]
September 15th 2008 00:10
Despite recent comments by James Courtney, accusing the Holden drivers of being “too old”, red was the colour of the day yesterday as HRT drivers Mark Skaife and Garth Tander took out the first enduro of the season.
Phillip Island came alive for the inaugural L&H 500, putting on an awesome weekend of V8 Supercar racing and creating the perfect build-up for the Supercheap Bathurst 1000 next month
[ Click here to read more ]
September 12th 2008 03:22
Jeff Grech, manager of Sprint Gas Racing, is one of many who are looking forward to the upcoming V8 Supercar endurance races and is confident his drivers can battle with the best of them.
“We’re not under quite as much pressure because we’re not in the Championship race so you can be a little bit more aggressive with strategy, as long as you do it safely,” he said. “Drivers like Mark Winterbottom and Steven Richards, Garth Tander and Rick Kelly will have to be a little bit more conservative on their strategy because their Championship is at stake whereas ours isn’t
[ Click here to read more ]
Sprint Gas Racing have announced their driver pairings for the Enduros, starting with the L&H 500 at Phillip Island in 9 days time. Team member Jason Richards will make his 100th Championship start and is enthusiastic about the team’s chances as he gets ready to share the drive with team mate Greg Murphy.
“The team has been working towards the endurance rounds all season; I think we’ll be fast,” said Richards. “We’ve put a lot of work in to the development of these cars. My car has qualified in the top 10 for the past four rounds and we’ve had good race pace
[ Click here to read more ]
With the endurance races just around the corner, the V8 Supercar teams are readying themselves for this energy sapping and important part of the championship.
A vital part of the teams’ preparation is their choice of co-driver for each of the full-time drivers, and ensuring that these, sometimes rookie V8 Supercar ‘blow-ins’, are as ready as possible for the challenge the enduro races can bring
[ Click here to read more ]
Garth Tander has done it again, reminding V8 Supercar fans just why he is the reigning series champion, taking out all three races in the inaugural Hamilton 400 last weekend.
Jamie Whincup, who was sitting pretty on top of the points table before the round began, had a major racing incident during qualifying after coming together with Todd Kelly’s Commodore halfway through the second session. A passing move went horribly wrong for Whincup when Kelly, with nowhere else to go, speared across the track off the ripple strip, clipping Whincup and sending him crashing into the wall. The car was so severely damaged that the weekend was over before it had even begun for the #88 Team Vodafone driver
[ Click here to read more ]
|
|
|
Comments (2)
Add Comments
Read More
Comment by Andrea
on Dean Canto v Garry Rogers
V8 Supercar Pitstop