Bafurst 2013

Not a typo for once, more a homage to my bogan buddies. 

Smells like controversy this year with the new manufacturers asking "how the hell can we keep up when you've had 20 years to develop your cars" and the Holden camp (does Ford even still participate??) saying "we've invested gazillions in this series and we're not running hobbled so you can keep up". 

TBH I do tend to side with Holden and Ford just because it's such a mess trying to even up cars that are not even and they have been great supporters of the series. Let's forget Merc who really are a backyard job and talk about Nissan, I mean really with their factory money they should be able to get the engine sorted sooner rather than later. 

Nissan claiming that even though all participants have been forced to make 7 stops (what a silly, silly rule) they will still be at a massive disadvantage as they need to carry more fuel in each stint. 

Edited by Alfisti, 07 October 2013 - 22:29.

Nissan claiming that even though all participants have been forced to make 7 stops (what a silly, silly rule) they will still be at a massive disadvantage as they need to carry more fuel in each stint. 

I think that may be a ploy,Merc. & Nissan have been aiming for this race all season and should at least be in the top Ten.

...by the way its pronounced "Barthurst",don't you watch Top Gear.....   

Considering the amount of whining we are getting from Team Kelly/Nissan perhaps it should be pronounced 'Butthurts'

V8 Thupercars still exists? Serious note though, the series is dwindling and it wouldn't surprise me if the Mercs and Nissans disappear, Volvo probably regret committing and the series will need to reinvent itself (not this COTF crap) completely for it to survive. I will watch 'some' of Bathurst though, but it has definitely lost its 'magic' that it used to have that drew me to the telly all day Sunday.

Let's go back to Group C and Group A racing of the 70s and 80s!

Attendance numbers say you are wrong chumma.

This and Japanese grand prix = Sunday sorted.

Go Craig, anyone but Jamie really.

The twisted child inside me wants to see Nissan take the win just for the crowd reaction

V8 Thupercars still exists? Serious note though, the series is dwindling and it wouldn't surprise me if the Mercs and Nissans disappear, Volvo probably regret committing and the series will need to reinvent itself (not this COTF crap) completely for it to survive. I will watch 'some' of Bathurst though, but it has definitely lost its 'magic' that it used to have that drew me to the telly all day Sunday.

You ask wether it still exists then you continue on to say its dwindling and will dissapear? if you actually watched the series you would realise its actually going pretty good this year! Nissan and merc are actually competitive, but the field is so tight that being in the top 10 is very hard.

Well tbh I have had little interest in the series this year but part of that is purely not having the time to watch. Bathurst though will be the exception - I just love this race! Looking forward to sitting in front of the telly consuming beer/snacks and then following it up with the Japanese GP

Gonna be tears from the daughter because she can't watch Peppa Pig but stuff it she can go without ABC 4 kids for one day a year  I might have to talk the missus into heading over to the in-laws with the kids for the day/evening so I can get my racing in peace

Edited by krapmeister, 08 October 2013 - 05:53.

Apologies for apparently killing this thread

At the hope of kickstarting it again I thought some of you might appreciate this blog by John Birmingham: 

Die screaming, worthless Holden nerds. Kneel before your betters, lowly Ford losers. For this is the last occasion on which you shall rule the so-called mountain. Take what meagre and pitiable consolation you might from this weekend’s Bathurst 1000.

Come 2014 the V8 Supercar Series will return to its rightful owners.

 

Volvo.

 

MwahaHAHA!

 

Scoff all you like, bogan refuse!

 

You shall soon be choking on the dust thrown up by our boxy but undeniably safer rear end. For too long now this nation has been riven by a phoney war between the mouth-breathing yahoos of one American corporate subsidiary and the knuckle dragging munters of another US colonial possession.

Prepare to feel the wrath of your one true Nordic God, as he or she rides down upon you in a sensible yet undeniably stylish European sedan. Ignore the Chinese parent company! They are but a source of gold to stoke the furnace of our insatiable drive to put you in your place.

For years now you worthless vermin have mocked and even pitied your one true road master, the Driver of the Volvo. For years, safe in our superiority, we have allowed you to play at the grown up business of driving automobiles at a sufficient speed to accomplish the end goal of reaching a desired destination at an appropriate time, but your arrogance, your self-regard, your lack of respect and your terrible manners have convinced us that perhaps we have been too lenient. Indulgent, even.

 

Now cometh the lesson.

 

The flag will fall, the engines will roar, and we will accelerate at an appropriate pace given the traffic and road surface conditions and you will sit, as is only reasonable, somewhere behind us, for as many hours as it takes to complete the 1000km circuit in a reasonably timely fashion without undue risk to the other road race users.

 

Do not imagine that your usual shenanigans of punching some poor innocent dashboard and grunting the same tired old insults will make any difference. When we of Volvo have finished with you and your sad little race you will know your place; trapped behind us, maintaining a sensible pace which conserves fuel while allowing the driver ample time to react to any untoward developments on the track.

 

We shall start slowly, as is our wont, but before long the very Mountain of Panorama shall groan beneath our wheels.

 

For we are Volvo.

 

And we are legion.

 

Edited by krapmeister, 09 October 2013 - 23:12.

Apologies for apparently killing this thread

You didnt kill it, we're treating it like an enduro - bit of a flurry at the start, but now we've settled into a good conservative pace to assess where we're at knowing theres a long way to go

Will the Volvo drivers need to wear a helmet, or will a hat suffice?

Will the Volvo drivers need to wear a helmet, or will a hat suffice?

A bowling hat and very large, dark fit-over sunglasses are compulsory...

God I hope they name their cars - like Mavis, Ethel, Royce or Clarry

Oh yeah Volvo cars these days are a far cry from what they once were - tbh easily better looking than a lot of cars going around.

Still going to be a little while before they totally get rid of the Volvo stigma though - as has been illustrated here...

God I hope they name their cars - like Mavis, Ethel, Royce or Clarry

I hope they bring back Robbie Francevic!

Still going to be a little while before they totally get rid of the Volvo stigma though - as has been illustrated here...

No doubt thats playing a big part in their decision to become 'blokey race cars'.

V8SC practice 2

Practice 3 V8SC

Interestingly the times from the Dunlop cars was only marginally slower! I have been wanting them to combine both classes for the 1000km race, even if the dunlop guys only did 1 hour and then stopped. I think they would need to be slowed a little, as Jack Perkins was quicker in the dunlop car than COTF

Dunlop Times

Practice 2 times

Edited by Lee Nicolle, 10 October 2013 - 09:07.

I don't often agree with you Lee, but it is dissapointing that  Jack Perkins can be almost 3 seconds a lap slower in a new car than the old one. I am sure tyres have a lot to do with it, but COTF should be so much better

Geez the whining from the Merc and Nissan crowd is verging on ridiculous. It's their first season - surely they should be expecting to develop the cars not going for wins this year? I mean really, if they put as much energy into developing the engines as they have been on whinging they'll be up there in no time...

Yep, they are having a sook! But seriously, how did they ever expect to be competitive with the tiny bit of development they have done! The Kelly's in particular are a joke, especially if rumours of their budget are to be believed. Harden Up!

It's going to be much cooler in the morning, I may even take a jumper.

Geez the whining from the Merc and Nissan crowd is verging on ridiculous. It's their first season - surely they should be expecting to develop the cars not going for wins this year? I mean really, if they put as much energy into developing the engines as they have been on whinging they'll be up there in no time...

Decent race by stoner

Jack Perkins so far cumulatively is 8th outright. In a 4+ year old car run on a shoestring comparitivly.
Just pipped by a Benz.
As for V8 Ovlovs!! My comments have been made before. A front drive V6 car converted to a rear drive V8,,, by a Datsun Dealer! That will sell a lot of Volvos! Though the bowls hat brigade have have moved on to Camrys. Ovlovs are now driven by school teachers, public servants with a salary lease deal and similar types.

I have still yet to see a V8 Altima on Australian roads either.

Evidently today was a crash fest, and it is only practice. Tim Slade's Benz crashed in 2 different sessions. The co driver had no brakes and probably Tim had no car after!
Nissan supposedly have new engine parts,, all for fuel economy ofcourse!
The SEVEN stop race to help the minnows makes any strategy and good engineering pointless. The Fords and Holden can drive them harder and disappear gain. Though if they get too far ahead Schenken will throw a pace car.

Oh and crowd numbers are down, talking to people involved [owners, team personel] they are more than worried. Watch the TV telecasts, you can see the lack of crowds.
The overseas extravaganzas have been curtailed [except for NZ] because there is more people in the teams than the crowds.

Couple of points..

- Maybe the guys in old cars rocking up with years worth of data vs COTF with nothing means times were slow to start.

- since they only get something like 8 sets of tyres they would save them for when it matters and be using the 4 sets of tyres from previous rounds they are allowed to use to practice on. (p1 2.08 and +1.6 to the last position in qualifing)

the rest Blah blah blah same old **** I CBF'd responding to..

The Benz and Nissans already have advantages over the Holdens and Fords. 4 valve engines, taller deck heights etc. But cannot engineer decent power and economy.
Though yesterday the Benzs had brake issues and Kelly evidently broke another rear upright. That is BASIN engineering they are falling down on.
This is all late 70s GpC again,, cry we cannot win and get freedoms. Nissan did that then too. At least this batch of cars do not blow up in 10 laps when pushed. Nobody cried about fuel economy then ofcourse, or the extra weight.

The Nissians and Merc ain't down on power tho... area under the curve was a problem early on and still not on par just yet.

Fuel economy is a different problem that could of been solved in the short term by e70, but will take a bit more devlopment to get there on e85..

Edited by BellisEndis, 11 October 2013 - 09:33.

Nostalgia strikes, the DJR Greenstuff Ford crashes hard,,, just 30 years on.

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=qs2Brc2vmfw

Fairly big hit...

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=qs2Brc2vmfw

 

Fairly big hit...

Yep, looked massive, car didn't look too bad when it came back to the pits, front end damage, while looking superficially bad, seemed like a  reasonably easy fix, however the new rear ends are not quite like a 9 inch, and is going to take some fixing.

Friday crowd was like a normal Friday, not like last year which was much larger.

Stoner looked good, overdrove it a little bit when the rears started to give up, but he is showing potential.

Jack Perkins commented that the COTF was a lot less settled across the top of the mountain.

MotorsTV in the UK is showing the race live from 11:30PM Saturday evening, channel 447 on Sky.

Anyone know if they are using the Radio Le Mans commentary feed?

I mean seriously, where do they get off? She wants a break? Why? I find it so low that they would go on like this, you're at a disadvantage cos you rushed the entry, you should have been building for two years. Absolutely laughable. The concessions made, particularly the compulsory 7 stops, is a disgrace. 

So that race start tomorrow 12th at 12:30 pm CET,  right, so ( as a complete Bathurst virgin) how long does it usually last?

Edited by OvDrone, 11 October 2013 - 19:01.

about 6 1/2 hours. Get the supplies ready. 

Yep, looked massive, car didn't look too bad when it came back to the pits, front end damage, while looking superficially bad, seemed like a  reasonably easy fix, however the new rear ends are not quite like a 9 inch, and is going to take some fixing.
 
Friday crowd was like a normal Friday, not like last year which was much larger.
 
Stoner looked good, overdrove it a little bit when the rears started to give up, but he is showing potential.
 
Jack Perkins commented that the COTF was a lot less settled across the top of the mountain.

The engines could do with a lot more compression, I have no idea what they would keep it at 10:1 when the went to E85

Edited by mouserat159, 12 October 2013 - 01:06.

What a joke the whinging is.
"It's not fair because they're better than us" is basically what they're saying. They knew the situation when they signed up for the game.

I mean seriously, where do they get off? She wants a break? Why? I find it so low that they would go on like this, you're at a disadvantage cos you rushed the entry, you should have been building for two years. Absolutely laughable. The concessions made, particularly the compulsory 7 stops, is a disgrace. 

Yep   And apart from development the other thing they needed to do this year was to build up a bit of a fanbase. Which I am sure all the whinging isn't helping with at all...

So that race start tomorrow 12th at 12:30 pm CET,  right, so ( as a complete Bathurst virgin) how long does it usually last?

As Alfisti says about 6 - 6 1/2 hours. Don't forget the Japanese GP is straight after as well - last year Bathurst finished literally as the F1 cars were lining up on the grid in Suzuka...

Edited by krapmeister, 12 October 2013 - 02:34.

 Yeah! Bathurst! Day off work, BBQ fired up, family and friends over and alcohol consumption in my shed with dual-screen goodness is my plan. FPR is looking decent but it seems Red Bull are the team to beat (just like that other series I follow). If it HAS to be a Holden win, I hope Lowndsey can take it again but I'd love to see FPR get their first win at the mountain.  

Now that was a surprise!

The best driver in the best team got the best time!

You're a bit early mate...