2018 Virigin Australia Supercars (V8 Supercars)

Agree. Race 1 was sensational. Even Race 2 was pretty good as well, it's just that the first race was that good that it out did it. 

Some controversy but some super racing as well - imagine if what happened in Race 1 happened in F1. This forum would never hear the end of it! 

I do think SVG got away with the wheel spin. There's no data to see if his foot was hard on the clutch or not. 

Anyway, it gave us an amazing ending and has set up a grand stand finish. 

The biggest downside with Supercars is the incredibly terrible officiating. Seriously, a 5 second penalty for shoving the leader out of the way and passing? That's not a deterrent at all, every driver in the field would take that deal in a heartbeat. At the absolute minimum it should have been swapping places + 5 seconds, and even that would be lenient...

The biggest downside with Supercars is the incredibly terrible officiating. Seriously, a 5 second penalty for shoving the leader out of the way and passing? That's not a deterrent at all, every driver in the field would take that deal in a heartbeat. At the absolute minimum it should have been swapping places + 5 seconds, and even that would be lenient...

Well, it's even very rare that drivers get 5 second time penalties in the Supercars. They don't hand it out often.

The bump and run has been used before and drivers have got away with it so the SVG incident was a strange one. It kind of came out of nowhere because we are so used to seeing bumping and people getting away with it. He did deserve the penalty and for me, the 5 seconds was fine. 

In F1, 5 second penalties are useless because the field is spread apart but in the Supercars, 5 seconds is a lot of time. If It weren't for some mad driving at the end, he wouldn't have won.

Loved the post race fun

https://www.supercar...default&paged=2

Edited by RacingGreen, 06 November 2018 - 21:02.

Well, it's even very rare that drivers get 5 second time penalties in the Supercars. They don't hand it out often.

 

The bump and run has been used before and drivers have got away with it so the SVG incident was a strange one. It kind of came out of nowhere because we are so used to seeing bumping and people getting away with it. He did deserve the penalty and for me, the 5 seconds was fine. 

 

In F1, 5 second penalties are useless because the field is spread apart but in the Supercars, 5 seconds is a lot of time. If It weren't for some mad driving at the end, he wouldn't have won.

It's been Lowndes' signature move for 20 years, but this was extremely obvious. Lowndes gives them a bump coming off a corner so they can't accelerate, SVG just went in hard from the rear and shoved him off line.The point remains, you've found him guilty of an illegal pass, how can you not put him back behind? It's not even like there were a bunch of cars between them. 

Speaking of the 5 second penalty; while I'm in favour of it generally, there needs to be major changes. As it is now you get a PLP for tiny technical breaches (for instance swerving behind the safety car) and you get a 5 second penalty for hugely dangerous driving...

Loved the post race fun

 

https://www.supercar...default&paged=2

Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife both said they would have reversed and the smashed into the back of SVG's car or got out of the car and punched SVG. 

Mclaughlin was very calm all weekend - I was impressed with his temperament just as much as his driving. 

It's been Lowndes' signature move for 20 years, but this was extremely obvious. Lowndes gives them a bump coming off a corner so they can't accelerate, SVG just went in hard from the rear and shoved him off line.The point remains, you've found him guilty of an illegal pass, how can you not put him back behind? It's not even like there were a bunch of cars between them. 

 

Speaking of the 5 second penalty; while I'm in favour of it generally, there needs to be major changes. As it is now you get a PLP for tiny technical breaches (for instance swerving behind the safety car) and you get a 5 second penalty for hugely dangerous driving...

They used to have "the redress" in 2016 (I think it was) but they got rid of it after the Whincup/Mclaughlin/Tander Bathurst incident.

They should bring it back but any redress should take place on the start/finish straight and you have to get off the racing line - not like Whincup did at Bathurst. 

The biggest downside with Supercars is the incredibly terrible officiating. Seriously, a 5 second penalty for shoving the leader out of the way and passing? That's not a deterrent at all, every driver in the field would take that deal in a heartbeat. At the absolute minimum it should have been swapping places + 5 seconds, and even that would be lenient...

Richie Stanaway would agree with you.

https://www.supercar...default&paged=2

Russell Ingall and Mark Skaife both said they would have reversed and the smashed into the back of SVG's car or got out of the car and punched SVG. 

 

Mclaughlin was very calm all weekend - I was impressed with his temperament just as much as his driving. 

2016 = 3rd

2017 = 2nd

2018 = 1st ? - and should finish 1st as long as he stays focused on the championship and doesn't go round punching people 

They used to have "the redress" in 2016 (I think it was) but they got rid of it after the Whincup/Mclaughlin/Tander Bathurst incident.

 

They should bring it back but any redress should take place on the start/finish straight and you have to get off the racing line - not like Whincup did at Bathurst. 

That's a different thing. Redress is when the driver swaps back on his own in order to avoid a penalty. In this case the stewards should clearly have ordered SVG to move back behind McLaughlin as part of his penalty.

BTW, I strongly disagree McLaughlin is the favourite. He's basically racing one against three (Coulthard has been absolutely useless this year), and on the tight street circuit at Newcastle Red Bull will find some way to hobble him.

Supercars is like a lost love for me, since it hasn't been available to watch live in the UK. It was more or less my favourite series.

Like all things, you stop caring so much if you are not following closely, but I still really hope Scotty can win this year. SVG is such an a*se.

Well, this is old news now, but I have only just found out Scotty won the championship after what sounds like a rather controversial final weekend.

Fantastic, and well deserved. Scotty, I will raise a glass to you this weekend.

Adelaide 500 this weekend! Anyway I can watch in the UK without having to buy the supercars pass at 50 quid 

Well, the 2019 season has started, but I don't think there is a thread for it anywhere as yet. I had virtually stopped following the series when Freesports disappeared from Sky some time last year and after a very frustrating experience of trying to watch Bathurst on various streams that kept failing.

Yesteray by chance I saw that Freesports was back on my program listing and was showing 1hr highlights of each race so have just watched them both. No idea when Freesports came back - may have been months ago, and maybe I could have seen the end of last season after all.

Looks like I am back into Supercars this year  

Even better - Coverage is actually back live on BT Sports, so available in HD  

Looking forward to Bathurst already.

yep, recorded live Adelaide coverage from BT, no ad beaks (unlike indycar on sky) - perfect!

what is the consensus on Fabian Coulthard around here? Is he a good driver, mediocre? He seems to be trailing McLaughlin all the time, usually behind the the Triple 8 guys (who are fairly competitive intra-team).

what is the consensus on Fabian Coulthard around here? Is he a good driver, mediocre? He seems to be trailing McLaughlin all the time, usually behind the the Triple 8 guys (who are fairly competitive intra-team).

He's the Valtteri Bottas of the Supercars. 

Wins 2-3 races a year but just lacks those few tenths. He's not all bad but I'd rather see Mostert or a younger driver alongside McLaughlin.

Man, I've been thinking for a couple years that the time is perfect for a North American Supercars spinoff, racing at tracks like the Glen, Road America, Sonoma, VIR, Long Beach, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta, Hermanos Rodriguez, Mid-Ohio, Belle Isle, Laguna, Barber, Thunder Hill, Elkhart, Mosport, CGV, and so on...

This would make me very happy. Make it so.

what is the consensus on Fabian Coulthard around here? Is he a good driver, mediocre? He seems to be trailing McLaughlin all the time, usually behind the the Triple 8 guys (who are fairly competitive intra-team).

Very hot and cold. You can't really be off your game in supercars or you find yourself in the midfield and your race is ruined, the competition is really tight. Unfortunately Coulthard has too many weekends where he isn't on the pace compared to his team mate. I do wonder what some of the other drivers would do in the same car.

Man, I've been thinking for a couple years that the time is perfect for a North American Supercars spinoff, racing at tracks like the Glen, Road America, Sonoma, VIR, Long Beach, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta, Hermanos Rodriguez, Mid-Ohio, Belle Isle, Laguna, Barber, Thunder Hill, Elkhart, Mosport, CGV, and so on...

 

This would make me very happy. Make it so.

They could back it onto indycars, and that way Australian fans wouldn't be able to watch it either!

Man, I've been thinking for a couple years that the time is perfect for a North American Supercars spinoff, racing at tracks like the Glen, Road America, Sonoma, VIR, Long Beach, Lime Rock, Road Atlanta, Hermanos Rodriguez, Mid-Ohio, Belle Isle, Laguna, Barber, Thunder Hill, Elkhart, Mosport, CGV, and so on...

 

This would make me very happy. Make it so.

That would be wonderful BUT the existing Muscle Car Challenge & Trans Am series are so strong, that it would seem superflous...

Edited by V8 Fireworks, 14 March 2019 - 02:58.

Very hot and cold. You can't really be off your game in supercars or you find yourself in the midfield and your race is ruined, the competition is really tight. Unfortunately Coulthard has too many weekends where he isn't on the pace compared to his team mate. I do wonder what some of the other drivers would do in the same car.

Agreed, he's like the Bottas of V8s, but even more handicapped by inconsistency than team orders. Having a stellar team mate doesn't help him look good either. Waste of a top seat.

Agreed, he's like the Bottas of V8s, but even more handicapped by inconsistency than team orders. Having a stellar team mate doesn't help him look good either. Waste of a top seat.

Mostert will take the drive soon. 

Strong word from a contact suggests that deal is done for 2020 anyhow.

Mostert will take the drive soon. 

Damn. I know BMW have been courting Chaz for a full-season GT deal in 2020, would have liked to see him take that.

Mostert will take the drive soon. 

That will be some driver line-up. Look forward to it.

That will be some driver line-up. Look forward to it.

They are my favourite 2 drivers now that Lowndes is semi retired.  But I think Chaz might cop a (relative) pasting.  My opinion, and its only that, is that Scotty Mac is the fastest I've ever seen in Aus Touring Car Championship, and I've been watching for over 30 years.  3 Years ago I would have said SVG, he was also special since day 1, but I think Scotty is quicker even than him.... I followed with great interest the fact that they were both racing for the same team in last years Bathurst 12 hour, and Scotty was quicker than SVG there too, only just, but SVG had much more McLaren, and GT3 experience in general.  

BT Sport were due to show all the races live this weekend from Melbourne but these have now been removed from the tv guide....can only guess sky/liberty put their foot down on it

BT Sport were due to show all the races live this weekend from Melbourne but these have now been removed from the tv guide....can only guess sky/liberty put their foot down on it

Liberty/FOM have quite strict terms even with support races that aren't part of the "proper" F1 package. On the Supercars website and series streaming page, they mention quite clearly that the replays of the Melbourne weekend races will only be available for 30 days after the race weekend, unlike the rest of the season (if you want to rewatch the Adelaide season-opener in November, you can).

Hard to ensure parity before the season when the teams are sandbagging the tests.

Not really much different to the method the BTCC uses - success ballast, in which they penalise winners EVERY RACE rather than once a season!!!

They made this exact change a year ago in favour of Ford, so I'd say its consistent and sensible - better than having Scottie win every race.

I'd like Scottie to win the title, but not if it sends me to sleep along the way. 

Not much to discuss here, imo. 

Hard to ensure parity before the season when the teams are sandbagging the tests.

It looks a lot like the mess they had back at GRM when they were running the Volvo's. Two races in and we had the same outcry then as we have now.

It looks a lot like the mess they had back at GRM when they were running the Volvo's. Two races in and we had the same outcry then as we have now.

Strange how the outcry only comes when 888 are losing. Last year the COG made no difference on performance and the other teams just needed to build better cars, and this year it's a national crisis. It's almost like the media are being fed stories or something...

Well I wonder if it starts again now that Ford ruled the roost on Phillip Island. Read something about Whincup not having fun in midpack

OK, so the Mustangs were pegged back again after Phillip Island..... with nought to show for.

DJR Mustang 1 and 2 again in Barbagallo in the first quali, Whincup first Holden on 3, then we have our usual suspect Mustangs of Mostert and Waters. 

So what's next, give the Mustangs a different tyre compound or ride height going up. This is starting to get as farcical as the Italian Touringcar  Series Superstars a few years back (2012 i thought). Audi had an all conquering S5 in that series and Mercedes, Lexus, Maserati ánd Corvette all got less ballast weight, lower ride height etc. In the end nothing worked and Johan Kristofferson won the championship, although some frustrated Mercedes driver robbed him of a victory in the final race by punting him off.

Edited by Alex79, 03 May 2019 - 12:37.

I searched for a 2019 Supercars thread to post this in, but I couldn't find any. Very surprised!

Huge shunt in V8 Supercars Qualifying

https://streamable.com/61zby

Apparently one of his shock absorbers ended up on someone's balcony several floors up above the track

https://www.speedcaf...-on-gc-balcony/

Edited by krapmeister, 27 October 2019 - 11:43.