162 replies to this topic

[jonpollak]

Any streams?.. anyone on the ground ?
Fp1 starts in 50 mins
Jp

[V8 Fireworks]

The track...

 

The lap...

https://www.youtube....h?v=ZWbfIWgWK5s

 

The 'Mericans...

[paulb]

This should be great! I am excited to see how Canadian-Canadian James Hinchcliffe and American-American Alexander Rossi fare.

I suspect that as long as they finish the race, they will have a blast. They might surprise, actually.

Edited by paulb, 10 October 2019 - 11:26.

[Flasheart]

Best racetrack in the world, in my opinion. Also the organisers can’t possibly get enough credit for the event. I liked hearing the American boys speak in awe of how well prepared it is. I hope they can have a clean week(end). Very much looking forward to it. I only wish Lowndes was driving with someone else but Whincup. A third Triple Eight entry with him and Tander together would have been great. Have a good weekend everyone! I hope your favourite team/drivers go well.

Edited by Flasheart, 10 October 2019 - 01:31.

[V8 Fireworks]

I suspect that as long as they finish the race, they will have a blast. They might surprise, actually.

 

Not the first Champcar/IRL/Indycar wildcard to tackle the mountain. 

 

 

 

 

Best racetrack in the world, in my opinion.

 

Nah, that's the Nordschliefe.  Mount Panorama is a close second.

Edited by V8 Fireworks, 10 October 2019 - 02:16.

[SKL]

Is it on 'merican TV  anywhere?

[WonderboyF1]

UK coverage on BT sport, actually looking forward to this more than the Japanese Gp!

[AustinF1]

FP2 live stream on youtube...

 

https://www.youtube....player_embedded

[Victor_RO]

One of my personal highlights of the motorsport year, especially since I've been there (for the 12 Hour) and seen what an amazing place for racing it is for myself. 

 

McLaughlin already at a 2:04.2 in FP3. If the weather holds, the V8 pole record is going bye-bye on Saturday.

 

EDIT: 2:03.7! And 4 cars in the 2:03s already. 

[wonk123]

The whole field is close.

 

The weather has been very unpredictable here the last few weeks. I had to clear frost off my windscreen this morning, but it ended up being a great day.

Even the weather forecasts are all over the place.

 

I think there will be a 2.02 tomorrow

[Roadhouse]

Selfish Australians, if only they'd stick to our European timezone. 

Haven't seen a real race at Bathurst yet, but fell in love with it in SIM racing, so really hope I can catch some action this weekend.

[Myrvold]

The 'Mericans...

Cries in maple syrup.

[wonk123]

Cries in maple syrup.

https://www.supercar...s-steady-start/

[potmotr]

For anyone with a passing interest in Bathurst legend Larry Perkins, this is really great!

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=eLO93f_m22w

[jonpollak]

Today’s action starts in 5 mins.
https://youtu.be/GVmVGoP-m0c

Jp

[potmotr]

Hinchcliffe is bloody slow. 

[paulb]

Hinchcliffe is bloody slow.

I would guess the main thing is to get laps in. No need to push at the moment, binning the car would set them back.

[paulb]

How can anyone not love this track?

The helicopter footage is spectacular.

Indycar lads 1.8s off the pace in Practice 4. They’re getting faster.

Edited by paulb, 10 October 2019 - 23:44.

[Victor_RO]

Wet quali, that might spring some surprises for who's going to be in the bottom half of the top 10 shootout...

[V8 Fireworks]

Hinchcliffe is bloody slow. 

 

Bathurst is a hard track.

[potmotr]

My other observation is how bad the Mustangs look, especially from behind. 

[krapmeister]

The Mustangs look bloody awful...

[potmotr]

They've really screwed the rules allowing that monstrosity to race. 

 

They should use the Mondeo or something. 

[jonpollak]

Mustang Sahli looked pretty good from behind.

Jp

[Victor_RO]

They look ugly, but they're bloody fast... at least in McLaughlin's hands.

 

Speaking of, how close to a 2:02 do we reckon they'll get to in the shootout? I can see Scotty doing a 2:03.1 if he hooks the full lap together.

[V8 Fireworks]

Great track guide by Rick Kelly and Russell Ingall:

 

https://www.speedcaf...ap-of-bathurst/

 

They've really screwed the rules allowing that monstrosity to race. 

 

They should use the Mondeo or something. 

 

What can you do?  A condition of Ford Performance entering the series was to use the Mustang.  Ford Performance had no interest in racing the Mondeo.

 

It would have been wiser to allow a different, more complementary, spaceframe design for the Mustang.  It's just a pile of tubes after all.  Instead in order to make it fit, the roof is 5 cm higher, the A-pillar is 10 cm further forward and the width is 5 cm narrower, compared to the real Mustang, as below. Ford Performance also took some creative license with front end to find more performance, since the OEM bonnet shape can't be used anyway due to the 10cm shorter bonnet compared to a real Mustang.

 

\

 

A compromise...?

 

Edited by V8 Fireworks, 12 October 2019 - 01:53.

[Alfisti]

Sorry forgot to start the thread, up you should edit with "the great race" as per tradition.

Streaming is insane as you need to buy the entire season for $60. They really should offer $15 for bathurst.

I'll be streaming from home but I use mates to help me out.

[Alfisti]

This should be great! I am excited to see how Canadian-Canadian James Hinchcliffe and American-American Alexander Rossi fare.

I suspect that as long as they finish the race, they will have a blast. They might surprise, actually.

I fully expect them to be the slowest car out there. Foreign drivers always struggle in this scenario, the track is too hard and there are too many spots when a small mistake means a plane crash but lifting means a lot of lost time.

And the cars have no grip, they tyres are ridiculously narrow for so much power, it's very easy to light the rears up.

Edited by Alfisti, 12 October 2019 - 02:07.

[jonpollak]

Sorry forgot to start the thread,

Slacker.
No excuse
Jp

[dave34m]

God that promo opening the show for the top ten shootout was awful, what a load of crap 

[krapmeister]

Can anyone explain to me why they just don't run the Super2 cars in the main race? They are only 2 or 3 seconds slower than the big guys anyway. Much of a muchness tbh...

Edited by krapmeister, 12 October 2019 - 06:39.

[krapmeister]

I fully expect them to be the slowest car out there. Foreign drivers always struggle in this scenario, the track is too hard and there are too many spots when a small mistake means a plane crash but lifting means a lot of lost time.

And the cars have no grip, they tyres are ridiculously narrow for so much power, it's very easy to light the rears up.

I think the Mayor and Rossi have been pretty impressive tbh, open wheeler drivers, virtually never driven these cars before this week, never driven this track before, haven't put it in the wall yet. Yeah they might end up being the slowest but they've done good so far 👍

[Victor_RO]

Wow. Just wow. 

 

Holy hell, what a lap. And with the big boss in attendance giving you favourable comparisons to Rick Mears at Indy. 

[paulb]

I fully expect them to be the slowest car out there. Foreign drivers always struggle in this scenario, the track is too hard and there are too many spots when a small mistake means a plane crash but lifting means a lot of lost time.

And the cars have no grip, they tyres are ridiculously narrow for so much power, it's very easy to light the rears up.

You were close, they were the second slowest qualifiers.

[Gambelli]

Can anyone explain to me why they just don't run the Super2 cars in the main race? They are only 2 or 3 seconds slower than the big guys anyway. Much of a muchness tbh...

 

I agree, I think the top 10 in the Super 2 championship should be invited to the main race.

 

The problem is getting enough quality co drivers.  But this could be solved by allowing drivers not in the top 10 in the Super 2 championship to be co drivers of those in the top 10 who are invited into the main race.  They would both of course get equal points for their super 2 championship.  The Super 2 championship would still be a separate class in the race points wise.  Yes there are sponsorship issues to tackle, but at Super 2 level surely thats not insurmountable if everyone, sponsors, teams etc understood from the outset how it all goes down and sponsorship packages factor it in accordingly, eg the co drivers are allowed to use their own team's race suit and helmet and any existing sponsors on those that have been on the suit throughout the year.

 

It would also open the door for some more international drivers to be invited in to co drive with some of the Super 2 drivers, get experience of the track without too much spotlight.

 

All this would give us 35/36 cars, a good field, more drivers, and a great opportunity for the Super 2 guys....

 

...I miss the days of John Faulkner, Ashby & Reid, John Cleland etc.....

[krapmeister]

And yeah that was a hell of a lap from Scotty - DJR-Penske obviously have that Mustang sorted but damn he can drive that thing. The lap wasn't lairy in any way, inch perfect 

[Jazza]

The problem is the pits.

The supercar teams will never accept less space, nor go back to the days of their cars being locked in when other cars pit in front and behind them. The Super2’s also aren’t equipped to make supercar type pit stops. They have enough problems refueling let alone making brake pad changes.

The super2 teams just don’t have the resources for this one big race.

[krapmeister]

I agree, I think the top 10 in the Super 2 championship should be invited to the main race.
 
The problem is getting enough quality co drivers.  But this could be solved by allowing drivers not in the top 10 in the Super 2 championship to be co drivers of those in the top 10 who are invited into the main race.  They would both of course get equal points for their super 2 championship.  The Super 2 championship would still be a separate class in the race points wise.  Yes there are sponsorship issues to tackle, but at Super 2 level surely thats not insurmountable if everyone, sponsors, teams etc understood from the outset how it all goes down and sponsorship packages factor it in accordingly, eg the co drivers are allowed to use their own team's race suit and helmet and any existing sponsors on those that have been on the suit throughout the year.
 
It would also open the door for some more international drivers to be invited in to co drive with some of the Super 2 drivers, get experience of the track without too much spotlight.
 
All this would give us 35/36 cars, a good field, more drivers, and a great opportunity for the Super 2 guys....
 
...I miss the days of John Faulkner, Ashby & Reid, John Cleland etc.....

 
Yeah with Super2 numbers down and the Supercars also down on numbers compared to earlier days - and potentially looking at less cars next season as well with GRM and Kellys possibly handing back RECs - it would make a lot of sense to allow the Super2 teams to run with the big boys and boost numbers in the main race...
 

The problem is the pits.
 
The supercar teams will never accept less space, nor go back to the days of their cars being locked in when other cars pit in front and behind them. The Super2’s also aren’t equipped to make supercar type pit stops. They have enough problems refueling let alone making brake pad changes.
 
The super2 teams just don’t have the resources for this one big race.

Ah ok then... good points too. Then again give the Super2 guys enough notice and they should be able to sort the technical issues (refueling/brake pads etc) - the politics though could be harder to sort...

Edited by krapmeister, 12 October 2019 - 11:35.

[Beggysmalls]

There is nothing stopping super two teams stepping up to run in the 1000 as a wildcard. The kostecki bros team is an example of this.
Funding is the main issue I have heard figures that to run a car for the 1000 race is a similar cost to running a full season of super 2. Unfortunately the money just isnt there to do it

[Alfisti]

Gee just saw the lap, he nailed every apex. Wheel spin through the cutting but otherwise it looked perfect.

A few years ago he had this rate shot to bits in a Volvo and it blew up, he has been quick for years and right now likely the fastest driver in the series by a margin.

For the race, inho it will be scotty vs whincup for the win. A LOT of weak number 2 drivers so tender and gizmo may be a threat too, we have really seen the main drivers gap the second ones the past 5 years or so.

[jonpollak]

Who’s driving for Betty’s team ?
Jp

[Victor_RO]

Who’s driving for Betty’s team ?
Jp

 

David Reynolds/Luke Youlden in the 9 (which was supposed to be the faster car, but Youlden binned it in practice and it was a fcking dog in the wet), Anton de Pasquale and Will Brown in the 99 (which made the shootout and starts 7th).

[DS27]

Thank gawd I saw this thread in time - I have not long walked through the door, back from working in Dublin all week and had nearly forgotten my favourite race of the year! Just got to try and stay awake all night now.

 

Even better, it's back on BT Sport in glorious HD so no faffing about trying to find rubbish stream of the race via a mirror to stop it being closed down like before.

 

Betty's team is David Reynolds and Luke Youlden I think.

[DS27]

What a lap!

 

https://www.supercar...ap/?cat=default

[Victor_RO]

What a lap!

 

https://www.supercar...ap/?cat=default

 

That front splitter under heavy braking is scraping the asphalt as much as the one on a Porsche Cup car. 

 

Right, time to nod off so I can wake up for the green after some hours of decent sleep.

[Alfisti]

Luke ****ing youlden. Never understand how he gets a gig, he is slow and bins it nearly every year.

Percat is the other one, I say it every year and he bins it every year.

[Gambelli]

Gee just saw the lap, he nailed every apex. Wheel spin through the cutting but otherwise it looked perfect.

A few years ago he had this rate shot to bits in a Volvo and it blew up, he has been quick for years and right now likely the fastest driver in the series by a margin.

For the race, inho it will be scotty vs whincup for the win. A LOT of weak number 2 drivers so tender and gizmo may be a threat too, we have really seen the main drivers gap the second ones the past 5 years or so.

 

Yes the only thing that stops this being a Scotty cake-walk is the weakness of Premat vs Lowndes and Tander.  If Scotty is in the top 5 with 30 laps to run you'd have to think, all things being equal, they are clear favourite, but you have to..... lets use a Crompton term... 'Buy a ticket to the main game' first....

 

Its so funny that in a championship that is usually pretty closely contested, there's always one car that looks clear favourite at Bathurst.....

 

It will be interesting to see how much progress Reynolds can make in the early stages, to see if that car is truly sorted or not...

[potmotr]

Great track guide by Rick Kelly and Russell Ingall:

 

https://www.speedcaf...ap-of-bathurst/

 

 

What can you do?  A condition of Ford Performance entering the series was to use the Mustang.  Ford Performance had no interest in racing the Mondeo.

 

It would have been wiser to allow a different, more complementary, spaceframe design for the Mustang.  It's just a pile of tubes after all.  Instead in order to make it fit, the roof is 5 cm higher, the A-pillar is 10 cm further forward and the width is 5 cm narrower, compared to the real Mustang, as below. Ford Performance also took some creative license with front end to find more performance, since the OEM bonnet shape can't be used anyway due to the 10cm shorter bonnet compared to a real Mustang.

 

\

 

A compromise...?

 

 

Good explanation, thanks! 

 

It's just weird to me that you'd have sedans racing against coupes also.

[OvDrone]

Hello everyone. Ready to climb the Mountain with y'all. Hyped as can be.

[potmotr]

It's gonna be great!