79 replies to this topic

[JForce]

And so we come to one of those truly wonderful motorsport events. Monaco, Le Mans, Indy, Daytona, Isle of Man....

And Bathurst. For those of you who don't follow V8Supercar racing, I suggest you check it out. The racing is fantastic, the coverage is simply the best of ANY racing series in the world, I **** you not, and Bathurst is easily one of the best tracks on the planet.



Here's the timetable for the event on, over the weekend of October 20th - 22nd:

Day		 Event	   Format	  TimesThursday	Practice	30 Laps	 10:40 - 13:10Friday	  Practice	30 Minutes  09:20 - 09:50Friday	  Practice	30 Minutes  10:00 - 10:30Friday	  Qualifying  45 Minutes  14:00 - 15:40Saturday	Practice	60 Minutes  10:00 - 11:00Saturday	Top 10 Shoot45 Minutes  15:40 - 16:25Sunday	  Warm Up	 20 Minutes  07:10 - 07:30Sunday	  Race 1	  161 Laps	10:00 - 17:45

As usual when we get to Bathurst the championship is pretty close, here are the current standings (top 10):

PosDriver Name	 Penalty Rd1  Rd2  Rd3  Rd4  Rd5  Rd6  Rd7  Rd8  Total1  Craig Lowndes   0	   160  268  282  302  304  288  314  300  2,2182  Rick Kelly	  0	   305  234  224  266  282  286  284  310  2,1913  Mark Winterbotto0	   125  296  268  250  252  244  228  320  1,9834  Garth Tander	0	   270  232  274  266  282  318  136  70   1,8485  Jamie Whincup   0	   310  164  202  190  180  212  166  300  1,7246  Russell Ingall  0	   250  290  250  172  240  272  188  60   1,7227  Jason Bright	0	   130  198  132  278  216  294  146  320  1,7148  Steven Johnson  0	   235  240  220  164  150  128  266  290  1,6939  Steven Richards 0	   270  212  290  216  146  254  144  50   1,58210 Mark Skaife	 0	   0	312  286  264  246  136  104  70   1,418

The top 4 especially are pretty close. I don't like the points system for V8s as it is, but to clarify here is the way points are allocated for Bathurst:

1st	 3202nd	 3103rd	 3004th	 2905th	 2806th	 2707th	 2608th	 2509th	 24010th	23011th	22012th	21013th	20014th	19015th	18016th	17017th	16018th	15019th	14020th	13021st	12022nd	11023rd	10024th	 9025th	 8026th	 7027th	 6028th	 5029th	 4030th	 3031st	 2032nd	 10

Here are the driver entries for Bathurst 2 weeks out:

Car NSponsor Name				Driver						  Model  1  Caltex Racing			   Russell Ingall / Luke Youlden   BA  2  Holden Racing Team		  Mark Skaife / Garth Tander	  VZ  3  Tasman Motorsport		   Jason Richards / Andrew Jones   VZ  4  Jeld-Wen Motorsport		 James Courtney / Glenn Seton	BA  5  Ford Performance Racing	 Matthew Halliday / David BrabhamBA  6  Ford Performance Racing	 Mark Winterbottom / Jason BrightBA  7  Jack Daniel's Racing		Steven Richards / Paul Dumbrell VZ  8  WPS						 Max Wilson / David Besnard	  BA 10  WPS						 Jason Bargwanna / Craig Baird   BA 11  Jack Daniel's Racing		Shane Price / Jack Perkins	  VZ 12  Team BOC					Dale Brede / Mark Porter		BA 14  Team BOC					John Bowe / Brad Jones		  BA 15  Toll HSV Dealer Team		Rick Kelly / Todd Kelly		 VZ 16  Toll HSV Dealer Team		Anthony Tratt / Tony D/Alberto  VZ 17  FirstRock Home Loans		Steven Johnson / Will Davison   BA 18  APVC Racing				 Alex Davison / Grant Denyer	 BA 20  Glenfords Racing			Marcus Marshall / Jonathan Webb BA 21  Team Kiwi Racing			Paul Radisich / Fabian CoulthardVZ 22  Holden Racing Team		  Jim Richards / Ryan Briscoe	 VZ 23  Tasman Motorsport		   Mark Noske / Owen Kelly		 VZ 25  Fujitsu Racing			  Warren Luff / Adam Macrow	   BA 26  Fujitsu Racing			  Jose Fernandez / Tony RicciardelBA 33  Repco Valvoline Cummins TeamGreg Ritter / Cameron McLean	VZ 34  Repco Valvoline Cummins TeamLee Holdsworth / Dean Canto	 VZ 39  Team Sirromet Wines		 Alan Gurr / Kayne Scott		 VZ 50  SuperCheap Auto Racing	  Nathan Pretty / Paul Weel	   VZ 51  SuperCheap Auto Racing	  Greg Murphy / Cameron McConvilleVZ 55  Autobarn Racing			 Steve Owen / Tony Longhurst	 VZ 67  Team Sirromet Wines		 Paul Morris / Steve Ellery	  VZ 88  Team Betta Electrical	   Richard Lyons / Allan Simonsen  BA 888 Team Betta Electrical	   Craig Lowndes / Jamie Whincup   BA

Some interesting lineups there for sure.

More info:

Hardy Brothers Jewellers, makers of the Melbourne Cup and the only Australian company to hold the Royal Warrant, have been commissioned by V8 Supercars Australia to produce the Peter Brock Trophy.

V8 Supercars Australia today announced Hardy Brothers Jewellers had been commissioned with the honour of designing and manufacturing the perpetual Peter Brock Trophy which will be awarded to the winners of next month’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and beyond.

Hardy Brothers Jewellers have been given a design brief for a Trophy that is destined to become one of Australia’s most cherished and legendary sporting prizes. It will be named the “Peter Brock Trophy” and underscored with the words “King of the Mountain”.

“This trophy is all about Peter, his legendary feats at Mount Panorama, those who have tried and failed, all of the incredible moments this race has provided and those who have and will claim victory,” V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane said today.

“Hardy Brothers Jewellers is the right choice for the enormous task of getting this Trophy produced in such a short period of time and ensuring that it is fitting, spectacular, unique and very special.”

Stuart Bishop, Hardy Brothers Jewellers CEO, said it was a great honour for his company to manufacture the Trophy in honour of Peter Brock.

”For many years Hardy Brothers Jewellers have been proud supporters of iconic Australian sporting competitions, providing the nation with the Melbourne Cup for the past twenty-six years and more recently, restoring the once coveted Sheffield Shield,” Mr Bishop said.

“It is my pleasure to accept the task of creating a new sports award for V8 Supercars Australia in honour of the much loved Peter Brock.

“The Perpetual Trophy will be made by our very own silversmiths and will involve 200 hours of craftsmanship for the 2,000g Sterling Silver trophy valued at an insured amount of $75,000.

“I would like to thank V8 Supercars Australia for the opportunity to immortalise one of Australia’s best sportsmen and create an accolade for future Kings of the Mountain to come.”

It is planned that the Trophy will be escorted to Bathurst on the Thursday prior to the race and then unveiled to the public and the media on Friday October 6. The public will have the chance to see the Trophy at designated public viewing hours on Friday and Saturday at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

An excellent tribute. Even as a Ford fan, having the Brock Trophy for winning Bathurst is perfect

Further to this:

V8 Supercars Australia will dedicate the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 to Peter Brock with the permanent trophy that all drivers will aspire to win and walk in the footsteps of the great man. It will be etched with the words Peter Brock Trophy and underscored with ‘King of the Mountain’.

A designer is being commissioned to create the trophy for this year’s event after which the inaugural winners’ names will be inscribed.

The front row of the starting grid in 2006 will also be left vacant as a dedication to his achievements at Mount Panorama. Brock still holds the record for the most pole positions with six starts from number one on the grid.

All V8 Supercars competing at the event will also be supplied with 05 decals, the number that Peter Brock raced in that was retired by the sport in 1997, to apply to their cars.

“This is a great honour for our family and we deeply appreciate it,” said Lewis Brock, brother of the great racer.

The Peter Brock trophy will be the culmination of a day that will celebrate the life of Peter Brock. Race day will begin with an extensive tribute at the place, Mount Panorama, where the Peter Brock legend was fashioned.

“We want to do what we feel is most appropriate and with the full support of Peter’s family,” V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane said.

“One of the things that we are very conscious of is that Peter would not have wanted any changes made to the format of the Great Race as first and foremost he was a fierce competitor.

“By naming the trophy we forever honour his name. I dare say that no-one will ever match his record at Mount Panorama so there is no more fitting tribute than for the winners of the race to be afforded the honour.”

V8 Supercars Australia is attempting to source as many of the cars that Peter Brock won with on the mountain for a Champions Lap of Honour.

It is hoped the cars will be driven by Peter Brock’s son James, former co-drivers Brian Sampson, Jim Richards, Larry Perkins, John Harvey, David Parsons and Peter McLeod, based on their availability.

Present day drivers Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes, childhood prodigies of their hero and mentor, will also be invited to drive in the parade depending on the availability of cars and former co-drivers.

The Champions Lap of Honour will be driven at low speed to give fans time to reflect and say a final farewell.

This will be followed by a special homily to be delivered by V8 Supercars Australia Chaplain Gary Coleman followed by a minutes silence as a mark of respect.

Iva Davies, an Australia icon in his own right, will then perform his version of ‘Heroes’ to a montage of footage featuring the life and times of Peter Brock.

This will be followed by the national anthem, the formation of the grid and the start of the 2006 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 at 10.00am.





An outline of the Peter Brock Tribute on Sunday October 8 is as follows:

9.00am: A ‘Gathering on the Grid’ of family and close friends

9.02am: Champion’s Lap of Honour commences

9.22am: Chaplain’s Address

9.24am: One minute’s silence

9.25am: ‘Heroes’ performed by Iva Davies

9.30am: V8 Supercars form in pit lane

9.35am: Australian national anthem

9.40am: Pit exit opens

9.45am: Cars assemble on the grid

10.00am: The Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000





The nine cars that Peter Brock drove to Bathurst wins were:

1972: Holden Torana LJ XU1 (500km race)

1975: Holden Torana L34 with Brian Sampson

1978: Holden Torana A9X with Jim Richards

1979: Holden Torana A9X with Jim Richards

1980: Holden Commodore VC with Jim Richards

1982: Holden Commodore VH with Larry Perkins

1983: Holden Commodore VH with Larry Perkins and John Harvey

1984: Holden Commodore VK with Larry Perkins

1987: Holden Commodore VL with David Parsons and Peter McLeod

[Ultra150]

Even though coverage here in the states sucks, JForce nailed it. This racetrack is one of the best on the planet. If someone knows how I can see the race live over the internet, please share the info.

[JForce]

Originally posted by Ultra150
Even though coverage here in the states sucks, JForce nailed it. This racetrack is one of the best on the planet. If someone knows how I can see the race live over the internet, please share the info.

It's an absolute crime that there's wonderful footage available online. Live, multiple cameras, telemetry, live timing etc.

And it's only available to certain ISP subscribers. If it was pay-per-view the uptake would be huge. I've never understood the stupid restriction.

[repcobrabham]

heh, butterflies in the stomach! only 13 sleeps to go...

it's funny that even though i gradually lost interest in aussie touring cars since the end of group C, bathurst still gets me excited. even in these generic times, the track produces such excellent racing and drama. last year was the first race i'd watched in eons and it created incredible moments like ambrose v murphy, lowndes getting a tyre in the windscreen... JF is right about the coverage too. didn't channel 7 invent racecam?

also, it's gonna be awesome seeing all the brockmobiles in formation: original XU-1, privateer L34, record-breaking A9X (the sexiest car ever to win bathurst, i reckon), big banger VK...

i'll defo be parked up on the couch for this one.

[kamix]

It's streamed live on www.bigpond.com but as JForce said you have to use one of their IP adresses to connect. I believe if you can find a telstra proxy server and you buy a pay per use dialup plan for login and password you may get it to work.

[mark f1]

Tried to get to it with a Bigpond ID and password last year from out of Australia, but it only allows you to get in if you are in Australia......

Mark

[repcobrabham]

how dumb is that?

[kamix]

Yeah you need a Telstra (or one of their sub divisions) IP address. If I had enough bandwidth I'd let you guys VPN through my PC but sadly I don't.

[Alfisti]

Great first post.

I miss this event more than any other. A sad year so i'd love to see it live. I have now seen Bathurst 27 years running, I turn 30 the day after the race. That says it all.

Go the General.

[polaris]

yeh me 2 great post.

Like many that ply a trade abroad I will miss it too. Hell I had to put up with only an inet radio broadcast of the afl FINAL LAST YEAR! Aus does not do well in advertising itself overseas but spends millions on dicks to try to do it for em when all aus needs to do is let people see the real things that are going on

I hope to see the v8s in bahrain in Nov at least....YEAH!

[JForce]

Pfft. No one else in the world would bother watching AFL, so why broadcast it?

But anyway, I have the day planned. Beer organised, am thinking about moving the BBQ inside if the mrs will let me But don't like my chances. Got some mates coming over, told the fiance to be out of the house by 10:30, and not to return till 7pm. So God willing it will be a day of little talking, and much enjoyment

[GregAU]

Prick Kelly's name is mis-spelt in the drivers standings.

EDIT: OMG at the corporate sponser renamings of all the corners of the track!!!

Great race but this series has become a total corporate sellout.

[JForce]

Originally posted by GregAU
Prick Kelly's name is mis-spelt in the drivers standings.

EDIT: OMG at the corporate sponser renamings of all the corners of the track!!!

Great race but this series has become a total corporate sellout.

But that's a typical racing circular argument. The reason there are so many sponsors is because it's so popular.
And the beauty of this kind of series is that you can keep a lid on costs to a certain extent.

I'd be very suprised if hell corner is referred to as Sanyo corner etc during race coverage. Crompton and the guys are all professionals, but they're also not idiots and so I would imagine the standard names will stick. Besides, unless I'm wrong, this could be their last Bathurst for a long time so why bother.

[smithy]

Originally posted by JForce
But anyway, I have the day planned. Beer organised, am thinking about moving the BBQ inside if the mrs will let me But don't like my chances. Got some mates coming over, told the fiance to be out of the house by 10:30, and not to return till 7pm. So God willing it will be a day of little talking, and much enjoyment

All you need now is a Scalectrix recreation of the rack (mountain included) and your day will be complete!

[Beej]

Looking forward to it as per normal. Same there isnt the UK known drivers in it this year such as John Cleland, Yvan Muller and Jason Plato. I remeber watching it a couple of years ago with said drivers in it and it gave me something extra to support. Will still enjoy the race though.

[ClubmanGT]

An article I wrote for our University magazine this year. Please forgive the terrible spelling, this draft is the only copy I have left:

Bathurst, NSW is a sneaky little town about two and a half hours drive north-east from Sydney. Big enough for the usual splattering of fast food restaurants; KFC, Red Rooster and even our old friend, Eagle Boys Pizza. It has pools and various other things you’d expect in a town with a population of 30,000. However, this town has one rather interesting turn off that is well worth exploring. Turn left at the roundabout at the end of the main road in Bathurst and you’re on one of the most spectacular race tracks in the world. And being a public road, you can drive your family wagon on it. And that’s exactly what I did.

History;
Mt Panorama is home to the Bathurst 1000, the endurance V8 Supercar race that sees 150,000 fans drawn to mountain to watch the Holdens and Fords do battle for 161 laps. It also hosts other meetings throughout the years and has a fairly notorious reputation as a motorbike circuit. The track is a mighty 6.2km long; Pukekohe Raceway is around 2km. It is also worth mentioning that a lap of the track involves a climb up Mt Panorama and then racing back down towards the township, hitting speeds of almost 300Kmh.



The track has been in place since 1937, and has only had one really major modification; the addition of the Caltex chase to slow the cars down on Conrod straight, which was at that stage, 2km long. Bathurst is the playground of the V8 Supercars and the Endurance 24 racers. The Bathurst 1000 used to be the jewel in the crown of the Australian Touring Car Championship, and many European marques have raced in the toughest touring car race in the world. BMW, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and of course, the infamous Nissan Skyline all contested Bathurst crowns. The all-singing all-dancing R32 Skyline, dubbed ‘Godzilla’ was simply too good for the Holdens and Fords, which were unable to compete with the four-wheel-steer, all-wheel-drive and massive horsepower of the technologically advanced Nissans. The amazing power and the ability of the four-wheel-drive system do deliver it to the ground meant that the Skyline had better traction off corners and more grunt in a straight line.

In 1992, the weather was so bad that the race was abandoned, Jim Richards and Mark Skaife crashing out before the red flag was hung. The highest placed circulating car was Dick Johnson’s Sierra Cosworth and the fans thought he had won. However, the results are taken from the last completed lap before the flag went out, and the Skyline of Skaife and Richards were declared the winners. The fans booed them during the podium proceedings and threw full beer cans at the drivers (You know Australians are pissed off when they are prepared to part with booze to make a point). Jim Richards, a Kiwi, when asked if he had anything to say to the fans simply replied “I just want to say you’re a pack of bastards!” Richards’ comment was met with more beer cans and the rules were re-written so that the Skyline with all its wizardry was no longer able to compete. Much like the ICC changed the rules of the game for Muralitharan, the Australian motorsport body banned the car they could not beat.

The 1992 race also saw the passing of New Zealand’s only F1 World Champion, Denny Hulme; while powering down Conrod Straight he suffered a massive heart attack, but had the foresight to slow his car to a halt before he died; thus avoiding any carnage on the fastest part of the track.

First impressions;

Previous to my NSW excursion, the closest I got to Mt Panorama was V8 Supercars on my Playstation 2. Let me say now that in no way does it reflect the nature of the track. I doubt there will be a console in the next ten years with the power to accurately recreate the daunting nature of Mt Panorama.

Our weapon of choice for our speed-limit laps was a Subaru Forester. Not exactly a car with Bathurst pedigree, but I would be thankful for the all-wheel-drive and low-end torque later. As we turned onto the main straight, the first thing you notice is that the track slopes down to the first corner. On many games I have played, this was not the case. The first corner, Hell Corner, is taken at around 100Kmh on a flying lap. The track is on public roads, meaning you can drive around it all you want as long as you obey the road rules and the speed limit, which is 60 Kmh. As we rounded Hell and looked up Mountain Straight, two things occurred to me. Firstly, this is a very very steep track. Secondly, the road is incredibly narrow; the track would have been only two and a half times the width of our car. Combining this with the fact that cars hit 250Kmh on Mountain Straight, my respect for the drivers who have tackled the track over the years was much improved.

At the end of Mountain Straight is Griffins. Quite simply, if you don’t pull up in time, you end up in someone’s driveway or in the wall. The climb continues to get steeper and you work your way up to where Greg Murphy and Marcus Ambrose had their infamous tangle in 2005. How Ambrose thought he could get another car in there is totally beyond me. There is simply no room at 60Kmh, let alone 150Kmh…



It was along the same piece of road in the same race that a wheel smashed through the windscreen of Craig Lowndes’ Ford. It is also the narrowest part of the track and not a nice place to be without any visibility.

After the sweat-inducing sharp cambered turn at the Cutting, you still climb upwards, reaching Reid Park….



…heading towards the highest part of the track. There is simply no run off area until you read McPhillamy Park, where you get a generous 20m of gravel to slow you from 180Kmh before you hit the fence…

The view from the track at McPhillamy Park is incredible. Looking back towards Sydney, you can see the blue haze from which the Blue Mountains derive their name. The reason for the haze is apparently a mix of Eucalyptus tree gum being heated and then chemically reacting with Koala farts. You learn something new every day.

From Skyline you make your way through a tight twisty series of corners that drop down back towards the valley below. As you pass through the Dipper and the Esses you realise the apexes of the corners are not simply in sequence; the cars take quite a bit of muscling to get through here. You have to be quick though as your approach Forest Elbow, a tight left-hander which opens out to the fastest part of the circuit, Conrod Straight. The first half of the straight continues the descent from the mountain, and then it rises again and levels out before descending once more on the approach to Caltex Chase. At braking-point for Caltex, cars are usually pulling around about 297Kmh. You slam on the brakes after the kink on the straight and you try and pull up for the Chase, which has its apex over a blind brow. You really have to be halfway around the corner before you know whether your line is right or you will go spearing off into the expanse of gravel that awaits. It was here where Peter Brock suffered his enormous roll-over accident in one of his last appearances at the Mountain. From the chase you accelerate back towards the township, pulling up and turning left at Murray’s Corner and put your foot down as you head back on the main straight.

My Lap;
I was in a strange car on a strange road, with a speed limit that I religiously obeyed. The track seemed even narrowed still when I was driving, and I will admit to holding my breath as the car dropped down in to the appropriately named ‘Dipper’….



I only had a real crack at one corner, the Chase. The apex is well and truly hidden but I think I hit it well enough and I got away cleanly out the other end (with the four-wheel-drive system well and truly proving its worth). I dropped gears in the right places but cruised in top gear at 60Kmh, just for the experience…you make a lot of gear changes on one lap…I would have counted but I was too busy kakking myself. It’s amazingly hard to keep left and follow the road rules; you are constantly tempted to power in to corners and hit every apex, even though you would technically be crossing the centreline on any other road. The cops sit in the driveways waiting for boy-racers to flash past. We crawl around, the Forester felt sluggish and I wasn’t exactly about to throw it around for fear of putting it in the wall on in the face of someone coming the other way. Imagine explaining that one to the travel insurance agency!

Right after Mountain straight, you can see where the track has been carved in to the side of the mountain; either side of the walls is either a massive drop or a large rock-face. But after two laps, I had had enough. I was expecting a fluent, possibly more open and expansive track; much like I’d driven on my PS2. What I experienced was corner after corner in rapid succession with sod-all margin for error, even at 60Kmh. I was constantly looking around for Kangaroos; Jim Richards’ race ended here after an encounter with possibly one of the more civilized locals in 2004. In the end, my paranoia tired me out. I parked the car on the front straight, on grid position number one, and got out. Did I fancy doing 160 more laps? Not today. Maybe some other time…

[crYnOid]

For those who need a reminder about what Bathurst looks like,have a look at this.

[Moanaman]

Still love seeing that map of Murph's.

[JForce]

Murph's lap is one of those motorsport laps that gives me goosebumps.....it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Yes he's a kiwi etc, but to see a car and driver combine to such a level, on any track, and just pull of something so incredibly special, is simply amazing.

There are laps that Schumi's done, or others etc, and the commentators know it's special, and you know you're watching history. It's one of those laps. Listening to the commentators, and then the whole field coming out to clap, simply awesome

[V8 Fireworks]

31 cars entered in the championship series and 40 cars entered for the fujitsu. That makes a total of 71 V8s on the mountain.

A grand total of ..... 31 championship cars in possession of the $2m franchise licenses will start the 1000 and the others shall only contest sprint races.

[repcobrabham]

i was a devotee as a kid, but the brockmania is already starting to get on my nerves; even by commercial network standards, ch10 are hopelessly unsubtle...

[LB]

Originally posted by JForce
Murph's lap is one of those motorsport laps that gives me goosebumps.....it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Yes he's a kiwi etc, but to see a car and driver combine to such a level, on any track, and just pull of something so incredibly special, is simply amazing.

There are laps that Schumi's done, or others etc, and the commentators know it's special, and you know you're watching history. It's one of those laps. Listening to the commentators, and then the whole field coming out to clap, simply awesome

He actually missed a gear going through the dipper too! but what a lap that is!

[repcobrabham]

Originally posted by V8 Fireworks
A grand total of ..... 31 championship cars in possession of the $2m franchise licenses will start the 1000 and the others shall only contest sprint races.

heh, no sooner do i complain about the brockfest than add fuel to the fire. i was fortunate enough to interview him (over the phone) a couple of days before he went to goodwood and this is what he had to say on the topic:

There should be a relegation system, I believe: if you’re coming up the ranks of the development series then you should be able to swap places with the last couple of teams in the main game. I see no reason why that can’t happen, but I’m not on a committee… and the guys who are, are there because they’re the largest competitors and the strongest and they’re going to argue that they’ve got to protect their investment.

i'm sure he aired those sentiments elsewhere previously - and we were talking about SV8 in general, not specifically bathurst - but i didn't use that par so thought i'd share it here.

mind you, i remember when guys running around in corollas or what have you would clog up the race... it's just about impossible to get the right balance.

LB: i read somewhere that murph's gear mistake (selecting first instead of third, i think) actually set him up for conrod! wouldn't want to do it every lap of an enduro, tho'...

[SchuOz]

Qualifying starts in 45mins.
Go Skaifey !

[bystander31]

really huge smash in the support race. did you see the drivers side door on porters car? its smashed right in...

[Ultra150]

Originally posted by SchuOz
Qualifying starts in 45mins.
Go Skaifey !

[repcobrabham]

trying to find live timing (at work), official website doesn't seem to have the function... anybody?

[clipper]

read on the news.com.au website that session might be on hold due to the porter crash?????

anybody?

[windsok]

Its been delayed an hour so far, but it looks like it will start soon.

[Punt]

I doubt that qualifying will start any time soon. That crash in the support race is bad - Very bad, both drivers were airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.

[repcobrabham]

yup, one has head injuries and the other went into cardiac arrest; don't know which is which, but you could assume porter is the former and clark the latter.

news.com.au claim to have footage of the incident, but it's been "downloading" on my computer for 10-15 mins... anyone got a first-world connection?

[optics]

Originally posted by repcobrabham
yup, one has head injuries and the other went into cardiac arrest; don't know which is which, but you could assume porter is the former and clark the latter.

news.com.au claim to have footage of the incident, but it's been "downloading" on my computer for 10-15 mins... anyone got a first-world connection?

It looks terrible . The impact was right into the drivers door of Porter's car at very high speed.

[kamix]

Jeeze the Aussie media are bloodthirsty these days. I was just watching telly and in the ad for the news they showed a preview of the crash and said something like "see the whole crash in fullscreen colour tonight". :

[Exar Kun]

ninemsn have a video of the crash. It really wasn't nice. Any time a driver is stranded in the middle of the track you just hope the worst doesn't happen. Unfortunately this time it did.

Bill Woods said on the news that both were airlifted to hospital in critical condition but that's all the news they have. Bloody hope they're alright.

[ClubmanGT]

Both were unconscious when rescue teams arrived.

Porter was removed using the jaws of line and was administered CPR. It took ten minutes to remove him from the wreckage. It is being reported he suffered a heart 'attack' in the broadest sense of the word.

[crYnOid]

Here is the crash.

[Chris G.]

Originally posted by crYnOid
Here is the crash.

Hoping for the best for both drivers.


Is that video slowed down? Didn't seem as bad as I expected from news accounts.

[Psychoman]

Ouch... drivers-side on drivers-side... hope for the best there

[Falcadore]

It's being reported now that David Clark is off life support and has regained consciousness. The news of Porter is however still grim.

[Dudley]

Originally posted by Chris G.


Hoping for the best for both drivers.


Is that video slowed down? Didn't seem as bad as I expected from news accounts.

It's one of those ones that doesn't look bad, but is because it's driver's door to driver's door.

Of course the solution to this would simply be to mod the cars to the driver is central, and there's no reason not to.

[confucius]

Did Crompton drop the C word during qualifying...?

"...when the big ****s..er big guns come out"

[Falcadore]

It didn't look bad but think on this. Mark Porter's car is an ex-Paul Morris Motorsport car. After Morris' Oran Park grid shunt a few years back, the PMM team have been a bit paranoid in vehicle construction. Their intrusion bars are noticeably stronger than most.

And the impact pushed them in by as much as two feet.





confuscious - I thought so too. Cromley has been suffering badly from the flu this week, but it's no excuse.

[Moanaman]

SKAIFE OUT ON THE FIRST LAP!!!!

[FLB]

Is there a way for a poor (not that) old North American bloke to follow the race via the 'Net (webradio, streaming, live timing & scoring, etc.) ?

[mrudewyc]

For those who want to try streaming, here is a link

mms://wm9.streaming.telstra.com/UCS-wh_V8supe0live2

I am not on Telstra Bigpond (but I'm located in Australia) and it works.

You will need a connection greater than 1.5mbit down.

[crYnOid]

Bright's engine is stuffed.

S Johnson just put his car in the wall.

J Richards put his car in the wall before that.

Some strange tyre delaminating going on.

[Moanaman]

Originally posted by mrudewyc
For those who want to try streaming, here is a link

mms://wm9.streaming.telstra.com/UCS-wh_V8supe0live2

Works for me in NZ About 30 seconds behind the live coverage

[kamix]

Nice link mrudewyc. Btw can I suggest using their/there/they're in your sig.

[Riker!]

HRT out awwwwwww whatta shame

[HighTower]

There is live timing avalible through the V8supercar site but you have to register. And they don't do online registration only by post or fax! and can only be processed pre race weekend! Obviously got enough local fans and not interested in creating interest elsewhere!