Full Throttle

Take a look at the following statements, do any of them sound familiar considering all the uproar over NASCAR rule changes in the last two years.

• The rule change “will further erode the fundamental philosophy of racing by rewarding mediocrity ahead of class.”
• “In the name of improving ‘the show,’” the sanctioning body will…
• “Drivers have universally criticized the point-scoring system…”
• The rules change “has shown how far the elements of sport have already been compromised in the name of a “good show”.
• “The already blurred line between sport and entertainment is closer to being totally erased…”

Those words could have been written by any one of thousands of fans on blogs and NASCAR forums related to the Chase format and other changes seen in recent years.

In fact they are noted in an article by Peter Krupka on rules changes slated to take effect in Australia’s V8 Supercar Series. That series just concluded it’s ‘05 season with NASCAR future star Marcos Ambrose - nick named Devil Racer - winning the event and Ford teammate Russell Ingall taking the Championship.

In short this is what rule change will entail: The driver who finishes first in the opening race of a weekend - normally a 100km event - will start at the back of the grid in the second. “The ‘reward’ for being the best in race one is you start last in the grid in race two. All grid positions for race two will be in reverse order.” The third race will start in the order of the second race result.

To put this in perspective, this isn’t your local Saturday night bull ring that inverts the top ten for the feature. These events typically start over 30 cars each event so a winner of race one must fight his way through at least 29 others to capture a second win.

This has also required a change in points awarded. For the events that hold three races - New Zealand, Perth, Shanghai, Darwin, Oran Park, Surfers Paradise, Bahrain, Tasmania and Phillip Island - 320 points are available each round with 128 going to the race winner in the first and third races and 64 for the winner of the second race.

All of which raises a question, but first consider this quote:

“The introduction of the reverse grid is designed to create more interesting racing and increase the great spectacle of the sport that has been largely responsible for our continued growth,” said V8 Supercars Australia CEO Wayne Cattach.

Place yourself in the position of a race one winner. That places you in 34^th and last on the grid for race two. You know 128 points have been added to your seasonal total but an all out bonzai run through the field will only result in gaining 64 more points. All at the risk of crashing out and receiving much less.

So what do you do, take the risk and go for the win and “create more interesting racing?” Or be prudent, race safe take what you can, then pass the rest during the third event when more points are on offer?

I’m no mind reader, but I bet the majority of V8 drivers won’t be risking too much during their second event on many Sundays.

Cross Posted @ Asian MotorSports Blog

NASCAR, V8 Super Car series, Auto racing, Sports

Stone Brothers Racing driver Russell Ingall is celebrating his maiden V8 Supercar championship after a fifth place in the final race at the Grand Finale at Phillip Island was enough to hold out challenger Craig Lowndes on Sunday.

Teammate Marcos Ambrose took out the final round, but it was Ingall who finished the year with the championship on 1922 points, 57 points ahead of Lowndes on 1865, with Ambrose nine points further back on 1856 to make it a Ford trifecta.

Holden then took the next five places with Todd Kelly third on 1780 points ahead of Mark Skaife on 1754 and Garth Tander on 1734.

With a 49-point lead over Lowndes heading into the final race, Ingall had the freedom to finish in the top 19 to take the victory.

Any chance Lowndes had all but disappeared when he was penalised for having a loose wheel nut in the racing section of pit lane.

Ingall had to endure being the runner-up in four championships seasons before clinching his first on Sunday, and the Ford driver was having difficulty believing the dream had finally come true.

“I’m still sort of pinching myself,” Ingall told Channel 10. “When I was driving around on that last lap, I still couldn’t believe it.”

Ingall dedicated the victory to the late Barry Sheene who was instrumental in getting him into Stone Brothers racing.

“Good old Barry Sheene, this is one of his favourite places and I could just picture him up on the hill going ‘you beauty, Russ’, so this is for you Baz,” he said.

Ambrose bid farewell to the V8 Supercars in the best possible fashion as he prepares to head to the US and NASCAR next year.

Ambrose won both races on Sunday to take the round, with Holden’s Tander claiming second, and Rick Kelly third.

1. Russell Ingall (Ford) 1922
2. Craig Lowndes (Ford) 1865
3. Marcus Ambrose (Ford) 1856
4. Todd Kelly (Holden) 1780
5. Mark Skaife (Holden) 1754
6. Garth Tander (Holden) 1734
7. Steven Richards (Holden) 1669
8. Rick Kelly (Holden) 1630
9. Jason Bright (Ford) 1566
10. Cameron McConville (Holden) 1501

Cross Posted @ Asian MotorSports Blog

V8 Supercars, Auto Racing, Sports

VODAFONE are set to end their five-year sponsorship of Ferrari.

In the same week they cut their ties with Manchester United they are poised to quit the ex Formula One champions at the end of next season and make a

Former world rally champion Richard Burns has died after a long battle with a brain tumour, aged 34.

Burns, the only Englishman to win the championship, underwent brain surgery to remove a tumour in April. Burns died in London’s Wellington hospital with family and close friends at his bedside. He had been in a coma for some days.

Burns’ last race was in 2003 while leading the championship. He was forced to stop racing after passing out at the wheel of his car while travelling to the Wales Rally GB.

Burns won the championship in 2001 and enjoyed numerous battles with his rival Colin McRae, the only other Briton to win the world rally championship. By a sad coincidence, his death came on the fourth anniversary of his championship win with Subaru in 2001.

An official statement released said: “From the outset Richard knew the odds were heavily against him and yet he fought his illness with bravery and good humour. Having undergone both chemotherapy and radiotherapy he was able to leave hospital in summer 2004.

“For a while his health showed signs of improvement but then after six months it once again began to decline. Determined not to give up, he opted for surgery earlier this year. This alleviated some of the symptoms of his illness and enabled him to remain active.

“At Castle Combe in August he attended a parade of the rally cars he drove throughout his career and was touched by the warmth of the reception he received. However there was to be no miracle and in recent days he lapsed into a coma.

“The date of a memorial service will be announced shortly.”

For those interested the BBC has posted a photo essay of Burns WRC career.

FIA World Rally, Auto Racing, Sports

Craig Lowndes has increased the pressure on points leader Russell Ingall by winning the top 10 shootout at this weekend’s season-ending V8 round at Philip Island.

Lowndes is 49 points behind Ingall on the standings and showed he will be one of the leading contenders with a scorching lap of one minute 33.2826 seconds to pip Marcos Ambrose (1:33.2884) while Jason Bright (1:33.407) was third-quickest as the Fords dominated on the Holden test track.

Ingall was ninth quickest in a time of 1:33.8626 in his Falcon and would secure the title if he finishes eighth or better in all three races.

Earlier in Saturday qualifying, Greg Murphy was fastest in qualifying, ahead of Bright and Lowndes. Ingall snuck into the shootout by qualifying 10th-best.

In Saturday’s 100km event Craig Lowndes took victory in the first of this weekend’s three races for the BigPond Grand Finale after a daring move to take the lead from Marcos Ambrose.

Lowndes and Ambrose jumped a fast starting Garth Tander who had powered past both at the start, although the Tasmanian round winner was able to make position back on Ambrose as the 23 lap race neared its end as the reigning champ suffered from a flat spotted rear.

Russell Ingall meanwhile drove a strong race, keeping out of trouble, although the dicing cars of Todd Kelly and Steven Richards collecting each other ahead gave him cause for concern as he drove to fifth place, Rick Kelly having cemented a strong HSV Dealer Team, backing up Tander’s second with a fourth.

V8 Supercar, Auto Raving, Sports

TORONTO (November 21, 2005)

A1 Grand Prix has announced its viewership through its first 5 events is averaging 8 million per event, an increase of 2 million that watched the inaugural event at Silverstone.

In an effort to increase market penetration they announced they’re also in final negotiations with OLN in the USA. When finalized the addition of OLN will give access to more than 65 million USA households.

In addition to the USA, recent deals have included broadcasting arrangements in the Ukraine, Uruguay and France. A1GP is also in final negotiations with a major sports broadcast outlet in Japan.

Cross Posted @ A1GP Blog

A1 Grand Prix, Auto Racing, Sports

And you all thought the holiday weekend would be short of racing action. You just have to know where to look.

This weekend brings the final event for the V8 SuperCars at Phillip Island Victoria. And as luck would have it, the track sits smack in the middle of Holden country (GM) - it’s Holden’s test track - and the three that remain in Championship contention are all Ford pilots.

Russell Ingall, Craig Lowndes and Marcos Ambrose are entering the last round first through third in points in one of the closest points battles in Series history. Ambrose is shooting for his third straight Series title before heding off to the States. It has been announced he will be joining the Woods Brothers of NASCAR fame and will run a Ford 150 in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2006.

If the Ford teams expect to do well they will have to break with past history, Holden has won seven of the past 10 rounds at Phillip Island. The manufacturers’ title is also up for grabs with Ford and Holden on six rounds each.

Practice begins at Phillip Island on Friday at 1.00pm with a two-hour session. Qualifying, the Top 10 Shootout and a 100-kilometre race will be held on Saturday before two 140-kilometre races complete the 2005 season on Sunday.

V8 SuperCars, Auto Racing, Sports, NASCAR

It’s been generally accepted the NASCAR “off season” is about six weeks or so before testing starts for the new year. No more it would seem. With so many drivers jumping ship, or being pushed, and landing in new rides this “off season” has lasted less than a week for at least one driver.

A Kentucky Speedway schedule shows that two NASCAR Nextel Cup drivers are expected to test at the track.

Dave Blaney is scheduled to test in the No. 22 Bill Davis Racing Dodge on Wednesday. Blaney is expected to be named as driver of the car driven by Scott Wimmer in 2005. BDR released Wimmer in October.

Also, Jeff Green is scheduled to test Dec. 7 and 8 in the No. 0 Haas CNC Racing Chevrolet. No official announcement has been made, but Green is expected to drive the No. 0 entry in 2006. Mike Bliss was released from his contract to drive the No. 0 in October.

It looks like both those rumors are well on the way to reality doesn’t it?

It also looks like NASCAR’s “off season” has gone the way of Holly Farms as a sponsor and Pure Oil Co. providing the “official racing gas” for the circuit. History.

NASCAR, Auto Racing, Sports

I must admit I haven’t heard anything previously about plans for a new racetrack located in New Jersey. That’s not to say I know everything, or attempt to. But with the amount of racing related newsfeeds and blogs I read it surprises me that something about the project hadn’t caught my eye.

Plans look to be well on the way to reality. In fact the “planners” say they only have “one more roadblock to clear and it’s off to the races for the N.J. Motorsports Park.” That roadblock is the Federal Aviation Administration. It must approve the release of land at the Millville Airport for the $100 million park.

They have dealt with the two “show stoppers” and biggest obstacles to any project this size. The environmentalists. City officials, the developers and environmental groups are in agreement on plans that help “protect wildlife” while allowing the motorsports park to move forward. And they have resolved another major sticking point, noise levels, by having “a buffer zone between the park and residential neighbors, and the noise level has been capped by the city at 80 decibels.”

How often does that happen? At least not without years of courtroom time.

But I see a major problem with the project as outlined.

It’s an ambitious plan with phase one - construction of which could begin in March - to include the 4.1-mile Thunderbolt Raceway, a go-kart track, a Tudor-style clubhouse, driver training facilities, tennis courts and a swimming pool. Hotels, restaurants and track side villas would come in later phases.

Track side villas? But I digress.

Do you see the problem I see? Maybe not, it’s hidden in a little New Jersey bias and frankly I haven’t told the entire story yet. Obviously at 4.1 miles in length the plans call for a road course. That alone is problematic as it would require NASCAR to add a third date for a road course event in an already jammed schedule.

But fear not motorsports fans, they have planned for that as well.

Some residents have been concerned that the motorsports park would be a NASCAR-type track, which would attract enormous crowds. Rest assured, it isn’t. Thunderbolt Raceway is excepted to attract an upscale crowd of racing enthusiasts who own Porsches and Ferraris and have extra cash to spend on entertainment and shopping.

Get the picture now? These grand schemers and residents of Millville don’t feel the need for that riff-raff from down South. They’re only concerned about courting the effete elite. The Porsche and Ferrari owners, complete with ostrich skin driving gloves, a never ending desire for “villas” and lounging around “Tudor-style” clubhouses while sipping Zima and sucking down Buluga whale caviar.

Kind of like a orange coned gymkhana track in a Wal-Mart parking lot, on steriods!

As a result these mental midgets want to toss away 100 million large on a 4.1 mile circuit - a length twice the size of most road courses - aimed at a target audience that may be smaller than that of the entire city of Las Vegas or Los Angles!

I’d root the the FAA to retain possession of the required land, but these schemers would just find another rathole to stick $100 million dollars into.

NASCAR, Auto racing, Sports