Who are the top 10 Australasian racing drivers of today and all time?

[henk4]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

well henk, i was going to put Alan Jones on there, but i decided that Mark webber to me is a better driver, plus i dont know anythign about Alan Jones oher than he drove in the turbo era and won in 1980

He won the title in a Cosworth powered Williams FW07, and his only involvement in the turbo years was with the US backed but lamentable Beatrice project. He was lured out of retirement in 1986 to do so but decided to walk away from the car as it was undriveable.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

the thread isnt specifying we choose who we think are the 10 best world known australasian drivers, just who we think are the 10 best from this region

What I was trying to say is that I never heard of the man. I suppose that it's only the best Australasian drivers who make it on a global scale, but of course there can always be those who decide to limit the demonstration of their talents in their home countries only.

[fpv_gtho]

did Glen Seton and Wayne Gardner make a big thing out of going to japan or something....i remember Gardner's spent time behind the wheel of i believe its a JGTC Supra

[fpv_gtho]

Originally Posted by henk4

What I was trying to say is that I never heard of the man. I suppose that it's only the best Australasian drivers who make it on a global scale, but of course there can always be those who decide to limit the demonstration of their talents in their home countries only.

well im sorry if i came off somewhat harsh im my approach. some drivers do stay here whilst others go overseas and try their luck, but its a pretty big risk. Craig Lowndes sat out the 1997 season of the V8 Supercars so he could try his arm at Formula 1 but he suffered pretty bad and was seen back in a V8 Commodore for the 1998 season in which he won that season(he also won it in 1996)

[Falcon500]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

did Glen Seton and Wayne Gardner make a big thing out of going to japan or something....i remember Gardner's spent time behind the wheel of i believe its a JGTC Supra

Well steo drove a skyline im not too sure how succsessful he was but he didnt do too badly for himself....we have ha a heap of drivers go over seas and do well but run out of money....but with the konica series aussie drivers dont need to go over seas as much as they used too...

[fpv_gtho]

Well money was the big thing that made Ambrose consider V8 Supercars. If he hadve stayed in Formula 3 he could very well be lining up against Webber at the moment but his team went bankrupt. I dunno how much of a contributing factor money was for Lowndes though with his brief Formula 1 stint, unless it was formula 3 he did aswell, or just a dose of bad luck

[Falcon500]

Well i cant rember what stopped lowndes...i think it was lackof intrest...but nowdays hes quite happy where he is...

[henk4]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

I dunno how much of a contributing factor money was for Lowndes though with his brief Formula 1 stint, unless it was formula 3 he did aswell, or just a dose of bad luck

Can you indicate when Lowndes was doing what? He is an unknown quantity in F1 as far as I am concerned. See also:

http://www.oldracingcars.com/bydriver/watn.asp?letter=L

[fpv_gtho]

he raced in 1997 but i cant remember if he went all the way to F1 or just stayed in F3

[fpv_gtho]

Originally Posted by Falcon500

Well i cant rember what stopped lowndes...i think it was lackof intrest...but nowdays hes quite happy where he is...

well its surprising he actually went over there. he had just won the championship and when he came back he won it back off glen seton so he really mustn't have been feeling much of a challenge here and when he went overseas he was confonted with more than what he was prepared for i guess

[henk4]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

he raced in 1997 but i cant remember if he went all the way to F1 or just stayed in F3

His website will soon have a section on his career. He may have approached a few of the lesser F1 teams with a pay-drive offer, but I have never heard his name before.

[Falcon500]

Im pretty sure he tested...but more then likly didnt get a drive due to funds...much like max wilson he would of gotten theminardidrive not webber if he had money...

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by fpv_gtho

Well money was the big thing that made Ambrose consider V8 Supercars. If he hadve stayed in Formula 3 he could very well be lining up against Webber at the moment but his team went bankrupt. I dunno how much of a contributing factor money was for Lowndes though with his brief Formula 1 stint, unless it was formula 3 he did aswell, or just a dose of bad luck

Lowndes drove in the 1997 F3000 world series as team mate to none other than Juan Pablo Montoya. Unfortunately, Montoya comprehensively outperformed him, won the series and was offered a tested job with Williams, followed by a winning stint in CART with the Target Chip Ganassi team, then of course went to Formula One. Lowndes' reputation was dented by coming up against a team mate who is currently one of the fastest/best drivers in world motorsport. A few crashes during the season didn't help Lowndes. Lowndes never made it to F1, and to the best of my knowledge wasn't offered a test driver either.

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by henk4

Even more outrageous, not including both Amon and Hulme, shame on you, this is list of all times australasian drivers. (I think that there also a few Japanese drivers who could be included here, like Katayama or Suzuki)

Amazingly, Hulme was not as well known in Australia, or even in New Zealand, as he was in Europe. So its understandable that some people haven't heard about him. I don't remember the last time I saw an article about Hulme either. As a New Zealander myself, its something I ashamed to admit, but Hulme really wasn't and still isn't treated as a hero in New Zealand, despite the fact his achievements were greater than almost any other NZ sports star.
I'm only just 30, but I remember watching Hulme race in the last years of his career in a variety of touring cars. And I was watching his last ever drive in the 1992 Bathurst 1000 when he died of a heart attack while racing his BMW M3 (as a member of Tony Longhurst's and Frank Gardner's factory BMW team). Such was Hulme's skill, that even though he was in serious trouble, he was able to bring the BMW to a stop out of harms way and prevent any possible accident with other competitors.
McLaren on the other hand was and is well known in both NZ and Australia, mainly due to the McLaren F1 team which he founded.

Also, I guess Australasian does technically include the Asian region. However, most of us down here think of Australasian as Australia and NZ and the Asia Pacific region as encompassing all the Asian and Pacific countries. So, I was meaning only NZ/Australian drivers. Sorry for any misunderstanding there.

Otherwise Ukyo Katayama (ex Tyrell, Minardi and Footwork F1 driver in the mid 90s) and Satoru Nakajima (ex Lotus F1 driver in late 80s and one of Senna's teammates) would have to join the list. Let's keep it to NZ/Australian drivers to keep it simple.

[fpv_gtho]

Well Australasia is the old term for what is now known as Oceania. Oceania being Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, i believe the Soloman Islands and other Pacific Islands such as Tonga and Samoa. New Caledonia being a French province is excluded from this.


well its funny who our Australian drivers get put up against when theyre competing in lesser categories. With it being revealed here that Lowndes was team mate to JPM, and also Steven Johnson and Marcos Ambrose raced in F3 at the same time Kimi Raikkonen did. Although Ambrose at the time wouldve strongly been interested in going onto F1 after F3, i think Steven Johnson was just using F3 as a stepping stone between Formula Ford and taking a spot at DJR