2005 Bathurst 1000

[motorsportnerd]

The annual Bathurst 1000 endurance classic for V8 Supercars - round 10 of the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship - is on this weekend.
With qualifying held yesterday and the top ten shootout to be held today, so far my predictions are going OK (see the "Bathurst 1000 Predictions" thread in the Australian cars section). I predicted 8 of the top ten drivers to contest today's shootout for pole position. The top ten at the end of qualifying were:
Lowndes/Muller 1st, Skaife/Kelly 2nd, Ambrose/Luff 3rd, Tander/Kelly 4th, Murphy/Weel 5th, S. Richards/Dumbrell 6th, Jason Richards/Wincup 7th, Ingall/Youlden 8th, Seton/Canto 9th, Jim Richards/Courtney 10th.
The two I got wrong were Radicish/Morris who will start 20th, and Bowe/Jones who have had car setup problems and will start 26th.
Jason Richards was the big surprise in qualifying - 7th fastest. And Jim Richards, the oldest bloke in the field at 58, showing that an "old" bloke can mix it with the younger guys - but then this old bloke is also the most successful driver in the race with 7 Bathurst wins to his name. Keep in mind also that "Richo" as he's known hasn't qualified a V8 Supercar for two years. Last year he was the co-driver with his son - and unfortunately hit a kangaroo. Jim will be hoping he doesn't even see a kangaroo this year.
The other surprise was the Britek Motorsport Falcon of Steve Owen/Matthew White, which was 14th and looking good for a while to make the top 10.
The times are super fast this year - Lowndes did a 2m07.1322. The Castrol Commodore with Steven Richards at the wheel has clocked 302 km/h on Conrod straight - finally and officially breaking the 300km/h barrier on the longest straight on the circuit.
If todays shoot out is dry, Greg Murphy's qualifying lap record of 2m06.8 is under serious threat.
However, the forecast isn't good - so it may be a wet shootout.

[Bob]

Originally Posted by motorsportnerd

and unfortunately hit a kangaroo. Jim will be hoping he doesn't even see a kangaroo this year.

This is just what Formula One needs to add a little excitement to the sport... animal/car collisions.

Sounds like a good race, unfortunately we don't get any coverage of this at all here in the US... but we do have several 24/7 NASCAR Channels

[clutch-monkey]

i don't know what race it is but someone just rolled a porche at bathurst

[pimento]

I noticed in the paper a coupla days ago that the race record is still held by the Mark Skaife/Jim Richards Skyline GTR, I presume that would have been after they altered the track, but when was that? Given the lap record was from a couple of years ago, seems kinda odd that the race record is still the old one. One for the Skyline fanboys I guess.

[F1_Master]

Originally Posted by Bob

This is just what Formula One needs to add a little excitement to the sport... animal/car collisions.

Sounds like a good race, unfortunately we don't get any coverage of this at all here in the US... but we do have several 24/7 NASCAR Channels

I hear ya.

I might actually have to download a V8 Supercars race just to see one.

[pimento]

Ahhh.. they just mentioned Jim Richards crashing his GTR that ended the race early, I remember hearing it mentioned that he won it when that happened, I guess that explains the shorter time.

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by pimento

I noticed in the paper a coupla days ago that the race record is still held by the Mark Skaife/Jim Richards Skyline GTR, I presume that would have been after they altered the track, but when was that? Given the lap record was from a couple of years ago, seems kinda odd that the race record is still the old one.

Easily explained. The race record of 6hrs 19 minutes is from 1991 - and that was the last time the entire Bathurst 1000 was held without an interuption from a safety car. There were NO crashes or incidents that year that required the safety car to come onto the circuit and it was a dry race.
Since then either weather or safety cars have affected the total time taken to complete the race.
Average lap times this year in race trim if its a dry race will be 2m09s/10s range while the average lap times of the GTR in race trim in 1991 were 2m16s. Big difference, and IF there are few safety cars periods, the race record will fall this year. Last year the race took 6h 29minutes to complete and there were SEVEN safety car periods.
The weather forecast for this year is a little dodgy though - so the race record may be safe for another year.

Originally Posted by pimento

Ahhh.. they just mentioned Jim Richards crashing his GTR that ended the race early, I remember hearing it mentioned that he won it when that happened, I guess that explains the shorter time.

That was the 1992 race - the last time turbo cars competed and a race heavily affected by rain. It was actually a severe thunderstorm that stopped the race, not Jim Richards crashing. Richards and Skaife were awarded the win though, because under internation FIA motorsport rules, if a race is stopped early, the winner is the driver leading at the lap completed before the red flag is shown. And in that year it was Richards. Since it was a shortened race, the time does not count as a race record. Nor was the shortened 1981 race won by Dick Johnson which was stopped following a big accident that blocked the circuit.

Originally Posted by pimento

One for the Skyline fanboys I guess.

I assume you're no fan of the Skyline then? Anyway, the GTR R32 cannot be compared to a modern V8 Supercar. They were built, legally, to a completely different set of rules. They also didn't have access to the type of tyre and computer technology of today. A 1991 GTR R32 running on today's race tyres and with modern engine management systems and suspension tuning would be considerable quicker than it was capable of being some 14 years ago.
So, one certainly can't say that todays V8s are quicker because they're better - that goes without saying. They should be - due to the modern technology available.
So the race record isn't "one to the GTR fanboys", nor is the fact that today's V8s are some seven seconds a lap faster "one for the V8 fanboys". All explained by technology, safety cars, rain and the 14 year time gap I'm afraid.

[clutch-monkey]

Originally Posted by motorsportnerd

Easily explained. The race record of 6hrs 19 minutes is from 1991 - and that was the last time the entire Bathurst 1000 was held without an interuption from a safety car. There were NO crashes or incidents that year that required the safety car to come onto the circuit and it was a dry race.
Since then either weather or safety cars have affected the total time taken to complete the race.
Average lap times this year in race trim if its a dry race will be 2m09s/10s range while the average lap times of the GTR in race trim in 1991 were 2m16s. Big difference, and IF there are few safety cars periods, the race record will fall this year. Last year the race took 6h 29minutes to complete and there were SEVEN safety car periods.
The weather forecast for this year is a little dodgy though - so the race record may be safe for another year.



That was the 1992 race - the last time turbo cars competed and a race heavily affected by rain. It was actually a severe thunderstorm that stopped the race, not Jim Richards crashing. Richards and Skaife were awarded the win though, because under international FIA motorsport rules, if a race is stopped early, the winner is the driver leading at the last full lap completed before the red flag is shown. And in that year it was Richards. Since it was a shortened race, the time does not count as a race record. Nor was the shortened 1981 race won by Dick Johnson which was stopped following a big accident that blocked the circuit.

wow....you really live up to your username . thanks for the info!

[motorsportnerd]

Following the end of the top ten shootout, Craig Lowndes has scored pole position in the Triple 8 Racing Ford Falcon. Marcus Ambrose (SBR Falcon) will start second, then Mark Skaife (HRT Holden Commodore), Greg Murphy (Supercheap Holden Commodore), Garth Tander (HSV Holden Commodore), Steven Richards (Castrol Holden Commodore), Jason Richards (Tasman Racing Holden Commodore), Glen Seton (Westpoint DJR Ford Falcon), Jim Richards (HRT Holden Commodore) and Russell Ingall (Caltex Ford Falcon).
Jim Richards and Glen Seton were the first two drivers to have their run - and the track was still damp from rain, so they were much slower than the later drivers. Russell Ingall was the third driver on the track and recorded no time after spinning off at the fastest part of the circuit. By the time Jason Richards went on track, the circuit had dried somewhat, so the times tumbled. It was very cold and still a little damp, so Lowndes' pole time of 2m08.5990 is actually only slightly faster than the car which will start out of position eleven (Cameron McConville/Andrew Jones) - and Greg Murphy's qualifying record from 2003 wasn't beaten.
So, two Fords on the front row, followed by five Holdens. Also, note that three drivers with the sirname "Richards" made the top ten (Jim and Steve are father and son, Jason is no relation and they are all New Zealand born). And four New Zealanders were in the top ten (Murphy, Jim Richards, Steven Richards, Jason Richards).
Should be a good race. As a Ford fan and a Lowndes fan, I'm hoping Craig Lowndes/Yvan Muller will win - but I am a New Zealander, so I'd also be very happy if any of the NZ drivers win, even if they drive a Holden - particularly Jim Richards.

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by clutch-monkey

i don't know what race it is but someone just rolled a porche at bathurst

Did you see the crash? Massive crash. It was in the Porsche Carrera Cup support race. Happened at the fastest part of the circuit - Caltex Chase. Something broke on the car at some 280 km/h, it went sideways, the back tyre dug into the tarmac (the circuit is heavily cambered at that point), and over it went - completed flip. Then touched the wall. Damage for a 280 km/h shunt was surprisingly light - but then a rollover has less energy than colliding with a solid concrete wall. The driver, Shannon O'Brien, was completely uninjured.
One doesn't really want to see too many 280 km/h crashes - this one showed how strong and safe the Porsche Carrera Cup cars are.

[Jakg]

wow! you certainly know your stuff!

[pimento]

Ahh, thanks for clearing that up mate. I was curious. The comment about the fanboys was purely designed for humour. I have huge respect for the Skyline GTR, it's a wonderful piece of engineering, but lound the fans of them tend to be rather irritating.

I'm not going to be home for the end of the race tomorrow unfortunately, but I'm hoping I can find a tape to record it, the F1 and the rally. Here in Perth they're on one after the other.

[pimento]

In fact.. does anyone know what time the Carrera Cup race will start? Maybe I can streamline my VCR timing to get that before the race..

[TVR IS KING]

yay qualifying or sumthin wos on 2day!!!! a porsche rolled at 280kmh!

[motorsportnerd]

Originally Posted by pimento

In fact.. does anyone know what time the Carrera Cup race will start? Maybe I can streamline my VCR timing to get that before the race..

Coverage starts at 7am here in NSW - does this mean it starts at 5 am in Perth? I assume the Porsche race will be shown in the first two hours of the coverage before 9am. Race start for the Bathurst 1000 is 10am Eastern Standard Time.
Enjoy it.