Race on to break Bathurst
By Ray Kershler
August 26, 2005
A STRING of top drivers this year will trying their best to crack the V8 Supercar version of the four minute mile - 300km/h down Conrod Straight at Mt Panorama.
Like the famous athletic feat more than 50 years ago, there are claims the V8s have already cracked the barrier but no V8 driver has ever officially achieved the speed in a race.
Glenn Seton was told by a radar gun-wielding Channel 7 employee that he had topped 300 in qualifying for the Bathurst 1000 in 1996 - the year before he won his last championship in the EL Falcon.
But he readily acknowledges that achieving the mark in qualifying is not quite the same as in a race and so - like most of the top drivers - Seton is anxious to be the first to officially break the speed barrier.
"We are slowly getting there and this could be the year," Seton said.
Previously V8s have been restricted in the speed they can obtain on Conrod Straight by a rev limiter. Officially the fastest recorded time is 292km/h.
Changes to the gear ratio this year to protect engines mean the V8s need not be on the rev limiter down Conrod as long as previous years, and many drivers reckon the extra grunt they will get can probably produce another 10 km/h out of their cars.
Holden's four-time Bathurst winner Mark Skaife is pretty sure the 300km/h barrier will go this year.
"Theoretically it is possible and I have no doubt the changes to the gear ratio will mean we'll be faster than 300km/h," he said this week.
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So, too, another four-times winner, Greg Murphy: "I'm not a good judge of these things but, yes, I think the cars will be faster and there's not much difference from the speed we are doing now to 300km/h." he said.
Conversely, while the 300km/h mark coming down the mountain now seems certain to go, the lap times will not necessarily be quicker because the different gear ratio will slow the V8s going up the mountain.
And while it is all well and good to get top revs on Conrod, the drivers are acutely aware they still have to slow to negotiate the twist in the track at the bottom - The Chase.
Following the death in 1986 of Mike Burgmann, The Chase was inserted into the Mt Panorama circuit the following year as a safety precaution because cars, aided by cross winds and unfettered by technical restrictions, were beginning to fly.
With most endurance pairings now settled, a few favourites for Sandown and Bathurst are beginning to emerge.
The Holden Racing Team have kept Skaife and Todd Kelly in the same car and Team BOC have again paired the experienced combination of Brad Jones and John Bowe.
The HSV Dealer team of Garth Tander and Rick Kelly look strong beyond their years as both have won Bathurst previously.
Dick Johnson has split his drivers, with Seton and Dean Canto looking his best chance, while Stone Brothers have again split Marcos Ambrose and Russell Ingall.
Ambrose will drive with Warren Luff and Ingall will pair with Luke Youlden in a move necessitated by commercial sponsorship constraints.
The Daily Telegraph
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