Replacement for V8 Supercars

[DAVID PATERSON]

Mark, you've obviously put a lot of work into writing your proposal and a lot of it has considerable merit, but I abhor silhouette touring car formulae, to me it's just not real enough.
Also, a point which is frequently overlooked is the fact that the Nissan drivers were booed at Bathurst '92 was because they were deemed not worthy of the trophy, after all they crashed the car and precipitated a red flag which was brought out perhaps somewhat hastily. It had nothing to do with the fact that they were not driving a Holden or Ford, as evidenced in '91.

[Crash Test]

That's fair enough, the thing is that i was only knee high to a grasshopper back in those, that was jsut the kind of idea i got from reading articles. But i'll correct it for the final copy, thanks.

Just got to remember it is to fill some space on the page and cause some interest, not at all to be taken seriously...just something written on a Saturday morning in front of the TV. Might make a series of it, like im doing with the "where to race articles", and could come up with another proposal for the next month.

Hi all. This is an article i am in the process of writing up for my web page ( http://www.qrda.asn.au ). It's kind of inspired by the how long does V8s have post, just that i am getting ahead of myself and have come up with a set of rules. Have a read through it, its not finished yet, but if you could give me any feedback, it would be greatly appreciated.

The naive will tell you that V8 Supercars will last forever. These were most probably
the same people who would have told you that Group C, Group A and Super Tourers
were to last forever. It is the nature of touring cars, situations change. Group C
finished when the power that be decided Australia needed to step in line with the
world and Group A was introduced. The men in charge had to make another change
when crowds dwindled, and one car, the Nissan GT-R ruled supreme at the end of
Group As reign ended. Next up was V8 Supercars. Super Touring cam along as the
new Group A; a world wide formula, which proved to be very successful in it’s
homeland of England. However ever rising costs and low attendances have brought it
to an end

I am not coming to you as the grim reaper, telling everyone V8s are dead. Motorsport
at the top level in Australia has never been better, and it continues to grow.
Attendances are huge, as are competitor numbers, at this stage of the ball game there
are possibly 10 to 15 or more years left in the series.

Possible reasons for the downfall of V8 Supercars include:
The amount of money to be successful may become excessive, and force a decline
in competitor numbers.
Factory support ceases.
Domination from one team discourages other competitors, crowds and sponsors.
Another category comes along and proves to be more successful, and draws
people and resources from V8s.

Where V8s are failing under these rules:
At present HRT are spending more than $300,000 on each individual new car the
factory makes. They are the only team which can afford to spend that much money,
and this can also be a part of the reason why their cars are so far ahead of the
competition.
The reason why Super Touring has failed here and in England was in part due to
factory support. Without continuing money and support, it would prove hard to
survive, and teams like HRT and FTR would have to find sponsorship, where there
was previously no sponsorship to be found. Much like the days after Cigarette
advertising finished, but when that happened, factory support came along and topped
up the banks of several sponsorless teams. One shinning example to this is Transam
in the USA, it continues to grow despite the recent pull out of GM and Ford.
At the moment HRT fairly well has a monopoly on the top step of the podium.
Whether this is discouraging fans etc is debatable, it may in fact be a good thing.
However, just remember back to the final days of Group A, the Nissan team went
from something that was cheered to victory in 1991, to be being booed on the podium
in 1992.
GTP has drawn some competitors away from V8 Supercars for various reasons,
the main one being costs. For a smaller amount of money, competitors can get more
TV time. Drivers to switch include Wayne Russell, Kevin Heffernan and Darcy
Russell. Although it is not a threat at present, it could develop into one if disillusioned
continue down this path.

However, V8s have got a lot going for them, which includes:
More active competitors than any other closed circuit class.
More money in sponsorship than any other sport in Australia.
Largest crowd figures in modern Australia motorsport.
A sound and atmosphere which the crowd loves.

My Draft Proposal
This is simply an idea for some time in the future if ever there is need for a
replacement category for V8 Supercars. What is needed is something which is:
Affordable.
Something the public can relate to.
Something that the public would get just as much, or more enjoyment out of.
Even parity.
Controlled, yet very adjustable, so smart competitors can still gain an advantage,
not necessarily the rich ones.

I draw parts of the regulations from several different existing categories which
include:
Existing V8 Supercars
Sport Sedans
Nascar
Transam

Chassis/Bodywork
A spec tubular space frame chassis, with fibreglass body work. Addition bars may be
added to the roll cage structure, however bars from the spec cage may not be removed
without approval. The outer body work is to resemble the road going variety of the
race car. Put basically, a Ford, Holden or any other manufacturers skin would go over
a standard chassis.
Exotic materials such as carbon fibre and kevlar are to be used at a minimum, with
standard carbon fibre fittings such as the dash board, and front passenger door insides
for safety reasons.
All of the chassis are to be made by an appointed firm, to ensure consistency
throughout all of the cars, and that there are no discrepancies with the standard
chassis. The chassis are to be set at a pre-arranged price from the builder to all
competitors.
The standard chassis is top be upgraded every so often by the ruling body to keep the
cars evolving from one year to the next. The changes aren’t to differ greatly with the
previous spec chassis.
Pneumatic air jacks are permitted.

Aerodynamic Aids
Standard front and rear spoiler, with the rear having adjustable height, as well as tilt.

Suspension
McPherson Struts, live axel with Watts linkage.
Pick up points are fixed.
Springs etc are free.

Brakes
Brakes may only have 6 pistons, 1 calliper and 2 pads per wheel.
Exotic brake pads are banned, only ferrous materials may be used.

Electrical
A standard electronic dash and telemetry system is to be used by all competitors.

Fuel and Fuel Tank
A standard unleaded fuel is to be used by all competitors, and the fuel is to be
provided by the organisers.
The fuel tank is to be of standard construction with standard pick up points.

Tyres
The tyres are to be made by an appointed company who will provide 2 different
compound tyres for every event.
The dimensions of the tyres are to be of the following dimensions:
18X10 inch front
18X12 inch rear

Engine
The engine is to have a maximum displacement of 5000cc, have a standard engine
block, pistons and camshaft, and be fuel injected.
The engine is to have a speed limit of 7000rpm.

Exhaust and Cooling System
Free.

Transmission
Gearbox
The gearbox is to be of Hollinger H type arrangement, with a maximum 6 forward
gears and one reverse. Each forward gear is to have the option of 2 different ratios.
The clutch is free.
Rear Axel
A selection of 3 differentials with ratios of 3.2:1, 3.5:1, and 3.8:1 can be used at any
circuit.

Weight
A set weight which includes driver. Ballast to be positioned in one of 4 preset
positions: front, left side, right side, boot.

Testing
Testing is only to be carried out on approved days, either before each race meeting or
on designated days set out by the series organisers.

Reasoning
Chassis/Bodywork
The standard space frame chassis is to ensure parity amongst difference “makes” of
car. To have it built by an outside company is to lower costs (to make sure no
competitors spend excessive amounts of money on construction) It ensures that all of
the cars are the same (taking the manufacturing out of the hands of the individuals, so
that the rules can’t be read differently by different teams). Having the outside
company build all of the cars in a field is not uncommon, just look at spec open wheel
classes such as Formula 3000.
The standard chassis is to be upgraded after every season, mainly to keep with
upgraded safety standards, as well as making the cars different for the next season.
Thus if a team has an advantage with a certain set up at a certain track, if the

[elephino]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>These were most probably the same people who would have told you that Group C, Group A and Super Tourers were to last forever.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
It's always nice to be quoted

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Trebuchet MS, Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>The men in charge had to make another change when crowds dwindled, and one car, the Nissan GT-R ruled supreme at the end of Group As reign ended.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
You might want to get the grammar right on this sentence.

Now onto the article itself. Very good. And I agree with most of your 'proposal' too, but I'm also against the single chassis formula as a main category. Maybe you could have it similar to CART, where you can buy an off the shelf chassis and fit your own bodywork to it. So you could buy a Perkins chassis and fit a Volvo S80 body to it. Only a theory.

The only suggestion I can make to the article is to maybe put the reasons for each section with the guidelines.

[kmchow]

I have to agree with David Patterson, while going to a silhouette series like Trans Am may reduce costs and increase participation, I despite the idea of having cars being too foreign or distant with the cars we drive.

[Crash Test]

"You might want to get the grammar right on this sentence."
-Thats what happens when you are on the spell check and go strategy!

I guess the thing is currently V8s really aren't all that close to road cars anyways. I know after reading peoples posts in another thread, that super touring died when they put flared gaurds and wings on them. Then you ask an American what they think of Nascar, and they love it. As you know the cars are nothing like road cars, but it is all about big time entertainment. I think the piscture i have of these cars are like what the big banging sport sedans look like (theres a link to the National Sport Sedans in the links forum). Really outwardly sport sedans aren't all that dis-similar to V8s, but they are a bit more flared and meaner.

I think for the next one i'll do, i'll keep it more standard like.

[kmchow]

Crash Test wrote:

&gt;As you know the cars are nothing like road &gt;cars, but it is all about big time &gt;entertainment.
&gt;
That's the big debate, do you consider Nascar, F1, football, soccer, any sport, to be a "sport" or a form of "entertainment"? It's a fine line. If you choose entertainment, that means the actual event doesn't have be competitive/fair, but just entertaining. The latter also means bringing in big business and other fluff. Furthermore, that means the organizers may make the series too controlled (i.e.: silhouette for example) and artificial. It's kinda hard to describe or define, but do people get my drift?

The reason I say that is because Nascar and US hockey team owner said the same thing--that their respective sports are more entertainment than sport.

In contrast, a few CART drivers have adamantly maintained their series should be sport first, then entertainment...

Interesting huh?

[Crash Test]

I think the way i was seeing, but im probably wrong, that Nascar has the sport, and with so many spectators and people watching it is now entertainment. V8 Supercars is entertainment, all of the drivers say it is about putting on a show for the crowd.

I guess saying that, some of the sport has left Nascar and V8s.

But one thing i thought of in bed last night, the last of the group C big bangers in 1984 had the most massively flarred gaurds and wings etc, and they would have to be the most popular cars...well ever. I think what gets the Australian public going is how the cars look and sound, but equally important is who is driving the car.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Nostalgia is a funny thing, when we look back fondly on something, the older it is, the more it improves in the memory, the older I get the faster I was. So it is with old racing categories, we look back on Group C as being the golden years, but honestly, it wasn't that great. The races were much more spread out and far less competitive, the crowds were smaller and the television ratings were much lower, surprisingly, now is the healthiest time in the history of Australian Touring Car racing.

[Crash Test]

That's all true, but Brock and Johnson's weapons from Bathurst 1984 would still be two of the nicest cars ever made (in my eyes anyways). Well the TV rating could never have been any decent, were all of the races except for Bathurst and the Amaroo series on the ABC (i have no idea) and the population of Australia wouldn't have been 20 million in those days. Plus back then it was a very amateur sport. Yep the competition wasn't there, but you could mainly blame that to lack of depth, some disparity between the cars, and budgets (could anyone beat Brock for bucks and factory support?). I hope those group c historics come up here some time, to give us young'ns a chance at seeing them in the flesh.

Also about the crowds, i'd like to see you get the amount of people who went to Lakeside in 1997, into Lakeside in the early 1980s...Got to remember that there were to spectators from the bridge (on the outside) to the top of the loop, and after the kink. I guess back in the Tasman days you might be able to, but my theory is that people were smaller back then, and they were a whole heap more sqeezable