2025 Calendar & Formats..

[Ares]

Originally Posted by Trev Campbell

What a joke. They've reduced the 'Pinnacle' of Australian Motor Sport to the equivalent of World Wrestling as a sporting contest.

Not an original idea among the lot of them. 'The Americans do it so we'll just blindly copy them'

Here's an idea. Do something to make the racing better. Allow a bit of hard hard racing instead of penalizing drivers for every little thing. and they won't need gimmicks to try to make it exciting.

It's also a fact of life that not all sporting contests are exciting 100% of the time. If a drive/team does a superior job and dominates on merit. That just happens. People have to live with it.

+1.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by Trev Campbell

What a joke. They've reduced the 'Pinnacle' of Australian Motor Sport to the equivalent of World Wrestling as a sporting contest.

Not an original idea among the lot of them. 'The Americans do it so we'll just blindly copy them'

Here's an idea. Do something to make the racing better. Allow a bit of hard hard racing instead of penalizing drivers for every little thing. and they won't need gimmicks to try to make it exciting.

It's also a fact of life that not all sporting contests are exciting 100% of the time. If a drive/team does a superior job and dominates on merit. That just happens. People have to live with it.

Tell us what you really think Trev . Yeah, can't argue with any of that. Sounds like they're making it really complicated too - just feels like a fair chance that & then

[Mixer]

Private testing gone, as well as a lot of practice laps:
https://speedcafe.com/supercars-axes...ting-for-2025/

[Trev Campbell]

I've been thinking and trying to determine why I hate the 'Finals' idea SO MUCH. And as with most things it multi faceted. I think being the age I am, I'm still in love with the thought of the purity of the sporting contest and what joy (And heartbreak that can bring). Some of my earliest sporting memories that really struck home the power of sport, are the 83 America's Cup, Dean Lukin and the 4000m Teams Pursuit at the 84 Olympics, underdogs achieving the ultimate goal. None of which was manufactured, These people/teams made their 'finals' on merit and ended up triumphing against the odds.

I watched the Wednesday Night Bathurst thing where all the Supercars heavies and Commentators spruiked the finals series as the greatest thing since sliced bread. And Larko made a comment 'We've only had the series decided at the final round in 20 (And forgive the exact number being incorrect) out of 54 times, and that's bad'

Which is where the issue is. It's not bad. It's what makes the good years great.

Unforgettable deciders:

1979 - Privateer Morris Vs Brock and the MHDT
1981 - Johnson and Brock nose to tail around Lakeside in the finale
1987 - Young gun Seton Vs Richo
2005 - Ingall hanging on for his only title
2006 - Kelly punting Lowndes
2010 - Everyone in the fence
2017 - McLaughlin vs 888

These are all memorable for various reasons and didn't need to be manufactured, it occurred due to circumstance. And they are all the more memorable because some of the years around them are less memorable.

What Supercars is doing trying to falsely create a 'çliffhanger' every year. It will make every year a virtual carbon copy of the previous year. Nothing will stand out, a cliffhanger will no longer be exciting because it will be a common occurrence and as a result have the opposite affect of what they are after. Punters won't be excited by the 'Final' because they can see it any and every year.

They are just trying to generate 'Excitement' in order to try to squeeze more money out of punters and in the process have in my opinion devalued a championship win. And over time will remove the memories of 'real' exciting events and finals will all become 'blah blah blah'

It's probably just me and my view of the sad inditement of world currently, where everyone needs to win, everything needs to be fair, everyone needs to be excited or entertained all the time.

Unfortunately, life isn't like that, and neither should sport.

[Kingair]

I concur with Trev.

It will be a bit like Farmer Wants a Wife, meets The Block and then MKR!

Perhaps in the last week of the final all the drivers could compete in a baking competition, along with a dancing competition?

[Ares]

Good work Trev 100%. I'm sick of being feed bullshit 24/7. I never would miss an All Blacks game, Up a 2am to watch the games from the UK as a kid. Now I wouldn't bother getting up at 7.30am on a Sunday to watch a test match. I only got up for the WC final. The game is not what it once was and it's watered down now with so many on nothing games. Big boxing guy back in the day, I could name all the heavyweight champions from the early day through to the mid to late 90s. loved the sport, wanted to be a fighter as a kid. I ran home from school to watch Ali vs Holmes, Now I hardly ever watch a fight, couldn't tell you who the IBF WBA OR WBC champions are? It too has become watered down over the years. Money ruins everything in the end. Supercars, but Bathurst has been a main stay since the late 70s for me. I'm starting to think, when will I stop being bothered to watch it? Or supercars? Probably when it goes electric or small turbo engines. Or when they start faking the results. Artificial drama will be the start of the rot setting in. They already said 888 will be the team most affected by the new setup, their is the proof right there.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by Trev Campbell

I've been thinking and trying to determine why I hate the 'Finals' idea SO MUCH.

Unforgettable deciders:

1979 - Privateer Morris Vs Brock and the MHDT
1981 - Johnson and Brock nose to tail around Lakeside in the finale
1987 - Young gun Seton Vs Richo
2005 - Ingall hanging on for his only title
2006 - Kelly punting Lowndes
2010 - Everyone in the fence
2017 - McLaughlin vs 888

These are all memorable for various reasons and didn't need to be manufactured, it occurred due to circumstance. And they are all the more memorable because some of the years around them are less memorable.

Post of the year, of the decade, probably of the Century Trev - I've quoted just a part of it but the whole thing is SO on the money. They've all drunk the cool-aid and come up with an utter abomination. To me, those unforgettable deciders are SO special because they are rare - they indicate an incredibly hard-fought season all the way & stand out - genuine nail-biters.

This new idea simply rewards mediocrity, where the team/driver running 10th gets a shot at the big time (& let's not kid ourselves, with only 3 race meetings in the "finals", pure, dumb luck can play a VERY big role).

Maybe it's all a plot to give that most mediocre of teams, BJR, a shot at actually "winning" a championship? Gimme a break - it rips up and ignores the whole ethos of motor sport IMHO and simply feels far, far too "try hard" and manufactured, despite all the sycophants supporting it (so far).

Don't believe in it, prepared to admit that I may be wrong and it'll work but I sincerely doubt it.
Load of old ******** really.