Silly Pom wanting to know more about V8 Supercars

[jtopps]

I've only watched a few V8 Supercar races at this point and I always found them entertaining but was never massively compelled to follow the series until today after I watched this race.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAFRS5r2g8E

And I thought it was effing fantastic! Also with the addition of Volvo and Merc this year as well as Nissan last year the variety in cars competing spices it up a bit more for me as a European viewer so I think this year I'm gonna have to follow the action.
I noticed at the end of this race people booing Jamie Whincup. This made me realise that I should probably try and brush up on a bit of history about the series to help put things into context. Why were they booing Whincup? Is he a Michael Schumacher type villain to some or was the location of this race a hotspot for Ford fans? I know there is a huge rivalry between Ford and Holden so maybe this was why? Basically any information you can give me about the drivers, the rules and the race format would be helpful because from what I saw today the racing looks absolutely brilliant! I'm probably gonna get a lot of stick for saying this but I'm a big fan of Volvo's road cars so I think my loyalty might have to lie with them

[jagsy]

Hi mate
Whincup came across from Ford a couple of years ago, that's probably what stirred the crowd.

The Supercars is an awesome series with the pinnacle being Bathurst. I moved here 8 years ago and have been to a good number of races now and love everyone but Bathurst is just incredible, until you seen the track for real it's hard to believe. Then have a drive round at 60kmh and see how hard it is!

There is also a series in NZ which actually use the Chev LS7 and I have been told they are even faster cars.

I see you are living where I came from, hope it's not too wet for you

[jtopps]

Weather hasn't been too brutal luckily for me. Ah I see, maybe that's why they were booing. It was a great race though. What's the format of a race weekend? I figured there was varying race lengths but not sure what. From what I've seen of Bathurst and what I've played on GT6 it must be a stunning track.

[NBTBRV8]

I think it could also be because he has been so successful and there is still the tall poppy syndrome here.

[jagsy]

jtopps said:

Weather hasn't been too brutal luckily for me. Ah I see, maybe that's why they were booing. It was a great race though. What's the format of a race weekend? I figured there was varying race lengths but not sure what. From what I've seen of Bathurst and what I've played on GT6 it must be a stunning track.

The race weekends vary, Clipsal this weekend has had 2 races Saturday one Sunday. They also have muscle car masters, little Aussie champs and Porsche GT faces. Early in season the format is a few shortish races then mid season they have the longer endurance races which Bathurst is one of them.

Keep watching the season, I think it's going to be a good one.

[jtopps]

I'll have to pay attention to the race calendar because the coverage over here is very limited and I just happened to find it whilst looking for something to watch on TV. There's a lot to like about 600ish horsepower V8 RWD tin tops racing in close proximity. what's the rules with regards to the chassis? Am I right in thinking they're a live axle and generally all have a fairly similar chassis underneath the different bodies?

[cheddar]

jtopps said:

I'll have to pay attention to the race calendar because the coverage over here is very limited and I just happened to find it whilst looking for something to watch on TV. There's a lot to like about 600ish horsepower V8 RWD tin tops racing in close proximity. what's the rules with regards to the chassis? Am I right in thinking they're a live axle and generally all have a fairly similar chassis underneath the different bodies?

Glad you're enjoying it, arguably the most exciting race series in the world.

Answers to specs here:

http://www.v8supercars.com.au/championship/technic...

And, join us here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[jtopps]

cheddar said:

Glad you're enjoying it, arguably the most exciting race series in the world.

Answers to specs here:

http://www.v8supercars.com.au/championship/technic...

And, join us here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Cheers mate, so they're independent rear suspension and not live axle but they do have a spool diff, that explains why they look so lively . I'll have a read through that thread too, cheers for the info. I'm a hardcore F1 fan and I used to love British Touring Cars but it seems like they've slowly got neutered over the years and there's not really any young talent coming in aside from Andrew Jordan. From what I saw this weekend Ozzy V8's are fast enough to be impressive without losing the close racing. The fact that the noise is awesome is just a bonus.

[motomk]

This is their second season with the current cars. They all have the same gearbox and chassis, just different engines and body shapes depending on the manufacturer.
The old cars did have live rear axles, those were until 2012. Most of the main game cars from that era now run in the Dunlop series. http://www.v8supercars.com.au/dunlopseries So you won't see any Mercs, Nissans or Volvos in that series because that was purely Holden Commodores and Ford Falcons. I guess sometime it will cut over when there are enough of the newer cars out there.
I think the V8 Utes are maybe the closest to the road cars you can get. I think the Ford ute has to be restricted as it has the supercharged V8 engine in it from the FPV GS ute. Similar engine to what is in the Mustang. The Holden SS ute uses a similar engine to a normal SS.

[jtopps]

Cheers mate, that's a good read. When I first watched Scott McLaughlin's post race interview I thought he said "give it some genital" haha. After seeing this picture on the official V8 supercars Twitter I've had to Google it. It's great to see a race series with a sense of humour.

[Oscar the Grouch]

In the NZ series is quite different, all cars run a common chassis and aero package and the same 7.0 litre engine and differ just by having either Ford or Holden panels. The LS7 is no more powerful than the aussie cars but is cheaper to run.

[LC4]

Will be heading to the Perth round for sure! Just need to pick a driver to support haha.

[Bibbs]

LC4 said:

Will be heading to the Perth round for sure! Just need to pick a driver to support haha.

Wasn't bad last year. Managed to sneak a bottle and a half of JimBeam in.

I was steaming before the first race, and had a nice nap all afternoon.

Then kept falling asleep on the train home. Struggled to walk from the station.

Remember nothing about the races.

Same again planned for this year.