Tuesday 11th September 2012

Regulation changes to V8 Supercars

Australian V8 saloons to become safer, lighter and cheaper for 2013

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Even the highest levels of motorsport are starting to feel the pinch from the global economic downturn; F1 will move from V8 engines to V6 turbos in 2014 and the Next Generation Touring Car (NGTC) regulations in the BTCC will be mandatory from next year.

Now it seems even the Australians are having to revise the rules for their premier touring car series in an effort to get more teams involved at a lower cost.

Don't worry, V8 Supercars will still be very much about big V8s in big Australian saloons. But the Car of the Future (COTF) changes to the regulations are intended to make the series more affordable to enter, the cars safer to race and the inevitable damage cheaper to repair.

The biggest change will be the introduction of a control chassis, with the intention being to encourage manufacturers other than Ford and Holden to compete. And, here's the really revolutionary part, the COTF V8 Supercars will now have independent rear suspension (!). That's right, these V8 behemoths had been using live rear axles until this year. Don't you just love Australians? Elsewhere, the engine has been moved back into the chassis for the benefit of weight distribution and to reduce the cost of crash repairs.

Also, the fuel tank of a COTF V8 Supercar will be moved into the car and away from the boot in an attempt to prevent the sort of horrendous crash that Karl Reindler was involved in during the 2011 season as you'll see by watching this amazing video clip.

Finally, the cars will now run on 18-inch wheels and a new Dunlop tyre. This is up from 17-inches and not only allows bigger brakes to be run but keeps the cars more relevant to their road-going counterparts, most of which will run the bigger wheels on the road.

This is the biggest change to the rules of V8 Supercars since 1993, and it's certainly nice to see the series join the 21st century (better late than never, eh?). Mark Skaife, former racer and now Chairman of the V8 Supercars Commission, says the new regulations "increase the market relevance of the cars in the motoring world". He also believes the costs need to come down as the cost of winning a Championship has roughly doubled in the past 15 years.

[DanDC5]

Nissan are also joining the series now the COTF specs are in place, the first 2 cars are due to be driven by the Kelly brothers I believe.

[DanDC5]

F1GTRUeno said:

I thought they were merging rules with DTM and Super GT?

It was one of the initial suggestions being thought about but realistically was never going to come to anything. The rumour came about after BMW said they'd consider entering V8SC is the new cars were going to be similar to the DTM stuff. By the point they'd stated this the COTF was already well into the design stages.

[DanDC5]

Simes110 said:

Completely agree. Got into it when I was working over there a few years ago.

Shame it's not shown over here. Or is it?

Motors TV show highlights the week after the race usually. And the Bathurst 1000 live.

[DanDC5]

Allyc85 said:

I hope the new cars are just as entertaining as the old.

You must be a right sad bd to really care about a cars suspension type over something that really moves about and is great to watch on the limit.

From the small bits I've read on the V8SC website expect much of the same kind of racing/driving with the COTF. All is looking good.

[DanDC5]

chevronb37 said:

SWMBO and I are in the formative stages of planning a trip to Bathurst and the Gold Coast 600 next year

Damn you!

[DanDC5]

I'm gutted for you, having to make up for going to Monza by going to Bathurst. I'm sure you've very disappointed.

[DanDC5]

chevronb37 said:

I'm sure my bank manager will be equally delighted when I go to ask for a honking great loan to pay for my wallet-crippling global motorsports addiction.

There are no unhappy parties in this. What could be better?