Australia’s Virgin (formerly V8) Supercars Championship is just about to head into its annual three-race Pirtek Endurance Cup, a trio of races that tests the patience of not just the regular drivers but the co-drivers that teams pair with their regular competitors. The races are grueling challenges, starting with the Sandown 500 and then followed by the flagship Bathurst 1000 race and the Gold Coast 600. All three races and racetracks present unique challenges to the drivers and teams and without diving too deeply into each of their defining characteristics, the long distance and shared responsibility in these races has brought out the best and worst through the years.
Here’s a supercut of some of the most defining kerfuffles and triumphs through the last couple decades. While this might all be foreign to the typical American audience, the wheel-banging, hip-checking, and code-brown off-track excursions are all part and parcel of these races. The 1,000-kilometer race at Bathurst produces the most epic results, but the craziest moments—like the huge shunt and shouting match between Greg Murphy and Marcus Ambrose or Fabian Coulthard’s tumble through The Chase corner at 300 kph—are things you’ll see over and over again in highlights for the Virgin Supercar Championship.
so with no fords or holdens being made in aussieland whats it going to be ricers only?