It’s been tough to find good news for Aussie racing when Australian manufacturers are packing up shop and switching over to importing vehicles instead, and no other motorsport has been hit like V8 Supercars. With the Holden vs. Ford Australia battle vaporizing into dust in the coming years, many fans have been concerned about what’s next. Nissan is in, Mercedes-Benz is in, and Volvo might make an appearance, though it seems like the corporate group wants out of racing, period. So, for the moment, anyways, there will be cars hauling tail around Bathurst. And with a new rule change, they will be hauling more of it. According to Motorsport.com, a rule change was approved that will allow the cars to run a taller final drive gear, which is fueling speculation that cars will honestly be able to hit 300 KPH (about 186 MPH) down Conrod Straight before hitting The Chase.
According to V8 Supercars sporting and technical director David Stuart, “To see drivers break the 300km/h barrier as they charge down Mount Panorama will be exciting for fans and drivers and add another dimension to what is already one of Australia’s biggest sporting events. It will also provide additional passing opportunities at the end of both Mountain Straight and Conrod Straight and only add to the excitement of the race. Another benefit is that there should be less wear on the cars as they won’t be hitting the limiter as hard or for as long at the end of Conrod Straight. The change is a win all round.”
Making the racing cars faster while saving parts? Sounds good to us.
I don’t understand why they are making such a big thing out of this to be honest. I was watching the qualifying shooutout in about 1995 when Glenn Seton hit 300km/h down Conrod straight. They made a big deal about it in the weeks after about the first time, and how it was amazing and all that. Then re-geared the cars to slow them down.
Since then, lap times have dropped from around 2min12s in the mid 90s to the 2min7s range.
Inspite of V8$upercars and their money grubbing-fan betraying habits, I still look forward to going. A chance to catch up with mates from all over Australia
that I see once a year.
And the 300 K’s an hour is not such a big deal. You want crazy- have a look at our website & the pics from the 1990s.