Talk was widespread amongst V8 Supercar fans at last weekend's SMP400. Opinions are certainly divided regarding the move to Channel 10 and Foxtel to broadcast V8 Supercars from 2015. Some fans are excited about the prospect of increased revenue for the teams from the new deal to curtail their expenditure and assist struggling teams. It may also open up V8 Supercars to a much wider global audience and entice new opportunistic sponsors from abroad to the sport. The return of the popular weekly RPM programme along with the signing of retired F1 ace and Porsche WEC driver Mark Webber to the commentary team will hopefully keep the motorsport thirsty fan informed.
    Others are not so convinced. Is there devil in the detail? While Foxtel have hinted at including live practise and qualifying for V8 Supercars coupled with extensive behind the scenes coverage, is it the free-to-air punters that have been left outside in the cold? Channel 10 are only broadcasting the showcase races live ie: Clipsal 500, Townsville 500, Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast 600 and the Sydney 500. The remaining 8 events of the championship will be broadcast via a highlights programme. Will this have an adverse effect on the sport? V8 Supercars is as popular to Australians as F1 is to the UK, especially England. You want to watch all F1 rounds live in the UK, you better subscribe to Sky Sports, otherwise wait for the highlights programme on the Beeb. Are Australian fans now in the same boat as British fans? By that we mean that if you want to watch every V8 Supercar round live, are we now forced to stump up the funds? If the punters are not prepared to pay, will fans lose interest in the championship? How will this affect crowd numbers at events? Even though the showcase events on Channel 10, especially Bathurst, will rate very well, will sponsors be questioning their commitments if exposure decreases due to diminished local viewing figures simply because fans are not willing to subscribe to Foxtel? Would love to know the viewing figures for F1 in the UK for this year compared to last year before the pay-TV deal. 
    
    Moving into the Pirtek Endurance Cup now and last weekend's SMP400 revealed a couple of potential championship contenders. Lousy weekend for HRT's James Courtney, damage limitation for FPR's Mark Winterbottom and Red Bull's Craig Lowndes all the while Red Bull's Jamie Whincup quietly extended his lead. The Saturday races brought the talented Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen into championship contention with a couple of masterful displays in car control to win both races in testing wet conditions, propelling him to fourth in the championship. The Sunday feature race saw Nick Percat start to fulfil his promise by finishing second and Fabian Coulthard finishing third who seems to be consistently scoring points and now sits fifth going in to the endurance season. What a star Volvo Polestar Racing and GRM have in young Kiwi, Scott McLaughlin. An impressive win in the feature race. A crowd favourite who genuinely seems to realise he's living the dream.
Watch Scotty fly at Bathurst.
                                   Ciao.... 

    V8 Supercar co-drivers must certainly be rubbing their hands together with anticipation at the prospect of the endurance season, the Pirtek Enduro Cup, looming ever so large. Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000, Gold Coast 600; awesome. The long wait is almost over. Being embedded in a team is not quite the same as racing, but what it does provide is a learning curve as to how a team operate. Could be immeasurable around a circuit such as Mt Panorama.
    But wait! Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Sydneysiders must also be rubbing their hands together, as there's the not too small matter of the Sydney Motorsport Park 400 to contest. The last SuperSprint format event before the endurance season commences.
    Red Bull Racing's Jamie Whincup's recent resurgence has given the defending champ a slender 15 point lead over FPR's Mark Winterbottom. Will this be an old fashioned Holden vs Ford stoush that runs all the way to the Sydney 500 at Homebush? Craig Lowndes' consistent podium places at last round's Queensland Raceway has placed him firmly back in contention, plus James Courtney's stunning win for HRT in the Sunday race has resulted in blowing the championship wide open. Points acquired at the SMSP 400 before the unpredictability of the Pirtek Enduro Cup could proved invaluable in the grand scheme of things.
    A bumper program is scheduled for the SMSP 400. V8 Supercars excite our senses with 2 x 100km races on Saturday and a 200km feature race on Sunday. Ably supporting the V8's is a absolute plethora of tin-tops to entertain the fans. Porsche Carrera Cup, Touring Car Masters, Australian GT; and making their debut as a V8 Supercar support, Radical Australia Cup. Any of our friends that frequent this site will know how much we love the exotic marques of GT, not to mention the very nimble Radicals. These light weight open cockpit sports cars will run comparable if not quicker times than the V8's. This year there's a designated Park + BBQ area. So grab your cameras (Nikons we hope), pack the barbie  and esky, bring the family, and don't forget your earplugs. 
                                             See you at the SMSP 400. Ciao....  

    With Mercedes seemingly waltzing away into the distance with both F1 championships, the state of play at the halfway point of the season suggests the competition between team mates is as potent as ever.
    At the top of the standings you have Mercedes winning all but one race, but star drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are fighting tooth and nail to gain the ascendency. With just 4 points separating the two pre-Hockenheim and as yet no apparent team orders, let's hope Mercedes continue to let them slug it out until season's end. Will one get the jump on the other, or will this battle run all the way to Abu Dhabi?
    Aussie Daniel Ricciardo is smiling his way with ease at graduating to the big time with Red Bull. D. Ricc. seems to be exploiting more of the new car's potential than 4-time world champ Sebastian Vettel, and at this stage seems to be quite simply outracing his champion team mate. Big test at the Seb-friendly Hockenheim though.
    That coveted third F1 crown may have to be placed on hold for a while longer for Fernando Alonso. Fernando always extracts the maximum from the package available and has scored points in every race. But with all available seats filled in other top teams for years to come, is Fernando's best bet to stay put at Ferrari and hope they can turn things around? The much vaunted rivalry with Kimi Raikkonen has not materialised, but let's hope Kimi can soon fight at the front. Ferrari need Kimi to push the team forward.
    Isn't it marvellous to see Williams fighting for podiums again? What a star they have in Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas, who has accumulated over double the points than his very experienced team mate, Felipe Massa. How soon will we see Williams on the top step of the podium again, and which driver will it be?
    Despite flashes of brilliance from Force India's Sergio Perez, team mate Nico Hulkenberg is another driver quietly amassing points in every race, and sits just behind Vettel in the standings. How long before a top team demands the services of Hulkenberg?
    Over at Woking, McLaren have a talented rookie in Kevin Magnussen who is pushing Jenson Button. Although it's obvious they are not fighting where they want to be, McLaren will bounce back. But when?
    The second year at Scuderia Toro Rosso is always a make or break year, and for Frenchman Jean-Eric Vergne, it's no different. Despite leading by a mere 3 points, he has been largely overshadowed by rookie Russian sensation, Daniil Kvyat. Who's going to win that battle and possibly prolong their F1 careers?
    Front runners last year to languishing near the rear this year sustaining a raft of reliability issues, that's Lotus. Romain Grosjean is slowly imposing his authority over Pastor Maldonado. However they are close enough in the standings that a decent result could reverse the order.
    Marussia is a team on the improve. They provide a reliable car and are slowly clawing their way up the grid. Brit Max Chilton is still bringing the car home banking a tonne of data, whilst Ferrari Academy driver Jules Bianchi scored the team's first championship points at none other than Monaco. Will they continue to improve and regularly trouble the midfield? 
    Independant Swiss team Sauber are renown for producing tidy F1 cars, but this year they seem to be struggling. Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez have been unable to fully show their wares, but that doesn't mean they're not pushing each other to score the team's first points for 2014.
    Swedish rookie Marcus Ericsson is pushing his Caterham further than team mate Kamui Kobayashi. Sure, Caterham have had their fair share of reliability issues and are currently undergoing restructuring with their new owners. But will we see Kamui display that trademark flair that announced his F1 arrival with Toyota and overpower Ericsson?
    So there's a quick half term report. If the remaining races are as fascinating as the first half, can't wait for the second half of the season. Lights about to go out at Hockenheim. Got to go. Cheers.... 
    

    The hills were alive in the Styrian Mountains. Formula One returned to Austria and the majestic Red Bull Ring at Spielberg for the first time since 2003. A visually stunning location, steeped in history, combined with a natural amphitheatre and great racing, certainly makes for a great TV spectacle. Selling out the event quite early, we cannot fathom the electric atmosphere that must of been prevalent as huge crowds filled the hills surrounding the circuit. Makes you wish you were there, right?
    Formula One often states that it needs to focus on promoting the brand and enhancing the viewing spectacle with the motive of boosting TV audiences, trackside crowd numbers, and therefore revenue. After watching the Austrian GP, we got to thinking about what factors would best achieve this. Is it simply a case of resurrecting traditional F1 circuits that are bloated with history? Are there other factors to consider?
    In recent years, newer F1 frontiers have emerged, but some have dropped off the calendar. Turkey and Korea spring to mind. Why is that? It all starts with the circuit itself, or more importantly, its location. While traditional circuits possess an inherent advantage and usually attract large crowds, the circuits that also seem to draw big crowds are located near the CBD of a large city, rendering them easily accessible to trackside fans, thus creating their own traditions. Think Canada - Montreal, Spain - Barcelona, Hungary - Budapest, Brazil - Sao Paulo, Australia - Melbourne and the spectacular night race in Singapore.
    Television is all about providing the home viewer with an experience as close as you can get to actually being trackside. If you're contemplating attending another country's GP, which one would you rather attend? One that's not readily accessible, with accommodation a distance away and half empty grandstands, or one that's bristling with an enthusiastic energy from the cheering punters passionately waving their flags at a jam-packed circuit? But if you can't attend, which one will you definitely watch next year on TV? One factor fuels the other.
    Intermittently, F1 teasingly suggests that the spectacle could be improved by making the drivers and F1 paddock area more accessible to the fans. One thing we'd like to see is a bit more jazzing up of the podium celebrations. Has the podium become a little stagnant with a bit of champagne spraying and a token interview? After all, it's a major achievement. We'd love to see a combination of the old and the new. In the old department, we'd love to see the return of laurel wreaths and floral presentations, but logically you can't cover up the sponsor's logos. In the new department, whilst we're not suggesting a live rock'n'roll style driver introduction a la Nascar All-Star Race; that wouldn"t work for F1; but a bit of pyrotechnics and the odd confetti cannon would provide the podium with a more celebratory vibe. Let us know what you think.
    F1 moves on to its spiritual home at Silverstone for the British GP. Big crowds will ensure an amazing atmosphere and for the first time since 2003 can access the infield of the circuit. Will anyone topple Mercedes? Makes you wish you were there, right?
                 Cheers....    

    With the 2014 Formula One championship approaching the halfway point and the European season in full swing, early season punter grievances regarding engine note or lack thereof seem rather insignificant after some scintillating racing has kept us thoroughly enthralled. Bahrain was simply edge of the chair viewing. Wheel to wheel right through the grid. Team mate battling team mate. The best race in eons. F1 racing at its finest.
    Which leads us to last weekend's fascinating Canadian GP, especially exciting for all F1 fans Down Under. With what seemed like yet another Mercedes whitewash, brake issues saw Lewis Hamilton retire and team mate Nico Rosberg slow, blowing the race wide open with 20 odd laps to go. The one-stopping Force India of Sergio Perez was being harried for third by the faster Red Bulls of Daniel Ricciardo and Sebastian Vettel, closely followed by Williams' Felipe Massa. An opportunistic move by Ricciardo around the outside going into Turn 1, saw the Aussie despatch Perez with 5 laps to go, leaving him to chase down the wounded Rosberg. With DRS at his disposal, Ricciardo overtook Rosberg into the last chicane to take the lead with only 2 laps to go. Despite finishing under Safety Car conditions due to a major crash between the squabbling Perez and Massa (both drivers are OK), Ricciardo emphatically claimed his first F1 race victory. Well done D. Ricc. We were certainly glad we got up at 3.30am to watch the race.
    Question is. Can Daniel Ricciardo capitalise on his Canadian victory and sustain his impressive performance throughout the remainder of the season? Will he become a frequent visitor to the top step of the podium? At the moment he's out-qualifying and out-racing Red Bull team mate and 4-time champ Vettel, but will he handle the increased pressure as the season ramps up? He's scarcely made a mistake so far.
    Red Bull's home race is next at the newly revamped Red Bull Ring at Spielberg, Austria. Sure to be a massive Sebastian Vettel contingent there. Good test. Go D. Ricc.
            Cheers....
  

    The world has lost a true gentleman and the finest race car driver Australia has ever produced with the passing of Sir Jack Brabham. Admired by contemporaries, revered by fans worldwide, a true legend of motorsport.
    In terms of motorsport, Sir Jack Brabham achieved all there is to achieve. Growing up in the Sydney suburb of Penshurst, the son of a greengrocer was an accomplished mechanic and engineer at a young age. Despite his desire to become a pilot, his mechanical prowess meant he was commissioned as an aircraft mechanic during WWII. After the war, Sir Jack successfully raced midgets that he constructed on dirt ovals from 1948. As his need to quench his motor racing thirst grew, a meeting with John Cooper saw Sir Jack embark to the UK which resulted in a Formula One debut in 1955. His maiden GP victory came at the season opening race at none other than Monaco in 1959. At that season's finale at Sebring, he famously pushed his out of fuel Cooper over the line to clinch 4th place and the first of his three F1 World Championships. 1960 saw Sir Jack garner his second championship driving for Cooper and is widely credited with being the catalyst for the revolutionary placement and subsequent development of the rear-engined race car. By the early 60's every F1 car was rear-engined.
    Perhaps Sir Jack is remembered most as the only F1 driver to win a championship in a car of his own design. Imagine that happening today? By preparing earlier and adapting better than the opposition to the new 3.0 litre formula, Sir Jack achieved his third championship in 1966 in the stunning Brabham BT-19.
    Who could ever forget after growing weary of media jibes regarding his age after turning 40, "Black Jack" hobbling to the grid at the Dutch GP in a false beard brandishing a cane resembling Old Father Time, then after laughing opponents jokingly help him into his pole position Brabham, proceeds to win the race?
    Sir Jack Brabham retired from F1 racing at the end of the 1970 season. That's a career that raced against such eponymous F1 names like Fangio, Moss, Clark, Hill, Stewart and Rindt. In 126 starts Sir Jack acquired 14 wins, 13 pole positions and won 3 F1 World Championships. Not only that, he was F2 champ in 1966, 4 time European F2 champ, British Saloon Car champ in 1965, competed at the Indy 500 and excelled in sportscars, in between coming back home to win the Australian Grand Prix a number of times. Sir Jack was awarded Australian Of The Year in 1966, an OBE in 1967, the first to be knighted for his services to motorsport in 1979, and in recent years, declared a National Treasure. Amazing!
    There is no doubt Sir Jack Brabham will be missed, but a life as remarkable as this and the influence he's had will be celebrated. His legacy lives on. Sons Gary, Geoff and David all have lengthy careers in motorsport. Now Sir Jack's grandsons Matthew and Sam are forging their own careers through Indy Lights and British Formula Ford. You only have to attend any historic open wheel event to see in all their resplendent glory any one of the 500+ Brabham race cars churned out in the 60's by the Brabham team. Sir Jack would of had a hand in all of them.
    
    Vale Sir Jack Brabham. 2/4/1926 - 19/5/2014. Forever remembered.
    

    Although it's somewhat difficult to compare eras in Formula One racing, we find it fascinating to admire various cars from times when they were once the best F1 could produce.
    At the recent Sydney SpeedFest at Sydney Motorsport Park we were fortunate enough to see up close and on circuit iconic F1 cars from bygone times. Cars from teams like Brabham, Arrows, Surtees, Ferrari, Benetton, Beatrice Lola-Haas and Williams, once piloted by names like Denny Hulme, Alan Jones, Stefan Johannsen, Gerhard Berger and Jack Brabham. 
    One thing that stuck in our mind though was how exposed the driver's head is. This is especially noticable on the 80s F1 cars, where the driver is also so far forward that their feet must surely be in front of the front wheel line. How dangerous is that? 
    These days, modern day F1 cars development is at staggering levels to the point where the cars subtly change shape on a race by race basis. Although the head is still vulnerable, thank goodness drivers are now much better protected in the cockpit than in years gone by. 

    
    
    Formula One has arrived in Europe where people often say the season really begins, as most teams traditionally arrive with major upgrades. Status quo was maintained though, as Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg once again creamed the opposition at Catalunya in Spain. Even at this early stage of the season, can anyone see Mercedes being toppled for this year's constructor's championship? Sure is refreshing to see Lewis and Nico racing each other though. 
    Congratulations to Australia's Daniel Ricciardo for managing the race to bring his Red Bull home solidly in third position to record his maiden podium in F1. Well done D. Ricc. Keep 'em coming.
    Finally, did anyone notice how nervous a lot of cars looked in Spain? Is this because they didn't test their new packages pre-season at Catalunya and were therefore lacking relevant data? Perhaps it's a case of better tyre management? Could it be because there's so much torque in the new powertrains, that the drivers are having to learn about steering inputs and throttle control all over again? Let us know what you think.
    The great leveller's next....Monaco. 

    As we travel west from Sydney over the Great Divide, the rolling hills of the western slopes offer spectacular vistas whilst tackling a challenging, undulating drive. We sweep past the idyllic Lake Lyell, the quaint town of Tarana, admire the farmlands whilst plowing over blind crests and corners, all the time dodging the road side feeding galahs. A beautiful part of Oz and great fun. We slow for the one-lane bridges after a tiny town called The Lagoon, and then we see it. A radio mast standing defiantly above the green on top of The Mountain. We turn right out of Lagoon Rd and start to fidget with anticipation in the driver's seat. We glance to the left and spot proudly emblazoned on the side of the mountain, "Mt Panorama". We're here! Even if you're not privileged enough to be racing, The Mountain has an effect.
    We're here for the Bathurst Motor Festival and thoughts immediately turn to Formula 3. Media speculation was rife leading into the event. Will F3 reclaim the Mt Panorama lap record? 
    Last year Chris Gilmour hailed F3 as Australia's fastest racing cars by claiming the Mt Panorama lap record. However, at this year's Bathurst 12 Hour GT race, Shane Van Gisbergen claimed the spoils in the impressive McLaren MP4-12C. 
    A small F3 field still provided great racing. Cooma local Chris Anthony claimed the spoils in both races for Team BRM, winning a thrilling Sunday race by 0.1sec to Ben Gersekowski with Simon Hodge in third. The result spices up the championship with Gersekowski taking a one point lead over Hodge with Anthony lurking. Anthony is competing on a round to round basis and has been undertaking various fund raising exercises to continue in F3. Let's hope he completes the season and beyond.
    After Chris Anthony shaved a couple of hundredths off Van Gisbergen's time in the Saturday race to reclaim the lap record for F3, it was Simon Hodge in the Sunday race that utterly blew the record away. On his last tour of the 12 lap race, he smashed the lap record by 1.2 sec. to record a 2.02.67. Completely flat from The Cutting all the way to The Esses, grabbing sixth gear before McPhillamy Park. Wow! 
    As we blast back along Mutton Falls Rd sending the easily startled sheep scurrying for cover, a sense of satisfaction arises. Big fields in Group N, Production Sports, NSW Production Touring accompanying Formula 3 around an iconic circuit, supporting a fantastic charity like Legacy, all translates to great motorsport entertainment and an awesome Bathurst Motor Festival. 
                                                             See you there next year.... 
    

    Year after year, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix attracts a wide cross section of fans with differing tastes from all over the world. Of course you have the hardcore F1 fans who want nothing more than a sensory overload courtesy of the pinnacle of motorsport. Others simply want to experience the event as a whole, taking in as much off-track action as they can cram into 4 days, as on-track action. Then there's the fans that especially Aussies can relate to. They're the ones that descend upon Albert Park primarily to witness on an international stage, Australia's premier tin-top category, V8 Supercars.
    Having attended every AGP since 2000, the question amongst fans is always the same. Why is the AGP not part of the V8 Supercar Champonship?
    After all, the AGP for a number of years now forms part of the fabulous Porsche Carrera Cup. In the past the event has also been part of various support categories' respective championships. F5000, Formula Ford, Aussie Racing Cars to name a few. Why not V8 Supercars? The circuit infrastructure catering for V8 Supercars has vastly improved, with the addition in recent years of their own pit building and pit lane. The pre-production, workload and costs are still there for the teams. The drivers assume the same risks, and you can be certain, they're racing just as hard as they ever do. Not to mention the brand and sponsor exposure. There's also the worst case scenario of a car sustaining damage from the GP so extensive that it puts them out at the next championship round. So why not add that extra element and make the AGP a championship round? At the moment we have a system where the points awarded at the GP just don't matter. Shouldn't Australia's premier international motorsport event showcase Australia's best motorsport categories fighting for championship glory? We hear there's talk of it joining the championship series for 2015 and beyond. Leave a comment and let us know your opinion.
    Winton 400 this weekend. Enjoy. Cheers....

    The 2014 Australian Formula One Grand Prix has been run and won, with Mercedes' Nico Rosberg cruising to an emphatic victory followed home by Red Bull's local hero Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen. Not two hours since the chequered flag dropped however, than the bubble burst for Ricciardo, Red Bull and every Aussie who painstakingly rode every lap with them, as the stewards announced that the fuel flow rate had been exceeded, and thus Ricciardo disqualified. Ouch! No doubt all Aussie fans hope that Red Bull's appeal will be upheld, or at the very least, since Ricciardo himself has already been absolved from any wrong doing, be allowed to keep his points. Fingers crossed.
    The much publicised technical changes which require 2014-spec F1 cars to adopt 1.6litre V6 turbo powertrains with extensive Energy Recovery Systems (ERS) have resulted in a vastly different engine note, and have left some fans pining for the sound of the high-revving, screaming 2.4litre V8's of previous years. For some punters, the very essence of F1 is the timbre combined with the intensity of the sound these intricate machines produce. But is there a bigger picture that needs discussion? In the larger scheme of things, is the sound really that important?
    F1 has often been criticised for not being relevant to road car manufacturing, whilst not placing enough importance on their environmental impact. In recent years road car manufacturing has been delving into the world of hybrid technology, whilst F1 has persisted with normally-aspirated engines. Now, with F1 embracing hybrids and therefore the best automotive brains developing the technology, expect the level of efficiency and performance to increase exponentially, which will filter down to road car manufacturing. Remember traction control, launch control, active suspension, carbon fibre? All pioneered by F1 and prevalent in road car manufacturing today. F1 has also in recent years incorporated bio-fuels into the mix. Now in 2014 with ERS providing a third of their power, F1 cars are carrying a third less fuel to cover the same race distance. You don't have to be mathematician to understand this, just like you don't need to be an environmentalist to know that this is a step in the right direction with emissions greatly reduced. Who's to bet against F1 pioneering full electric cars in the future? There'd be next to no engine sound then.
    So what's in a sound? Are some fans awarding too much emphasis on the "old" F1 sound? Do F1's new leaner, more efficient powertrains with reduced emissions condone rendering the traditional F1 sound the scapegoat for progress? Send formulafrontrow.com your opinions and views via email at: [email protected] or simply leave a comment.
    Besides, wasn't it nice to hear racing nuances we don't normally get to experience? Tyre squeal, throttle blips, brake lock-ups, the high frequency whooshing of the turbo, clear radio comms and trackside commentary, or the amazing cheering Melbourne crowd going ballistic when D. Ricc. brought the Albert Park house down?
    Malaysia's next. Let's go....