Periodically, Formula One talks that it needs to rein in costs. With the demise of the Marussia F1 team and Caterham's administrator's desperately seeking a buyer to continue their campaign into 2015, we got to thinking how best to reduce burgeoning costs to the teams. Bear in mind only Ferrari have been around since F1's inception in 1950. Manufacturers have come and gone, and will come again when economics suit. Teams have come and gone. This will always happen. It might be motorsport, but business is business. However, if monetary pressures are reduced, then the teams' longevity will be enhanced. So how is this best achieved?
    The development cycle in F1 is unrelenting. Recent years saw teams operating their windtunnels 24/7 utilising staff on a shift basis. The governing body wisely decreed that they shutdown their factories for 8 hours a day in the name of costs. Despite this, the richer F1 teams still upgrade their cars on a race by race basis in the hope of gaining incremental advantages over their opposition. It's at the point of race team members carrying smaller parts in their personal luggage to alleviate freight costs for the flyaway races. Does the governing body need to put their foot down to rein in costs?
    2015 sees F1 embark on their longest championship to date with a potential 21 events. Why doesn't the governing body mandate when upgrades can be fitted to the cars? Instead of teams tweaking their cars on a race by race basis, why not allow them to fit upgrades say every 4 or 5 events? A homologation within a homologation if you will. This could be timed to coincide with the limited in season testing that's still available. The teams would still be free to develop their cars as aggressively as they wish through simulators, CFD and windtunnel testing within their factory enclaves, but only allowed to fit their upgrades for race meets at the mandated time. Sure they'd still be producing bespoke components for their factory models, but not all would end up on the race cars for each and every event, thus reducing their manufacturing costs. Not to mention they'd be manufacturing less spares of their new parts as there's no "racing incidents" in a windtunnel or simulator. 
    From a fan's perspective, this could also be an exciting prospect. What if teams introduce various upgrades on their factory models, but when they fit them to the race cars at the designated time, they find that it doesn't correlate to the actual race car? The time between race car upgrades could possibly cover the last 4 or 5 factory model upgrades.The richer teams may be a number of upgrades down the track on the factory model than when the last real upgrade was fitted to the race car forcing them to play catch up before the next upgrade is allowed. There's also the opposite scenario, whereas a team could make a substantial gain. This could also benefit a mid-field team who get their upgrade spot on. Food for thought isn't it? 
     
                                     Merry Christmas to all our loyal friends and supporters. Ciao....   

    An eventful 2014 V8 Supercar season is nearing completion with just the Sydney 500 still to be contested around the tight, concrete wall lined Homebush street circuit. With little more than one second covering the entire field in qualifying, the racing has been frenetic, resulting in something like fourteen different winners (we've actually lost count) across this season's races. However, as we always say, the cream always rises to the top. Despite not having been officially crowned yet, Red Bull Racing Australia's Jamie Whincup has just captured an unprecedented sixth V8 Supercar championship. An incredible achievement!
    Following on from Whincup attaining an unassailable lead after the penultimate round at Phillip Island, we began to ponder the gravity of winning six titles and his standing in Australia's premier tin-top category. It's beyond debate that he's one of the greats, and whilst it's difficult to compare eras, is Jamie Whincup now our greatest V8 Supercar driver to date?
    Whincup's rise to the top has been somewhat meteoric. Numerous rookie and junior karting state titles through 1991-97 preceded senior titles including FMK Senior International A Karting Series in 1998, prompting Kart Oz Magazine to name him Karter Of The Year. After claiming a 1999 Formula A Series kart championship, he moved on to Formula Ford in 2000, finishing third in his debut season. After demoralising all comers in 2002 in Formula Ford with Sonic Motorsport, he made the big step straight to V8 Supercars in 2002 with Garry Rogers Motorsport. 2005 saw him acquire a full time drive in V8's with Tasman Motorsport and in 2006 moved on to Triple Eight where he remains to this day. 
    V8 Supercar titles driving a Ford in 2008 and 2009 and driving a Holden in 2011, 2012, 2013 and now 2014 makes Whincup the first to win titles for both Ford and Holden since Norm Beechey. Complementing his six titles are three Sandown 500 wins, four Bathurst 1000 wins and the coveted Barry Sheene Award for best and fairest in 2007 and 2008.
    We mentioned that it's difficult to compare eras, but Jamie Whincup's achievements to date are nothing short of remarkable. Can he now be mentioned in the same sentence with similar reverence as three time Australian Touring Car champion, nine time Sandown and Bathurst winner and V8 Supercar Hall Of Famer who was (and still is) hugely popular with the Australian public? His name is Peter Brock. A contentious issue for some, but the scary prospect is, Whincup is still relatively young. How much more will he achieve before he hangs up his racing boots?
    See you at the Sydney 500. Ciao....
    
    
     

    Those of you that frequent this site will undoubtedly know how much we love wings and slicks racing. At the recent Shannons Nationals finale at Sydney Motorsport Park, Formula 3 exhibited some truly mesmerising open wheel racing. A small field of 8 cars certainly didn't detract from some top shelf motorsport action. 
    Series leader Simon Hodge clean swept all three races, but it was by no means easy. The Sunday morning 9 lap race was some of the best F3 racing we've ever witnessed. The Team BRM driver made a sluggish start and after several overtaking attempts, was able to pass McDonalds Gilmour Racing's Ben Gersekowski around the outside of the T8 hairpin on lap 7. Opportunistic yes, but also a marvellous display of controlled aggression and supreme car control. Championship rival Gersekowski pushed Hodge all the way through the year, and Sydney Motorsport Park was no exception. Hodge later passed early leader Garnet Patterson down the main straight with some classic slipstreaming. Congratulations to Simon Hodge and Team BRM for winning the championship and claiming Australia's longest running perpetual motorsport award, the CAMS Gold Star. F3 will be showcased next year as part of the Shannons Nationals, and we urge you to check out Australia's fastest racing cars.
    Next year sees the introduction of the FIA sanctioned Formula 4 series. CAMS are purchasing 20 chassis with the aim of leasing them to participating teams. The formula is designed for up and coming drivers to be an intermediate category between Formula Ford and Formula 3. It's already running in Great Britain and next year sees the Australian version supporting V8 Supercars at seven events, guaranteeing multimedia exposure. 
    So where does this leave Formula 3? The discerning motorsport fan will know the difference, but to the average punter, it may seem like just another bunch of open wheelers trundling around the circuit. Can F4 and F3 co-exist? Australia's land mass is vast, but population wise, we are relatively small. Are there too many motorsport categories? We've mentioned it in previous posts, but to reiterate, F3 needs to intensely lobby the Australian GP Corporation to gain access to the Australian F1 Grand Prix support bill, thus maximising local and international brand exposure. How cool would it be to see Oz's premier tin-tops, V8 Supercars, coupled with worldwide categories Porsche Carrera Cup, F4 and F3 supporting F1 at Albert Park for the Australian Grand Prix? In the meantime, check out SBS's excellent Speedweek programme this weekend to see what we're talking about.
    Here's wishing and hoping. Ciao....
    
    

    Caught your breath yet? This year's Bathurst 1000 had everything a V8 Supercar fan could possibly imagine. The term "endurance racing" took on a new dimension with this year's race being the longest Bathurst ever at a shade short of eight hours. There was scarcely 25 laps of the 161 lap classic without a safety car intervention. Not only did The Mountain bite hard, but so did the track itself with a patched up section at Griffins Bend (T2) breaking up and claiming a number of victims, prompting an unprecedented red flag while track repairs were carried out. 
    Picking a winner as the race unfolded was nigh on impossible. Normally when we watch the race, about half way through, strategies and possible podium contenders begin to emerge. This year, right up to the end, had no idea!
    HRT's Garth Tander and Warren Luff after suffering their second big crash of the weekend, didn't even start the race. Both Volvo entries crashed at the same spot at The Cutting. At one stage FPR's Mark Winterbottom and Steve Owen looked good. The Bottle-O Ford of David Reynolds and Dean Canto sadly retired with victory in sight. But you certainly had to feel for Team Tekno's Shane van Gisbergen and Jonathon Webb who, after being quick all weekend, on pole, fast all race, coupled with great strategy, tragically retired when they seemed bound for an emphatic victory.
    To the victor go the spoils though, as it was FPR's Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris who prevailed in the end. The infamous Turn 2 claimed Morris early on, but they were able to continue. Coming from last in the field and pitting some 13 times, they were able to overhaul the no guts, no glory approach of Red Bull's Jamie Whincup on the last lap as he ran out of fuel. They only led one lap of the race, but it was the one that counts. It was only Mostert's 2nd attempt at the Bathurst 1000 and Morris' 22nd. Incidently, Morris' debut at Bathurst was a year before Mostert was even born. Congrats to Chaz and The Dude. Kudos must also go to the Norton Hornets of James Moffat and Taz Douglas for bagging second for Nissan, and HHA's Nick Percat and Oliver Gavin for securing third. Is the face of V8 Supercars changing? 

    Recent media scrutiny in Formula One has suggested that the extent of information passed on to drivers during a race through radio transmissions has exceeded the accepted level and spirit of the sporting regulation that states that a driver must drive the car alone and unaided. Numerous sensors on the cars relay temperature and performance data to the teams via car to pit telemetry in real time, allowing the teams to constantly inform their drivers about managing their cars to achieve the best race results. Is too much information being passed on to drivers, especially regarding an opponent's performance? 
    This has prompted the governing body to revise this sporting regulation and subsequently introduce rule changes outlining clear boundaries regarding radio transmissions to drivers. Teams can no longer inform their drivers of suggested driving lines, kerbs to avoid, set up parameters for various corners, gear selection, braking points and optimum use of the overtake button. More importantly, drivers compared to another driver can only know their lap times. No more are they allowed to know an opponent's comparable or absolute sector times, their speed in corners, gear selection, throttle and brake applications, use of DRS, and therefore where an opponent may be gaining or where they're losing time themselves. This all came in with immediate effect for the recent Singapore GP. 
    It's the further restrictions to come in next year that we're excited about. The governing body wanted to introduce these in time for Singapore, however the teams all agreed it was too much to adopt in one foul swoop. By the time the lights go out at Albert Park next year there will be a ban on radio messages regarding car performance. The teams can no longer inform their drivers of things such as clutch settings and how many burnouts to do at the end of their warm up lap to bring everything up to temperature for the start, what engine maps to use at various points of a race, when to harvest energy, when to save fuel, various temperatures and overall health of the car. 
    While a lot of this can be negated through pre-race briefings and steering wheel displays, there's always an unknown factor in F1. What happens during a race if the team detect an issue with the car? Drivers may be blissfully unaware of a potential issue and therefore cannot compensate and may suddenly retire. Could we have the situation where a frontrunner makes a poor start, then having to play catch up runs a more aggressive engine map and richer setting for too long, all the time not knowing if they'll run out of fuel or overstress the car and not see the chequered flag? Without the benefit of the team relaying the telemetry back to the driver, will we see drivers who are already good tyre managers and brake manipulators come to the fore? Does this allow a mid-field team to spring a surprise win? 
    Can we expect the unexpected?
                                                        Cheers....
    
     

    Finally the V8 Supercar Pirtek Endurance Cup is here. This stage of the season exposes the unknown elements that comprise endurance racing. Cars, teams and drivers all tested to their limits. It's going to be fascinating.
    Four mandatory pit stops for today's Sandown 500, seven for Bathurst and a minimum fuel drop for the Gold Coast. Will today's V8's stand the stresses of endurance racing? Will the teams optimise their chances and adopt winning strategies, or will some make some tactical blunders? Co-drivers must certainly be champing at the bit, especially after their taste in yesterday's qualifying race. But what contribution will they provide, especially for those main drivers in with an opportunity for championship glory? Who could ever forget former champ Greg Murphy crashing out at last year's Bathurst 1000? They potentially could advance or scupper a main driver's championship. All the championship's main protagonists have qualified in the top ten for today's Sandown 500. If you've got a tip, you're better than us. Remember no one's won Sandown from pole position since 1996. The anticipation's building, as is the uncertainty.
                                           Got to go. Cars are about to line up on the grid. 
                                                                       Ciao.... 

    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....