V8 Supercar

The V8 Supercar is a category of touring car racing that evolved in Australia in the early 1990s. International touring car regulations seemed destined to preclude the Australian-built Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, to the disappointment of a majority of fans who had watched a long history of Ford-Holden battles in Australian touring car categories since the 1960s. In its early days, it ran in opposition to the "official" super-touring category, which ran cars under the international regulations, but gradually the bulk of sponsorship, driver talent, and fan attention drifted to the V-8 category leaving the super touring as an amateur category.

The regulations are designed to balance the desire for technical competition and fast vehicles with the requirement that costs are kept reasonable, racing is reasonably close, and the cars bear some resemblance to production models. The cars are based on either Commodore or Falcon production bodyshells, but from there almost every component is modified and some (such as differentials and gearboxes) are identical in all cars in the category. Engines are 5.0 L V8 with pushrod actuated valves and electronic fuel injection. Both Ford and Holden engines are based on racing engines from their respective US parent companies. Engines are restricted to 7500 rpm, and in this configuration most of the cars put out around 450 kilowatts of power. Basic front suspension configuration is similar to the road cars, whilst rear suspension is a "live axle" design, and spring and damper design is unrestricted. A "control tyre" is supplied to all teams. A standard "aerodynamic package" of spoilers and wings is supplied to the teams, and is tested so the two makes have as similar aerodynamic characteristics as possible. During the year, there are large restrictions on the number of testing days, along with the number of tyres used during those days. During race meetings, teams are allocated a set number of tyres for the entire weekend.

The category is commercially successful and highly competitive, with races all over Australia, one in New Zealand, and in 2005, the first race in China. Tracks range from street circuits in Adelaide to more permanent road courses at Phillip Island. The largest single event is the Bathurst 1000.

The first Australian Touring Car Championship under the V8 Supercar rules was won by Glenn Seton with his team-mate former Formula 1 world champion Alan Jones taking second in the championship.

The racing is very close and aggressive between the top teams (with usually less than a second separating the top 10 - top 20 cars), as there is no official involvement by major car manufacturers. However, both Ford and Holden do provide sponsorship to the top teams that run their cars. From 1996 to 2002, V8 Supercars Holden Racing Team, managed by Tom Walkinshaw Racing, had a decisive competitive edge over most of the opposition. More recently, the sport has seen the return to prominence of Ford through Marcos Ambrose and Stone Brothers Racing, winning in 2003 and 2004.

V8 Supercar Championship Series

List of Series Champions

Year	Driver	Make	Team
1993	Glenn Seton	Ford	Glenn Seton Racing
1994	Mark Skaife	Holden	Gibson Motorsport
1995	John Bowe	Ford	Dick Johnson Racing
1996	Craig Lowndes	Holden	Holden Racing Team
1997	Glenn Seton	Ford	Glenn Seton Racing
1998	Craig Lowndes	Holden	Holden Racing Team
1999	Craig Lowndes	Holden	Holden Racing Team
2000	Mark Skaife	Holden	Holden Racing Team
2001	Mark Skaife	Holden	Holden Racing Team
2002	Mark Skaife	Holden	Holden Racing Team
2003	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Stone Brothers Racing
2004	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Stone Brothers Racing

Notable figures involved in the category include:

• Mark Skaife, 5 times champion, 3 x Bathurst Winner
• Craig Lowndes, 3 times champion, 1 x Bathurst Winner
• Glenn Seton, 2 times champion
• Marcos Ambrose, 2 times champion
• John Bowe, 1 times champion, 2 x Bathurst Winner
• Greg Murphy, 4 x Bathurst Winner
• Paul Radisich WTCC Winner
• Steven Johnson, Son of Dick Johnson
• Russell Ingall
• Garth Tander
• Steven Richards, Son of Jim Richards
• Max Wilson, ex-F1 test driver, ex-Champ Car World Series
• Alan Jones, F1 World Champion
• Larry Perkins, ex-F1
• Jason Bright
• Todd Kelly and Rick Kelly
• Brad Jones
• Cameron McConville

External links

• V8 supercars official site (http://www.v8supercar.com.au)
• The Official V8 Supercar Yearbook (http://www.v8yearbook.com)
• Stone Brothers Racing (http://www.stonebrothersracing.com.au)
• Holden Racing Team (http://www.hsv.com.au)
• Ford Performance Racing (http://www.fpv.com.au/fpr)
• Perkins Motorsport Castrol Racing (http://www.perkinsmotorsport.com.au/)
• V8Impact - V8 Supercar Resources (http://www.v8impact.com/)