2008 V8 Supercar Season

[benm]

What the hell was Lowndes thinking in race 2, bumping his way through the field just like Ingall would a few years ago. He lost more positions than he gained in turn 9 cutting over the curb and pushing both cars wide.

Then he took it 1 too far and tried it on Courtney only to get what he deserved. He thought he had the corner but forgot that Courtney had the inside line and was still up in the inside before Lowndes just plain turns across infront of him.

Lowndes boss in the pits (the pommie bloke) just expects that everyone step aside for his 888 driver which won't happen.

Well done to BOC and also Cameron with good results (would have been normal results had the 3 fords not crashed out) so they were lucky with that 1.

Bad luck to HRT in this round with that front suspension problem. Tander definitely had the pace to be in the top 3, Skaifey just couldn't find the right setup.

[Whiplash]

i lost a lot of respect for lowndes this weekend, and even more so with Mezera for not intervening as the drivers standards officer, Frosty had a lot to say yesterday about the standards being set so i can't wait to see what he says about today incident

[JAS-25T]

ahhah cool V8 Supercab playing Waltzing Matilda with the throttle

[Duncan]

OK Off topic posts removed. keep it nice please so I don't have to ban anyone

[Duncan]

this is the cooper crash. hit very hard, aparently he hit the armco on the apex which is pretty easy on a blind corner like that - much harder to judge entry and exit than a normal open corner

[Whiplash]

he may have had some suspension damage from contact with another car (at that corner) the lap before. I was about 150m away from turn 8 at the time and didn't find out about the accident until the Biante Masters were canceled due to the severity of the accident and the damage to the track barrier. We walked out to the formation area where people were running around madly then the cars were told to return to the paddock with no information as to why. Plenty of unhappy people having spent large sums of money to race only to have the race canceled.

[Stupid Toyota]

What the hell was Lowndes thinking in race 2, bumping his way through the field just like Ingall would a few years ago. He lost more positions than he gained in turn 9 cutting over the curb and pushing both cars wide.

Then he took it 1 too far and tried it on Courtney only to get what he deserved. He thought he had the corner but forgot that Courtney had the inside line and was still up in the inside before Lowndes just plain turns across infront of him.

Lowndes boss in the pits (the pommie bloke) just expects that everyone step aside for his 888 driver which won't happen.

Well done to BOC and also Cameron with good results (would have been normal results had the 3 fords not crashed out) so they were lucky with that 1.

Bad luck to HRT in this round with that front suspension problem. Tander definitely had the pace to be in the top 3, Skaifey just couldn't find the right setup.

The driving standard does need to be looked at but the issue lies in the competitive nature of the field and the relative even racing that can happen in a semi-controlled series. When you have someone bordering on blocking you when you clearly have superior car speed at the time then you can get a little irate. Lowndes committed to the corner and was pushed right against the wall into the marbles and rubbish there which resulted in him not being able to pull the car up properly. Full credit to both drivers for getting away with it but realistically Lowndes was really being blocked there which is an infringement in itself.

Neither benefitted from the move.

Lowndes move on Courtney wasn't the brightest thing to do. He did turn in on him a little tight but at the end of the day, it's racing and the whole idea is to beat the guy beside you. Probably should have left it a little wider there but people make mistakes and race cars arent the easiest things to see out of especially with a HANS device attached.

As for the bumping, it happens when you need to maximise your speed and cornering in order to get by a car of very similar speed and ability. It's a different thing when you've got a lot of disparity between cars which happens with a lot of grass roots racing, but you look at any controlled field and you'll see people getting super close and lots of panels being rubbed. Have you been out to a hire kart track lately and tried to get a run on someone out of a corner only to find they didnt move precisely where you'd hoped they would? Same thing, just bigger budgets and taller poppies. Bet if you'd done it she'd have been a "racing incident mate"

I was impressed with van Gisbergen in the ford. Driving well, but damn did that thing have some straight line grunt too... Towards the end of race 2 after a restart they had a 4 wide run going on and he pulled 3 or so car lengths on the others up the shortish straight they were on

[djr81]

I want to know who is financing Paul Dumbrell's V8 escapades.

Simply because it would be good to know someone so generous.

Well done to the Jones brothers & McConkey. Good to see them having some time in the sun.

The PWR car for Andrew Thompson did well. Looks like he can drive, not that there was much doubt.

Junior Johnson got well shafted by the "Judge of fact". Fact was he got it wrong.

Highlight of the whole weekend was the brilliant effort by Paul Morris to drop the C word into the broadcast.

As for driving standards - it is always going to end up in a mess of broken cars if you relax them even a little. Surely that much has been learned?

Not that it is V8 related, but it is good to see so many sons of former racers having a go. Miedecke, Moffat (x2) & now Hansford. Good stuff.

Edited February 25, 2008 by djr81

[JAS-25T]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,2...4-23770,00.html

February 25, 2008

THE Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) has confirmed V8 Supercar driver Ashley Cooper has passed away in Royal Adelaide hospital.

Cooper 27, of Ulladulla in NSW, died following a crash in last Saturday's Fujitsu development series race at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.

An experienced motor racing competitor, Cooper was critically injured when his vehicle impacted with a safety barrier at the exit of a corner at speeds of more than 200kph.

Cooper was quickly attended to trackside by the event's senior medical personnel and subsequently transported to the Royal Adelaide Hospital by ambulance.

CAMS President, Colin Osborne, said that Cooper's passing was something that would be felt by the entire Australian motor sport community.

"Firstly our thoughts and sympathies go to Ashley's family and friends, particularly his wife Casey and two children and parents Alan and Maree," said Osborne.

"It is always a very sad day when any member of the motor sport community is taken from us.

"The motor racing community involves a close knit group of competitors and officials and I know that everyone will be feeling the loss of Ashley.

"CAMS will conduct its own full independent investigation to determine the circumstances leading to the incident.

"In the mean time, CAMS and event officials are working with the relevant civil authorities to assist with their investigations."

CAMS chief executive Graham Fountain said the family had been offered counselling and support services.

[evil_weevil]

Sad news

RIP

[34GeeTeeTee]

RIP Bad news alright....

[raps86]

RIP Ashley .

He was a great upcomer in the sport and was friendly 2 every1.

[Neil]

Very Very sad indeed. He leaves behind a wife and two kids. Not good at all.

Motor racing is fun,,,but boy does it bite when something goes wrong.

On another note,,,If I was Frosty I would have gone straight up to Lowndsey and quickly wiped that stupid smile off his face,,,Permanently.

Neil.

[Stupid Toyota]

On another note,,,If I was Frosty I would have gone straight up to Lowndsey and quickly wiped that stupid smile off his face,,,Permanently.

Neil.

Since when did motor racing attract soccer hooligans? You in the right forum here?

If it was intentional like the Bahrain incident last year with I "think" Paul-The DUD-Morris re-entering the track at speed to deliver a retaliatory blow then perhaps a certain amount of outrage could be warranted however he just didnt allow enough room and an error was made. Nobody is perfect and at least he admitted he was in error by not realising he had enough space unlike others who would quickly cast blame on all and sundry to deflect criticism of themselves. I'd rather a smiling face admitting a mistake then a grumpy f**khead blaming others. Craig is not perfect, he's crashed heaps but in the end small errors cause big problems. It's racing...

[benm]

Actually he admitted that he was lapping faster, thought he was 3/4 a car length infront of Courtney and that Courtney should have yielded.

[black_gtst]

sad indeed but anyone involved realises that it can and does happen in motorsport. was just havin a chat to my sisters b/f who is no2 mechanic for tasmin motorsport and he said its being kept fairly quiet that one of the ute drivers involved in that accident is not looking too good either. a street circuit like that is obviestly not a place for people that havent done many hours in a well prepaired race car.

[Neil]

Since when did motor racing attract soccer hooligans? You in the right forum here?

Yep,,,I'm in the right forum mate.

Nah sorry mate but leaning on other drivers at a place like that is not on. The 888 cars did way to much leaning for my liking. Actually leaning is not quite right,,,hows about pushing as in using the other car as a burm.

I've just finished looking at both races again and It's almost like Roland has told both drivers to get really aggresive of which both did. I have never seem CL drive so madly.

My thinking is Roland has told them Thomas is new and will let stuff go and he did.

Neil.

[Duncan]

I thought maybe 888 had been playing gran turismo in the off season. Kel pulls the exact same move on me that lowndes was using into turn 9.

brake too late, take out the car outside you and beat them back out of the corner because they are so far off the line.

ST....you've done door to door racing - are you saying you've never seen a punch up in the pits, or at least a real good spray? tempers often run high afterwards.

[Whiplash]

just look at the Carrera cup last year when a team owner was arrested and charged with assault after punching another driver who hit his car

[Beer Baron]

nothing wrong with a little tappa tappa tappa. on the track or in the pits... lol.

ok, kidding. and I'm with whoever it said it before. skaife will come good this year.