- 06 Oct 10, 07:15#218881
My fav motorsport event of the year is here. This weekend the v8 supercars will head to Bathurst for the best race in Australia, if not, the world.
So if your not into v8's that much but do like to watch Bathurst then here are a few things that you must know about the event.
There has been a lot of talk about a new driver pairings rule, but what is it exactly?
Well regular drivers can't pair up with each other this year. EG - Garth Tander and Will Davison drove for the Holden Racing team last year in cars #2 and #22. For the enduros they both paired together in the #2 car and the Holden Racing Team got 2 other drivers to race in the #22 car. Many other teams did this aswell with 1 car having their regular drivers and another car having some drivers who do not have a full time drive in the series.
HOWEVER, this year v8 supercars have said full time drivers (Tander and Davison) CAN NOT pair up together. So as a result Tander will drive with a non full-time driver as will Davison and every other driver in the field. TeamVodafone normally get 2 international drivers (which normally they have had links with 888 in the UK) to drive in the "second" car. But this year they have got v8 legend, Mark Skaife and the best driver in Australia not to have a full time driver, Steve Owen. So instead of having pairings like Tander/Davison, Lowndes/Whincup, Winterbottom/Richards you'll have pairings like Tander/McConville, Lonwdes/Skaife, Whincup/Owen, Winterbottom/Youlden.
So this year instead of having 5 or 6 cars that can win, you'll have 12 or 13
Which are the drivers/cars that I should look out for?
The big favourites will be:
#1. Jamie Whincup/Steve Owen
#888. Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife
#5. Mark Winterbottom/Luke Youlden
#18. James Courtney/Warren Luff
#9. Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre
And the other guys who'll be a chance of a win:
#15. Rick Kelly/Owen Kelly
#17. Steven Johnson/Marcus Marshall
#33. Lee Holdsworth/David Besnard
#34. Michael Caruso/Greg Ritter
#22. Will Davison/David Reynolds
#55. Paul Dumbrell/Dean Canto
Guys a chance of a podium:
#3. Tony D'Alberto/Shane Price
#8. Jason Richards/Andrew Jones
#19. Jonathon Webb/David Russell
#24. Fabian Coulthard/Craig Baird
#39. Russel Ingall/Paul Morris
#47. Tim Slade/Jack Perkins
Why should I watch
Trust me. Watching the final 30 laps is something you don't want to miss. 5/6 cars going flat out for the win and 10 cars trying to get a podium. The track is jaw dropping. Hell I think the track is better than Monaco/Spa. This whole race is something you don't want to miss.
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Schedule (Times done as local/GMT+ 11/AEDT)
Thursday
PRACTISE - 10:15am-11:05am (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
PRACTISE - 12:30pm-1:15pm (45 Mins) (Co-Drivers ONLY)
PRACTISE - 2:40pm-3:30pm (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
Friday
PRACTISE - 9:35am-10:25am (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
PRACTISE - 10:55am-11:40am (45 Mins) (Co-Drivers ONLY)
QUALIFYING - 2:35pm-3:15pm (40 Mins)
Saturday
PRACTISE - 10:00am-10:50am (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
TOP 10 SHOOTOUT - 3:45pm-4:30pm (45 Mins) (Top 10 Drivers each do 1 hotlap. Fastest gets pole)
Sunday
WARM UP - 8:00am-8:20am (20 Mins) (All Drivers)
RACE - 10:30am- (161 Laps or 7hrs and 15 minutes, whatever occurs first)
So if your not into v8's that much but do like to watch Bathurst then here are a few things that you must know about the event.
There has been a lot of talk about a new driver pairings rule, but what is it exactly?
Well regular drivers can't pair up with each other this year. EG - Garth Tander and Will Davison drove for the Holden Racing team last year in cars #2 and #22. For the enduros they both paired together in the #2 car and the Holden Racing Team got 2 other drivers to race in the #22 car. Many other teams did this aswell with 1 car having their regular drivers and another car having some drivers who do not have a full time drive in the series.
HOWEVER, this year v8 supercars have said full time drivers (Tander and Davison) CAN NOT pair up together. So as a result Tander will drive with a non full-time driver as will Davison and every other driver in the field. TeamVodafone normally get 2 international drivers (which normally they have had links with 888 in the UK) to drive in the "second" car. But this year they have got v8 legend, Mark Skaife and the best driver in Australia not to have a full time driver, Steve Owen. So instead of having pairings like Tander/Davison, Lowndes/Whincup, Winterbottom/Richards you'll have pairings like Tander/McConville, Lonwdes/Skaife, Whincup/Owen, Winterbottom/Youlden.
So this year instead of having 5 or 6 cars that can win, you'll have 12 or 13
Which are the drivers/cars that I should look out for?
The big favourites will be:
#1. Jamie Whincup/Steve Owen
#888. Craig Lowndes/Mark Skaife
#5. Mark Winterbottom/Luke Youlden
#18. James Courtney/Warren Luff
#9. Shane van Gisbergen/John McIntyre
And the other guys who'll be a chance of a win:
#15. Rick Kelly/Owen Kelly
#17. Steven Johnson/Marcus Marshall
#33. Lee Holdsworth/David Besnard
#34. Michael Caruso/Greg Ritter
#22. Will Davison/David Reynolds
#55. Paul Dumbrell/Dean Canto
Guys a chance of a podium:
#3. Tony D'Alberto/Shane Price
#8. Jason Richards/Andrew Jones
#19. Jonathon Webb/David Russell
#24. Fabian Coulthard/Craig Baird
#39. Russel Ingall/Paul Morris
#47. Tim Slade/Jack Perkins
Why should I watch
Trust me. Watching the final 30 laps is something you don't want to miss. 5/6 cars going flat out for the win and 10 cars trying to get a podium. The track is jaw dropping. Hell I think the track is better than Monaco/Spa. This whole race is something you don't want to miss.
-------
Schedule (Times done as local/GMT+ 11/AEDT)
Thursday
PRACTISE - 10:15am-11:05am (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
PRACTISE - 12:30pm-1:15pm (45 Mins) (Co-Drivers ONLY)
PRACTISE - 2:40pm-3:30pm (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
Friday
PRACTISE - 9:35am-10:25am (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
PRACTISE - 10:55am-11:40am (45 Mins) (Co-Drivers ONLY)
QUALIFYING - 2:35pm-3:15pm (40 Mins)
Saturday
PRACTISE - 10:00am-10:50am (50 Mins) (All Drivers)
TOP 10 SHOOTOUT - 3:45pm-4:30pm (45 Mins) (Top 10 Drivers each do 1 hotlap. Fastest gets pole)
Sunday
WARM UP - 8:00am-8:20am (20 Mins) (All Drivers)
RACE - 10:30am- (161 Laps or 7hrs and 15 minutes, whatever occurs first)