I'd just like to say that this past weekend at Eastern Creek was a great weekend of racing. I know that the F1 scene is more talked about here but since moving to Aus 5 years ago, I have become a great fan of the #1 touring championship in the world.So I'll put this to people. This weekend saw Ford go 1,2,3 with Ambrose, Lowndes and Ingall. The last time this happened you might asked...1997 with Seton, Bowe and Johnson. All three place getters this weekend with the new BA falcon. Is this a sign of good times ahead. I think so.Being a Ford and more importantly Ambrose fan I was stoked to see him win and win by a great margin. And to finally see Ford doing something productive this year is even better. With the new system in place (dropping your worst round) Lowndes is actually the series leader with Ingall in 7th and Ambrose in 8th but only a total of 70 points between 1st and 10th.Now for my little bit on Ambrose. I truly believe that this guy is a jet, and I think he has not been given enough credit for his driving ability. We talk about the F1s and driving ability but put some of those guys in a worse team and they prob would do not as well. In fact I'd bet on it. Quite like Skaife really, would he do the same if he was driving for Larkham racing or Team Kiwi...I think not. But Ambrose has proven himself since the day he entered the series. And I truly believe he will get his shot at carts or maybe even the big F1s one day.Just my two cents...and I thought it might open a discussion on OUR touring series that is fantastic to watch and very very close from first to last instead on continuously talking about F1s etc.
Hey Thorny I tossed up between the touring cars and the auto salon, decided to watch the tourers on tv then went to the salon, some great cars there amazed at some of the sound systems fitted and the amount of work done to some of these cars, man i love my car but some of these guys are obsessed with theirs, hey are we the only guys left that havent got nos fitted to their car, never seen so many in one place. Like you i was pleased to see the Fords run 123, so sick of the holden domination in the past,looks like the parity might be finally working, agree with you about Ambrose he was head and shoulders above any one else on the day.
We wondered where you were Ron! Lloyd, John and I thought it unusual that you weren't there trackside... =) Thanks to John and Lloyd we had a perfect position right at the start/finish line in the grandstand... Excellent day...
I'm always a bit hot and cold with V8's I normally watch Bathurst every year however I wouldn't be to disappointed if I missed the other races.One problem I have with the V8 series is that many of the drivers and team owners are a bunch of sooks. They complain over the smallest racing incident and 'parity' all the time it all gets a little old. Just get out and do your job and stop being so damned political. They always got some excuse and its normally anything else but themselves. Anyone would think they drive F1's. Excessive officaldom is a problem also which sanitises sports too much these days IMO.I suppose these arn't problems with V8's only but with motorsport in general. It's just that we see more of the news on V8's here in Australia. If we didn't get as much away-from-the-race, time filling, coverage then it might be easier to swallow.I'm actually more interested in F1's this year (believe it or not!) due to an Aussie being in a half decent car. Its great to see Webber finally getting some points this year. Hope there is more to come as I think he is as good as anyone else driving F1's these days. IMO they should ban all electronic driver aids to make the sport a little more 'pure' though.Oh well thats my rant. I did enjoy both races this weekend. Cheers,Danny
Note to self also... always think of the worst weather. Lloyd ends up buying the biggest Pirtek jacket there with interior lining good enough to go to the south pole with.Anthony brings a bag full of half his wardrobe and has 16 shirts and tops to look like the Michelin man and stay warm. He also carried a small tent and sleeping bag for good measure in case he wanted to stay at the track and not put up with Sarah after her hard night of drinking the night before... And John, well he brings a light weight jacket. Stupid Stupid. And you'd think I'd know better coming from Canada and all so when the cold southerly rolls in at a great rate of knots, I freeze while the other two enjoy the race.
Hi John, as a racing nut myself >>> I enjoyed both V8 and F1 races over the weekend, but am finding the V8's to be a bit same-same with not enough on track passing unless someone is being lapped.I've started having a lot more interest in the Procar series - Nations Cup, GTP etc. Smaller fields with lesser known drivers, but greater variety of better vehicles and more genuine racing with actual passing moves sometimes! And best of all the series culminates in the (non-championship) 24 race at Bathurst =) =), I was there last year and hope to be again this year - might see you there?????
Yeah for sure... planning the trip to Bathurst this year and camping out on the hill. Mate of mine and his g/f will be going as we've wanted to go (especially me) for the last 3 years and have not made it. This year is the one.On the note of V8 and limited passing, I think Lloyd put it well that there are prob too many enduros this year. The sprint races make for more entertainment (like Nations Cup etc) because everybody and their dog is so close and wants to win. Maybe Eastern Creek at the end of the year will be better...
Yup, MASSIVE cheers when a pass occured>> in the top 10... And you're right Mikey, this only occurred about 5 times during the whole race...Lloyd reckons the shorter "sprit" events are more exciting that than the current 300km format - after watching the race on Sunday, I reckon I'd have to agree with him... (Shock horror!!! what agree with Lloyd!!) To watch Murphy deliberately hold up, Lowndes, Ingall and Skaife was damn frustrating... Bugger Ambrose has a QUICK car! Real cool customer when it comes to driving too, reminds me of ICEMAN from Top Gun... !
