V8 Supercars

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V8 Supercars Australia

Image:V8Supercars logo.png
General Information
Founded 1997
Sport Motorsport
Teams 17
Cars/Drivers 31
Current Countries Flag of Australia Australia
Flag of Bahrain Bahrain
Flag of New Zealand New Zealand
2007 Season
Drivers Champion Flag of Australia Garth Tander
Team Champion Toll HSV Dealer Team
Constructors Champion Holden

V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category. It is the most popular motorsport in Australia, has a considerable following in New Zealand, and is steadily growing in popularity across the world where television coverage allows. The series is generally regarded as a commercial success, with full grids and large crowds at events.

V8 Supercar Events are held in all states of Australia, as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain. In 2005, an event at the Shanghai International Circuit in China was held. V8 Supercars have drawn crowds of over 250,000 spectators. The 2007 Season was held over 14 race weekends, held on various purpose-built racetracks and street circuits in the aforementioned countries. Race formats range from sprint races, where three 150 km races are held over a weekend, or endurance races such as Bathurst, which is run over a 1000 km race distance, and Sandown, run over 500km.

The V8 Supercars themselves are loosely based on either the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore, and bear some resemblance to the production models outwardly, but are highly modified to suit the motorsport application, and are strictly governed in all aspects of performance in an effort to keep all the drivers on an even footing to create closer, more exciting racing. Because of this, entire fields of 30+ drivers are separated by just one second over qualifying laps at some events.

Historically, the Falcon and Commodore are the two most popular passenger cars on the Australian market. Rivalry between the two makes is a major aspect of the sport's appeal.

Contents

In January 1993 CAMS replaced the existing Group 3A Touring Car category (which had been based on FIA Group A rules) with a new two class Group 3A. This encompassed both 5.0 Litre Touring Cars (essentially Australian Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore V8 models) and 2.0 Litre FIA Class II Touring Cars. These cars would contest the Australian Touring Car Championship as well as non championship Touring Car events such as the Toohey’s 1000 at Bathurst. The existing BMW M3s were also permitted to compete against the Ford & Holden V8s in the 5.0 Litre class, unlike the turbocharged Ford Sierra and Nissan Skyline GT-R models which were now banned from Australian Touring Car racing. However the M3 received none of the liberal concessions given to the new V8s, and the German manufacturer’s attention switched to the 2.0 Litre class for 1994.

From 1995 the 2.0 Litre cars (now known as Super Touring Cars) were no longer eligible for the Australian Touring Car Championship and did not contest the endurance races at Sandown and Bathurst, leaving these open solely to the 5.0 Litre Ford & Holden models.

The category was renamed 'V8 Supercars' in 1997 when event management company IMG was given the rights to the series in 1997 after a bitter battle against CAMS and the ARDC, and led the championship on a rapid expansion. Network Ten began televising the series in the same year, taking over from Channel Seven. The Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO) was later formed to run the series directly and later became an independent organisation from its IMG origins. In 2005 the name was changed to V8 Supercars Australia.

V8 Supercars Australia introduced carnivale street-race V8 Supercar events such as the Clipsal 500, and strived to turn Australian touring car racing into a world-class product. The name "V8 Supercar" was invented, and "Shell Australian Touring Car Championship" was replaced by "Shell Championship Series", now called the "V8 Supercar Championship Series"

  • 9 - Holden
  • 6 - Ford

Round Date Event Location
1 March 1-4 Clipsal 500 Adelaide, South Australia
2 March 23-25 Bigpond 400 Perth, Western Australia
3 April 20-22 Placemakers V8 Supercars Pukekohe Park Raceway, New Zealand
4 May 18-20 Winton Motor Raceway Winton, Victoria
5 June 9-11 Eastern Creek Sydney, New South Wales
6 June 22-24 SKYCITY Triple Crown Darwin, Northern Territory
7 July 20-22 Queensland Raceway Queensland Raceway, Queensland
8 August 17-19 Jim Beam 400 Sydney, New South Wales
9 September 14-16 Just Car Insurance 500 Melbourne, Victoria
10 October 4-7 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Bathurst, New South Wales
11 October 18-21 V8 Supercar Challenge Surfers Paradise, Queensland
12 November 1-3 Desert 400 Sakhir, Bahrain
13 November 16-18 Falken Tasmania Challenge Symmons Plains, Tasmania
14 November 30 - December 2 Dunlop Grand Finale Phillip Island, Victoria

Round Date Event Location
1 March 1-4 Clipsal 500 Support Adelaide, South Australia
2 March 30 - April 1 Wakefield Park Goulburn, New South Wales
3 May 18-20 Winton Support Winton, Victoria
4 July 20-22 Queensland 300 Support Queensland Raceway, Queensland
5 August 17-19 Oran Park Support Sydney, New South Wales
6 October 4-7 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Support Bathurst, New South Wales
7 November 30 - December 2 Grand Finale Support Phillip Island, Victoria

The V8 Supercars are broadcast by Channel Seven who secured the rights from the 2007 season onwards, taking over from Channel Ten, who had successfully broadcast the events since taking over from Seven in 1997. The deal is worth roughly AU$120 million. Channel Seven will show increased live coverage, as well as a 25-minute show specific to the series on weekends when there is no racing.

Coverage of all rounds in New Zealand was provided by Television One until the end of the 2007 season at which time coverage tansferred to TV 3. SPEED covers the races in the United States.

The Series is filmed in Widescreen Digital and has six cars carrying in-car cameras with each having 4 or more mini cameras. However this is down on last year where eight cars carried cameras.

A popular aspect of V8 Supercar coverage is the Telstra Bigpond web show "The Panelbeaters", hosted by two ex-drivers, Seven Network commentator Neil Crompton and close friend and Team BOC boss, Brad Jones. The show is run every Friday prior to an event, and every Wednesday after an event and is hosted on the series website.

The Touring Car Entrants Group Australia (TEGA) is owned by all of the teams, and owns half of V8 Supercars Australia. TEGA has a board of 4 representatives and drafts the regulations.

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, international touring car regulations (which moved from Group A to Supertouring) seemed destined to preclude the Australian-built Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon in the early 90s. However, V8 only regulations were drafted, in partnership with Ford and Holden, to avoid this and to showcase their large Australian made cars.

Nissan, who had dominated in the early 1990s, had their Turbo AWD Skyline GT-R controversially excluded from the series, whilst BMW (with their non-turbo M3s) were allowed to continue for a brief period. Nissan vowed never to return to touring car racing in Australia again, and a short time later ceased Australian production.

Eventually the works BMW team left to head a separate new Australian Super Touring Championship (ASTC), and in the mid-1990s this Super Touring series ran in opposition to the V8 category. Super Touring with its many makes had the backing of the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) and sensationally two Bathurst 1000s were held each year in 1997 and 1998, one for V8s and the other (backed by traditional custodian ARDC) for Super Touring. Ultimately, the bulk of sponsorship, driver talent, and fan attention remained with the more popular V8 category during this era, leaving the ASTC to later collapse in 2002 as an amateur category.

TEGA are now looking to instigate control floor pans and cylinder heads for both Commodores and Falcons so they are cheaper and easier to build and fix, potentially meaning that more rounds can be raced in a season and teams can afford to run multiple cars and have spares in case a car is severely damaged.

Shane Price's V8 Supercar, 2007 VE Commodore Model
Shane Price's V8 Supercar, 2007 VE Commodore Model
2005 V8SCS Champion Russell Ingall with his #1 Caltex Falcon
2005 V8SCS Champion Russell Ingall with his #1 Caltex Falcon

The regulations are designed to balance the desire for technical competition and fast vehicles with the requirement that costs are kept reasonable. Racing is close, and the cars bear some resemblance to production models. The recent application of "Project Blueprint" - introduced at the beginning of the 2003 season (where both makes of car were examined to ensure parity) the racing between Holden and Ford has become closer than ever (reducing the risk of a one make dominated series).

  • Bodyshell: In principle each V8 Supercar is based on either a current spec VE cut and shut Commodore or BF Falcon production bodyshells with the new Falcon Orion expected for the later half of the 2008 season, with an elaborate roll cage constructed into the shell from aircraft grade materials, other modifications include wider wheel arches. However due to its excess wheelbase the VE Commodore has been granted a custom fabricated bodyshell into which a limited number of production bodyshell panels are incorporated. On the VE Commodore the roofline is lower than production and the rear door is shorter such that externally the rear doors, roof and rear quarters all consist of specialised custom coachwork panels. In 2007 specifications both the Commodore and Falcon have adopted E-glass front mudguards in place of the production steel items, in order to save costs.
  • Aerodynamics: A standard "aerodynamic package" of spoilers and wings, a front splitter/air dam and side skirts are supplied to the teams of each make. Testing is conducted so that in principle the two makes have similar aerodynamics. However the test is only conducted at one particular speed and with the cars set to the lowest downforce configuration, leaving room for controversy.
  • Weight: The minimum category weight is 1,355 kg (not including driver) with 80 kg (176 lb) driver allocation.
  • Power: A V8 supercar has to be front-engined and rear-wheel drive. Every car is powered by either a 5.0 L Ford "Windsor" SVO or Chevrolet Aurora race engine (depending on the make) which is capable of producing between 460 and 485 kW (620 — 650 bhp) of power, but generally quoted as a little over 450 kW (600 bhp) in race trim. Engines have 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 electronically restricted to 7,500 rpm.
  • Some common components: Differentials, brake packages and gearboxes are identical in all cars in the category. The category uses a 6-speed Hollinger gearbox (Australian made), in the familiar 'H' pattern. Differential ratios used throughout the season are 3.75:1, 3.5:1, 3.25:1 and 3.15:1. The 3.15:1 ratio differential was introduced in 2005 to be used at Bathurst - cars with this ratio can now exceed 300 km/h on Conrod straight (hypothetically, this has yet to be proven, although Jack Daniel's Racing, then called Castrol Racing, claims to have exceeded this speed multiple times in the 2005 event). The theoretical maximum speed is 306 km/h at 7,500 rpm. All cars have a 120 litre fuel tank.
  • Suspension: Basic front suspension configuration is double wishbone (made compulsory for both makes through Project Blueprint), whilst rear suspension is a "live axle" design, using 4 longitudinal links and a Watts linkage for lateral location. Both suspension systems are similar to those fitted to the EL Falcon. Spring and damper design is unrestricted.
  • Tyres: A Dunlop "control tyre" is supplied to all teams. Throughout the year, there are restrictions on the number of testing days (6 per year), along with the number of tyres used during those days. For race meetings, teams are allocated a set number of tyres for the entire weekend, with the number available for each race depending on the type (sprint or endurance).
  • Cost: Reported to be approximately $AU 600,000 per car and $AU 130,000 per engine. Teams spend up to $AU 10 million per year running their two-car teams. TEGA has introduced a salary cap of $AU 6.75 million in order to keep costs down. The salary cap is known as Total Racing Expenditure Cap (TREC).

Main article: V8 Supercar Championships
Main article: Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series

Two separate V8 Supercar series are held. The primary series is the main "Level One" championship called the 'V8 Supercar Championship Series'. A "Level Two" championship, referred to in 2007 as the Fujitsu V8 Supercars Series, is intended for privateers who formerly raced in the Level One series but have been left behind by increasing pace of the professional team, however, many "Level One" teams run secondary teams in the Fujitsu series to "blood" new drivers. The only way to compete in the "main game" is to purchase a licence from an existing team (TEGA are no longer involved in creating new licences for V8 teams).

V8 Supercar formats differ. One, two and three race rounds are held, with track time, race kilometres and tyre allocations varying. Most triple race rounds, the first race is the shortest, with the second and third races are equal in laps but have more laps than the first race.

The Bathurst 1000, Clipsal 500 and Sandown 500 are the marquee events of the V8 Supercar calendar. In 2005 there was also a marquee round in Shanghai, however the promoter discontinued with this race in 2006.

Main article: Bathurst 1000

Known as the "Great Race", the Bathurst 1000 is a traditional 1000 km test of drivers, teams and machines held at the Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales. It has been the preeminent domestic motor racing event in Australia for decades - well before the development of the V8 Supercar category. It is conducted over 161 laps, on a track that features two long straights, that contrast with a tight section of fast blind corners across the top of the mountain.

In the early years, the race was open to almost anybody with a car that met (considerably more relaxed) regulations and held an Australian motorsport licence. The resulting wide variety of cars, driver talent, and budgets ensured that large margins split the placings. In the modern V8 era, the field has consisted of professional teams only.

With the introduction of the "safety car" bringing the field together - when an accident makes the track unsafe - has radically changed the nature of the race. But Bathurst has always been an intensely tactical race, hinging on pit stop strategy (fuel economy, tyres, etc) driver talent and outright overall speed.

The 2006 Bathurst 1000 became a very emotional event to all drivers, teams, friends and fans of one of it's greatest drivers in its history, 9 time winner of the "Great Race", Peter Brock (killed in the Targa West rally event the month before).

The inaugural and perpetual Peter Brock Trophy was handed out to eventual race winner Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup. An emotional Lowndes, who was a protegé of Peter Brock, dedicated his win to his mentor, former team member and very good mate/friend.

Main article: Adelaide 500

The Clipsal 500 is held in Adelaide on a shortened version of the former Grand Prix Circuit. The event in the heart of the city has a carnival atmosphere, and crowds of over 200,000 racing fans and socialites turn out each year. Two 250 km races are held on each of Saturday and Sunday, and this has proven to be a very successful format. It is the first event to be inducted into the V8 Supercar Hall of Fame and is a winner of various awards. While the trophy presentation is centred around the results of race two, the round winner is decided by points accrued from both races.

Main article: Sandown 500

The Sandown 500 is the first of the 2 endurance races on the race schedule, raced at Sandown International Raceway. Since its inception it has been referred to as Bathurst's "Little Brother" as it serves as an amazing entre to the 'Great Race'. Contrary to popular belief, the weather is statistically more predictable and favourable than its 'big brother' as well as many other courses. It's current official name is the Just Car Insurance 500, which replaced long time sponsor of the event Betta Electrical in 2007.

However, in 2008 the round at Sanddown has been moved to the first week in June and chaged to a regular 3 race sprint format. It's place on the calendar as an endurance has been taken by a round at Phillip Island.

Main article: Grand Finale (V8 Supercars)

With the change to the 'Blueprint' formula in 2003, AVESCO created a special season ending round. Initially this round was held as the thirteenth championship event in late November at Eastern Creek Raceway near Sydney. It was sponsored by VIP Petfoods and was branded 'The Main Event'. The round was won by Marcos Ambrose in a fitting conclusion to his 2003 championship win, but made headlines when Ambrose's teammate Russell Ingall and Holden Racing Team rival Mark Skaife spectacularly brought the sport into disrepute with an on-track/off-track stoush. In 2004 the event became known as the 'Bigpond Grand Finale', and was again held at Eastern Creek - won again by Marcos Ambrose. In 2005 the venue moved to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit as the final round of the championship and the base for Russell Ingall's series win. In 2006, the event will be known as the 'Caterpillar Grand Finale'. Todd Kelly won the 2006 final round in controversial circumstances, with two race wins (race one and two) and a fifth placing (race three). His brother, Rick Kelly, won the championship after he was given a drive through penalty for a collision with title contender, Craig Lowndes. The collision caused Lowndes major steering damage that required Kelly only to finish the race to win the championship. However the championship was not decided until the day after in an appeal in Melbourne in which Lowndes lost. For 2008 Oran Park Raceway will host the Grand Finale in its final ATCC/V8 Supercar round before its expected closure in 2009.

The start of the 2005 Shanghai race
The start of the 2005 Shanghai race

The V8 Shanghai Round was held in China on a shortened version of the Shanghai Grand Prix circuit. In 2005, the entire V8 circuit was air freighted overseas for the first time, and encouraging crowd figures of 70,000 were recorded before an enthusiastic Chinese audience. The winner of the inaugural Shanghai round was Todd Kelly (HRT)(188pt/192pt), 2nd place was Steven Richards (Castrol Perkins) (186pt/186pt) and third was Paul Radisich (TKR) (170pt/180pt).

After difficulties in securing a date for the 2006 fixture, the V8 Supercar organising body announced that it had terminated its contract with the Shanghai Round promoter in March 2006. Although not ruling out a return to the Shanghai circuit one day, any further races at the circuit have been placed on an indefinite hold.

Main article: Desert 400

In 2005 a contract was confirmed to hold V8 Supercar races at the Bahrain International Circuit in the Bahrain venue at Sakhir from 2006 onwards, on a shortened version of the F1 Grand Prix circuit. Ford Performance Racing driver Jason Bright was crowned King of the Desert in 2006, winning the inaugural 'Desert 400' ahead of Holden drivers Todd Kelly and Garth Tander.

Championships: 6, Bathurst Wins: 3

The oldest team in V8 supercar was formed by Dick Johnson, evolving from the Bryan Byrt Ford dealer team. Dick Johnson Racing provided formidable competition for the Holden Dealer Team of Peter Brock in the early 1980s, and were a consistent force up to the year 2001 regularly winning races. Son Steven Johnson continues the legacy by carrying historically the most famous Ford number in the series - the legendary #17.

Championships: 2, Bathurst Wins: 2

The HSV Dealer Team started as the Holden Racing Team junior team called the Holden Young Lions in the year 1998, it expanded to two cars in the year 2001 after a solution was needed to accommodate Greg Murphy and his K-Mart sponsorship. HSV driver Rick Kelly controversially won the championship after an eventful Caterpillar Grand Finale after the team secured the Teams Championship at the Bahrain round in 2006. Garth Tander won the Championship for 2007 and Toll HSV also secured the Team Championship for the second year in a row and immediately lost Toll and Tander to HRT with Paul Dumbrell joining the team.

Championships: 6, Bathurst Wins: 4

Founded by Holden in the late 1980s in partnership with Tom Walkinshaw (TWR) to promote Holden Special Vehicles. 'HRT' took over where Peter Brock's Holden Dealer Team (HDT) left off, after HDT and Holden parted company. Initially HRT struggled through a number of lean years, but in their hey-day from 1996-2002 this team collected 6 championship wins. HRT's biggest recent success was their Bathurst win in 2005 with Todd Kelly and Mark Skaife. Skaife hit 200 round starts in the Grand Finale of 2007 and will only need to participate for another two seasons to beat John Bowe's record.

Championships: 3, Bathurst Wins: 1

Established in 1996, after Alan Jones left Glenn Seton Racing and joined forces with former Dick Johnson Racing engineers Ross and Jim Stone to form a new team. Jones left the team after two seasons, with the Stone Brothers buying out his share in the team. The team expanded and dominated the series for 2003-2005 with Marcos Ambrose winning the 2003 and 2004 championships and veteran team mate Russell Ingall keeping the championship within the team in 2005. Ambrose was replaced by former HRT endurance driver James Courtney. Ingall will not be with Stone Brothers for 2008.

British motorsport entity Prodrive purchased Ford Tickford Racing team in 2003 and reinvented the team as "Ford Performance Racing" to promote the high performance road Falcons built by Ford Performance Vehicles, bringing Craig Lowndes into the team to join former owner Glenn Seton. Both drivers left after the 2004 season to be replaced by Jason Bright and Greg Ritter although Ritter did not last the season. Jason Bright left at the end of the 2006 season to take over ownership of the Fujitsu Racing team and was replaced by Steven Richards from Jack Daniel's Racing. Mark Winterbottom was considered a genuine title chance in 2007 after a strong third place in the 2006 championship.

Bathurst Wins: 3

Former F1 driver Larry Perkins has long been an identity of the Australian Touring Car Championship. His team has collected three Bathurst wins, although championship wins have often slipped away in the V8 Supercar era and the team has had to settle for a number of runner-up positions. The team faced 2006 re-invigorated with a new title sponsor in Jack Daniels. However, the team will be undergoing a major change with Paul Dumbrell leaving to fill the void left by Greg Murphy moving to Tasman Motorsport and Steve Richards moving to Ford Performance Racing. 2007 was a rebuilding year for the team with young drivers Shane Price and Jack Perkins racing for the team, although a medical ailment has sidelined Perkins towards the end of the season. Former HRT driver and Bathurst winner Todd Kelly will be joining the team next year.

Formed by from the long-time privateer team; Lansvale Racing Team, the team formed into a two car team in 2005 which has helped their performance. Tasman has enlisted the support of engineer Ron Harrop and his large engineering business in their attempt to establish themselves as a prominent force in V8 racing and have established a name for themselves after coming 3rd at the Sandown 500 and narrowly missing out on first at the Bathurst 1000. 2005 major sponsor Dodo have left the nest to join the Holden Racing Team. Former Team Kiwi Racing driver, Jason Richards drives for the team, with new signing Greg Murphy driving the second car after a horror season with Paul Weel Racing.

GRM 2007 Livery
GRM 2007 Livery

Bathurst Wins: 1

Garry Rogers started out as privateer in the late 70's running a Holden Torana. Disbanding and re-emerging in the 80's over the next ten years the organisation ran in several categories, NASCAR, AUSCAR, Production Cars and Super Touring. Their V8 Supercar Holden Commodore team, established in 1996, eventually went on to challenge for the year 2000 championship with Garth Tander finishing runner up, and also to win the Bathurst 1000 in that year. The team is also looking good for the 2008 season.

Triple Eight's 2007 Livery
Triple Eight's 2007 Livery

Bathurst Wins: 2

Formed by UK group Triple Eight Racing with their purchase of Briggs Motorsport in 2003. Triple Eight owner Roland Dane attracted significant Ford funding for their team, and set about turning Briggs Motorsport into a winning operation. Subsequently Craig Lowndes narrowly lost the 2005 title after winning 4 rounds. Jamie Whincup replaced Steve Ellery for 2006, proving his ability quickly after winning the opening round in Adelaide and then making the defining move on Rick Kelly to win the Super Cheap Auto 1000 with Craig Lowndes. International drivers, Denmark's Allan Simonsen and Ulsterman Richard Lyons to drive in the endurance races. Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup teamed up for back-to-back success on the mountain, winning Bathurst in both 2006 and 2007, and were both in strong contention to take the championship.

Brad Jones' Albury based team Brad Jones Racing (BJR), managed by his brother Kim Jones, joined the V8 Supercar Series in the year 2000 after buying Tony Longhurst's old licenses. BJR had formerly run the works Audi team in Australia for the Australian Super Touring Championship, and were multiple champions in Super Touring and Australian NASCAR based series. A feature of this team has been their tactical savvy through team manager Kim Jones, and vehicle set-up through veteran 1995 series champion John Bowe. In 2005, BJR was partnered by gas giant, BOC and was re-named as Team BOC. They start 2006 rejuvenated, after a disappointing 2005 season with a bold, new livery. John Bowe left the team at the end of the 2006 season to join Paul Cruickshank Racing and was replaced by Jones' nephew Andrew Jones in the second BJR car. Before the Winton round, Brad Jones himself retired from full-time driving, vacating his seat for Simon Wills for the remainder of the 2007 series.

WPS Racing was formed in 2004 from the folded team 00/Gibson Motorsport by businessman Craig Gore who also is actively involved in the funding and management of Champcar team Team Australia. In 2006 the team purchased Larkham Motor Sport and installed Mark Larkham and several senior members of his team, along with lead driver Jason Bargwanna to run the team. Brazilian Max Wilson drives the second WPS Falcon.

Team Kiwi Racing was formed late in 2000, carrying a strong nationalist New Zealand identity and was centred around Jason Richards for several seasons. After Richards left Craig Baird drove with them for a single season before Paul Radisich joined. Carrera Cup racer Fabian Coulthard has joined the team for the endurance races. At the Bathurst 1000, Radisich was forced out wide at the Chase, hitting a tyre bundle hard. Radisich was freed after safety marshalls had to cut the roof of the car off. Radisich broke his sternum and ankle and the car was written off. TKR was forced to re-vert to their 2004 car (Which was driven earlier in 2006 as car #39 for Ellery, Coulthard and Gurr) and enlisted the uses of ex-TKR driver Craig Baird and Fujitsu Series driver, Chris Pither. The team switched cars from Holden to become a Ford team in 2007, aligned with Ford Performance Racing and Prodrive. After Winton (Round 4) Radisich, TKR and FPR had a falling out and TKR were eventually forced to miss the next 3 rounds before returning with an agreement with SBR and a new driver, 18 year old Shane Van Gisbergen

Sirromet's 2007 Livery
Sirromet's 2007 Livery

Paul Morris Motorsport was originally a Formula Ford team in 1990 and had a long invlvement with BMW's works supported operation in 90's, winning four Super Touring titles. Converting to a V8Supercar operation in 2000, PMM expanded to a second car for 2006, with Steve Ellery, Allan Gurr, Fabian Coultard and in the last three rounds Shane Price and Jack Perkins. (With Jack Daniels Racing and PMM striking a deal to use a Perkins made car to replace car #39 which has been leased out to Team Kiwi Racing.) In 2007, PMM once again ran two cars with Paul Morris in the VE Commodore while Fabian Coultard in his first full year in the V8 Supercars will run an older VZ.

Established in 2005 under the ownership of Ford Performance Racing driver Jason Bright, Britek struggled through their debut season with regulation limited testing and their second car only running a partial season. The team showed strong signs of improvement at Bathurst but in the 2006 Series the team once again had a nightmare year with showing little improvement. There is renewed hope with team onwer Jason Bright has joined the team and young gun Alan Gurr has also joined the team for a season. 2006 Bathurst partners Warren Luff and Adam Macrow drove again with the team at Sandown and Bathurst.

Rod Nash was a privateer driver in the late 1990s, and received a Level 2 licence when the V8 Supercars began their licensing arrangement. Nash has run Tony Longhurst, Cameron McConville, and Alex Davison, to name a few, in his time as team owner and had a turblent but improved 2006 season. There best result was a top 10 at Bathurst with ATCC legend, Tony Longhurst. Autobarn Racing will once again be a single car team with Steve Owen coming back and will drive an older spec VZ Commdore for the season. Proving that you do not need to have a massive team to get results, Owen has driven to a top 10 at Winton in Round 4 while a season highlight was sixth place at Bathurst.

While new to the championship in 2006, Cruickshank has run several cars in the Development V8 Supercar series and the Australian Carrera Cup since starting his own team in the early part of the decade. Experienced campaigner John Bowe joined PCR for the 2007 series, replacing Marcus Marshall. Bowe equalled Peter Brock's record of most race starts by lining up for the first race at the Clipsal 500 in 2007.

Notable figures involved in the category include:


Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Series
Teams
Teams contesting the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Holden Racing Team Tasman Motorsport Stone Brothers Racing Ford Performance Racing Jack Daniel's Racing WPS Racing
1 Garth Tander
2 Mark Skaife		 3 Jason Richards
51 Greg Murphy		 4 James Courtney
9 TBA		 5 Mark Winterbottom
6 Steven Richards		 7 Shane Price
11 Todd Kelly		 8 Max Wilson
10 Jason Bargwanna
Brad Jones Racing HSV Dealer Team Dick Johnson Racing Team Kiwi Racing Britek Motorsport Garry Rogers Motorsport
12 Andrew Jones
14 TBA		 15 Rick Kelly
16 Paul Dumbrell		 17 Steven Johnson
18 Will Davison		 021 TBA 25 Jason Bright
26 Marcus Marshall		 33 Lee Holdsworth
34 Dean Canto
Team Sirromet Wines Rod Nash Racing TeamVodafone Paul Cruickshank Racing
39 Russell Ingall
67 Paul Morris		 55 TBA 88 Jamie Whincup
888 Craig Lowndes		 111 Fabian Coulthard
v • d • e
Australian Touring Car Racing

Australian Touring Car Championship
1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998

V8Supercar Championship Series
1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010

• List of Australian Touring Car and V8 Supercar Champions •
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