By Adrian Musolino
October 11th 2009 @ 12:35am
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Australian sporting history could be made at Bathurst
Jamie Whincup (left) and Craig Lowndes pose with a team Ford Falcon in Sydney on Monday, Oct. 6, 2009. Whincup and Lowndes will attempt to become the first drivers this weekend to win four Bathurst 100 races in a row after placing first in 2006, 2007 and 2008. AAP Image/Paul Miller
Following on from the AFL and the NRL Grand Finals, the V8 Supercars take the Australian sporting centre stage today with Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup on the brink of creating Bathurst history.
The Triple 8 pair has owned the Peter Brock trophy exclusively since that emotionally charged 2006 race when Lowndes, grief-stricken following the death of his mentor, led Triple 8 to victory.
Their hat-trick of wins drew Lowndes and Whincup level with the record of consecutive Bathurst victories – Brock-Larry Perkins and Brock-Jim Richards are the other partnerships who scored three in a row.
But no one has ever won four in a row.
Whincup and Lowndes could write themselves into Australian sporting folklore, and what an achievement that would be.
In this era of such close and intense competition within V8 Supercars, to dominate a race of such difficulty and length is remarkable. It is a testament to the experience and quality of Lowndes, the pace and maturity of Whincup and the ingenuity of Triple 8 – a team who has set a new technical standard in the series.
Their success has been so overwhelming that there are growing calls from within the V8 Supercar paddock for lead drivers to be separated for the endurance races, helping to bring some unpredictability back to Bathurst.
Three unpredictable factors this year will be the implementation of ethanol fuel (E85), which will increase the number of pitstops and could therefore result in different strategic approaches, the durability of tyres following numerous punctures last year and, finally, the huge number of rookies in the field this year in several privateer entries who could impede the pacesetters at the head of the field.
But barring these factors dramatically altering the state of play, including inclement weather, on speed alone it is a two-horse race.
Only the Holden Racing Team (HRT) pair of Garth Tander and Will Davison can dethrone Lowndes and Whincup on pace.
Contenders who have emerged over the weekend such as Brad Jones Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport will be competitive, but may lack the ultimate pace to contend with Triple 8 and HRT.
The HRT duo snatched victory from an ailing Craig Lowndes on the final lap at Phillip Island and will be keen to put one over their future Holden stablemates.
For fans of the Holden and Ford rivalry, it could be one of the last great contests at the Mountain between the two manufacturers.
With Triple 8’s defection to Holden next season, Ford has lost its most successful team of recent times and unless the factory Ford Performance Racing get their act together and fulfil their potential, there could be some barren years ahead for Ford.
Their blunder in not giving Triple 8 the support they wanted could go down as one of the greatest blunders in Australian sports.
And for those who cringe when ‘sport’ and ‘V8 Supercars’ are used in tandem, then it’s time to accept motorsport as a ‘sport’.
The challenge of driving racing cars may be invisible to the casual fan, but the physical and mental demands of such a race are immense.
Jamie Whincup certainly proved his athleticism in the Rexona Greatest Athlete competition – holding his own against greats from a variety of codes.
So sit back and enjoy one of Australia’s great sporting events and take in what could be a historic day.
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(7)
James said | October 11th 2009 @ 6:23am | Report comment
Should be a great race. Surely Lowndes and Whincup are due some bad luck though.
Brett McKay said | October 11th 2009 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Adrian, I’ve just seen the drivers announced to the crowd, and the winner now is obvious to me. It’ll be the second Kelly brothers car simply becuase they have….. THE STIG!!! Don’t know who’s driving with him, but it won’t matter, ‘cos The Stig stops for no-one.
Some say… that in his first appearance at Mt.Panorama, he drove non-stop. And won!!
Mark Young said | October 11th 2009 @ 11:01am | Report comment
Some say that he does not sweat.
and that he cannot hear ducks!
You are spot on, driving a race car is enormously physically demanding, what with the heat, the g forces, the physical demands and the need to stay mentally alert and cool.
It is like riding a treadmill bike at full pace that is strapped onto a roller coaster while trying to do a suduko.
Brett McKay said | October 11th 2009 @ 11:37am | Report comment
Stop the fight, The Stig is on track. Currently 23rd, but the engraver might as well start now…
Mark, it’s probably a good thing that he can’t hear ducks given the weather around Bathurst currently!! Some say he knows only two facts about ducks, and they’re both wrong!!
OZ said | October 11th 2009 @ 4:34pm | Report comment
Failed.
Go Holden.
9 in the tOP 10
Brett McKay said | October 11th 2009 @ 6:45pm | Report comment
Looks like The Stig finished 20th, five laps down. His co-driver must have driven backwards for his stint….
megatron said | October 12th 2009 @ 8:18am | Report comment
Triple 8 had their chances but their screw up in the pits – the penalty – cost them and they lost too much time in the wet. The cards didn’t fall their way this year.
Great for Garth and Will. Will’s drive in the wet was awesome.