Hold the phone! The V8 Supercar Championship has a new leader! Well, for this weekend, at least…
It’s a bloody tough ask to lead the V8 Supercar field at the best of times, but 25-year-old Amber Anderson, a lawyer and an accomplished production car racer from Melbourne, will do just that at Winton this weekend, as she pinches the keys to the series’ GT-R Safety Car.
With her eyes on a main-game seat, Amber’s job will be to rein in the V8 field when required, as well as ‘sweeping’ the course prior to the start of each race. With a sunny weekend forecast for the Victorian town this weekend, she may well not have much to do; regardless she’ll stay in the car, engine running, for the duration of both races.
“It’s a great opportunity to learn the circuits and drive a car that has close to the horsepower of a V8 Supercar, and good for the teams to see me around the place and know that I can do the job,” she said.
Garth Tander’s missus, Leanne, will also drive the GT-R at other events, but this weekend she returns to the Supercar’s second-division Fujitsu series in an ex-Jason Bright Falcon.
Meanwhile, the third round of the V8 Supercar series features the debut of Dunlop’s new soft-compound ‘option’ tyre. Each team will be given two sets of the Sport Maxx Sprint tyres; one’s to be used in practice and the other for racing. The practice set is a little special, too – the sidewalls will be painted pink in support of the McGrath Foundation. The race set will be marked in yellow paint, and can be used at any point in the two races across the weekend.
They’ll be up to two seconds a lap quicker than the regular tyre, but they’ll only be good for about 10 or 12 laps. Some drivers reckon it’ll be good to mix things up, other guys (like Todd Kelly) reckon it’s a recipe for disaster.
As well, there’s a new team on the block; new boys Triple F Racing has bought the licence from the now-defunct Team Kiwi outfit, and Dean Fiore (one of the ‘F’s in the name) will drive the ex-Morris Commodore for the rest of the year.
Great to see – Aunty Amber making sure the children play fair.
Really like to see Amber and other lady racers mix it up with the blokes
But i think the v8s will be a let down after the gtr!!
It’s sure good PR, but does this sort of stunt actually further someone’s prospects in motorsport?
I hope it does. I’m also looking forward to seeing how GT’s missus goes in the Enduros. But to be honest the sport needs another couple of manufacturers if it’s going to expand its market, not only in Australia but also overseas.
Who that reads this doesn’t miss the days of the Falcons and Commodores mixing it up with the Sierras and the Godzilla’s. Perhaps the only problem was the stagnant state of the V8 programs or both Ford and Holden at the time. But re-introduce those types of vehicles now, at a time when the local heroes and the Jap crews and the Euro screamers like the Audi could compete in a motorsport that appeals to a far wider demographic.
Films like the Fast and Furious franchise show V8’s and twin turbo 4 cylinders competing on equal footing with guys and chicks all having a vehicle they can identify with.
So don’t just let Amber and Leanne lead the others around the field, let them drop the clutch on that mighty Nissan monster and show them what real racing is about. You want to have a viewer friendly sport with a mile of overtaking maneuvours then pit cars that are like bullets along the straight mix it with cars that stick like poo to a blanket. A wide car and a narrow car going side by side into corners on some of the best laid out race tracks, amidst the most beautiful backdrop in the world.
The girls are showing everywhere in motorsport that they are the equal of the guys, so watch out Garth and Jamie and Russell, racers like Amber, Leanne, Danica and TGs own Sabine, could be the wons taking the chequered flag in the hopefully not too distant future. And yes I’d really like to see them smoke the V8’s. Guess I’m getting a little bored with the body styling more so than the actual racing itself, which I have to say has been outstanding for the last few years, but Ford v Holden is getting a bit stale……. Mr Cochrane…… if you’re reading.
Get your head read Zach. I don’t give a toss about new manufacturers or the women driving but trying to take V8SC to the overseas market is just going to deprive Aussies of the racing. Think about it, to get more overseas interest, more & more races will be held overseas. It will get to a stage where all except 1 race a season is held overseas. That leaves us out in the cold if we actually want to attend an event. After the races are all being held overseas TV sheduling will be changed to suit the wider audience & it will be on at 2am,or delayed a day like most other forms of motor racing are, leaving us to set the recorder & hope the TV station does the right thing. As for Tony Cochrane, he has had plans to expand overseas for many years now (think Bahrain & China rounds) & it is his attempts to make the sport have appeal overseas that have ruined it. Get rid of Cochrane, he’s just a corporate leg humper. Bring back working with the parts that the teams chosen manufacturer supplies or that the team modifies in house.
Good to see the ladies having a run in the V8’s, but I think it’s a shame that Leanne will have to put up with a second rate driver like Patrizzi as her enduro partner. I think she will run rings around him & that he will crash out like he usually does. Note to Wilson Security Racing – put Leanne in the car first so she actually gets a drive befor Patrizzi puts it in the wall.
Sorry G.O.M., I guess that’s what I get for writing my post at that time of the morning. I didn’t mean to imply that the racing go anymore overseas than it already has. I feel though that if we open up a little to more manufacturers it might open up an overseas market as far as sponsorship for the events, the teams, the cars and the drivers. Besides, why would they want to race anywhere but here. It’s just I want to get a bit more variety into my favourite sport…….. and actually Amber is pretty hot.
Look out Lowndsey, I think I have a new favourite driver in the making.
But if push came to shove I’d have the Queen of the Ring, the lovely Sabinne as my number 1 driver. I’m sure she was driving the pace car for the GT-R’s last assault of the ring.
I’m not a fan of introducing other manufacturers myself Zach, I like the Holden Ford thing. I just think that Project Blueprint needs to be scrapped along with the idea of parity. The main thing is that it stays as racing mainly in Australia for Australian fans.
Hmmn… Sabine or Amber? Can’t I have both?
Yeah now that would be a nice team to be the principal of. Mind you I wonder how Sabine would go in a car that actually handled just by being…… well, a car really instead of a van. And until I’d seen the clips, several times actually, of her lap of the ring, I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone work harder at getting the absolute limit from their machine.
And I love seeing them race on Australian tracks but wouldn’t it be nice, even if it was just once, to see what the mighty V8 Supercars battling around the Nurburgring could achieve as far as lap times. Still wouldn’t be Bathurst but would definately be worth watching.
I guess it just demonstrates what a small country Oz really is that we don’t have the corporate backers to support more than one premier category. There’s plenty of good racing and variety of makes in other categories already, but they simply can’t develop and thrive without money and exposure
Those of us who remember how the “mighty” v8 supercars series came to be that will know that the gtr showed just how technologically incompetent the v8s really are and aussie spoil sports simply re-wrote the rules to ensure only falcodores and commonwhores could race yawn yawn.I do follow a team out of loyalty to the sponsor but c’mon the public want to see bm’s,nissans,all the british touring car makes and some good old mixed racing remember the minis and jags and toranas mixing it with the dinosaurs?that was variety!And sorry but a v8 supercar round the ring? Not worth the airfare.There are production cars who will kick its’ butt.
How about some evo’s and rexes too to make the tighter circuits a real wrestling match they are more than able to mix it with any vehicles handling wise and quick enough to keep the big boys honest especially with some race spec mods same as all the other cars would need.
Well, another round down. It wasn’t a snorefest, but it felt so contrived and fake – the optional soft tyre thing is a bloody joke, esepcially given how much faster they were. Why not put them all on the soft tyre all of the time? I heard comments on the telecast to the effect that the cars felt a lot better, more like a ‘real’ Supercar. Whats the point of working your arse off all day, only to be rounded up by a bottom-20 flogger with ten laps to go? The all-in 20min qualifying session was ace – get rid of the whole top ten bullcrap and have 20min before each event, I reckon.
I’m ashamed to say but I missed the race……. I was gardening. I know, I’m sorry world, I should have been watching but…… God, if there were some different cars……. Mixed Gender Mixed Manufacturer Maximum Entertainment Racing. I’m sure the lady that drove the pace car would agree.
Love your work TG, keep it up. And really looking forward to James Morrisson. He’s always come across really down-to-earth and natural which is something, if you read a lot of posts on the Aussie version, is something that needs injecting into what is already a proven performer. Although maybe altering the format slightly from the original may be worth considering.
May the Gods of Racing watch over us all.
If we put them all on the soft tyre all of the time 20/26, we would end up back at square one, all cars being equal with nobody able to outbrake or in any way out perform thier rivals. I think perhaps the soft tyre should be hardened up abit to give it longer life & a bit less grip. Just give them enough to get overtaking done if they are good enough.
As for getting rid of the Shootout in favour of twenty minutes, no way. If you want to dump the Shootout, quali sesions need to be at least 30mins to allow for red flags & to let teams have a chance to make a couple of changes to try & improve grid position. Otherwise you will have everyone using practice as mock qualifying to try & get the set ups right. Besides you would have teams lodging protests left right & centre because of beeing blocked on hat laps. 30 cars all trying to qualify around Simmons Plains or Barbagallo all at the same time, I don’t think so. Perhaps they should just adopt the F1 qualifying, that’s quick, fair & entertaining.
True, V8fan, but the soft tyre will ‘go off’ at different rates according to how good (or bad) your car set-up is. The T8 cars seem to look after their softs better, where the GRM cars really seemed to suffer at the end of their softy stint. Less braking ability, I reckon, will do the trick. Not unsafe brakes, just brakes that might need a little more distance to pull up in. Then again, a soft tyre will improve your braking performance, wont it? Hmm.
hmm.. amazing )
lol Zach, MrBishi, I think the answer to your moaning is Gt Production racing, not V8SC. Proper racing between unequal cars around tracks that allow them to shine on different parts of the circuit.
What if both male and female drivers raced in birthday suits? Surely we would have sponsors from every part of earth interested.