9/15/2023 0 Comments History of v8 supercars![]() ![]() Interest in the sport also began to spread and races began to be held in other countries, particularly in the Middle East. One of these, in 1999, was to change the name of the series to V8 Supercars. In 1997, the Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO) was created to run the series and find ways to expand its popularity. ![]() And, on the Touring Car circuit, they've gained quite a reputation as race cars. They're particularly popular as police cars and taxicabs, because of their durability and powerful engines. Why the Commodore and the Falcon? Part of the reason may be that these muscular 8-cylinder vehicles are the two most popular passenger cars in Australia. (Although the Falcon is made in the United States too, the version used in V8 Supercars is the Australian model.) Many different types of cars have won the Australian Touring Car Championship over the years, but in 1995 the rules were changed to specify that only two makes of cars were allowed: the Holden Commodore, a General Motors car made exclusively in Australia, and the Ford Falcon. The car he drove in the winning race was a Jaguar Mark I. The first was held on the Gnoo Blas circuit in Orange, New South Wales, and the winning driver was David McKay, who went on to become a racing journalist for the Australian Daily Telegraph. Until 1968, it was a single race, not a series. He then continued with wins at Sandown and Calder Park to start his successful defence in 1982.The history of V8 Supercars goes back to 1960, when it was known as the Australian Touring Car Championship. It started with a pair of victories at Surfers Paradise (the old permanent circuit, not the street circuit) and Lakeside to seal the 1981 title. Spanning those two title-winning seasons was a six-race streak of wins. Actually he won a pair of ATCC crowns, the gritty Queenslander backing up in 1982. Thanks to $72,000 worth of donations from fans, which was then matched by Ford, Johnson was able to rebuild his XD Falcon and, painted in Tru-Blu colours, went on to win the ATCC crown. The 1981 season is famous for Dick Johnson's triumphant comeback after hitting the rock at Bathurst the previous year. It was the first ATCC title win for a European make since the Appendix J era in the early 1960s. That includes a six-race streak that started at Wanneroo and took in Adelaide International Raceway, Calder Park, Surfers Paradise, Lakeside and Amaroo Park. 'Gentleman' Jim Richards enjoyed a remarkable season in his famous JPS-backed BMW 635 CSi, winning seven of the 10 rounds and only missing the podium once. The homegrown Group C regulations were replaced by the worldwide Group A formula for the 1985 ATCC season, opening the door for exotic European brands to get a foothold in the category. Skaife would enjoy a long career as a Holden superstar, winning another three titles for the Holden Racing Team (2000, 2001, 2002) and another four Great Race crowns (2001, 2002, 2005 with HRT, 2010 with Triple Eight). That's equal with Moffat and van Gisbergen for season-starting streaks. But he successfully started his transformation into a Holden Hero when he won the brand's first ATCC crown in 14 years in what was the second post-Group A season.ĭriving a Gibson Motorsport VP Commodore, Skaife made a smart start to the 1994 season that included six wins on the bounce – two at Amaroo Park, two and Sandown and two at Symmons Plains. In the early 1990s Skaife was best known as a Nissan star thanks to two Bathurst 1000 wins (19) and an ATCC crown (1992) in the all-conquering Group A Skyline GT-R. When he qualified 17th for the opening race it felt like the injury had taken its toll and his streak was over - until he proved everybody wrong and won. Immediate surgery and two hours per day in a hyperbaric chamber helped get a sore and sorry van Gisbergen back in the car for Sandown. Exactly a fortnight before the next round at Sandown, he took a tumble off his mountain bike and broke his collarbone and three ribs. In February he went back to Bathurst and won both heats of the Supercars season-opening Mount Panorama 500. His fire extinguisher went off right before the race and he had to start from pitlane, but he won the race. He hadn't raced a Toyota Racing Series car in well over a decade and is several feet taller than most single-seater jockeys. If gravel rallying wasn't diverse enough, van Gisbergen hung around for the New Zealand Grand Prix at Hampton Downs in January. He then flew straight home to New Zealand, jumped in an AP4-spec Mitsubishi Mirage and won the Battle of Jacks Ridge rally. It started by winning his first Bathurst 1000 in October last year. The Kiwi has been in the form of his life for the past seven months. ![]()
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