Enduring the Enduros ... not long to go now
August 3rd 2007 11:53
Originally posted on 31 July 2007 on www.orble.com/v8-supercars
Ask a V8 Supercar driver which track they find the most challenging, most demanding and the one they would like to conquer the most, invariably their answer would be Mount Panorama at Bathurst.
To many drivers, a win on the mountain is almost as good as a championship win. To others, conquering the mysteries of the mountain is the highlight of their driving career; a win would be icing on a very large cake.
The Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in October is just one of two endurance events on the V8 Supercar series calendar. Mid-September sees the first of these endurance events at Sandown International Raceway in Victoria, a race which is considered the lead up to the “ultimate enduro”; the Bathurst 1000.
Endurance races in the V8 calendar are special. Most other rounds offer the thrill and excitement of three separate races over a two day period, with team tactics and strategies changing from race to race and able to be planned in advance. Bathurst and Sandown are different. They offer the exhilaration of just one race for the weekend, one chance for teams and drivers to get it right or lose out on any chance of climbing up the points ladder.
Tactics and strategy can be thrown out the window at the first sight of the safety car or the first drops of rain. Teams have to be good at thinking on the run.
Endurance races also offer drivers the opportunity to share the driving with a partner, with a number of pit stops throughout the race seeing a mad scramble of body parts as one driver exits the car, vacating the driving seat ready for the other driver to dive in.
This change over happens in the space of seconds.
One driver will generally be the dominant partner, taking the majority of laps, participating in the top ten shootout and selecting whether they want to start the race, finish it, or both. In teams such as WPS/WOW, where a driver from another category has been signed specifically for the endurance races, in this case Grant Denyer from the Fujitsu series, this will most likely be the strategy the team will take. With the full-time team driver being the dominant partner.
Some teams partner together their two full-time drivers and sign up two other drivers for the second car. This is more likely to be the tactic used if one driver is vying for the championship while the other driver is unlikely to challenge that year. Partnering a full-time driver with another full-time driver partners experience with experience in that category, giving the challenging driver more chance of scoring a good haul of points.
The enduros are the races the fans look forward to as well with the weekends of Sandown and especially Bathurst being marked on the calendar months in advance.
This year, teams have been arranging their driver partnerships for a while. As already mentioned, WOW/WPS have signed Grant Denyer for the enduros along with Michael Caruso, Denyer’s team mate in the Fujitsu series. Denyer and Caruso will join full-time drivers Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna.
The Holden Racing Team have signed the experienced veteran Glenn Seton and endurance specialist Nathan Pretty to team up alongside Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly. Upon the signing of Pretty, team boss Skaife was very satisfied with the choice made.
“His results sheet over the last decade at Bathurst is one of the best going around, let alone for someone who is not a fulltime V8 Supercar driver,” Skaife said.
“He’s a long time Holden man and we’re glad to have him on board to give us a full experienced, extra strong driver line up.”
Pretty is also happy about once more driving for the official Holden factory team. “I raced with Todd for fifth place at Bathurst in 2000, and for fourth with Rick Kelly in 2002, so it’s nice to be back in the factory team again,” Pretty said.
“Whoever I pair up with at HRT will work well because of the professionalism of the team. The cars are always competitive and good results are on the cards.”
The Super Cheap Auto team have also added experience to their enduro line up with the signing of Paul Weel. The fourth spot has recently been secured by Carrera Cup star David Reynolds. Weel and Reynolds will join full-timers Cameron McConville and Paul Dumbrell.
Super Cheap Auto Racing owner Kees Weel said he was pleased to have signed a young driver of such high calibre for the enduros.
“I have a high regard for him, and we are delighted to have him on board,” he said. “Now we just want to do the business for him.”
David Reynolds is also pleased with his signing. “Kees and the whole team have made me feel very welcome,” he said. “I am here to learn as much as possible, starting with this ride day this week. All three of the other drivers with the team are very experienced, and I will be soaking up all their advice.”
Jack Daniels Racing team boss Larry Perkins has announced their four driver line up for Sandown and Bathurst, with Porsche driver Marcus Marshall and Kayne Scott set to partner young full-timers Jack Perkins and Shane Price.
Marshall, currently fourth in the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship, already has three years in V8 enduros under his belt after commencing with Team Brock in 2003.
“For me, it’s a dream come true driving for a legend like Larry Perkins,” Marshall said.
Steve Ellery made his V8 Supercar comeback in the last round at Queensland Raceway in readiness for his part in the Sirromet Wines entry of Paul Morris.
"This is a good chance for me to work my way back into it because it's been almost nine months since I raced a V8 Supercar," said Ellery.
"It doesn't matter how much testing you do, nothing beats actually racing these cars."
"I don't have any big expectations for Queensland as far as results are concerned. I'll do the best I can, but it's more important to finish all three races and get as much track-time as I can."
"Looking ahead the 'big picture' is Sandown and Bathurst."
Stone Brothers Racing is another team all set for the endurance races after signing Luke Youlden and David Besnard to partner Russell Ingall and James Courtney respectively.
Youlden considers his third call up to the three-time Championship team a big achievement.
“I said last year that it was a feather in my cap to be asked back for a second endurance drive with SBR and Russell. To be asked back a third time is great; I’m really happy to be back again,” said Youlden.
“Russell and I are becoming a pretty stable pairing, we know what the other is up to and we like the car pretty much the same.
“There is a real burn to improve on last year; to miss a podium at Bathurst by a few inches was pretty heart wrenching. We really want to get on that top step.”
Sentiments echoed by each and every driver on the track.
Ask a V8 Supercar driver which track they find the most challenging, most demanding and the one they would like to conquer the most, invariably their answer would be Mount Panorama at Bathurst.
To many drivers, a win on the mountain is almost as good as a championship win. To others, conquering the mysteries of the mountain is the highlight of their driving career; a win would be icing on a very large cake.
The Super Cheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in October is just one of two endurance events on the V8 Supercar series calendar. Mid-September sees the first of these endurance events at Sandown International Raceway in Victoria, a race which is considered the lead up to the “ultimate enduro”; the Bathurst 1000.
Endurance races in the V8 calendar are special. Most other rounds offer the thrill and excitement of three separate races over a two day period, with team tactics and strategies changing from race to race and able to be planned in advance. Bathurst and Sandown are different. They offer the exhilaration of just one race for the weekend, one chance for teams and drivers to get it right or lose out on any chance of climbing up the points ladder.
Tactics and strategy can be thrown out the window at the first sight of the safety car or the first drops of rain. Teams have to be good at thinking on the run.
Endurance races also offer drivers the opportunity to share the driving with a partner, with a number of pit stops throughout the race seeing a mad scramble of body parts as one driver exits the car, vacating the driving seat ready for the other driver to dive in.
This change over happens in the space of seconds.
One driver will generally be the dominant partner, taking the majority of laps, participating in the top ten shootout and selecting whether they want to start the race, finish it, or both. In teams such as WPS/WOW, where a driver from another category has been signed specifically for the endurance races, in this case Grant Denyer from the Fujitsu series, this will most likely be the strategy the team will take. With the full-time team driver being the dominant partner.
Some teams partner together their two full-time drivers and sign up two other drivers for the second car. This is more likely to be the tactic used if one driver is vying for the championship while the other driver is unlikely to challenge that year. Partnering a full-time driver with another full-time driver partners experience with experience in that category, giving the challenging driver more chance of scoring a good haul of points.
The enduros are the races the fans look forward to as well with the weekends of Sandown and especially Bathurst being marked on the calendar months in advance.
Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup celebrate their win at Bathurst in 2006
This year, teams have been arranging their driver partnerships for a while. As already mentioned, WOW/WPS have signed Grant Denyer for the enduros along with Michael Caruso, Denyer’s team mate in the Fujitsu series. Denyer and Caruso will join full-time drivers Max Wilson and Jason Bargwanna.
The Holden Racing Team have signed the experienced veteran Glenn Seton and endurance specialist Nathan Pretty to team up alongside Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly. Upon the signing of Pretty, team boss Skaife was very satisfied with the choice made.
“His results sheet over the last decade at Bathurst is one of the best going around, let alone for someone who is not a fulltime V8 Supercar driver,” Skaife said.
“He’s a long time Holden man and we’re glad to have him on board to give us a full experienced, extra strong driver line up.”
Pretty is also happy about once more driving for the official Holden factory team. “I raced with Todd for fifth place at Bathurst in 2000, and for fourth with Rick Kelly in 2002, so it’s nice to be back in the factory team again,” Pretty said.
“Whoever I pair up with at HRT will work well because of the professionalism of the team. The cars are always competitive and good results are on the cards.”
The Super Cheap Auto team have also added experience to their enduro line up with the signing of Paul Weel. The fourth spot has recently been secured by Carrera Cup star David Reynolds. Weel and Reynolds will join full-timers Cameron McConville and Paul Dumbrell.
Super Cheap Auto Racing owner Kees Weel said he was pleased to have signed a young driver of such high calibre for the enduros.
“I have a high regard for him, and we are delighted to have him on board,” he said. “Now we just want to do the business for him.”
David Reynolds is also pleased with his signing. “Kees and the whole team have made me feel very welcome,” he said. “I am here to learn as much as possible, starting with this ride day this week. All three of the other drivers with the team are very experienced, and I will be soaking up all their advice.”
Jack Daniels Racing team boss Larry Perkins has announced their four driver line up for Sandown and Bathurst, with Porsche driver Marcus Marshall and Kayne Scott set to partner young full-timers Jack Perkins and Shane Price.
Marshall, currently fourth in the Porsche Carrera Cup Championship, already has three years in V8 enduros under his belt after commencing with Team Brock in 2003.
“For me, it’s a dream come true driving for a legend like Larry Perkins,” Marshall said.
Steve Ellery made his V8 Supercar comeback in the last round at Queensland Raceway in readiness for his part in the Sirromet Wines entry of Paul Morris.
"This is a good chance for me to work my way back into it because it's been almost nine months since I raced a V8 Supercar," said Ellery.
"It doesn't matter how much testing you do, nothing beats actually racing these cars."
"I don't have any big expectations for Queensland as far as results are concerned. I'll do the best I can, but it's more important to finish all three races and get as much track-time as I can."
"Looking ahead the 'big picture' is Sandown and Bathurst."
Stone Brothers Racing is another team all set for the endurance races after signing Luke Youlden and David Besnard to partner Russell Ingall and James Courtney respectively.
Youlden considers his third call up to the three-time Championship team a big achievement.
“I said last year that it was a feather in my cap to be asked back for a second endurance drive with SBR and Russell. To be asked back a third time is great; I’m really happy to be back again,” said Youlden.
“Russell and I are becoming a pretty stable pairing, we know what the other is up to and we like the car pretty much the same.
“There is a real burn to improve on last year; to miss a podium at Bathurst by a few inches was pretty heart wrenching. We really want to get on that top step.”
Sentiments echoed by each and every driver on the track.
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