Mark Skaife joins 200 Club
December 3rd 2007 03:47
Mark Skaife may not have been a title contender this weekend at Phillip Island’s Grand Finale of the V8 Supercar Championship but he has managed to pass another milestone in an already brilliant career in the sport.
With his 200th round start now under his belt, Skaife has joined the elite ATCC/V8 Supercar 200 Club, an exclusive club with just four other members who have all reached that outstanding career figure of 200 round starts.
Other members are John Bowe, who retired from V8 Supercar racing after the Phillip Island Grand Finale this weekend, with 225 starts, the legend Peter Brock (212), Glenn Seton, who joined Skaife’s team for the endurance races this year (205 starts) and Dick Johnson (202).
Skaife brings an extra dimension to the 200 Club with the highest ratio for career wins/round starts of the five club members. He can boast an impressive statistic of a victory every 5.2 rounds on average through his long and fruitful career. This, in addition to holding the record for the most round wins by any V8 Supercar driver and joint record holder for the most championship wins, means Mark Skaife is a very deserving member of the club.
“When I started out twenty years ago I never envisaged those sort of statistics,” said Skaife. “Chalking up 200 is not easy in such a competitive environment and I suppose now that John Bowe is retiring there’s incentive to reel him in over the next couple of seasons. 200 is a nice milestone and it seems that it’s taken no time at all to get there.
“V8 racing being what it is, there’s highlights and lowlights, but there’s been some special race moments over the journey.The first was in ’92 when I won my first Touring Car Championship in the Nissan and then being the youngest ever to do so. That same day we also won the Australian Drivers Championship in a Formula Holden open wheeler, so it was a great day.
“The second was winning the V8 Championship in 1994 with a Fred Gibson Commodore as it was Holden’s first title for 14 years since Brock and HDT in 1980.
“The 2002 HRT Bathurst win with Jim Richards was also one of my favourite moments, as it sealed the championship at the same time and came 10 years after my first Bathurst success.
“The 38th victory at Eastern Creek this year was another obvious highlight in that it surpassed Peter Brock’s record,” reminised Skaife. I guess 2007 has been a memorable year, what with the 38 wins,twenty year and 200 round milestones.”
With his 200th round start now under his belt, Skaife has joined the elite ATCC/V8 Supercar 200 Club, an exclusive club with just four other members who have all reached that outstanding career figure of 200 round starts.
Congrats Skaifey
Skaife brings an extra dimension to the 200 Club with the highest ratio for career wins/round starts of the five club members. He can boast an impressive statistic of a victory every 5.2 rounds on average through his long and fruitful career. This, in addition to holding the record for the most round wins by any V8 Supercar driver and joint record holder for the most championship wins, means Mark Skaife is a very deserving member of the club.
“When I started out twenty years ago I never envisaged those sort of statistics,” said Skaife. “Chalking up 200 is not easy in such a competitive environment and I suppose now that John Bowe is retiring there’s incentive to reel him in over the next couple of seasons. 200 is a nice milestone and it seems that it’s taken no time at all to get there.
“V8 racing being what it is, there’s highlights and lowlights, but there’s been some special race moments over the journey.The first was in ’92 when I won my first Touring Car Championship in the Nissan and then being the youngest ever to do so. That same day we also won the Australian Drivers Championship in a Formula Holden open wheeler, so it was a great day.
“The second was winning the V8 Championship in 1994 with a Fred Gibson Commodore as it was Holden’s first title for 14 years since Brock and HDT in 1980.
“The 2002 HRT Bathurst win with Jim Richards was also one of my favourite moments, as it sealed the championship at the same time and came 10 years after my first Bathurst success.
“The 38th victory at Eastern Creek this year was another obvious highlight in that it surpassed Peter Brock’s record,” reminised Skaife. I guess 2007 has been a memorable year, what with the 38 wins,twenty year and 200 round milestones.”
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