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Autumnpuma

V8 Supercars

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I actually think that in afew years time both Ford and GM will be pushing to get the V8 Supercars better coverage in many countires and regions including the middle east and America. GM is currently doing alot of exporting of the Holden Commodore and Ford have just annonced that the next generation Ford Falcon will be going to the middle east and most probably America as well. Both Ford and GM would love to have better V8 Supercars coverage in these regions as it can only help to increase car sales.

Isn't there some sort of salary cap or expenditure rules for the teams right now? If they go more global, will those caps remain in place? I think probably not and you'll start to see some things change as a result. More driver decisions based on public appeal than talent perhaps? Sponsorship playing a bigger role? How likely is all this, do you think?

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Isn't there some sort of salary cap or expenditure rules for the teams right now? If they go more global, will those caps remain in place? I think probably not and you'll start to see some things change as a result. More driver decisions based on public appeal than talent perhaps? Sponsorship playing a bigger role? How likely is all this, do you think?

All the drivers have a salary cap of about 2 million (i think) and testing is extremely limited due to strick rules which lower the costs involved significantly. The V8 Supercars have been going overseas to quite afew countries in recent years and it hasnt changed them so far. The V8 Supercars have been pushing into the middle east in recent years with races at Bahrain. There have been rumours of the V8 Supercars having 1 round in America but this seems extremely doubtful as NASCAR wouldnt allow a rival series into their country. I dont expect much to change in the general rules of the V8 Supercars for many years which i consider a good thing. What i was refering to in my previous post was the television coverage in the middle east and America improving so both Ford and GM can show their products racing so people in those countries will consider buying their cars.

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Without saying too much i will say that im worried about Ford at the moment as they seem to be having brake problems with their new BF Falcon. Its never good when some teams are having torrible getting through a normal race and it will be evn worse when the Enduro's come round.

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All the drivers have a salary cap of about 2 million (i think) and testing is extremely limited due to strick rules which lower the costs involved significantly. The V8 Supercars have been going overseas to quite afew countries in recent years and it hasnt changed them so far. The V8 Supercars have been pushing into the middle east in recent years with races at Bahrain. There have been rumours of the V8 Supercars having 1 round in America but this seems extremely doubtful as NASCAR wouldnt allow a rival series into their country. I dont expect much to change in the general rules of the V8 Supercars for many years which i consider a good thing. What i was refering to in my previous post was the television coverage in the middle east and America improving so both Ford and GM can show their products racing so people in those countries will consider buying their cars.

It's not a rival series. NASCAR has such a strong fan-base that follows oval-only racing that V8s would not be a serious challenge. The problem would be getting decent TV coverage. They would probably end up on Speed and we'd get the full race instead of a highlights package.

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Yeah what I saw happening at Puke was the fords were good until the brakes got hot and started wearing. I believe the aero is disrupting the flow to the brake ducts.

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Yeah what I saw happening at Puke was the fords were good until the brakes got hot and started wearing. I believe the aero is disrupting the flow to the brake ducts.

I hope they manage to fix the problem before Bathurst as there are some corners around the mountain which you really wouldnt want to loose your brakes.

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Did anyone watch Round 4 at Winton. I love seeing rain effected races as it produces alot of excitment with heeps of on track incidents :D

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Did anyone watch Round 4 at Winton. I love seeing rain effected races as it produces alot of excitment with heeps of on track incidents :D

Yeah I watched most of the two races on Sunday and only caught about half the race on Saturday. Good to see Wincup win Fords first round this year.

I'm off to Bathurst again this year, just put my annual leave application in today :D

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Yeah I watched most of the two races on Sunday and only caught about half the race on Saturday. Good to see Wincup win Fords first round this year.

I'm off to Bathurst again this year, just put my annual leave application in today :D

Lucky b#####d.... :D

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What part of the track are you planning on going too, to watch the race?

I'll be watching the race from the "The Chase" (inside the track) like we did last year.

We move around the track for all the other sessions. I'll be up at Skyline for Qualy.

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I'll be watching the race from the "The Chase" (inside the track) like we did last year.

We move around the track for all the other sessions. I'll be up at Skyline for Qualy.

If i were going i would go for Forest Elbow as i always loved that section of the track. Though i would also give serious consideration for parking myself next too The Esses

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If i were going i would go for Forest Elbow as i always loved that section of the track. Though i would also give serious consideration for parking myself next too The Esses

Forest Elbow is good, I watched some of the qualy from there last year, but it has two problems with being there for the race, one you have no TV so you are clueless as to whats happening in the race and on other parts of the track and two its one hell of a long & dangerous walk with the esky fully loaded from the top of the mountain where the bus drops you off because it is so steep and you are walking through bush tracks. I took a heap of beers with me for qualy but the buggers where warm by the time I got to the last couple!!!

Watching the Esses has the same problems and you can't really see the track that well because of trees and how the land is around that part of the mountain.

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By the sounds of it they should be installing some more big screen televisions around the track.

There are a few but the problem will always be finding enough flat ground for the TV's to be placed. That's the good thing about "The Chase" we have a TV directly across the track and it's not far from the campsite so you can run back for more drinks & food.

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I have found this website which may interest anyone living in a country that isnt Australia or New Zealand and want to see the V8 Supercars. This is a big motorsport forum and most of the time people upload full races onto a sever.

Here is the forum (though you need to sign up)

http://tbk.fameflame.dk/phpBB2/index.php

and here is the thread with the most up to date V8 Supercars race

http://tbk.fameflame.dk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43635

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The ultimate V8 supercar would have to be the Koenigsegg CCX! A pity they did'nt make more CCXR's but I guess they don't want anymore crashes & deaths on the M25 or M50!

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I have found this website which may interest anyone living in a country that isnt Australia or New Zealand and want to see the V8 Supercars. This is a big motorsport forum and most of the time people upload full races onto a sever.

Here is the forum (though you need to sign up)

http://tbk.fameflame.dk/phpBB2/index.php

and here is the thread with the most up to date V8 Supercars race

http://tbk.fameflame.dk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=43635

I just checked and the downloads are still working. Someone named darcyf1 uploaded both races 2 and 3 at the Hidden valley round.

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I just checked and the downloads are still working. Someone named darcyf1 uploaded both races 2 and 3 at the Hidden valley round.

I will be digging through this site; the ultimate would be if someone down under could capture the coverage in a decent resolution, then create a torrent and share that way ...

I managed to get most of the Clipsal 500 that way, and I'm jealous. I haven't dug through this whole thread yet, but I know exactly what coverage Mike is seeing because I'm seeing the same thing. It's the whole weekend compressed into one hour (that is, a one-hour TV spot, more like 40 minutes of actual coverage). It's good, but it's so limited; plus, we don't actually get to see them until during NASCAB's off-season. :wacko:

Edit: ykick, early in the thread, you mentioned that you thought there would be lots of torrents after the races; I've been searching around, and other than the aforementioned Clipsal 500, I've had zero luck ... Any hints on where to look?

Beyond that, in the US, for the most part, the Ford/GM battle is just as strong, although among certain gearhead sets, it's a "what will work best" attitude. Certainly never a Ford lump in a Nova, or a Mouse in a Mustang, but I've seen more than a few Chevy 350's mated to a Tremec 'box and a Ford 9-inch rear.

Personally, I'm a Ford man, born and raised, and look forward to the day that we'll actually have the Falcon over here; it's been "rumoured" to be "coming soon" for at least the last 10 years ... Although, they *finally* got the look of the Mustang right this time.

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I will be digging through this site; the ultimate would be if someone down under could capture the coverage in a decent resolution, then create a torrent and share that way ...

I managed to get most of the Clipsal 500 that way, and I'm jealous. I haven't dug through this whole thread yet, but I know exactly what coverage Mike is seeing because I'm seeing the same thing. It's the whole weekend compressed into one hour (that is, a one-hour TV spot, more like 40 minutes of actual coverage). It's good, but it's so limited; plus, we don't actually get to see them until during NASCAB's off-season. :wacko:

Edit: ykick, early in the thread, you mentioned that you thought there would be lots of torrents after the races; I've been searching around, and other than the aforementioned Clipsal 500, I've had zero luck ... Any hints on where to look?

I just had a look around with torrents and i could only find last years Bathurst and this years Adelaide. Your best bet is to go onto the forum i mentioned after a race weekend as they can generally provide the race. I find it odd how the American tv networks treat V8 Supercars as our pay tv networks treat Nascars very differently. For Nascar we get live coverage of both the busch series and nextel cup. We get exactly the same coverage that Americans get and we get it exactly the same time. Also afew days later they usually play a replay of each nascar race. If Australian tv can do this for nascar why cant American tv do that for V8 Supercars?

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If Australian tv can do this for nascar why cant American tv do that for V8 Supercars?

:eusa_think:

How to put this delicately ... Without igniting a US-bashing ...

Our TV is programmed for the lowest common denominator, hence the current popularity of shows such as "Dancing with the Stars", "Hell's Kitchen", "American Idol" and other "reality" tripe.

Unfortunately, the same rule applies to sports programming. If it's not a "mainstream" sport, it just doesn't get coverage, except during the Olympics, and not even then. Try to find Fencing coverage here ... :blink: Anyway, supposedly, the draw for NASCAR here is that, to John Q. Public, those Fords, Chevys and 'Yotas going around in circles are "just like" the grocery getter out in his driveway, so it appeals to the "everyman."

Most Americans can't grok F1, Fencing, curling, cricket, etc ... I think that TV thinks that they would be confused by seeing "production-looking" cars *not* going around in circles that they might get confused.

I could rant further, into my theory of how the powers that be want the populace to *be* stupid, but I won't ... In short, the decision-makers in TV have decided that we won't get it, so we don't get it. We don't get *lots* of things here, including V8s, BTCC, DTM ...

You mention "pay networks", what precisely do you mean by that? We have two different types of what I would call a "pay network" here, one is "cable", a network that you have to pay a provider a monthly fee for, as opposed to just being broadcast over the air. (By the way, over-the-air broadcast is going the way of the dodo, but that's another rant). Even if you get your "broadcast" network by "cable," there's still a difference between "basic" service and "advanced" service. The other is "pay-per-view".

Most non-nascar coverage here (and a lot of NASCAR coverage, too) comes on "SpeedVision", which is an "advanced" cable network ... Every once in a while, something gets shifted to a "major" network, but ... :shudder: I won't go there.

Anyway, we never get pay-per-view options on any kind of racing, it's pretty much limited to boxing and WWE ... 'Though I'd happily shell out the spacebucks for some better, same-day coverage ...

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:eusa_think:

How to put this delicately ... Without igniting a US-bashing ...

Our TV is programmed for the lowest common denominator, hence the current popularity of shows such as "Dancing with the Stars", "Hell's Kitchen", "American Idol" and other "reality" tripe.

Unfortunately, the same rule applies to sports programming. If it's not a "mainstream" sport, it just doesn't get coverage, except during the Olympics, and not even then. Try to find Fencing coverage here ... :blink: Anyway, supposedly, the draw for NASCAR here is that, to John Q. Public, those Fords, Chevys and 'Yotas going around in circles are "just like" the grocery getter out in his driveway, so it appeals to the "everyman."

Most Americans can't grok F1, Fencing, curling, cricket, etc ... I think that TV thinks that they would be confused by seeing "production-looking" cars *not* going around in circles that they might get confused.

I could rant further, into my theory of how the powers that be want the populace to *be* stupid, but I won't ... In short, the decision-makers in TV have decided that we won't get it, so we don't get it. We don't get *lots* of things here, including V8s, BTCC, DTM ...

Im not sure about DTM or BTCC but i have been on the Speedtv forums and the general reaction the V8 Supercars is usually very positive. I think Speedtv is underestimating its audience as from what ive seen there are alot of Americans who would watch racing series from all around the world. From what you have said the networks in America seem to believe that if a sport isnt American then American viewers wont watch it. I dont know about Americans but if the same thing happened in Australia i would feel insulted. I have seen American television and there seems to be alot of room for different sports as they play some really strange shows like the National Spelling Bee on their sports channels. Since when has spelling become a sport?

You mention "pay networks", what precisely do you mean by that? We have two different types of what I would call a "pay network" here, one is "cable", a network that you have to pay a provider a monthly fee for, as opposed to just being broadcast over the air. (By the way, over-the-air broadcast is going the way of the dodo, but that's another rant). Even if you get your "broadcast" network by "cable," there's still a difference between "basic" service and "advanced" service. The other is "pay-per-view".

Most non-nascar coverage here (and a lot of NASCAR coverage, too) comes on "SpeedVision", which is an "advanced" cable network ... Every once in a while, something gets shifted to a "major" network, but ... :shudder: I won't go there.

Anyway, we never get pay-per-view options on any kind of racing, it's pretty much limited to boxing and WWE ... 'Though I'd happily shell out the spacebucks for some better, same-day coverage ...

We actually have both but the one im talking about is the straight monthly fee one as that gives me access to Fox Sports channels 1, 2 and 3 aswell as ESPN and several other sports channels. Nascar usually plays on Fox sports 1 when its live and then moves to Fox Sports 3 for the replays.

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Im not sure about DTM or BTCC but i have been on the Speedtv forums and the general reaction the V8 Supercars is usually very positive. I think Speedtv is underestimating its audience as from what ive seen there are alot of Americans who would watch racing series from all around the world.

Back when it was SpeedVision, it was amazing. If it raced, they covered it. Offshore powerboat racing, Lawnmower racing, karts, obscure, non-American car races, whatever. Then, it got bought by Fox, and was turned into what we call NASCAR-vision. There was much angst at the time about what impact it would have on F1 coverage, as well as all the other racing. You can see by their schedule on the website how the coverage has gone. In truth, F1 coverage has gotten steadily better, but they've dropped almost everything else, except for during the off-season. That's when we get to see V8s, BTCC (maybe), DTM (maybe), JGTC (maybe), etc. I agree, that they underestimate us; the fans that watch F1 would also watch (I'd be willing to bet) all the other obscure series. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the powers-that-be don't care to listen to the unwashed masses.

From what you have said the networks in America seem to believe that if a sport isnt American then American viewers wont watch it. I dont know about Americans but if the same thing happened in Australia i would feel insulted. I have seen American television and there seems to be alot of room for different sports as they play some really strange shows like the National Spelling Bee on their sports channels. Since when has spelling become a sport?

You've hit the nail on the head. We have bowling coverage; Spelling Bee coverage; Lacrosse coverage; hell, Poker is one of the most popular shows for "sports" channels now... Honestly, I've been a racing fan my entire life, I've been fencing for almost 20 years. I even enjoy playing poker, but in truth, what gets coverage truly boggles the mind. I'm sure part of it has to do with whatever fees are charged, but the whole thing makes no sense.

We actually have both but the one im talking about is the straight monthly fee one as that gives me access to Fox Sports channels 1, 2 and 3 aswell as ESPN and several other sports channels. Nascar usually plays on Fox sports 1 when its live and then moves to Fox Sports 3 for the replays.

Cool; pretty much what we have, then. I guess the world isn't so big after all. :D Seriously, Fox owns the rights to NASCAR coverage over here; it makes sense that it would be on Fox worldwide.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of coverage of other North American series do you get? CCWS, I(njury)RL, ALMS, etc? Just curious. NASCAR is the 900-lb gorilla of racing coverage, here, as you can probably tell by the tone of my rants...

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Back when it was SpeedVision, it was amazing. If it raced, they covered it. Offshore powerboat racing, Lawnmower racing, karts, obscure, non-American car races, whatever. Then, it got bought by Fox, and was turned into what we call NASCAR-vision. There was much angst at the time about what impact it would have on F1 coverage, as well as all the other racing. You can see by their schedule on the website how the coverage has gone. In truth, F1 coverage has gotten steadily better, but they've dropped almost everything else, except for during the off-season. That's when we get to see V8s, BTCC (maybe), DTM (maybe), JGTC (maybe), etc. I agree, that they underestimate us; the fans that watch F1 would also watch (I'd be willing to bet) all the other obscure series. Unfortunately, as is so often the case, the powers-that-be don't care to listen to the unwashed masses.

Well i know the American fans are willing. There is a thread on the NASCAR section of the speedtv forums and it appears that alot of NASCAR fans are more than willing to give V8 Supercars a go. Some NASCAR fans even say that V8 Supercars is what NASCAR should be. That is a very big complement.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of coverage of other North American series do you get? CCWS, I(njury)RL, ALMS, etc? Just curious. NASCAR is the 900-lb gorilla of racing coverage, here, as you can probably tell by the tone of my rants...

The rest of the American racing series are rather poor. I would watch Champ Car but a free to air channel has the rights to that series and they play the race at least a day after it was actually raced. I think IRL and ALMS are on pay tv but im not certain as i havent had pay tv that long. The NASCAR coverage though is top notch. We also get alot of other American sports on pay tv including American Football, Baseball, Basketball and Ice Hockey.

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