Do we really want parity in V8 Supercars?
Now before you all reply with "of course we do Yellow Fire what sort of idiot are you?" hear me out.
To me motorsport has always been a nice mix of driver skill and mechanical engineering. Being able to build a car that performs better than the opposition is worthy of as much respect as the ability to drive it faster than the opposition in my opinion. As we all know V8 Supercars can be traced back to production racing. When Holden brought out the GT beating Monaros at Bathurst did Ford complain about parity? No. They just went & built a better GT for next year. This continued for a few years until one day some sneaky Japanese managed to build a car that put both the Ford and Holdens of the day to shame. Instead of trying to beat the Japanese at their own game, a new series was born that banned them along with anything like them.
Pretty simple so far. Now we're left with the two most popular cars in the country battling it out in a series that still somewhat resembled production racing. It was a long way from what the ATCC started as, but the race cars still had unique features between each make.
In 2004 we have cars with control tyres, wheels, diffs, gearboxes, fuel tanks, suspension points and only resemble road cars in a very loose sense. Even the link between the road car engine is gone with neither make offering a 5 litre pushrod engine for sale.
Now to the point of this long winded post:
How far down the road of "parity" will V8 Supercars go before you lose interest?
Just say that within the next 5 years rules are put in place that remove the small differences that remain between the cars. Aero kits are actually tested to prove that the front and rear downforce and drag of both cars is identical at all speeds. A control set of heads, intake, and exhaust system is made mandatory so that both the Ford and Holden 5 litre engine makes exactly the same power.
Would anyone watch this?
Would anyone still cheer for the "Ford" over the "Holden" when in reality they are the same race car?
The solution?
I have no idea. Production based racing simply would not work in 2004. We're so used to seeing the best drivers in the country racing 600hp beasts that putting them in stock GTs or GTOs would be like watching traffic in comparison.
Of course its possible that I'm totally wrong, but I wouldn't watch a Ford vs Holden series when all I'm cheering for is a badge.
Opinions?
Now before you all reply with "of course we do Yellow Fire what sort of idiot are you?" hear me out.
To me motorsport has always been a nice mix of driver skill and mechanical engineering. Being able to build a car that performs better than the opposition is worthy of as much respect as the ability to drive it faster than the opposition in my opinion. As we all know V8 Supercars can be traced back to production racing. When Holden brought out the GT beating Monaros at Bathurst did Ford complain about parity? No. They just went & built a better GT for next year. This continued for a few years until one day some sneaky Japanese managed to build a car that put both the Ford and Holdens of the day to shame. Instead of trying to beat the Japanese at their own game, a new series was born that banned them along with anything like them.
Pretty simple so far. Now we're left with the two most popular cars in the country battling it out in a series that still somewhat resembled production racing. It was a long way from what the ATCC started as, but the race cars still had unique features between each make.
In 2004 we have cars with control tyres, wheels, diffs, gearboxes, fuel tanks, suspension points and only resemble road cars in a very loose sense. Even the link between the road car engine is gone with neither make offering a 5 litre pushrod engine for sale.
Now to the point of this long winded post:
How far down the road of "parity" will V8 Supercars go before you lose interest?
Just say that within the next 5 years rules are put in place that remove the small differences that remain between the cars. Aero kits are actually tested to prove that the front and rear downforce and drag of both cars is identical at all speeds. A control set of heads, intake, and exhaust system is made mandatory so that both the Ford and Holden 5 litre engine makes exactly the same power.
Would anyone watch this?
Would anyone still cheer for the "Ford" over the "Holden" when in reality they are the same race car?
The solution?
I have no idea. Production based racing simply would not work in 2004. We're so used to seeing the best drivers in the country racing 600hp beasts that putting them in stock GTs or GTOs would be like watching traffic in comparison.
Of course its possible that I'm totally wrong, but I wouldn't watch a Ford vs Holden series when all I'm cheering for is a badge.
Opinions?