Observation - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

Hobbes · 07-28-2002, 16:03

Just a thought - Oran park this weekend showed that at least two Ford's have the speed to take it to HRT - I'd bet that Ambrose woulda won race one if it weren't for the pitstop, and I was dissapointed Lowndes didn't have the reliability to keep up the pressure on Skaife. This all begs the question tho - if HRT get penalised for winning, and Lowndes and Ambrose sort their probs, will they simply become the next HRT? I know some of you guys will be happy to see a Ford team dominate, but doesn't that defeat the purpose of the whole parity thing?

Oh, and on a Holden note, I was glad to see the Castrol cars have a good showing, and was very sad to see McConville have such bad luck, esp after his best ever quailfying effort - he has to be one of the most underrated drivers on the circuit ...

milchy · 07-28-2002, 16:13

We all keep saying "if only the Falcons had better luck..". Luck has nothing to do with it. As things currently stand, a Falcon (no matter which Falcon) can only win if everything goes perfectly - the car, the team, the driver, etc. The Holdens, however, have an advantage. They don't need to be pushed as hard to go as fast. As a result, there is less pressure on the car, the driver and the team. In short, there is no parity at present. The authorities should recognise this and rectify it before the army of Ford supporters completely give up hope and stop watching.

Hobbes · 07-28-2002, 16:19

Are you sure? I've always thought that you make your own luck, and HRT have just been a luck factory of late. I don't agree that the Holden teams do not have to work as hard - the work just as hard as any of the Ford teams, it's just that HRT are working better at the moment.

XR8MICK · 07-28-2002, 16:31

Quote:

Originally posted by milchy
We all keep saying "if only the Falcons had better luck..". Luck has nothing to do with it. As things currently stand, a Falcon (no matter which Falcon) can only win if everything goes perfectly - the car, the team, the driver, etc. The Holdens, however, have an advantage. They don't need to be pushed as hard to go as fast. As a result, there is less pressure on the car, the driver and the team. In short, there is no parity at present. The authorities should recognise this and rectify it before the army of Ford supporters completely give up hope and stop watching.

what do you propose the authorities rectify???
holdens do have an advantage i agree . a team that makes less mistakes and that's it

FM · 07-28-2002, 17:12

Yeah I must agree Hobbes. While I'd be the first to say that Ford should dominate for a while, it's an interesting question you pose. For mine the parity is just about right and should be well & truely sorted when VY & BA Race cars are introduced under project blueprint.

As everyone is saying.. HRT are working smarter than the whole field, not just Ford. Interesting point made by Brad Jones yesterday too was that the heat is well & truely on the Holden teams as well as they have the exact same race car as HRT yet even they can'y get close to them..

JEM · 07-28-2002, 18:08

No doubt all teams put in 110%. There were a few teams that had the pace on the day, but at the end of the day HRT again end up at the top. Ambrose put in a top effort and still ended the day with a great result considering the teams misfortune in the pits, and that IMO wasn't an error as described by one of the comentators, but more a technical problem with the rattle gun/lock nut.

Lowndes showed he could take it upto them, but again as usual their car seems to be plagued with reliability issues. They have experienced engine/electronic troubles previously.

These issues need to be sorted if Ford are to be a threat for any future championships. Whether it be luck or not, they need more consistentcy.

Will be interesting to see what aero changes the Ford teams are allowed to implement in the near future.

Blurter · 07-28-2002, 18:20

For someone who just had there car and weekend destroyed, I thought Brad Jones was brilliant in the commentary box and his statements right on the money.

To the guys who will have to wait longer for a ride at todays OzeMail drive day, send your cheerio down Mr Romano's way.

XF 5.0 S · 07-28-2002, 21:45

Quote:

Originally posted by Hobbes
Are you sure? I've always thought that you make your own luck, and HRT have just been a luck factory of late. I don't agree that the Holden teams do not have to work as hard - the work just as hard as any of the Ford teams, it's just that HRT are working better at the moment.

agreed, but at what cost?

OK, we all know that HRT are the best right now, and have been a 'luck Factory" over the last couple of years - no argument.

But what will this "earned and justified" lop sidedness do to the series?

If you have a continual one horse race, interest will wane, sponsors dry up, crowd numbers will dwindle, and the series will whittle away the level of interest in the general public to a Formula Vee race (with no disrespect to the Vee's)

I agree, sometimes, no, a lot of the time, Ford can be it's own worst enemy.

But like a good footy team on a losing streak, all it takes is a couple of back to back wins to get your tail up and the stupid errors vanish - thats why HRT don't make mistakes, they are confident as well as capable.

I know HRT have earned this.

But at what cost to the competition series which justfies their existence?

I believe that there has to be some type of capping system, some success sharing...Im still trying to work out a concept here.

This will enable ALL other teams, both Holden & Ford, an opportunity to notch up some wins, which will create interest to keep the series alive.

I understand that some may argue that its up to those teams behind to pull up their socks and get with it - thats fine and reasonable..but how long will it take for that to happen under the current situation, and will the series die in the meantime waiting??

Some may also say that the same thing is currently happening with Ferrari and F1. True, but F1 is a WORLD sport, with billions more invested than just the local V8 series, not really a true comparison.

Someting has to be done now to try to equalise the V8 series for ALL teams, or quite simply, it will perish.

Venom XR · 07-28-2002, 21:58

I don't want to see HRT 'capped' then have people say 'oh, Ford only win because HRT were handicapped'. Screw that.

Despite the HRT dominance, the crowd at OP yesterday was huge, heaps bigger than last year. Sure the warm sunny weather vs last years miserable weather helped, the series seems to be rather healthy. OP management said it was of the biggest OP crowds in a long time.

XF 5.0 S · 07-28-2002, 22:16

Quote:

Originally posted by Venom XR
I don't want to see HRT 'capped' then have people say 'oh, Ford only win because HRT were handicapped'. Screw that.

Despite the HRT dominance, the crowd at OP yesterday was huge, heaps bigger than last year. Sure the warm sunny weather vs last years miserable weather helped, the series seems to be rather healthy. OP management said it was of the biggest OP crowds in a long time.

Im talking not just about FORD, but about other HOLDEN teams as well.

HOLDEN just isn't only about HRT.

"Handicapping' is already part of the series in the form of parity. The question is how to give more winning opportunties to other HOLDEN as well as FORD teams.

And how much bigger do you think the crowds would be if the result was not always a foregone conclusion?