Significant race format changes including the dumping of the tired three-race sprint rounds and the return of a Top 10 Shootout in qualifying have been announced for the Australian V8 Supercar Championship for 2009.
Acknowledging that Australia’s most popular domestic racing series is overdue for changes, and inject some much needed excitement, V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane declared “it is time for the sport to reinvent itself and spice up the on-track spectacle”.
Is it a case of too little too late, of re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? Or will these changes rejuvenate racing and lift the on-track spectacle for race fans?
The existing leg one and leg two knock-out rounds of qualifying will remain with leg three to be replaced in ’09 by the re-introduced Shootout.
The introduction next season of E85 blend fuel and longer races of 200km will result in cars having to refuel their 120-litre tanks at least once every event weekend. E85 biofuel is not as efficient as the high-octane pump petrol - V8 supercars will burn it at a rate around 30 percent faster than the petrol in use now, obviously meaning more refuelling stops will be required in the enduro races at Phillip Island and Bathurst.
In a further change, teams will be allocated four softer compound tyres as part of their weekend allocation of 12 race tyres at six events in 2009. These events are the two-race weekends at Winton, Symmons Plains in Tasmania, Hidden Valley in Darwin, Sandown Raceway, Queensland Raceway and Barbagallo Raceway in Perth.
It is hoped that the softer compound tyres will allow more overtaking.
Each of these events will consist of one 100km race on Saturday and one 200km race on Sunday – which will require pit stops for tyres and fuel.
At least four events in the season will consist of two 200km races with one on Saturday and one on Sunday. These include the Gulf Air Desert 400 in Bahrain, the Townsville 400, Hamilton 400 and the Indy 300.
All championship events will include a Top 10 Shootout following the current first two legs of qualifying. In all events the winner will be the driver/drivers that cross the finish line first in the Sunday leg.
There will be no compulsory pit stop windows at any events, removing some of the much-criticised artificiality of the racing in recent years.
In another development, teams will be able to give their endurance co-drivers a run in the first 30-minute practice session at the title rounds at Winton, Symmons Plains, Hidden Valley, Sandown, Queensland Raceway and the new street race at Townsville.
While even the most ardent defenders of the faith now concede that V8 Supercars desperately needs additional brands, none is emerging as a possibility.
After snubbing Toyota a few years ago, AVESCO (now V8SA) and many V8 supercar teams and drivers now (belatedly) appear to think Toyota would be the most welcome addition to the show.
But Toyota insiders are adamant that the Australian arm of the Japanese car giant doesn’t have any desire or reason to be part of the V8 Supercar championship today.
Toyota outsells Holden and Ford combined in new-vehicle sales in Australia, so clearly it doesn’t need a marketing boost from any involvement in V8 Supercars.
And unlike Ford and Holden, Toyota doesn’t have a V8-based performance product to align with any race series. (It does have hi-tech V8 engines in its upmarket Lexus range, but there is no chance that a premium brand would get down and dirty with Holden and Ford on the track.)
Instead, Toyota is concentrating on pitching a green message based on its small, fuel efficient Yaris, Corolla and Prius models.