There is a real buzz around the series and racing this year more than ever before and I think it has to do with the teams having more tyres to compete on, with the V8s ramping up the amount of Dunlop rubber in the championship.

Critically, there are a lot more of the SP Sport Maxx ‘Sprint’ tyres in play, including six events (Abu Dhabi, Hamilton, Winton, Queensland Raceway, Surfers Paradise, Symmons Plains and Sandown) running the soft option as the only rubber for those weekends.

The ‘all-Sprint’ races were trialled last year for the first time at Winton to rave reviews from fans, drivers and teams, as it delivered more action both on the race track and in the pits. I can’t think of any negatives about it with everyone really enjoying the spectacle, so credit to the V8s and Dunlop for keeping it going.

The dual compound racing tyres concept is now in its third year in the series and it seems as though the teams who came to grips with the model early in the piece have come back to the field a bit now. In the six points races so far in 2011 we have had five different winners which shows how close the racing is thanks in a big part to Dunlop!

Until next time,
drive safely.

As we enter the Holiday Season, I thought I would use my last Traction column to send a very important message out to everyone to drive carefully and stay safe over the Christmas/New Year period. As millions of families prepare for extended holiday travel this summer, it is well documented that this is the most dangerous time on the roads with the increased numbers of cars driving around. We all have to be extra careful when travelling to ensure the safety of ourselves and those around us.

One thing that we can all do to help stay safer is pay close attention to the condition of our tyres. The quality of a tyre, as well as its inflation, tread depth and general condition, greatly influence its ability to stop a vehicle in an emergency situation. Remember, our tyres are the only part of our car that is actually touching the road!

Premium tyres, such as Goodyear and Dunlop, can dramatically reduce the distance required to stop a vehicle over cheaper varieties, which in an emergency, can be the difference between avoiding and a having an accident. It is also important to ensure that our tyres are both roadworthy and at the correct inflation pressures, as these can also significantly affect the handling of a vehicle and its ability to stop.

Until next time, drive safely.

Unfortunately though in the first practice I blotted my copy book so to speak and crashed the car. Unlike most race drivers, I don’t make excuses, I was a goose. Much like the cause of many road accidents, I wasn’t driving to the conditions and was trying too hard on a slippery surface.

The end result was that the front of the Muzzie was severely rearranged, as will my bank account be. I was so peeved with myself, still am really, but it is a good reminder of how close danger is when driving no matter how many years experience you have.

My little team though, ably lead by Dick Savy, knocked it back into shape, and I do mean knocked. These old muscle cars are 40 years old so you can’t buy panels at the local Ford dealer. Luckily there is such a thing as ‘race tape’ and it came in mighty handy.

The good news from Adelaide is that the Mustang is fast; I qualified on pole position and set the lap record. If it wasn’t for a power steering failing due to a stretched line from the earlier shunt I would have had a good shot at taking victory in the car on its very first outing, but had to settle for third.

Having raced the past two seasons of the Touring Car Masters in a GM-built Camaro, the reaction from fans to me racing a Ford again 2010 was very positive, and I even have my old Number 18 back again!

Until next time, drive safely.

JB was honoured at the V8 Supercar Championship Series annual gala dinner as he became the 14th inductee into the ‘Hall of Fame’ since it was instituted in 1999. Some of his V8 Supercar achievements include a Championship Series win (1995), two Bathurst 1000 victories (1989 and 1994) and the most V8 Supercar race starts in history (225).

I have had a set of Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetrics on my Ford Mondeo Turbo for about a year now. After reading about all the awards and accolades it was winning around the world when it was launched here in October 2008, as well as seeing its testing data and specs, it was exactly the high performance tyre I wanted to test out on my own personal car.

After around 10,000km of driving, the F1 Asymmetric has way surpassed all my expectations, it really is as good they say it is, maybe even better. It is fantastic not just in the dry, but also on wet roads. The guys at MOTOR put it well when they described the tyre has having “webbed feet” and is “freakishly good” in the wet.

Having also driven on the Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT quite a lot in my role as a ride and handling consultant with FPV/Prodrive, I knew that this tyre was really going to give the F1 Asymmetric a run for its money though and was not at all surprised when I heard that they came in 1-2.

I have always been a fan of the Sport Maxx family of tyres and the TT and GT have raised the bar even higher this year. If I had a Porsche Turbo or similar ‘Supercar’ I would probably get a set of the GTs on it, I have recommended it many times before to people seeking ultra high performance tyres.
Until next time, drive safely.

Holden regained the crown after 3 very dry years. I imagine there was a sigh of relief at Fisherman’s Bend, all those Ford victories in recent years would have been very frustrating. Although I have spent most of my racing life in a Ford, I try to be very fair and impartial, and let’s face it, the HRT outfit of Garth Tander and Will Davison did the best job on the day.

Over the years the race has evolved somewhat into a race of fuel, tyre and safety car management. Don’t get me wrong, you still need a fast car and two strong drivers, but lots of the decisions that affect the end results are made in the pits. It is a true team effort.

I felt very sorry for FPR’s Steve Richards and Mark Winterbottom, they were my pick to win. They had a quick car and the team is second to none. Unfortunately for them though, a freak drama caused a major fire and Frosty was lucky that the car did not explode with him in it.

A stand out performer I thought was Team BOC/Brad Jones Racing who finished second to HRT. My very good mate Brad Jones always runs a top operation at Bathurst and this year was no exception. They punch way above their weight and made some of the “super teams” look a bit sick. My neighbour Jason Richards, who drives for Brad, made the podium for the third year in a row, and as he takes up a lot of my time talking all things V8 Supercars, I am claiming some credit!

The V8 Supercar Championship Series is getting tight now, and whether you are a red supporter or a blue blood, you just know the racing will be awesome in the hunt for points over the last few rounds of the season.

Until next time, drive safely.

I also do a few ‘one-off’ events like the recent Baskerville Historic Race Meeting in Tasmania, where incidentally I have held the track record since 1982. This was the first all historic race meeting in the Apple Isle and was part of the tracks 50th anniversary celebrations. It is actually the oldest continuously operating circuit in Australia! At the event I was racing a 1960 Jaguar Mk2, a car that was once the fastest mass produced sedan in the world and dominated the touring car racing scene for more than 3 years, including taking the first European Touring Car Championship in 1963.

The rubber I was running on this awesome machine was a set of Dunlop CR65s, and looking around the pits at meetings like these you can really see the effect Dunlop’s motorsport heritage has had over the years with most competitors on their products.

But this relationship is a two-way street, Dunlophas also shown its commitment to the historic racing scene by being one of the few companies that continue to provide products for this kind of racing. They really are a true motorsport icon alongside the likes of the Camaro and the Mk2.

I remember racing back in the eighties at events that featured both the cars and bikes, and they were always a great success bringing together some of the countries leading motorsport drivers and riders at one action-packed weekend. With Dunlop the tyre of choice in both the V8s and the Superbikes, it is a great fit for their motorsport platform as well.

At the end of the day though, motorsport is in the entertainment industry so anything that adds value for the spectators can only be a good thing. In addition, the Superbikes will benefit from the added exposure they will receive from the huge audience that the V8s have, and the V8s will have an added feature on their undercard for the fans to enjoy. It really is a win-win situation and Phillip Island is the ideal location with the track great for both forms of racing.

One of the biggest challenges to the concept is that not all tracks are suitable to host both categories, primarily due to safety requirement differences such as fencing. There are quite a few facilities where it is possible though, and if it works there is no reason why this won’t become a regular fixture on the calendar next year.