Supercars JUB JUB Supercars thread

[imadodgyumpire]

You have to hand it to supercars. They're the massive bog that won't allow itself to be flushed.

 

[Klyntonius]

Would be much more interesting if the Supras would run turbo sixes instead of shortening irrelevant V8s into them.

 

[Cromulant]

Would be much more interesting if the Supras would run turbo sixes instead of shortening irrelevant V8s into them.

I did think that, but running an actual Toyota/Lexus V8 rather than the BMW 6 they have in them makes some sense too

 

[Klyntonius]

I did think that, but running an actual Toyota/Lexus V8 rather than the BMW 6 they have in them makes some sense too

It would certainly make sense of they would just rerebrand as V8 supercars again and be fine with it. Otherwise, the Supra built it's cult following based on being a turbo 6. Can't see a Supra silhouette running a V8 engine (even if it is a Toyota one) really appealing terribly much to rotors and especially Supra fans.

Also, I personally like mechanical variety so find just adding another V8 decidedly unappealing.

 

[Cromulant]

It would certainly make sense of they would just rerebrand as V8 supercars again and be fine with it. Otherwise, the Supra built it's cult following based on being a turbo 6. Can't see a Supra silhouette running a V8 engine (even if it is a Toyota one) really appealing terribly much to rotors and especially Supra fans.

Also, I personally like mechanical variety so find just adding another V8 decidedly unappealing.

It's a fair comment.

I wonder too if Toyota have seen the absolute parity cluster with these cars and decided that a turbo V6 would just be too hard to work out for the Supercar boffins

 

[Vader]

Wasn't the whole point of rebranding to "Supercars", dropping the"V8" from "V8 Supercars", supposed to reflect the recognition that other engine types would soon be allowed back into the category?

Obviously we don’t want a return to the days of the Ford Sierras and Nissan's Godzilla, which had a massive power to weight advantage over the Commodore. We still want the cars to have parity. With the wind tunnel (aerodynamic) and engine testing that they're doing now, they should be able to tune/map a V6 Turbo engine to provide the Supras with an output which allows parity with the Mustangs and Camaros.

On SM-X205 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Cromulant]

Wasn't the whole point of rebranding to "Supercars", dropping the"V8" from "V8 Supercars", supposed to reflect the recognition that other engine types would soon be allowed back into the category?

Obviously we don’t want a return to the days of the Ford Sierras and Nissan's Godzilla, which had a massive power to weight advantage over the Commodore. We still want the cars to have parity. With the wind tunnel (aerodynamic) and engine testing that they're doing now, they should be able to tune/map a V6 Turbo engine to provide the Supras with an output which allows parity with the Mustangs and Camaros.

On SM-X205 using BigFooty.com mobile app

They've taken 2 years to get 2 V8 engines somewhere near parity, it'll take them a decade to work out an inline 6 turbo.

I do get the premise though, it would have been very interesting to see them try it. This is Australia, the 2nd most popular TV category is old 70s toranas and mustangs with big loud V8s. We are so American in that regard.

Toyota will make it work.

 

[imadodgyumpire]

Yeah, I reckon Bagnaia has to win tonight not so much for the championship but to establish himself over Marquez.

Hang on, this is the supercars thread. What's Klyntonius doing here???

 

[Lebbo73]

If the Mustangs don’t look competitive again this year at Bathurst I’m turning it off early.

 

[Cromulant]

If the Mustangs don’t look competitive again this year at Bathurst I’m turning it off early.

I'll be there, spent a fair bit of coin to get there too.... wont be super happy if it works out that way.

 

[imadodgyumpire]

I'll be there, spent a fair bit of coin to get there too.... wont be super happy if it works out that way.

You're new, and I don't mean to be rude if I come across that way.

If you're spending any money on anything related to supercars, you deserve all the misery you get.

 

[Cromulant]

You're new, and I don't mean to be rude if I come across that way.

If you're spending any money on anything related to supercars, you deserve all the misery you get.

I've made a few Bathurst related trips, it's a great weekend.

It'll be a pretty embarrassing afternoon if the cars keep blowing engines, bearing in mind the Chevs also haven't been super reliable at times this season

 

[Vader]

Supercars made a big announcement recently, about changes to the 2025 race schedule & championship. Lots of big changes coming next year...

Championship
The season will be divided into 3 sections - sprint (8 rounds), enduro (2 rounds), and finals (3 rounds).
The winners of the sprint & enduro sections gain direct entry to the finals.

The finals arrangements are a bit confusing. The top-10 drivers (including the sprint & enduro winners) qualify. Everyone else still drives these races, but with nothing more than line honours to win.

Points scores are "reset" to 3000 + bonuses for the first finals round, 4000 + bonuses for the second round, and 5000 + bonuses for the Grand Final. The bonus points are TBA. The lowest ranked 3 drivers get punted after the 1st and 2nd rounds, joining the rest of the drivers racing for nothing. Drivers who win a race automatically qualify for the next finals round.

Race Schedule
https://www.supercars.com/news/supercars-2025-calendar-dates-championship-pdf-download
The 2025 season will have 13 events, an increase of 1 from 2024.
Sandown loses its 500km enduro, but is retained as a "finals" event with 2x250km races (similar to Adelaide).
The Bend takes over as the 500km enduro warm-up for Bathurst.

Race Formats
https://speedcafe.com/supercars-news-2025-format-changes-confirmed-details-super440-explained/
Most sprint weekends have 2x shorter races on Saturday, and 1x longer race on Sunday. Sydney & Townsville, which have longer races on both Sat & Sun, have a short sprint race on the Friday.
Total racing distance is increased by more than 1000km compared to 2024, at the cost of reduced practice times.


Refueling
Refueling towers will disappear for the sprint rounds, with refuelling in the sprint races (some of which are up to 250km in length) being done using fuel churns - which disappeared 20-odd years ago.
Towers will still be used in the enduros, where the cars need to take a bigger gulp of fuel each time they stop.

Tyres
The current "soft" and "hard" tyres are going away, replaced by "soft" and "super soft". Hopefully this won't result in a completely ****ed up Bathurst, like 2023, where drivers are tyre-limited, and have to drive slowly to extend tyre life - resulting in little on-track action. Fingers crossed that the 2025 soft tyre will have similar performance to the 2024 hard tyre.

 

[BomberFan355]

Miles better than this year, only one more event but wayyy more racing. I was not happy about Sandown losing the 500 but 2 x 250km races is good.

Also, how good is the Heritage category at Bathurst.

 

[Vader]

I'm not sure that I like the new "Finals" concept. I like having Sprint & Enduro champions - but I don't like the way the top-10 finals series works.

My biggest gripe is the way it brings dominant drivers back to the pack. A driver could win every one of the Sprint & Enduro races, leading the Championship by the equivalent of 2 entire rounds going into the finals. They then get punted in one finals race by a useless pay-driver like Macauley Jones, leaving them unable to make up the points differential in the other races. They are then out of the Championship, through no fault of their own, despite dominating all season.

I'm also not in favour of drivers who are out of the Championship having nothing to aim for, other than line honours. Then again, I guess this is the reality they face now, under the existing point system.

I do like the changes they've made to the race formats, and the extra racing they will provide.

I don't like the 500 being raced at The Bend, purely because The Bend is such a boring racetrack.

 

[Jatz]

They've essentially copied Nascar.

I don't actually mind it, I think they've had to try and refresh the series somehow. At least they're trying something.

 

[NSWCROW]

Happy with everything there BUT the finals.

Lame

 

[Vader]

What I'd like to see is 10x Sprint rounds - with a Sprint King winner; 3x Enduro rounds - with an Enduro King winner; and an overall Championship Winner.

No finals required - just points accumulated across the Sprint & Enduro rounds.

 

[Cromulant]

They had to try something, so I'm happy to give it a shot.

Will make Adelaide tense.

 

[BomberFan355]

I'm not sure that I like the new "Finals" concept. I like having Sprint & Enduro champions - but I don't like the way the top-10 finals series works.

My biggest gripe is the way it brings dominant drivers back to the pack. A driver could win every one of the Sprint & Enduro races, leading the Championship by the equivalent of 2 entire rounds going into the finals. They then get punted in one finals race by a useless pay-driver like Macauley Jones, leaving them unable to make up the points differential in the other races. They are then out of the Championship, through no fault of their own, despite dominating all season.

I'm also not in favour of drivers who are out of the Championship having nothing to aim for, other than line honours. Then again, I guess this is the reality they face now, under the existing point system.

I do like the changes they've made to the race formats, and the extra racing they will provide.

I don't like the 500 being raced at The Bend, purely because The Bend is such a boring racetrack.

I know, but then you can win every AFL game for the year and lose the GF, due to injuries before or in game.

Let's just enjoy the extra racing and see what happens i guess.

 

[Lebbo73]

Sandown 500 is way more entertaining then the B(ore)end.
The finals concept is too heavily weighted against dominant drivers as stated above.
Otherwise, it’s good to see a change up in format.

 

[Shaxx Attaxx]

An enduro at the Bend will be a snooze fest.

 

[Cromulant]

Sandown 500 is way more entertaining then the B(ore)end.
The finals concept is too heavily weighted against dominant drivers as stated above.
Otherwise, it’s good to see a change up in format.

Sandown is a dump though.

You can't NOT have a round at The Bend.

 

[99 Problems]

Glad they’ve gone back to only one round at Bathurst.

Agree with what others have said and happy they are trying something different. First thought is the finals format lends itself more to when there are more high profile drivers on the grid which they are a bit light on at the moment

 

[99 Problems]

Old mate casually scooping up that brown snake then nearly falling over afterwards was a cracking start to the weekend to be fair