V8s Cruisin’ into Melbourne
No Championship points are on offer, but the 2010 BRC IMPCO V8 Supercar GP Challenge will still pit driver against driver, team against team and manufacturer against manufacturer. Taking place at the Australian Grand Prix at Melbourne’s Albert Park from March 25-28, the three-race event is a chance for the V8 field to take a bit of a breather Championship-wise and also have some fun. But with the knowledge that they are not racing for sheep stations, some teams really get off the rev limiter at the non-Championship event in a bid to stop their cars from getting damaged.
Pic: GT had a solid showing at Clipsal…picking up maximum points!
Credit: Justin Deeley
V8 Supercars has warned this year that teams will not get away with ‘tanking’ - to the point of threatening fines of up to $20,000 for those who do not race “to the best of their ability”. For those of you who have never heard of BRC IMPCO, the sponsor for the V8 Supercar races at Albert Park, the company is a fuel systems solutions group providing services including LPG gas installation and conversion company.
Because the V8s are a support to Formula One, the schedule is all skew whiff compared to a normal Supercar event. The V8s are on track every day of the four day event, including a 30-minute practice session at 2.10pm on Thursday followed by qualifying at 5.15pm. On Friday the Top 10 Shootout takes place at 3pm and the first of three 13-lap races is scheduled for 6.15pm. The second race will be held on Saturday at 6.15pm and the Sunday race takes place at 2.20pm in the lead up to the Formula One twilight race. A maximum of 100 points are on offer in each of the three V8 races and the driver who scores the most points from the three races will be deemed the winner of the 2010 BRC IMPCO V8 Supercar GP Challenge. Rather than holding separate qualifying sessions for each race, the finishing position of drivers in the Friday race determines the grid order for the Saturday race and the results of the Saturday race determines the grid order for the Sunday race.
V8 Supercars is just one of the supports for the Formula One cars, with the others including the Formula 5000 Tasman Cup, Formula Ford Championship, Australian GT Championship and the Mini Challenge Series. And for the kiddies, Roary the Racing Car will have his own pit area at the F1 QANTAS Australian Grand Prix where TeamVodafone driver Craig Lowndes, who voices the character Conrod in Roary’s television show, will make appearances on the Saturday.
