The Inside Line: The High-Speed World Of A V8 Supercar Legend Driver

Rebecca rated it really liked it Dec 28, Tanya rated it it was ok Sep 16, Bill rated it really liked it Jun 05, Clarissa rated it liked it Mar 19, Mark rated it liked it Apr 13, Luke rated it it was amazing Mar 19, James Anderson rated it it was amazing Jun 10, Shayne Foster added it Sep 19, Rachel Thompson added it Oct 27, Crystal Webster marked it as to-read Nov 23, Jenna added it Apr 08, Kaylene Farley added it Sep 10, Emmanuel Galea marked it as to-read Aug 18, Kim Green added it Oct 12, Georgie Reade marked it as to-read Jan 31, Josh added it Feb 10, James Fitch added it Sep 05, Isaac Pearce is currently reading it Oct 25, Peter marked it as to-read Jan 09, Robert Mance is currently reading it Jan 29, Inside the Venom GT is a degree, seven-liter V8 engine with twin precision ball bearing turbochargers, an iron block with aluminum heads, electronic sequential multi-port fuel injection pumping a terrifying 1, bhp kW and lb-ft Nm of torque feeding into a Ricardo six-speed manual gearbox.

Hennessey claims a top speed of mph Hennessey claimed the run of A one-way speed of On November 4, , Koenigsegg used a customer-owned Agera RS fitted with a standard 1MW engine upgrade for a total 1, hp and running on E85 fuel for a two-way average speed of During the Koenigsegg Agera RS record run, the highest speed ever recorded on a public road was achieved at Highlighting the dangers of top speed runs, Auto Union now Audi driver Bernd Rosemeyer died later that day attempting to claim the record for Auto Union.

In 70 years, the top speed of the fastest production car in the world has progressed from Indeed, just 15 years ago when NewAtlas nee Gizmag. Now, we're awaiting the release of the hp Devel Sixteen road car. The progression of speeds charts the rise of automotive science, as is evidenced by the considerable reengineering of the Veyron in its evolution from The fearsome speed record for a production has now exceeded that of Shanghai's Maglev train, and if you've ever had the pleasure of watching Mother Earth flash past at that speed from the Maglev, you will appreciate exactly what I'm referring to.

Whole carriages twitch disconcertingly quickly and you become aware of the frightening wind roar outside that even the magnificently-engineered levitating projectile cannot disguise. Indeed, it's a speed you never see on any racetrack because the straights on a racetrack are not long enough.

All this to build a car that can travel at four times the speed limit on public roads might seem like madness to some. To others, achieving this speed is their quest in life, and owning one of these cars that made history in a significant way is their dream. With that in mind, we expect to be adding to this list in coming years. Madness it may be, but it's equally fascinating to watch these limits being pushed.

The Inside Line: The High-Speed World of a V8 Supercar Legend by Craig Lowndes

That wraps up out look at the speed demons of the modern era. For a trip back to where it all began, check out our feature on The fastest cars in history: The aluminium body was thinner, the wheelbase was shorter, and the range-topping cc engine produced hp. Ferrari's new hp, 4-cam V12 Berlinetta was launched at the October Paris Salon, and was nicknamed the 'Daytona' in honor of the Ferrari factory team's victory in the Daytona Hour race.

Most modern supercars owe their basic shape to this one extraordinary and outrageous leap in styling, made by Lamborghini and designed by Bertone in The GTO is an extraordinary car built to go racing and when the FIM abolished its intended racing category, it never got to demonstrate just how good it really was on the racetrack.

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Its greatest fault is that it isn't nearly as rare as the original GTO, with cars made versus the 39 of the original GTO. Just the same, the entire production run was sold before production even started. Another car which held the title of the world's fastest production road car, but the 's significance was far greater in many respects as it was also the first four-wheel drive Porsche road car and contained myriad innovations that are still used on Porsche's models to this day.

The bodywork of the road car was replaced with slightly revised carbon fibre and kevlar panels, the under tray was replaced with a flat version for better stability at high speeds, a second seat was installed in the cramped cockpit, and a modified version of Porsche's water-cooled Type cc twin-turbocharged flat-6 produced hp kW - more power than the regs allowed the real car upon which it was modelled.

The extent of any engine modifications to the XK for record runs is not known but if the inside reflects the outside, it's not really a production car pictured directly above and with the far-more-prominent standard windscreen. The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport The world's fastest passenger train service just happens to have exactly the same top speed.

There's a history of the model in this video.

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The resulting culture clash caused considerable angst between officials and team management. Some European teams, most prominently the Ford Europe backed Eggenberger Motorsport , ran questionable vehicles. With the race complete, it was still unclear as to who was the legitimate winner. Eggenberger's cars finished first and second on the road but were disqualified months later due to bodywork irregularities. Brock broke his '05' HDT Commodore early in the event so he and co-driver David Parsons took over the team's second car, the 10 Commodore of Peter McLeod , to cross the line third behind the two Sierras.

It was to be Brock's ninth and final Bathurst win. Local Sierra teams dominated and won the next two Bathurst s. In the race Peter Brock claimed pole in his record 6th pole at Bathurst and his first for Ford or anything but a Holden. A fierce new opponent was waiting in the wings. Nissan and team manager Fred Gibson, had campaigned Skylines in Australian competition for a few years. It initially suffered from the related problems of complexity and reliability but the GT-R went on to dominate Group A racing worldwide. Gibson's lead drivers, Jim Richards and Mark Skaife , easily won the Bathurst with Skaife setting the sensational time of 2: The pair repeated the win in controversial circumstances in The car gained the nickname 'Godzilla'.

With four-wheel drive, four-wheel steer, and a powerful turbo 2. The Skyline's victory was particularly controversial. The parochial Bathurst crowd, and touring car fans in general, had been conditioned to view the Great Race as a perpetual struggle between Holden and Ford. Although the Group A racing Commodores and Sierras were far removed from road going examples, the Nissans were seen as being unfairly advantaged and received considerable negative comment in the build-up to the race. Late in the race, severe rainstorms swept the track, causing several accidents as dry weather tyres caused extreme aquaplaning.

During the ensuing mayhem the leading Skyline of Jim Richards and Mark Skaife slid into two wrecked cars. Simultaneously officials red flagged the race due the perilous condition of the wet track. The surviving cars were marshalled in single file on Pit Straight. Under these regulations red flag race results were based on positions held at the end of the last completed lap as there were no official record of the lap not completed.

As Richards had been leading the race on that lap his team was declared the winner. This was an unpopular decision with some race fans, many of whom could not understand how a wrecked Nissan could beat a perfectly healthy Sierra that had passed it on the track. As the rain clouds dissipated many unhappy campers loudly voiced their opinions.

Race winners Mark Skaife and Jim Richards were challenged by a rowdy, confused and alcohol-fuelled crowd. Group A as an international formula faded away in the late s. This was postponed to the end of due to the inability of FISA to specify a new International formula. This iteration evolved into the current Supercars category. This class excluded turbochargers and four wheel drive, effectively ending the Nissan's GT-R's eligibility. In response Nissan withdrew from Australian motorsport.

The two classes of touring cars competed in the same races for two championships in In the season , the 2-litre Super Touring championship was run separately to the ATCC, though both categories ran as two classes at Bathurst. In , due to fears about the growing speed difference between the V8s and the 2-litre cars, the Bathurst became a one-class race for the first time.

This was not an issue for the ATCC races, but for the Bathurst , which was organized and promoted by a consortium that included Channel 7, it was a major issue. Channel 7 had televised the race since and had a contract that was binding into the 21st century. A similar dispute affected the V8 Supercars Challenge support races at the Australian Grand Prix , in which at various times different networks have held the broadcast rights to both V8 Supercars and Formula One. This race was won by Paul Morris and Craig Baird in a BMW i , however they were later disqualified as Baird had exceeded the mandated time limit for a continuous solo driving period.

This event format continued for with the addition of a field of cars from the New Zealand Touring Car Championship , which ran to Schedule S regulations with a 2. As well as these races for two-litre cars, separate five-litre V8 Supercars races was held in and , known as the "Australian Classic".

The Primus Classic , as it was known, was held two weeks after the traditional race, while the FAI was held in mid-November. The race saw Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall repeat their triumph, ahead of the father and son combination of Jim and Steven Richards. Their Ford EL Falcon was badly damaged in a practice crash and required lengthy repairs before the race. The V8 Supercars' case was that they were the truly Australian class of racing and, through contractual binding, had the "star" Australian drivers.

The Super Touring claim to legitimacy was based on it being held on the traditional date by the ARDC who had run the event every year since Each of the four races in and are considered as legitimate Bathurst s in the record books. From onwards, the race also counted for championship points for the first time, taking a position as the final round on the calendar. Despite there no longer being an October Bathurst race in , the race remained in November due to the Sydney Olympics blocking out sport in October. In when the long weekend became available again, the National Rugby League shifted their Grand Final to that Sunday, denying the Bathurst a return to its traditional weekend.

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The race instead moved to the weekend after the long weekend from onwards, and to an earlier spot in the championship calendar. The start of this new era was dominated by Holden, who won every Bathurst from to Richards became the first driver to win in both a Ford and a Holden in consecutive years. It was also the first win for Gibson Motorsport since their wins with Nissan in and Despite having cooling problems in the closing laps of the Great Race , due to plastic bags in the air intake, Skaife and HRT won the Bathurst again, this time teamed with Jim Richards, ten years after they were both heckled off the podium after winning in This time, Richards jokingly said that the crowd was "a lovely bunch of people", in contrast to his comments made on the podium ten years earlier.

Greg Murphy was given the biggest time penalty five minutes in Bathurst history because of a pitlane infringement by his team. His car was released early, rupturing a refuelling hose and spilling fuel in the pit box. Rick Kelly became the race's youngest ever winner, winning in at the age of They were also the first winners of the Peter Brock Trophy so named following the passing of Peter Brock only the month before.

Lowndes and Whincup then won the next two races to achieve the first three-peat since Brock and Larry Perkins won the Bathurst from to the win was also shared with John Harvey. Holden then started a run of four straight wins from to The last winners of this era were Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell in , in the hitherto second closest non-formation finish in Bathurst history, with David Reynolds and Dean Canto finishing 0.

The closest non-form finish came just the year before, when Tander and Percat lifted the trophy 0. The season saw manufacturers other than Ford and Holden enter The Great Race for the first time since , under the New Generation V8 Supercar originally known as Car of the Future regulations that were introduced that year.

Nissan returned with four Nissan Altimas run by Kelly Racing. From , the event became part of the newly formed Pirtek Enduro Cup within the Supercars season, along with the series' other two-driver races, the Sandown and Gold Coast This was Ford 's first victory since It was also the first time since that an overtly Ford factory backed car triumphed. Between the and races, the track was resurfaced.

This new track surface resulted in a marked reduction of lap times, and during free practice many of the drivers recorded times that were under the existing practice lap record.

The Inside Line: The High-Speed World Of A V8 Supercar Legend Driver

As with the early Phillip Island races, some of this new surface started to break up early in the race, particularly at Griffin's Bend. Many drivers were caught off guard and ran into the tyre wall due to the debris on the track. With laps remaining, the officials suspended the race with a red flag , only the third red flag at the race after and The cars were then lined up on pit straight, and controversy ensued as teams exploited the regulations and performed repairs on the cars. Once the track repairs were finished the race resumed in single file under the safety car.

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Racing recommenced shortly after but competition was further interrupted by a number of safety car periods. The race was run to its full distance and finished in the early evening, with Ford Performance Racing drivers Chaz Mostert and Paul Morris taking victory on the final lap, after the lead car of Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell ran low on fuel. Morris and Mostert had started the race from last position after being excluded from qualifying. In , Chaz Mostert experienced a major reversal of fortunes, with a heavy qualifying crash leaving him with a fractured femur and wrist, and ruling his car out for the weekend.

The incident also injured several marshals. It was Lowndes' thirteenth podium at the event, which is an all-time record. The race , the first under the renamed Supercars Championship banner, featured 91 green laps to start the race, followed by a dramatic and safety car-filled conclusion to proceedings. Most notably, there was a late-race incident between Garth Tander and Scott McLaughlin , retiring the former's car, which occurred as Triple Eight's Jamie Whincup attempted to redress a clash between him and McLaughlin at the Chase.

Whincup received a fifteen-second time penalty, which meant that despite taking the chequered flag first, he was only classified 11th. Reynolds and Youlden continued their form into the edition, taking pole and leading the majority of the race until Reynolds suffered from leg cramps late in the race, allowing the winning combination of Lowndes and Richards to take the lead and the eventual victory. The most successful driver at Bathurst is Peter Brock , whose nine victories , , —80, —84 and earned him the nickname King of the Mountain.

Bob Jane won the race four times in succession from to Jane's racing exploits assisted in the creation of his automotive businesses, originally with automotive vehicle dealerships, then later more prominently with a national chain of tyre retailers, Bob Jane T-Marts. The company became a title sponsor of the race between and Three of Jane's wins were with Harry Firth , who went on to win a fourth race in and also was a team manager for the and Holden Dealer Team victories.

New Zealand 's Jim Richards won the race seven times —80, —92, and and also holds the record for the most starts 35 at this event. Richards' son Steven is also a five-time winner , , , and The only other multiple winner from New Zealand is Greg Murphy , who has won the race four times , , and Larry Perkins is the equal fourth most successful driver at Bathurst, with six victories —84, , and Like Jim Richards, Perkins achieved three of his victories as co-drivers with Brock in consecutive years in the Holden Dealer Team era.

He also won in in the same car, and in , , and in a Holden Commodore. He has won three Bathurst races in a Falcon and four in a Commodore , , and , and also holds the record for most Bathurst podiums, with fourteen. His first three wins were with Craig Lowndes, with his fourth coming in Canadian-born Allan Moffat is Ford's most successful Bathurst driver, winning the race four times , , and The race saw Moffat and teammate Colin Bond cross the finish line side by side after opening up an indomitable lead in the early laps. Dick Johnson first rose to fame during the race when his privately entered Ford Falcon hit a rock that had fallen or been pushed; the subject is still debated to this day onto the track.

He went on to win twice more, in and Prior to that official results reflected four or five class races occurring simultaneously rather than a single race.

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The first car across the finish line has been retrospectively referred to as outright race winner since then. Stoppage time is included in final race time. In the more than fifty-year history of the event, three drivers have died whilst competing in the Bathurst After veering into the wall on the left side of the track, his car came to a relatively controlled stop on the opposite side of the course. When marshals reached the scene, Hulme was unconscious and he was pronounced dead at Bathurst Hospital after suffering a second heart attack.

In , Melbourne privateer entrant Don Watson died during practice. Porter had been scheduled to compete in the as a driver for the Brad Jones Racing team. Peter Brock died weeks before the race in an accident during the Targa West rally in Western Australia. Following this, Supercars announced that from onwards, the drivers in the Bathurst would be racing to win the Peter Brock Trophy.

The trophy, manufactured by Hardy Brothers , is inscribed with the words "King of the Mountain", a long-time nickname of Brock's.