V8 Supercars is an inward looking pile of crap

GT racing is better than V8 Supercars. It just is. At least that’s my firmly held opinion.

Watch a GT race and you’ll see it has genuine variety, desirability and access to some of the world’s greatest drivers and certainly access to the world’s greatest tracks. Le Mans, the Nürburgring Nordschleife and Spa are just a few of the tracks you’ll see GT cars competing on.

Ever since the creation of the exclusive Holden v Ford V8 Supercars series it’s been a narrow minded world designed to shield itself from outside influences. Yes, the racing has at times been exciting and there’s no denying the crowds and support has been immense. And, yes, I’ve even enjoyed watching a few races, usually the iconic Bathurst 1000, which has a cultural significance that will last well beyond the life of V8SC.

But the V8SC era has never held the appeal to me of the touring cars I grew up with in the 1970s and 1980s, which had greater depth and (to me) much more credibility.

Ironically, in a desperate bid to maintain relevancy, V8SC has had to open its four doors to other manufacturers. And from 2017 onwards you won’t even need a V8 engine to race in V8 Supercars. It is fast becoming an irrelevant series improving its ability to shuffle deck chairs.

Now V8 Supercars is circling its wagons to protect itself from the superior GT classes. And how are they doing that? By stopping the likes of Craig Lowndes and all other V8SC drivers from competing in the Bathurst 12 Hour. And in one fell swoop V8SC management proves itself to be the rednecks we feared they were.

Next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, with its increasingly strong field and international importance, is scheduled for 7–8 February. In response to that V8SC has scheduled a compulsory test session on the same weekend and changed its regulations to make it mandatory for the category’s lead drivers to participate. That is, V8SC has officially banned its drivers from racing in the Bathurst 12 Hour.

Fuck you V8 Supercars, I will never watch another race in your shitty and globally insignificant series again!

[Source: Speedcafe | Pic: Joel Strickland Photographics | Thanks to Wes for the tip]