2014 Bathurst chat

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Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

And I'd believe it.
Lowndes is a gentleman. It's why he's so popular.

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Spot on.
Pickles.

the guy used to bring in his mates computer for me to fix when i had the shop down in morayfield.

lovely fella in real life and a real competitor when he has the eyes on...

i much prefer him over brock....

but then again i preferred that dam canadian in the old days....

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Originally Posted by incisor

the guy used to bring in his mates computer for me to fix when i had the shop down in morayfield.

lovely fella in real life and a real competitor when he has the eyes on...

i much prefer him over brock....

but then again i preferred that dam canadian in the old days....

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"That Damn Canadian",....Very apt,....an awesome competitor, the BEST FORD MAN ever seen in Aus, & a very nice chap to speak with,....if He wasn't racing.
Pickles.

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Originally Posted by p38arover

So, who won? Mercedes or Nissan?

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Well the top ten finishers included one Mercedes, two Fords, three Nissans and four Holdens, so Mercedes and Nissans came close. :)

Some of us are old enough to remember when Brock did his fastest lap as the final lap of the race. That has often been regarded as an impressive effort.

A few drivers did their fastest laps at the end this year and repeatedly broke the lap record as the race drew to a close.

Surely that ranks up there with Brock's effort.

Some observations...
there were some interesting parallels on Sunday with technical postings on this forum:eek: Indeed... the first thing that struck me was that despite $700k+ for a competitive car, hundreds of thousands of dollars for sensors and telemetry, even "they" still replace parts ...in the "hope" it will fix something they cannot properly diagnose in the heat of "battle"! ...
Can't remember who it was ...they replaced his computerised steering wheel: no improvement; then it was a section of the wiring loom...bit better but not real good, then it was a throttle position sensor... ;) ...see it happens even to the best!

another case was the vibration someone had and a bloke was standing there with part of a drive shaft... then it struck me... these machines have a trans-axle at the rear... so this long drive shaft (are they split in the middle with a CV joint?) is rotating at upwards of 7,000rpm ... I reckon I'd be vibrating at those revs!

then there were the starter motors! I'll wager they were not your average reco job... I heard one commentator mention the 'big-hammer-applied-to-starter-motor' solution to free the Bendix spring... didn't work either..

I have a more than a sneaking admiration for the pit crew who slide under the vehicles in fireproof suits, helmet and gloves to tend a machine radiating thousands of watts of heat...

While the superV8 formula is interesting, having been a fan of the old days when vehicles were 'homologated' showroom models and competed in classes, frankly I would not miss the demise of the superV8s... too regulated ... and it ultimately stifles innovation.

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Originally Posted by vnx205

Some of us are old enough to remember when Brock did his fastest lap as the final lap of the race. That has often been regarded as an impressive effort.

A few drivers did their fastest laps at the end this year and repeatedly broke the lap record as the race drew to a close.

Surely that ranks up there with Brock's effort.

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Agree, but on that occasion, Brock also won by,.....6 laps!!!
Pickles.
Not having a go by the way, things were different back then, and the competition these days is VERY close,......I reckon the drivers these days work bloody hard & are under enormous pressure.

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Originally Posted by Pickles2

Agree, but on that occasion, Brock also won by,.....6 laps!!!
Pickles.
Not having a go by the way, things were different back then, and the competition these days is VERY close,......I reckon the drivers these days work bloody hard & are under enormous pressure.

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Don't disagree at all... it's not for sissies! May have been Paul Dumbrell ...can't remember poor bugger was close to hyper thermic and dehydrated and collapsed in the garage after his stint so they dumped him in an ice bath...

I do remember an interview once with Leo Geoghan where he recalls racing at Bathurst one year with sandwiches and a thermos of coffee beside him :eek: and another bloke was an inveterate smoker...during the race...I think one of the tobacco companies was a sponsor for several years...

The 2 Volvos did well for most of the race despite the fact it is their first year.

AFAIK they are the only ones using their own V8???

Without all the safety cars and they may have reached an unassailable lead. It seems none of the POS pushrod engines could catch them when they were out in front. They certainly sound a lot better.

Hopefully they will open up the rules once the falcon is no more and the commodore is a FWD v6 with "made in china" stickers. :wasntme:

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

The 2 Volvos did well for most of the race despite the fact it is their first year.

AFAIK they are the only ones using their own V8???

Without all the safety cars and they may have reached an unassailable lead. It seems none of the POS pushrod engines could catch them when they were out in front. They certainly sound a lot better.

Hopefully they will open up the rules once the falcon is no more and the commodore is a FWD v6 with "made in china" stickers. :wasntme:

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The Volvo certainly has a very distinctive sound and was a very good race. But the next Commodore is coming from Germany not China. Not sure what you mean about their own V8? Nissan V8 engine is a de-stroked version of the 5.6l Erebus use a AMG V8, and technically the Volvo V8 came from Yamaha in 4.4L form and was enlarged by Polestar.