(V)8 Things we Learned in 2015

Bridesmaids no more … until 2016?

After years of being championship bridesmaids we learned in 2015 that Mark Winterbottom and Prodrive Racing Australia had the smarts, talent and cojones to step up and take the main prize, despite the expectation of James Courtney and many more of us – go on, be honest. That the teams’ championship didn’t quite fall their way is of no matter. This prize will deservedly taste sweet. The engine detonations, the battery fires, the botched pit stops, the faulty wheel nuts… all are now more than balanced out by this victory. But here’s the challenge; do it again in 2016. Perennial champions Triple Eight ended the year with its tail up and PRA running in its wake. There were various reasons for that, not least the impact of Chaz Mostert’s Bathurst crash, but it is likely that despite its championship win PRA and Winterbottom will not go into next year favourites to repeat. If that’s not already acting as motivation out Campbellfield way then nothing ever would.

The untold stories

It is one of the great frustrations of motor racing that so much of what makes a difference between winning and losing is hidden beneath the body of the car and can never be revealed publicly lest a competitive advantage be forsaken. It is the untold but oh-so significant story of any win, be it championship or race. This year in V8 Supercars there was an incredibly intense battle for technical superiority between Prodrive Racing Australia and Triple Eight Race Engineering that first flowed toward the blue corner and then later in the season favoured the red team. While we only saw the outcomes on the track, the effort and brainpower that went into eking out those advantages or reigning them back in deserves much greater acclamation than it gets. So here’s to the engineers and backroom boffins who solved the riddles and found the speed that their drivers could exploit. V8 Supercars may be a strictly controlled and evolutionary motorsport but there’s still room for smart guys to do their thing.

Hot Pye sources speed, floats to the top with Penske

The arrival of Roger Penske in V8 Supercars racing was eagerly anticipated, especially because he brought along with him a returning Marcos Ambrose, a favoured son of Ford fans. Enough about Ambrose has been written and said – in terms of new learnings we didn’t really get many did we? But we learned a lot about the team and Scott Pye. After a few years doing the hard yards Pye blossomed in 2015, showing the maturity to become a leader to go with the speed he has always possessed. He and Fabian Coulthard will make an interesting and pretty even pairing in 2016. DJR Team Penske’s on-track progress this year from back of the pack to consistent top 10 runners was an indicator of the professionalism and purpose it brings to Australian racing. The lessons are being learned rapidly and the signs are that this team is collecting together the talent on and off track to become an elite contender - and the all-important budget to achieve it.

Centre of attention

For a bloke who has little care or time for publicity and media exposure, Shane van Gisbergen sure generates lots of publicity and media exposure. It comes back to the fact he is a racer’s racer. He likes to win and if he is not leading he will pass people to make it happen. Sounds simple, but in V8 Supercars passing isn’t the easiest deal to accomplish. So sometimes when SvG tries to pass people he also makes contact with them – or they with him. And the other guy often comes off second best – David Reynolds at Phillip Island and James Courtney at Sydney Olympic Park are recent examples. Talk to Shane about these incidents and he always has a strong and logical explanation. He is uncompromising, but you can tell in his mind he is utterly convinced he is racing fairly. If he does feel he is in the wrong he acknowledges – remember the redress with Courtney at Clipsal? All up SvG is great value; when he’s not passing, he’s driving down the wet grass rather than a drying track at 290km/h, or whicking up his Commodore sideways on the slow down lap. At Triple Eight a championship must soon be within his grasp.

One for the old blokes

Despite that praise for SvG, the reality is this wasn’t a year for the young guns. Van Gisbergen slipped back from second to fourth in the championship, Scott McLaughlin went winless as the Volvo S60 suffered a severe dose of the second year blues, Nick Percat ended the year on the sidelines with a blood infection, Scott Pye got better as his initially dreadful car improved and – of course – Chaz Mostert’s season ended with that horrific Bathurst crash. Who knows what would have happened if Mostert had been in-play until the end of the ear, but as it turned out 34-year old Mark Winterbottom in his 12th year racing V8 Supercars finally won his first championship, pursued by a 41-year old Craig Lowndes. It was wonderful for Winterbottom to break through for an overdue title and reminder of Lowndes’ remarkable and enduring talent. We’ll find out in 2016 whether this was a rear guard action or if the next generations still have to add more smarts to their speed.

Whincup takes a back seat

Jamie Whincup was absent from the title fight for the first time since 2006, enduring a year that was endlessly fascinating to spectate. He struggled alternately for speed, in his relationship with his engineer David Cauchi and with team instruction at Bathurst. From a distance Whincup is derided as arrogant, but up close he is thoughtful and intelligent, able to put blinkers on and focus deeply and narrowly on his racing but now also, at 32, to see more clearly where his chosen profession fits in the bigger picture of his life. There are demons and ambitions that drive him – as they do all great athletes – but you sensed as the year closed and his competitiveness returned that he had them back under his control. Disconcertingly for his opponents he says 2015 has only served to heighten his already mighty motivation. Some of them must have quietly cheered when he revealed last week that 2018 might be his last year in the category.

Ownership brings its rewards

Being at the helm when Prodrive Racing Australia/Ford Performance Racing won its first championship was appropriate reward for owners Rod Nash and Rusty French, who purchased the business from Englishman David Richards back in late 2012. Fair enough, Richards saw the major changes coming for Ford in Australia and judged it time to move on. But all credit to Nash and French, who took on the challenge when many would not have. Not only are they both successful businessman but they are also racers steeped in the tradition of local tin-tops. Combine passion with nous and a history that proves they are motorsport stayers and PRA couldn’t have landed in much better hands. It’s genuinely disappointing that Ford has elected to discontinue its relationship with PRA and the category, but the future chapters that unfold for this operation under Nash and French will be fascinating to watch.

And its issues…

At the other end of the scale Betty Klimenko must wonder at times what on earth she has got into with her brave and bold but right now struggling V8 Supercars effort. Betty is a unique character, loved by the fans and she does a great job responding to that. But passion alone doesn’t cut it in this championship; it’s about dollars, development and driving, engineering and management talent. The departure of Will Davison, the ‘benching’ of Ash Walsh, the move to Melbourne, the potential swap away from the E63 AMG and the dramatic overhaul of team personnel all tell us how far away from the optimum this operation resides. But Betty has been unequivocal; she is committed to the category and is running two cars in 2016. Motorsport is full of of stories of redemption, of being knocked down only to climb back off the mat and claim great success. Let’s hope that applies to Betty and Erebus too.

And some awards:

Unlucky: David Reynolds, third in the champion and still loses his drive.

Runner-up: James Courtney. Ridiculous.

Lucky: Chaz Mostert. It could have been so much worse.

Runner-Up: James Courtney. As per Mostert.

Must try harder: Holden Racing Team. Or maybe it’s must try smarter, either way crunch time has arrived for the factory squad in 2016.

Runner-up: Brad Jones Racing. 2016 will tell us whether progress is onging or stalled.

Most disappointing: Marcos Ambrose’s return to V8 Supercars. What return?

Runner-up: Volvo’s second year let-down.

Best clubman: Garth Tander. Eight years into his tenure at Walkinshaw Racing the hardman’s effort remains unstinting.

Runner-up: Crag Lowndes, sixth second place in the championship for T8 and another Bathurst win.

Most improved: Scott Pye. Responsibility and security equals speed.

Runner-up: David Reynolds. We knew he had it in him.

Best race: Perth, Sunday. Coarse surface and soft tyres produced intense racing and an unpredictable result.

Runner-up: Darwin Saturday. Brains out for first soft tyre sprint on new surface with GRIP.

We’re watching you in 2016: James Moffat. Driver and car have speed. Results must follow.

Runners-up: Will Davison, Tim Slade, Nissan.

Engineer of the year: Nathaniel Osborne, PRA. Led FG X project, say no more.

Runner-up: Grant McPherson. Contributed to FG X program then did his best to beat it in first year with Craig Lowndes.

Most patient: Tim Edwards. The championship was a long time coming, so were some of Murph’s questions.

Runner-up: Will Davison, on soft tyres at Wanneroo.

Fairytale moment: Gold Coast 600 Sunday. James Courtney wins first race back, Jack Perkins wins his first race.

Runner-up: The horde acclaims Lowndes and Richo at Mount Panorama.

Funniest moment of the year: Gold Coast telecast, Paul Morris drives Marcos Ambrose nuts.

Runner-up: Russell Ingall turns up in PRA Back to the Future video.

Best comeback: Russell Ingall. Three races, two factory teams. And the old bastard is still fast.

Runner-up: Jack Perkins, Gold Coast 600 and V8 Supercars winner.

Best newcomer: Simona De Silvestro. Getting back into that bodged up Falcon at Bathurst was an act of bravery. Keeping it on-track was testament to her talent.

Runner-up: Cam Waters. Pukekohe fisticuffs proved his merit. Welcome addition to 2016 grid.

Best bust-up: Phillip Island. David ‘you’re dead to me bro’ Reynolds versus Shane van Gisbergen.

Runner-up: Symmons Plains. James Courtney versus Will Davison.

Beat dummy spit: Ipswich. Todd Kelly. Epic.

Runner-up: Nick Percat, consistent efforts across the year.

Whoops, sorry I won't do it again: James Courtney. Winton, takes out Tander and Holdsworth.

Runner-up: James Courtney. Darwin, next event (!). Turns GT round again.