Volvo Expects Rivals to "Kick Back"
Volvo’s global motorsport boss Derek Crabbe has a simple message for any rival V8 Supercar teams scrutinising the speed of the S60 on debut at last weekend’s Clipsal 500 Adelaide: check us out.
“I am prepared to put anything on the table with any of the other teams and benchmark it,’ Crabbe told motoring.com.au.
“I am expecting the kick back, but we are wide open to that.”
And it’s a view backed up by Volvo Car Australia CEO Matt Braid, who has been a driving force behind the company’s entry into V8 Supercars racing.
“We have tackled this in a very open and transparent way. We have nothing to hide. So bring it on, because we feel we have done everything by the book and sorry if others haven’t.”
“We have caught them by surprise and that is their problem,” he added.
Young Kiwi Scott McLaughlin showed great speed all weekend in the Valvoline-backed Volvo Polestar Racing S60 that is being campaigned by Garry Rogers Motorsport.
He qualified in the top 10 in all three races, beat defeating V8 Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup home for second in a thrilling duel in the second 125km race on Saturday and was then set for the podium in Sunday’s 250km mini-marathon until alternator failure ended his run.
While there was much praise among their rivals for GRM and engine builder Polestar’s efforts in getting two brand new cars to the Clipsal for McLaughlin and his Swedish team-mate Robert Dahlgren, there is also no doubt the Volvo’s pace surprised them.
Some pointed to the B8884S engine as the cause because the S60 was fastest through the Victoria Park street circuit’s front straight speed trap.
Others thought that trait indicated the car had a low drag aerodynamic set-up, while yet more were focussed on the car’s high level of front-end grip in fast corners, thinking that was where its strongest performance feature lay.
The common concern is how strong the Volvo will be once development progresses, although some are also pointing out GRM’s traditional strength at street circuits and the fact McLaughlin’s effort was exceptional.
However, there seems little doubt the Volvo’s performance will be subject to discussion at both V8 Supercar board level and also at the Commission, which focuses on the category’s technical and sporting structure.
There has even been the suggestion quietly trickling along pitlane that all five cars represented in the Championship – S60, Ford Falcon, Holden Commodore, Nissan Altima and Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG – need to be aero-tested side-by-side.
The S60 aerodynamic package was approved over summer in category-managed coast-down testing at East Sale RAAF base using the Falcon as the baseline, while the Altima was also involved because it was having a revised kit homologated. The Holden and Erebus Benz did not participate.
The engine has also been homologated for use in the category after inspection and approval by V8 Supercars’ technical division. Based on a 4.4-litre 60 degree V8 production engine developed for Volvo by Yamaha, Polestar has grown it to 5.0-litres and modified it substantially for racing, including a flat plane crank as part of the package.
“When our engine was first homologated, we took a lot of effort when we prepared the engine and spent a lot of time going through the specs, so we were expecting this kick back,” Crabbe revealed.
