Last few laps of the third opening round of 2011 – cracking racing, if you’ve not watched this series before you should !
What makes the racing good ?
– Races are long and strategic like a NASCAR or Formula 1 event
– 4 door sedans, V8s, rear wheel drive; Ford vs. Holden ( General Motors )
– Road-type circuits, many street courses; whilst there is plenty of contact, it is not banger racing, and there is lots of overtaking – much more than might be expected from big cars on road courses.
– The world feed pictures have terrific camera work, plus commentary from a former champion ( Mark Skaife ) full of amusing Aussie slang
– Bathurst – an Antipodean Isle of Man TT, Le Mans, Daytona 500 or Indy 500 – a Blue Riband event each Motorhead should find time to attend, on a classic, fast old circuit*
– Craig Lowndes, 888, is the star of the series for me, a wily older character full of ballsy over taking moves.
*One of my favourite Bathurst stories: concerned about excessive drunkeness amongst spectators, race organizers impose a limit as to how much beer can be brought to the race; fans visit the track weeks before the race, bury cases of beer, and retrieve them on the race weekend….
Historic film, with cool 70s music:
