R1 PREV – Skaife from hunter to hunted
21/3/2003 00:45 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
The bookmakers may have installed him as a short-priced favourite to defend his Clipsal 500 crown, but reigning V8 Supercar King Mark Skaife isn’t so sure.
Gale-force winds of change have swept through the V8 Supercar paddock, throwing Skaife and the premier Holden Racing Team off their lofty pedestal ahead of this weekend’s spectacular championship launch in Adelaide.
In a brand-new 2003-specification VY Commodore, described by Skaife as “a bit of a handful” after its unimpressive debut at the non-championship Grand Prix meeting in Melbourne, the 35-year-old is under siege from his Holden and Ford rivals.
That’s not to mention continuing questions over his and the entire Holden racing empire’s eligibility under the sport’s ownership rules.
It’s hardly ideal preparation for Skaife in his quest for an historic sixth national title.
Meanwhile, armed with Ford’s promising BA-model Falcons, already a race winner in Melbourne at the hands of Holden rebel Russell Ingall, Blue Oval teams are pushing for long-awaited regime change in the V8 paddock.
The hunter has become the hunted. And fans on both sides of the manufacturer fence are licking their lips in anticipation.
Skaife took pole position in Melbourne, but failed to find a competitive race set-up. With a gruelling 500kms of racing ahead, Skaife and his car face a critical test.
"With the limited amount of testing we've had with the car...we'll be playing catch-up with the Fords and the Holden teams in the older VX Commodores,” he said.
“We're going into the race with very little knowledge of the new VY and its new front suspension set-up.
"The car is definitely quick over one or two laps in qualifying, but it's over a race distance that we still haven't quite found a balance for."
Skaife and new teammate Todd Kelly are the only drivers from Holden’s six-car factory stable to start the season in the new model cars, with Kmart Racing’s Greg Murphy and Rick Kelly and Team Brock’s Jason Bright and Paul Weel all in the tried and tested VX-model Commodores.
Bright already proved last year’s cars will remain a force, winning a race in Melbourne for his new team.
The multi-million dollar transformation of the grid has Ford pinning all its hopes on the fledgling BA package.
Stone Brothers Racing’s Ingall and Marcos Ambrose are the main threats, leading a BA brigade including Dick Johnson Racing’s Max Wilson and Steven Johnson, OzEmail racers Brad Jones and John Bowe, and Craig Lowndes heading Ford’s new flagship team, Ford Performance Racing.
After elevating the hopes of Ford fans with his Grand Prix win, Ingall is insatiably hungry for more success.
"It was great to get the first race win for the BA in Melbourne, but I want the first championship round win to really give the Ford fans something to cheer about,” he said.
"For the championship it's important to start the season strong and carry that through the year."
Lowndes, supported by teammates David Besnard and Glenn Seton, both starting the year in AU-model Fords, is less confident.
The hastily assembled works team is not expected to be a threat over the opening rounds, but Lowndes knows how to drive an underdeveloped Falcon to victory in Adelaide - he did it on debut for Ford in 2001.
"It will be pretty tough, but we're all looking forward to the challenge," he said.
Tough is an understatement.
Adelaide’s unforgiving, concrete-lined 3.2km street course is hard on cars, and the twin 250km legs – each featuring compulsory pit stops for fuel and tyres – are especially taxing on drivers.
It’s a baptism of fire for two series rookies: Garry Rogers Motorsport’s 19-year-old protégé Jamie Whincup and Kiwi privateer David Thexton. While Whincup ran in the Grand Prix warm-up, Thexton is making his V8 Supercar debut as part of the 35-car field.
The four-day Clipsal carnival began yesterday with qualifying for round two of the Konica V8 Supercar Series and saw Owen Kelly claim pole position ahead of Stone Brothers Racing rookie Mark Winterbottom. The Konica cars will feature in a one-hour twilight race tonight.
Major league practice begins this morning, ahead of qualifying and the Top Ten Shootout.
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