by Matthew Agius
With the World Touring Car Championship having been decided last weekend in Macau there is just one major touring car title left to be decided and that's the Australian V8 Supercar Series.
Crash.net previews the action this coming weekend at Phillip Island.
The 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the 2005 HPDC V8 Supercar Series wrap up this weekend at Victoria's Phillip Island Motorcycle Grand Prix circuit.
A championship which has crossed into every Australian state and the Northern Territory in addition to forays in New Zealand and China, the V8 Supercar this weekend return to Phillip Island after a one year sabbatical to conclude one of the closest fought championships in years.
Phillip Island has produced some of the best racing in V8 Supercar, however the track was once upon a time considered to have poor facilities and pulling power to V8 fans. The 2005 return to Phillip Island is at the expense of the second Eastern Creek event held in previous years. When the Falcons and Commodores last raced at The Island' Craig Lowndes took his maiden round victory for Ford ahead of Holden drivers Greg Murphy and Jason Bright, when the 300km feature race was red-flagged due to torrential rain. 2005 of course, will play host to a November date in contrast to a then-autumn weekend, and will hopefully experience fine conditions for all three races.
With the premier V8 championship to be decided this weekend, Phillip Island will witness the closure of the closest ever V8 Supercar Series.
Russell Ingall inherited the title lead from team-mate Marcos Ambrose at Bathurst, and since then has maintained a slender buffer. Ambrose all but eliminated his chance of a third-consecutive title when he failed to finish the second race at Symmons Plains with brake failures, but is still a strong mathematical chance. Other likely title contenders Mark Skaife and Todd Kelly also ended Holden's hopes of winning a championship when they each failed to finish the opening race in Tasmania.
