by Matthew Agius
You could be forgiven to think that the teams of the V8 Supercar Championship were entering their most competitive arsenals to celebrate the tenth year of the championship. However as Matthew Agius reports, it looks as though the field will be closer, more competitive and also more determined in 2006.
The V8 Supercar Championship Series prides itself on being one of the most competitive touring car competitions in the world. Indeed it boasts some of the most challenging events and also some of the most entertaining.
The series has gone from strength to strength over the years. Since the turn of the century, crowd and television viewing figures have risen, and more and more Australians have been exposed to the spectacle that is V8 Supercars. True, there have been some hiccups through the rise to Australian sporting greatness, such as the negotiation fall-through with China over a second international round in Shanghai, however Bahrain has decided to host a round of the series at its Grand Prix circuit and Winton has been re-added to the calendar to provide country Victoria with a one-off dose of V8 action.
Series promoters would also be rubbing their hands together at the prospect of having several drivers with international motorsport grooming entering the series. Former
F1 test driver and Japanese GT racer James Courtney has signed up with Stone Brothers Racing to replace Marcos Ambrose, ex Minardi F1 tester and A1GP driver Will Davison has joined Dick Johnson Racing, and former Champ Car driver Marcus Marshall has been recruited by the new Paul Cruickshank Racing outfit.
A raft of changes has also been introduced to the series for 2006 – most notably the new reverse-grid format at sprint rounds. This is perhaps the most vocally opposed change by teams and drivers for sometime.
