Realistically, few other touring car categories would allow for such a switch, but V8 Supercars does have a history of allowing these moves. In 2002, Paul Weel drove with Marcos Ambrose in the Pirtek Racing AU Falcon. David Besnard drove with Glenn Seton at the 2002 Bathurst 1000 after Seton’s original co-driver had fallen ill and Wayne Gardner had crashed Besnard’s Caltex Falcon in practice – leaving the gap for Besnard to drive for Seton’s team instead of his regular Stone Brothers Racing.
The Holden Racing Team also has a brief history of sourcing drivers from other teams. In 2001, Tony Longhurst drove with Mark Skaife to victory, despite having driven independently during early-year sprint rounds.
Perhaps these tactics of driver-switching do improve the championship picture, enhancing the closeness of the title fight, but is it in the spirit of the game? If the TWPG can switch regular drivers between teams, perhaps Ford Performance Racing and Britek Motorsport, having been grouped for testing, could use the services of Warren Luff – regarded as a classy endurance driver.
The powers-that-be of the V8 Supercar Championship have been criticised in the past for having vague regulations, but this is a rule that really needs to have a line drawn in the sand.
Spectator perception is prime, and to the casual fan it would probably seem strange for Tander to grid up in an all red car at Sandown, likewise Todd Kelly in the black and orange.
Whatever happens in the future, the undeniable favouritism that is now shared between the #2 and #15 Commodores is unlikely to be challenged in the leadup to the endurance races. Whether or not the V8 Supercars will suffer with the redevelopment of the HRT/Toll superteam, which was last prominent before the collapse of the TWR empire pre-2003, remains to be seen.
The Betta Electrical 500 Melbourne will be the first long-distance race, held over three days at Sandown Raceway from September 1.
