Nissan GT-R – the new pace car for V8 Supercars
January 9, 2009 by Karl Peskett
In a move that is certain to bring some irony to the sport, Nissan’s iconic GT-R is coming back to the V8 Supercar series.
Why irony? Well, for those of you old enough to remember, the GT-R simply flogged the home made metal years ago, leading to the infamous “pack of arseholes” quote from Gentleman Jim Richards – not so gentlemanly at the time, though.
Click here if you want to know what we’re on about.
This time, however, the GT-R won’t be racing – although a few of us would like to see how competitive it would be.
The GT-R will be the new V8 Supercar Pace Car for the 2009 series. The reason? Well according to Nissan spokesperson Jeff Fisher, GT-R could use the exposure.
Mr Fisher has said, “We’re looking at numerous ways of giving GT-R continued exposure over the life of the vehicle. The V8 Supercar program could be an appealing way to do that.”
Print it: 
Tom,
My mistake with the times, but in any case, the GTR is the superior car in my opinion. Also the GTR should really be pitched against the Z06, but GM brought out their flagship against the base model GTR. In any case, enjoy the ZR-1 while you still can, probably won’t be around for much longer LOL :).
Guys, stop bagging ZR-1 FFS. It’s an awesome car – Jeremy Clarkson says so, so shut the hell up now ;)
Hey Tom I see that episode of Top Gear you were talking about with Jeremy in the ZR-1 is on Top Gear this Monday…..will be a fun episode by the looks! Cheers mate !
wheelnut,
i agree on quicker recovery, but the topic at hand was making the safety car go faster.
do you still think that would change things????
and on the topic you changed to, not all tracks have an access road. Willowbank for one doesnt.
they dont always take a vehicle back to pits either. they will usually only take them back there if its the closest safest area.
they are now using tractors which seems to get the job done more efficiently though
Aamir,
the rules will be changed depending on submitted proposals.
Toyota has been asked if they would like to submit a proposal, and to this day they have not formally submitted one.
the first step to another manufacturer entering begins with them putting their hand up, and then it will be seriously looked at on how the guidelines can be changed.
the one thing that was made clear to toyota when they had meetings was they V8SC would require a minimum amount of time they would committ to the sport for, aswell as a minimum amount of cars they would support to prevent them walking in, planting bucket loads of coin on a 1 car team, and the end result being they would quite obviously wipe the floor.
Fair enough rules i reckon, but toyota didnt seem to like the idea of fair competition
I used to go to alot of motorsport events but tend now to go to the Vic State Series.
Cocohrane has tainted V8SC sure they qualify with in a second of each other but there is minimal passing and most of the passing is done in the pits…for if they do pass on the track they tend to get stop/go penalty. Sure there have been some epic races over the years but most of the races are pedestrian.
Also Cochrane has destroyed things with his over inflated crowd figures and silhouette formula of racing. Since when do Holdens run with a Ford 9″ diffs.
As for the drivers the top 10 are highly skilled then there is the SORF (son of rich family) bringing up the numbers eg Morris, Dumbrell, Patrizi, Marshall. Also some need to move on Cameron McConville for example has been around for years and won a GT Championship and Winterbottom is quick in qualiftying and a few races but is yet to win anything major against someone like say Longhurst but people of huge wraps on him.
V8SC in its current status needs other manufactures with the pseudo car set up and less wing to get them sliding abit
I dont think wheelnut knows what hes talking about half the time most of everything he says is wrong
I just don’t see why the pace car should parade around at 40Km/h for an accident that only affects less than 10% of the track.
The only benefit is that when the pace car is out you know it will be out for at least 5 laps which gives you more time to go to the toilet [which is important if youre at the track as you have to queue]….or grab another beer – which AVESCO hopes is that XXXX XXXX as they are the “official” beer of the V8s
Although considering that the Pace Car has Jim Beam written all over it…. shouldn’t itar make fans want to drink more Bourbon instead of Beer?
Heres another idea: They could keep the pace cars but use them as an on-track escort vehicles for the recovery vehicles as they make their way back to the pits
When the cars approach the first pace car – which will be 100 or so metres vefore the accident they slow down to 40km/h then when they pass the second pace car 100 metres after the accident they can go flat out again
I mean we don’t see amy pace cars when we see an accident on the road do we? and the roads are as dangerous if not more so than a tacetrack aren’t they?
That way whoever has their name written all over the pace car still gets the exposure that they are paying for.. the fans still get to see cars try and pass each other and channel 7 stays on time
wheelnut,
that is one of the most wacked out ideas i have heard.
whats the point of a pace car if you want them sitting still on the track??? thats what yellow flags are for.
also how do they police the speed through an accident zone???
Also they cant simply single out one zone to go slow in if there are medicos and tow trucks travelling on the track.
thats why they have the affected sectors yellowed when there is an accident that doesnt require assistance, and the full course yellowed when officials have to enter the track.
do you not under stand that if the pace car went 2-3 times faster that 2-3 times more laps are wasted under it???
if the average time a pace car spent on the track after an inncident is currently 5 laps, then under your proposal the average would become up to 15 laps.
we dont see pace cars on the road because we should be travelling at legal speeds that ensure we have plenty of time to stop and/or avoid what ever is ahead of us.
on the track they head around blind corners at insane speeds 2-3 inches of each others bumpers. little room for error.
I cant believe you related life on public roads as being the same as being on a race track……….
Mb,
they have tried hard over the years to ensure they mix up the racing a bit.
introducing pit stops to every round which brings on different stratogies has worked well. the more variables you throw at evenly matched cars, the better the racing gets.
Take note of the up side down results when it rains…
i cant wait to see the optional tyre choice when it comes in. in case you didnt know, teams will have the option of fitting a quick wearing extra grippy tyre, or a longer wearing less grippier tyre.
that should be quite fun to watch
I agree that McConville should have been snapped up earlier. he would have been great and deserving as a Skaife replacement i reckon.
Also to be noted is that Jason Richards (another underrated driver) has been released from Sprint gas racing. its not yet conformed where he has signed, but Bargs was quickly signed in Richards’ place.
I dont think Marshall is that bad though. he achieved reasonable results in the carrera cup.
Oh,
I also think Frosty has done well, he has just had a bit of bad luck.
there are plenty of “high profile” drivers that have been around for longer than frosty and still havent won a major title.
I think he has an awesome understanding of his car.
have you seen how he attacks qualifying???
he doesnt go out there and try to cut a few quick ones, he cycles and cycles until he feels the car is right, then he hits it. he wont waste the car on a lap when its not quite right yet.
he seems to know the right time to strike. thats not something you learn overnight, and when he hits, he lands a lap time that gives the rest of the field a no hope feeling.
The pace cars are used to monitor and make sure the track is safe – that is the area where the accident is. Therefore; there is no real need for the car to go so slow around the rest of the track
Which is why I suggested the idea of the Pace Cars/Safety Cars being stationery at the flag points before and after the accident.
As for contolling/watching speeds of the cars as they drive through the area where the accident is.. radars could be fitted to the safety cars.
As for not having pace cars on the road – you’re right we should be travelling at or just below the speed limit to give us enough time to stop and avoid an accident .. but we should also be aware of what is going on around us etc and take appropriate action … and so to should the race car drivers
Which would mean no need for a Pace/Safety Car other than for Advertising of course
Richards is going to Jones team in replace of Jones should make a good enduro team
V8Sc needs more racing on circuits and less on street circuits except Adelaide which should use the full GP circuit. Also bring back the Bathurst sprint round Sandown 500 so there can be 3 enduros.
McConville put the DJ Falcon in the wall over skyline then went to GT cars to master his craft. There are only a hand full that are decent and the rest just make up the numbers.
So Winterbottomm is effectively the Mark Webber of V8SC but has won races and rounds unlike Webber
Krish, i see no reason why the GTR should be pitched against the Z06 when its price sits smack bang inbetween the Z06 and the ZR1
you can either look at it this way, the Z06 delivers equal performance for a lesser price, or the ZR1 delivers significantly more performance for a higher price
if you’re interested, check out the edmunds inside line video reviewing the two cars.
Frosty would have to be the cleanest and fairest driver in the competition – as far as I am aware he has never made any contact that resulted in punting another driver off and has never been involved in an accident but above all he has the ability to execute a clean pass on his rivals with out whinging over the radio that “he’s blocking me”
He is definitely my favouurite Ford driver.
Nissan should demand they take their car out of this paddock bashing race.
Like Toyota, they moved on to bigger and better things.
I bet we will see this story on TG aus, cause they have nothing interesting to say.
Elitist – I think you’ll find that AVESCO didn’t go out and spend $300K on a Couple of GT-Rs.. But that it was Nissan who approached AVESCO as they wanted the GT-R to be the Pace Car / Safety Car for the V8s.
Because as in the past it was Chrysler [and before that Audi] who supplied the Pace Cars as they wanted to give their new “Hero Car” more exposure..
Mb – I hate to tell you this but Tony Cochrane aapparently has a preference for Street Cicuits.
Whilst he admits that they will never leave the traditional tracks such as Sandown Phillip Island and of course Bathurst; he would like to see a few more Street Races.. He was ecstatic that the Street race in Sydney finally got the go ahead from the [bankrupt] NSW Govt.
He believes it gives the sport more exposure as a number of people who go to the Clipsal for instance would not normally go to a V8 Event if it were held at a race track because they are closer to the City.
He is particularly keen for Perth to have a Street Race [around the Swan River] instead of at Waneroo – an idea which has been discussed a number of times in the past.
Street Circuits = Poor racing Canberra, & Wellington will atest to that so too Surfers Paradise the racing is poor with limited possabilities for passing.
Cochrane should concentrate on having good races in Australia rather than China or in the Middle East.
It would have been great if MB brought out the DTM car last year that was rumoured to the AMG drive day….would have smashed Murphy’s record if their was some rubber down
Also the tracks need to be changed especially QLD Raceway…it is flat unfeatureless (unless you call the bumps at tht turn n point of T1) and boring. Waneroo needs to be extended, Winton is past its used by date even with the extensions.
Wheelnut& Andrew,
I don’t want to get involved with the long discussion on the pacecar, but I do believe that it has more to do with advertising than safety.
Eg. yellow flags means caution (and no passing), however it doesn’t set any speed limits: any car that comes out of the pits in front of the “pacecar train” can do any speed that they deem safe to catch up with the back of the field. On tracks like Bathurst it means cars can peel off from behind the pacecar into the pits, fix minor issues take on fuel & tyres, then get back out and re-catch the pack without losing track time.
The pace car is designed to bring the pack together for closer racing, and is effective in bringing a ruaway leader back to the pack for more interest.
Bret,
i agree in that its for promting close racing and advertising,
but my whole side of what ive been saying is that changing the speed of the safety car will not change a thing bar put more racing laps under pace car where no competition can be had
True,
yellow flags dont mean a set speed limit, but drivers can be done for not appearing to have slowed down.
when you see that car flying out of the pit you will see him every now and then give a swerve of the tyres and a few touches of the brakes when they pass the flag points as to make it seem as they are taking it easy like a warm up lap.
if a marshall deems that they havent seemed to slow down and take precautions, they can be penalised
If we have to have Pace Cars etc…. why don’t they have one of the Pace Cars park halfway around the track [be it near a flag point or an access road].
That way when there is an accident; oops I mean a racing incident both the pace cars pull out on to the track and split the field into two
This means not only does whoever happens to sponsor the Pace Cars get more exposure; but when they are allowed to resume racing it makes it easier for drivers to get past.
That was strongly talked about, for Bathurst, the first year group A introduced the pace car, because many claimed a whole lap was too much ground that could be made up after pitting under yellow.
BTW that brings to mind the reason why pacecars were introduced here anyway: ROLLING STARTS!
I still believe that we don’t need Pace Cars – we did all right without em in the 60s 70s and 80s.. the drivers know the rules in regards to the yellow green and the white flags..
Should anyy driver attempt a pass in the area where the accident is or the yellow flag is displayed our flaggies are alert and observant enough to notice it and report it to race control.
Race Control also has the benefit of not only channel 7s cameras but the cameras that are mounted inside every V8 supercar inorder to provide footage which they can view during and after the race..
Therefore; if there are any infringements they can impose post race [time] penalties as they did a number of times last year. Which is another reason to get rid of drive through penalties for exceeding the pit lane speed limit.
They should let them race and sort it out afterwards.. as that’s what fans have pad their hard earned to see.
I mean there have been several occassions over the past couple of years where RC have reated too quickly and penalised the wrong driver.
Whereas if they review all evidence after the race they are more likely to make a more accurate decision etc – which fans and drivers are more likely to accept…. all we want is consistency
The drivers and flaggies conduct themselves in a professional manner its about time those in race control do the same.