F1 Fanatic

Tomorrow, at 11am AEDST (that’s midnight GMT), V8 Supercars will make “one of the most significant announcements in the history of the sport”, which is something “years in the planning and is certain to surprise”.

http://www.speedcafe.com/2012/02/08/v8-supercars-set-for-significant-announcement/

Any guesses? The most popoular theory right now is confirmation of one or more manufacturers.

Current rumours seem to indicate Nissan. Which would certainly be a surprise.

Yes, the Daily Telegraph says Nissan, but they’re not the most reliable source.

Nissan would be a logical choice, I just hope they run the GT-R, although it’s highly unlikely considering it doesn’t come in a 4 door version at the moment.

If this Major announcement is not a new manufacturer there will be a lot of disappointed people

There has been a lot of talk about a new manufacturer joining. But some – like Garry Rogers – are openly talking about it when the wording of the statement from VESA implies that this is something that they want to reveal on their own terms, so I can’t imagine they would be happy with Rogers letting the cat out of the bag early.

But it could be something bigger than a new manufacturer. V8 Supercars is getting increasing coverage in America; there’s an American race scheduled for 2013, and more broadcasts of live races on American television. So with all this talk of Chrysler coming in, perhaps they are bringing some riends to the party: I could see the announcement accompanied by an American team with American drivers. Tony Cochrane – VESA’s answer to Bernie – has predicted more international drivers. Since he’d be at the forefront of the negotiation to get an American team racing here, it’s not very difficult to predict the future when you have been the one shaping it.

If this Major announcement is not a new manufacturer there will be a lot of disappointed people

Why does it have to be the announcement of a manuacturer? When the Car of the Future is introduced in 2013, there are going to be a lot of spare cars lying around from this year, since a lot of the front-running teams will build their own for 2012. But none of the cars used in 2012 can race in 2013, so there will be a whole lot of spares lying around, even when some are sold to the Development Series. This announcement tomorrow could be the establishment of a sister series in the United States, using the old cars until team can build their own chassis, with the calendars tweaked so both have a final race at Bathurst.

Nissan would be a logical choice

There has been talk that it will be Infiniti entering the series instead of Nissan, since Infiniti are apparently coming to Australia in 2013.

I just hope they run the GT-R, although it’s highly unlikely considering it doesn’t come in a 4 door version at the moment.

It won’t be the GT-R.

The Kelly Racing Team will tell Holden they are defecting to the Japanese company.

If this new manufacturer is joining the Kellys, then they might as well play Russian roulette with a semi-automatic. I can’t think of a worse marketing strategy short of launching a new car, calling it the “Fidelity” and having Tiger Woods sell it.

Exciting times indeed! I thought that it would be most likely to be Chrysler to be honest, but getting Nissan to commit to joining the series is quite a coup.

I’m putting my “Nissan Marketing hat on” for a second, so correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think that Nissan currently make a V8 four door saloon do they? I know that the Falcon’s and Commodores currently running in the series have as little in common to their “road going counterparts” as I have with an olympic athlete, but don’t manufacturers like to pretend that the race cars are based on something in their current range?

So looks like Infiniti for Kelly Racing. Apparently Infiniti is being launched in Australia in September so it makes sense.

would the aussie public warm up to Nissan, Hyundai and Chrysler?

Yes. The Ford-Holden rivalry is pretty much dead. There’s a few die-hard fans out there, but for the most part, nobody really cars about it much. The rivalry can’t really sustain the series any longer, anyway – both the Falcon and Commodore are losing market ground to other makes. And as soon as anyone shows a bit of talent, Holden show up with their cheque book. They bought James Courtney for his number, after all.