Poetic (but off the Mark)

There once was a man name of Skaife,
Who filled many with hopeless blind faith.
He was king of the heap though his wins they were cheap, and he stole shallow victories easy.
But his nemesis grew they were BAs by two, and the lad, well he's now a bit queasy.
But like any front runner he's now running for cover, as the Marcos machine takes its toll.
He's one hell of a striver and not a HRT driver, can match him - least take the race poll.
These words of elation are sparse compensation for followers of the blue oval brand.
For we've suffered by rules that were scripted by fools and GM played it as their winning hand.
But when we make our play Skaife will be far, far away from the Mountain and all of its glory.
We'll win One, Two, Three, kick their arses for free, and that is the end of the story.
Alan

Keep them long

Please AVESCO keep the longer races: I have not been to a car meet for two years because of the crap 20 minute format. I loved the Qld 300km - you will see me there more often
Wayne

V8 Starved

Thanks for a great magazine! I've only just seen my first ever edition of it and loved it. I am currently in the Solomon Islands and seeing your mag made up for the fact that I can't watch V8 Supercars on the telly. We're trying to get someone to copy all the races we're missing onto CD so we can watch them on our computers, as back home I try not to miss a single race.
Anyhow thanks again for a great magazine, it certainly caused a stir with the boys when they found out a chick wanted to read a 'guys' mag.
Nikki

More Articles

I love your magazine heaps but I would like to see more articles done on the pit crews. These guys are the main reason this sport is so popular because without them there would be no races.
For example there is a guy called Ben who is one of the top mechanics with Marcos Ambrose. I met him at the races and he was a top bloke, explained to me how things work (and being a chick it is a tough job for a guy to explain everything). I was a Holden supporter and because of this great pit member I am now a very proud Ford supporter and a new fan of Marcos Ambrose.
Thanks Heaps, Jae
Thanks for the feedback, Jae. V8X is interested to hear from anybody who has story ideas on something that we may not have touched, or just tell us what you like - Ed.

Women's work

In response to Brendan's letter (Sept/Oct 03, In the Jungle). A male lion doesn't hunt, it has to get the girls to do it for him. Go the Fords, Good luck to Marcos and Russ at Bathurst
Andrew

Not Happy

First, it is extremely disappointing that Phillip Island (which is the second best track after Bathurst) has been dropped from the calendar, to accommodate a round in China, which very few Australian V8 fans will attend. After all this series is for Australian cars strongly supported in the past by Australian fans. Without these fans the series would be nowhere near the spectacle it is today.
The second disappointing aspect is that Eastern Creek has been given two rounds during the year while Phillip Island misses out. One other dissatisfying view is that Oran Park has the worst spectator facilities of any track in Australia and yet has maintained its round. Is this bias against Victoria once again or did Oran Park pay AVESCO more to enable them to keep their round?
As a result of this I think all fans should boycott the remaining rounds of the series in 2003 as a protest of this disgusting move by AVESCO. Also I think the AVESCO management should immediately resign and let others take over who will look after the Australian fans who after all make the series as popular as it is today.
Peter
As far as I was told, it was a purely a commercial decision. AVESCO had to drop one round and as PI was the least attended in crowd and corporates it was the logical one to be dropped - Ed.

Potty Mouth

Sandown 500 was a great weekend with Skaife and Todd Kelly winning but it was also good because Stone Brothers didn't get on the podium. It was also good to see Team Dynamik racing Skaife for the win. I used to be a Skaife fan but after Richards went off nearly taking him as well, Skaife started his usual swearing state which means that I have just decided that I am not going to barrack for Skaife until he tones down with the swearing. He always swears when he is involved in an accident.
An example is the Canberra 400 in 2001 in which he started swearing and carrying on after Forbes caused him some damage. This is not good for the sport because who wants to race against someone who just swears when involved in a accident?
Richard

How do I get it?

Hi, got the latest copy of V8X today and was impressed with the line of merchandise you have released, I jumped online to have a better look but can not find a link any where. Please help, also are you going to set up a stall at the New Zealand round?
Duane
You can get it at the track or try this: www.motorsportmerchandise.com.au/v8x/ - Ed.

Get a Dictionary

Maybe B Fletcher should get the dictionary out from under the lounge with one leg missing and look up the meaning of 'comeback'. I would have thought that Ford winning five straight races was a pretty good 'comeback' from last couple of seasons' efforts. The championship does not automatically go to anybody with the chrome lion emblem on the bonnet.
Beware Sir Skaife, the revolution is coming! Bring on all comers and may the best team win! This is the best season in years.
Mick

Pick of the Mailbag When they were Kings In these days of cutting edge V8 Supercars, take time to cast an eye back to the ancestors of this mega category of Aussie tin-tops, the class of 1984. Today's mono-nicknamed über pilots like Skaifey, Murph, Lowndesy, Brighty, etc, supporting their designer eye wraps and multi-coloured logo-emblazoned caps, were preceded by the likes of the "Talmalmo cattle farmer and part time school bus driver" (George Fury) adorned in plain white three-layer Nomex and red terry towelling hat! Then there was the "Maitland pastry chef" (later to be known as "the right Honourable" after winning some backwater seat somewhere in Qld) with his custom 1970s pornstar moustache and Akubra (Allan Grice). A few drivers came through the ranks of Formula Ford or Vees but most cut their teeth in sports sedans or sideways through the forests on their way to notoriety. There was no recognised feeder class for up and comers. Hocking the wife and kids to build your own car and run at the back of the pack virtually unseen, was more the norm. Most of the front-runners had day jobs to support their dreams. The current scud missiles zooming around our over-bunkered circuits rely heavily on their million-process-per-second engine management systems linked to the telemetry beaming data back to the boffins in their air-conditioned laboratories parked behind the garages. Our mid-1980s dinosaurs were largely fire-breathing, four barrel-fed iron block bent 8s, piston-melting turbo 4s or Kamikaze piloted rotaries. Rollcages were primarily designed to keep the driver safe and second to keep the suspension guys happy! These pedalling heroes were strapped snugly into their sheepskin-covered Saas racing seats and as they clicked the custard gate box into top gear for the long Conrod Straight (before its soul was sold to a sponsor for naming rights) they would need all of its length to check that the needles on the dozen or so dials were pointed skyward. The flared guards on these Group-C monsters housed more rubber than Thailand produces in a year and the rears were about the size of those on your Grandaddy's Massey Ferguson! All but the 'pro' teams could only bring one spare set of gumballs strapped to the tandem car trailer hired from their local servo for the weekend. The 1984 title was a tight affair with "the laconic Queenslander, Tricky Dicky Johnson" snatching the ATCC from "Peter Perfect" and a fast finishing Peter McLeod (sorry, no known long-winded nickname, I will ask Mike Raymond for one next time I see him), but Brocky was to take his revenge with his Dayglo VK's comprehensive runaway win at Sandown followed by a crushing 1-2 at the Big Hill. Alas the winds of touring car change were blowing like an offshore at Bell's Beach, with 1984 to be the end of the Big Bangers and the beginning of the most turbulent years of our national category. So, as we lay our heads on our HRT merchandised sheet and pillow set tonight, we should all say a little prayer of thanks to these ballsy pioneers for paving the way to V8 Supercar heaven. Darren