Yves Larose
Premium
The V8 Supercars season is about to kick off in a few days so lets take a look at whats coming up and have an over view of the team and drivers for this year championship.
This year see Marcos Ambrose returning to the series after a nine years journey in the United states in the Nascar series and Team penske to merge with Dick Johnson Racing. Along with those big news a new deal have been made in 2014 for the television coverage of the races with TEN and FOX Sports for more visibility and coverage of the series.
The series kick off in Adelaide on February 26th, on Friday we will have the qualifications for Race 1 and 2 that are taking place on Saturday then on Sunday we have the third qualification session that include a top 10 shootout followed by the third race of the week-end. The series then have 14 other week-ends with different format and near the end of the season the series will enter its enduro portion of the championship which will take us in Sandown for the Wilson security Sandown 500, then the prestigious Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and to end at the Castrol Gold Coast 600 and the series will wrap it up at Sydney on December 4th.
Time to start have a look of what i'm expecting for this year, first lets have a look at the car manifacturers that take part in the championship in 2015.
Holden
For a few years now Holden have been the manifacturer to beat winning the championship a few times in a row, i don't see them going donw the order this year but they won't have time to rest as the other car manifacturer will be pressing them hard.
Ford
One word comes to mind "disappointment", for a few years now they start strong and they are right battleling with Holden for the championship but starting mid season they go backward and lack consistancy. Lets hope this year with the new Falcon they will be more consistant and be able to take the fight to Holden to the end of the championship.
Nissan
Its now their third years back to the championship and they have shown some progress throught out those 2 years but like Ford they lack consistancy so i'm hoping they will be more consistant and mix things up a little bit more.
Mercedes
Like Nissan they are in their third years in the championship showing progress and since their start was rushed in the first year the progression have been slower then Nissan but i think they are on the right path and will be more competitive and more consistant this year.
Volvo
2014 was their first year in the championship and what an entrance they have made with a win in the first week-end, like any new operation they had their share of problems but they have a solid base to improve upon and bring the fight to Holden and Ford in 2015.
Now lets do an overview of the teams and drivers in the championship.
Red Bull Racing Australia
Clearly the team to beat, well oiled and lining up 2 of the most talented drivers in the series but they won't have time to rest as some other teams will push them hard and try to beat them at the end to win the championship.
Jamie Whincup
He is the benchmark, very consistant and clearly the man to beat. He have been the series champion for the pass 4 years so don't expect him to be at the back this year.
Craig Lowndes
Most likely to be the guy that will take the fight to Jamie but he have to work on his consistancy and qualify better so he could be at the front of the field and avoid the mid pack incidents.
Holden Racing Team
The team have shown some progession in the past few years and i'm expecting them to be more competitive and consistant this year, they also line up 2 talented drivers so they should be able to fight till the end for the championship.
Garth Tander
Since the series have move to the car of the future he seems to have trouble finding the right setup for the car and often struggle lets hope he will be more comfortable with the car this year.
James Courtney
Contrary to his team mate he seems to have adjusted to the COTF faster but like Garth the consistancy was not there last year to take the fight for the championship so lets see what 2015 will be like for him.
LD Motorsport
A mid pack team so not much to say about them as i don't think they will be in the mix for the championship.
Tim Blanchard
I don't know the driver much so i can't really say anything about him so lets see how things will go for him in 2015.
Nick Percat
Last year he have shown some good things so lets see if he can improve and learn from last year.
Erebus Motorsport V8
They had some good results last year so lets see how much they will improve this year, i would like to see them more at the front and mix things up a little more just to keep things interesting.
Ash Walsh
If i'm correct he had been a co-driver for the enduros a few year and is now a full time driver so lets see what he can do we the big guns.
Will Davison
I think he is the driver in the team that can take it to the next level and make the team progress further more but he seems to have some problem adapting to the Mercedes so lets see how this year will play out for him.
Pepsi Max Crew PRA
As they are the Ford factory team disappointment comes to mind, lack of consistancy added with bad luck, hoping the new Falcon will be more consistance throughout the season and within the week-ends.
Mark Winterbottom
He should be the one bringing the fight to Jamie till the end of the season but some how once he start having bad results its getting in his head and have trouble shaking it out and get back on track, hoping this year will be better for him.
Chaz Mostert
Winner of last year Bathurst 1000 from second to last (or last i can't recall) on the starting grid he showed that he will become one of the top runners in the future so i'm sure he will improve this year and be more consistant.
Nissan Motorsport
The team is lining up four cars which should make the team progress faster but somehow last year often only one or two of the cars were having good results while the others struggles lets see if they can put all four cars in the mix this year.
Todd Kelly
Solid driver but struggle more often then others and have bad qualifications putting him mid pack and often victim of incident so lets hope his luck will change in 2015.
Rick Kelly
Like his brother solid driver but same as his brother bad qualifications and bad luck strike him.
Michael Caruso
He have shown some good things last year he should improve this year.
James Moffat
Like Michael he have shown some good things last year, he is still young and should become a top runners in the few next years if he continue to improve.
Team BOC
Small team but can be in the mix and play a roll in the championship if they avoid bad qualifications and incidents.
Jason Bright
Like many drivers in the series bad qualifications and bad luck puts him in a bad spot, improvement and consistancy is what he have to work on.
Freightliner Racing
Like many mid pack team they have to work on consistancy but they have a good base to built upon so they should show some improvement this year.
Fabian Coulthard
Good driver but lack consistancy so if he can improve on that he should play a role in the championship.
DJR Team Penske
Penske coming to the series and being a successful team in the US should make the team more competitive this year.
Marcos Ambrose
He is coming back to the series after nine years racing in the Nascar series in the US, i did the last race of the 2014 season and was consistant lets see if he can improve on that and be right there at the start of the 2015 season.
Walkinshaw Performance
The team is part of HRT so expect the same level of performance as the mother team.
Lee Holdsworth
He won a race last year with Erebus so he have shown that he can play with the big boy so with a better car he should improve.
GB Galvanizing Racing
not much to say, mid pack team for a young driver to start in the series and show what he can do.
Dale wood
Young driver pretty much new to the series that is still learning, he should improve and show what he can do.
Wilson Security Racing GRM
Its the Volvo team and they had a very good first season in 2014 so they should be better this year and taking the fight to Holden and Ford.
Scott Mclaughlin
He is young but already a star of the series and i think in a few years he will take Jamie place at the top of the field.
David Wall
Young driver that his been given his chance to show what he can do with a good car so lets see how well he will do this year.
Supercheap Auto Racing
mid pack team for young driver to develop and gain experiences in the series.
Tim Slade
Still young and learning so lets see how he will do this year.
The Bottle-O Racing Team
Part of the Ford factory team its the same problem as the mother team so again will the new Falcon be better then last year version.
David Reynolds
The guy have good pace but also have bad luck and lack consistancy putting him in arms way more then he would like, improvement is the word here.
Tekno Autosports
Small operation team but for some reason can take the fight to the big boys but they also lack consistancy so thats what they have to work on.
Shane van Gisbergen
Pure talent and he will be a key on how the championship will play out and he even might be a challenger for the title if the team can give him the car round after round.
Super Black Racing
New team or renamed team i'm not sure either way it should be a mid to back end of the pack so a good team for young drivers to get into the series.
Andre Heimgartner
Its his first year in the series so he have much to learn.
This conclude my overview for the 2015 season which should be an exciting championship once again, i hope you enjoyed the read.
