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The roar of throbbing power as engines rev on the starting grid sends the thrill of the V8 Supercars to thousands of fans who flock to every meet. In Australia it is loved with a passion. Holdens or Fords, and never the twin shall meet. Love them or hate them, they are here to stay.
The drivers are at elite status both in athleticism and fame. The punishment their bodies receive in each race means they need a phenomenal level of fitness. The speeds they travel at shows courage most normal people cannot understand. And the heart stopping excitement of the crashes holds all spectators in a temporary freeze as they await the outcome.
The supercars tour the Australian states and also go to Bahrain and New Zealand, with an event held in 2005 in China. By far the most celebrated and coveted win is the Bathurst 1000, held on Mt Panorama in New South Wales. This race is a true test of gruelling endurance with one of the most spectacular and challenging racing tracks in the world. Even the wildlife get in on the act with large kangaroos invading the track and adding an added danger to the race.
Race lovers travel from every corner of the nation to enjoy the big weekend. Many camp on site to make the most of the track and time to meet their beloved drivers and teams. The sport has a good following in New Zealand also and is gaining in popularity around the world. The cars are highly modified versions of the two model cars with the highest and most contested following in Australia. Holden's and Ford's.
The most famous and successful driver was Peter Brock who won the Bathurst race 9 times but met an untimely death in a rally drive in 2006. A perpetual trophy is now handed to winners of this race in memory of 'the king of the mountain' Peter Brock.
There are many teams who make up the V8 Supercars challenges. They are:
Dick Johnson Racing(Jim Beam racing)--Ford
HSV Racing Team--Holden
Holden Racing Team
Stone's Brother's-Ford
Ford Performance Racing
Jack Danie's Racing--Ford
Gary Rogers Motorsports-- Holden
Tasman Motorsports--Holden
Triple Eight race Engineering--Ford
Brad Jones Racing team(Team BOC)--Holden
WPS Racing--Ford
Team Kiwi Racing--Ford
Team Sirromet Wines--Holden
Britek Morosports (Fujitsu Racing)--Ford
Rod Nash Racing--Holden
Paul Cruickshank Racing--Ford
The cars are over 600hp and must be set to certain specifications. The gain top speeds of over 300kph in the right conditions. As for the price, each car is estimated to be valued at $AU600,000 and $AU120,000 per engine. So if you can manage to gather this up in spare change, you'll need at least ten million a year to keep a two car team running.
A salary cap of $AU6.75 million was introduced to try and keep the costs down, but that only lasted a year before it was scrapped. Teams make money with merchandise as well racing. Drivers are well paid for putting their lives on the line. But each and every one of them say they could not imagine ever doing anything else.
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