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Interesting argument and will never truly be decided because of various factors:
1. Difference in equipment - the grid will never be 100% equal
2. Age - some drivers will be past their peak (Bowe, B Jones, Ingall?, Morris etc) and some will be approaching their potential (Price, Perkins, Frosty etc) so they are at different stages of their career.
3. The format - with CPS, the team have a bearing on driver fortunes. A HSV team is better drilled and equipped than a PCR team for e.g.
However, RIGHT NOW, we can attempt to rate them (at this stage of their career) on certain criteria. My view is that the absolute best drivers are those that, no matter what piece of crap they are forced to drive, will still gravitate to somewhere near the front. They need to be assessed on qualifying, racecraft, relaibility, mistakes made, temperament etc etc. I'll give it out of 100.
Lowndes - 95+ natural star, quick in anything.
Tander - 85+ fast but temperamental, needs good car, racecraft ordinary
Skaife - 95+ star in all conditions, proven in everything, master setup man
S Richards - 80+ bit like Tander, poor racecraft
Murphy - 85+ fast, temperamental, definitely needs good car.
Bright - 90+ can drag a bad car to the front but makes more mistakes than a Lowndes or Skaife. Watch him take Britek cars to the Top 10 this year.
Courtney - 90 looks to be good but has not made the same impression as Ambrose when he started and has probably had better cars than MA began with.
T Kelly - 85+ has'nt had to deal with crap cars yet. Smoothness the concern with Todd.
R Kelly - 80 has to be admired for holding things together but in the crunch, is he a good racer? Also not tested in slow cars.
Ingall - 90 Was one of the best, may be on the wane but guaranteed to get somehwere near the pointy end
Winterbottom - 90+ showed potential in bad cars, showing what he can do in fast ones. Expect to keep improving.
Johnson - 85+ Much better than people give him credit for, is competitve in slowish cars. His natural weight penalty is probably his biggest downfall and can make a few mistakes.
Davison - 80+ Showing potential slowly. Still a concern about touring car racecraft and would like to see in a top car.
J Richards - 80+ appears to be very fast and skillful but also makes more mistakes than he should
Bowe - 80+ On the wane but I suspect he would still be aregular Top 10 in a HRT or FPR car.
Whincup - 90+ same as Winterbottom except that he has slightly more aggression which can either help or hurt depending on circumstances. Could be a major star though.
Rat - 80 Like John Bowe
Canto - 75+ Good but not great driver who would get a good result in a good car every now and again. Good comparison would be a Besnard.
McConville - 70+ Everyone loves cam but he is not in the class of a Skaife/Lowndes and never will be. Can get the odd good result but everything has to go his way.
Wilson - 80 fast, would get results in a good car but would still make too many mistakes.
Bargs - 85+ Proven winner in cars that are at least competitive. A bit like Murf but a better temperament balanced out by more errors.
Dumbrell - 70 Too many mistakes, poor racecraft, not enough results in competitve car.
Morris - 60 Never really good enough to be in the field on merit.
Luff - 65 Does not have the raw speed (compare his Bathurst times to Ambrose) to be competitve no matter what he drives.
Holdsworth - 80+ A lot better than his results show, hard to rate but I would like to see him in something fast. Could be higher
Owen - 85+ Has dragged an ordinary car to places where it shouldnt be. I'm very surprised that Larry has'nt grabbed this guy. I see wins in a competitive car.
A Jones - 65 Does not appear to have the speed necessary, racecraft is dodgy too.
B Jones - 75+ Not what he was (and he was good, although no Skaife/Lowndes).
Gurr - 70+ Shown potential in patches. gets points for upsetting the Dude by beating him (hehe).
Coulthard - 75+ another who is OK in most aspects but can he drag a bad car up? No.
J Perkins - 80+ with a bullet. Much as his old man annoys me, this kid can really go places. If nothing else, it was the Bathurst HPDC that convinced me he has it.
S Price - 80+ has potential but I think Jack will go ahead of him shortly. can see him being a contender though
Marshall - 80 Disappointing, thought he'd be better.
Ricciardello - 65 same as Luffy, no good on the big stage.
Fernandez - 60 ditto
Are there any Lowndes/Skaifes in the above lot?
maybe Frosty, Whincup, Jack Perkins for a longshot but I will give you another name - Andrew Thompson - will be a superstar.
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