Auto Action Top 100

Wrighty05 · 6 Jul 2007, 15:49 (Ref:1956306)

Was it a gimmick to sell more magazines? Or was it a legitimate attempt to figure out our top 100 drivers.

Here's the top 20. For others see mag or ask us folks who bought it. Discuss...
20. Tim Schenken
19. Dick Johnson
18. Norm Beechey
17. Colin Bond
16. John Bowe
15. Geoff Brabham
14. Mark Webber
13. Ian Geoghegan
12. Marcos Ambrose
11. Vern Schuppan
10. Frank Matich
9. Craig Lowndes
8. Allan Moffat
7. Frank Gardner
6. Larry Perkins
5. Mark Skaife
4. Jim Richards
3. Alan Jones
2. Peter Brock
1. Sir Jack Brabham

Pro Racer · 6 Jul 2007, 15:52 (Ref:1956309)

i agree with the first 2 after that i would swap a fair few around.

racer69 · 6 Jul 2007, 16:15 (Ref:1956325)

Frank Gardner & Frank Match are too low to start with.

Colin Bond was a good all-rounder, but #17!! He wasn't a match for Greg Carr in the forests, yet Greg Carr is only rated at #56.....

Interestingly high places for Ryan Briscoe & Chris Atkinson as well, considering their overall lack of success so far

pete55 · 6 Jul 2007, 19:23 (Ref:1956500)

Slow news week again.

Amonfan · 6 Jul 2007, 23:07 (Ref:1956601)

Where are Johnnie Walker, Warwick Brown, Bill Patterson, Leo Geoghegan, Alf Costanzo to name a few.....

Sultan · 6 Jul 2007, 23:09 (Ref:1956603)

Have3 I missed James Courtney in there? When in open wheelers, he was reagrded as quicker (if only barely) than Briscoe....

Wrighty05 · 7 Jul 2007, 00:58 (Ref:1956621)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sultan

Have3 I missed James Courtney in there? When in open wheelers, he was reagrded as quicker (if only barely) than Briscoe....

#35.

Seton Fanatic · 7 Jul 2007, 02:21 (Ref:1956650)

Where's both Setons?

pete55 · 7 Jul 2007, 03:17 (Ref:1956656)

I've just had a look at the list and apart from the first 20 it doesn't seem like AA has done much research into many drivers who have competed over the years and have put a few modern V8 Supercar drivers way too far up the list in my opinion. Drivers such as Warwick Brown, Max Stewart, Brooke Tatnell, Max Stewart, George Fury, Bob Morris, Tony Gaze are probably better drivers than Greg Murphy will ever be. I also think drivers like Simon Evans are way too far down the list. Les Siviour dominated his category like not many others have ever done yet he is down at 99, behind many less deserving drivers. Peter Manton was the Mini king of Australian Touring Car racing and from what i was told had less power in his car than many of the other Minis racing at the time yet went much quicker than those cars. Look at the record of Gregg Hansford and you have to wonder why he is so far down the list. Why you would put Brian Muir so far down the list also surprises me.

kramer · 7 Jul 2007, 04:10 (Ref:1956670)

They didn't do a lot of research. They just got their staffers and a couple of 'experts' to put together a list. Then they totalled all the numbers and arrived at a list.

The point of these is to generate discussion and guess what? It's working.

Peter Manton's Minis, to anwer Pete's point, were really, really [I]really[I] light. So was he, so much so that his nickname was 'Magnesium Bones'.

Kramer

Wrighty05 · 7 Jul 2007, 06:17 (Ref:1956680)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seton Fanatic

Where's both Setons?

Barry didn't make it or at least i couldn't find him.

Glenn at 31

GROUPA · 7 Jul 2007, 09:21 (Ref:1956745)

I cant believe Winterbottom and a few of the new generation are ranked so high. Longhurst was a fair way back too

Pro Racer · 7 Jul 2007, 10:40 (Ref:1956778)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete55

I've just had a look at the list and apart from the first 20 it doesn't seem like AA has done much research into many drivers who have competed over the years and have put a few modern V8 Supercar drivers way too far up the list in my opinion. Drivers such as Warwick Brown, Max Stewart, Brooke Tatnell, Max Stewart, George Fury, Bob Morris, Tony Gaze are probably better drivers than Greg Murphy will ever be...

i like Murph he is my favourite current V8 driver but he aint even Aussie, IMO a few of the current V8 drivers are way to high up and the greats are to low, wonder how much TC is paying for his current crop to be put so high up to get people saying "wow this series must have some special talent to be that high up" not to say these current crop havn't got talent but the older guys who have been around the sport and proved themselves many times over in different forms of racing deserve to be a bit higher than them.

deeks6 · 8 Jul 2007, 05:45 (Ref:1957286)

Anyone else get the feeling that its a bit touring car-centric???

Those with overseas success in major categories should surely take precedence over those that bash some tin tops around. Similarly those with success in multiple categories should be recognised over those without.

Some glaring obvious errors -

We all love Brocky but ahead of Alan Jones? And for that matter some of those mentioned below-

We all love Jum but how he can be rated above guys like Gardner (F1, Tasman, BTCC, Sports Cars etc), Frank Matich (beat the best drivers in the world in open wheelers, F5000 and even took his own car to Can-Am and won), Vern Schuppan, Geoff and David Brabham is beyond me.

Craig Lowndes ahead of big Pete? How ...

No need to go further into it

TSR · 8 Jul 2007, 07:32 (Ref:1957325)

Well that Auto Fiction for you all.

Pro Racer · 8 Jul 2007, 09:18 (Ref:1957375)

well as pete 55 knows is it the truth or did you read it in AA and this is obviously AA.

mac · 8 Jul 2007, 09:44 (Ref:1957407)

I'm not even going to enter into the debate - reading that was one of the greatest wastes of time ever.

pete55 · 8 Jul 2007, 09:49 (Ref:1957412)

Neil Allen was one driver not even mentioned. I don't think he should have missed out on being in the list.

Aarrgh8 · 8 Jul 2007, 21:41 (Ref:1958017)

I agree. Neil was super quick in everything he drove, from his grey E Type Coupe, to his battles with Fred Gibson in Elans, to Mustangs, to his battles with Matich in his Elfin, and in open wheelers. You'd reckon he'd have to find a spot somewhere in the Top 50 at least.

I agree with the Top 5 in AA's list, and it's all open after that. Mixing different eras and different categories can't really be done, and I wouldn't put any drag racers in a list of Top Drivers. There again, my Sprintcar bias would find spots for Max Dumesny, Brooke Tatnell, Kerry Madsen, Garry Rush and a few others.

Just keeping to road racing, I'd put Colin Bond higher up. I don't know about not matching it with Greg Carr in the forests. Greg might have been faster in his prime, but Colin was far more consistently fast. Add in CB's record in various touring car categories plus his open wheeler experience, and IMHO, he should be pretty close to the Top Ten. I still remember one Warwick Farm international meeting, and in wet practice in almost his first drive in a Tasman Cup car, he set the fastest time - and throughout the wet session, kept going quicker than Clark, Stewart, Hill, Brabham etc. He might be one of the guys we like to hate these days, but some of us remember. I remember in a NSW State Championship Rally round I was competing in. We were going super quick in a long, wet stage when I heard this roar of a car gaining on us. CB arrived on us in a flash, flew past, putting his XU1 sideways through an open gate and was gone. In his prime, he was super fast in everything he drove.

kramer · 8 Jul 2007, 22:37 (Ref:1958056)

And they repeated the mistake of mixing up Brian and Robert (Bob) Muir. They weren't related to each other but it seems that their records get amalgamated pretty frequently.

Brian Muir was the tin-top exponent. Bob Muir raced single-seaters against Rene Arnoux, Keke Rosberg and others.

Kramer

db120176 · 9 Jul 2007, 03:32 (Ref:1958154)

Norm Beechey - way too low (top 10 in the least)

Pro Racer · 9 Jul 2007, 03:37 (Ref:1958157)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aarrgh8

I agree with the Top 5 in AA's list, and it's all open after that. Mixing different eras and different categories can't really be done, and I wouldn't put any drag racers in a list of Top Drivers. There again, my Sprintcar bias would find spots for Max Dumesny, Brooke Tatnell, Kerry Madsen, Garry Rush and a few others.

i love Speedway and have watched these guys race, great stuff. i go to Parramatta Speedway alot and i like all the categorys Sprintcars are my favourite though and follow it a fair bit in the US.

i have lost count how many times i have been to Garry Rushes Pick and Payless at Blacktown we have got tons of stuff from there, have got some good bargains there, thanks Garry.

racer69 · 9 Jul 2007, 09:15 (Ref:1958327)

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer

And they repeated the mistake of mixing up Brian and Robert (Bob) Muir. They weren't related to each other but it seems that their records get amalgamated pretty frequently.

Brian Muir was the tin-top exponent. Bob Muir raced single-seaters against Rene Arnoux, Keke Rosberg and others.

Kramer

Brian in particular deserved to be much higher based on his own career alone.

It's amazing that in a country obsessed with touring cars as the be all and end all, the success of an Australian racing touring cars overseas is basically ignored.....

(On that matter how many Aussies would have heard of Australian Hyla Breeze, who raced in the BTCC in the early 00's?)

pete55 · 9 Jul 2007, 09:41 (Ref:1958369)

Have heard of him but he just disappeared. I think it was in Karts that i first heard of him.

mctshirt · 10 Jul 2007, 06:08 (Ref:1959266)

Just for the record how long is the list once you take all the kiwi's out?

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