Well the Mini's are gone...

[Axeman444]

Rumoured for a while, kinda inevitable you would think given the happenings...

http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/11/...o-end-in-2010/

[mspence]

And the 'happenings' would be.....?

[Kingair]

That's a shame, always liked the good close racing.

What will happen with Akermenace's driving career?

[cptkablamo]

Hopefully then the Carrera Cup can take that space without causing much disruption to any other category...

[Sheep Stations]

Originally Posted by cptkablamo

Hopefully then the Carrera Cup can take that space without causing much disruption to any other category...

Sorry, I can't see the relevance?...other than both being one-make categories.

[cptkablamo]

Just a V8 support category. Both manufacturer supported. Both had some pros and some up-and-comers. Old series out, new series in - some teams and drivers looking for things to do, although the $$$ might be an issue.

Obviously some are going to come from other categories, but, one hopes that there would be a decent feed from the Minis to Porsches.

[ForumNick]

Wouldn't there be a (much) larger budget required, to step up to a 'cup' car ?

[racer69]

Here's a thought, replace it with a class that has multiple makes?

Or if its a one-make class, make it something affordable (ie... along the lines of the original Laser series)

[alfacors]

Since when do V8Supercars care about the affordability of the support class?

[billybanana]

I didn't mind the minis but the novelty factor wears off pretty fast as the racing is generally quite boring. I'd much rather see the Aussie Racing Cars at every event as one of the support acts.

[madman16]

Originally Posted by billybanana

I didn't mind the minis but the novelty factor wears off pretty fast as the racing is generally quite boring. I'd much rather see the Aussie Racing Cars at every event as one of the support acts.

Couldn't have said it better. Aussie Racers are brilliant 9 times out of 10.
Mini's are good 3 times out of 10, that's including the rollovers. I'd prefer the GT series over Carrera Cup too.

[Oreti kid]

From the trackside noise here in NZ the word is Suzuki Swifts will be the replacement as it appears to be a successful class here and has a great linkage to the loads of swifts sold of the forecourt:
SWIFTS SET FOR AUSSIE DEBUT
Successful New Zealand series to start on Australian soil in 2011
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA will have a new junior racing series
in 2011, with New Zealand’s highly successful
Suzuki Swift Sport Cup making the leap across
the Tasman.
The Australian version of the one-make series
will be called the Australian Swift Sport Young
Drivers Series, and will be run by Queensland based
company Trans Tasman Motorsport. They
are currently building the first five cars, and will
have 30 ready for a kick off in 2011.
“A couple of our guys were in Hamilton for
the V8 Supercars this year, and they saw the
New Zealand Swifts racing there,” Trans Tasman
Motorsport’s operations manager Raymond
Harrison told eNews.
“We recognized that it was a great concept,
that could be adapted to work here in Australia.
We’ve done a deal with Suzuki Cars Queensland,
and we’re working towards building 30 cars.”
The series will be aimed specifically at budgetconscious
young drivers. For starters, only
drivers under the age of 25 will be permitted
to race, and car packages will be priced around
$45,000. Series registration will be locked at
$3,500, and drivers will receive just two new
tyres per round, which will cost around $700.
To maintain parity, the control ECUs will be
exchanged between the cars as the season
wears on.
“We want to provide a platform for good,
young drivers,” added Harrison. “The age limit is
to stop guys with bags of money coming in and
running away with it.”
As for a calendar, Harrison is currently in talks
with the Shannons Nationals about securing a
place on their bill for 2011.
“We’re talking with the Shannons Nationals,
and that was our first port of call,” he said.
“V8 Supercars is well out of our budget,
particularly for the first year.”
According to Paul Burborough, championship
co-ordinator of the NZ version, having the series
run in Australia is a big coup for the category.
“We’re looking forward to having an Australian
series, and we’ll help them as much as possible,”
he told eNews.
“We’ll certainly facilitate the trans-Tasman
rivalry. We’ll try and get some cars over there,
and have Australian drivers over here.”
Before the Australian series kicks off in 2011,
Trans Tasman Motorsport will conduct a full
reconnaissance during the NZ series, which runs
over summer. One of the cars currently being
built in Queensland will run the full NZ season,
with Allan Jarvis at the wheel.
“It will be a big benefit to us, to see how they
run the series first-hand,” said Harrison.
“They’ve been doing it for a few years now,
and they’ve ironed out all the bugs, so it will be
interesting to see how it all goes down.”
– ANDREW VAN LEEUWEN

[Axeman444]

oh dear...

[alfacors]

Well that article specifically mentions the Shannons Nationals.... not the V8Supercars..... one would think that V8s had had enough of FWD pocket rockets as a support?

[Oreti kid]

Originally Posted by alfacors

Well that article specifically mentions the Shannons Nationals.... not the V8Supercars..... one would think that V8s had had enough of FWD pocket rockets as a support?

he does actually say that being on the V8SC stage is to expensive for them which means TC is after a join the club fee!

[GTRMagic]

Wanna buy a Swift?

[cptkablamo]

http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/12/...e-beyond-mini/

The mini guys are looking at the Carrera Cup...

[Spiller]

Is the swift thing serious?

Commodore Cup cars cost the same, there's no restrictions on age, and they run in Shannon's Nationals. The class is established and has long term committed competitors and the cars are Rear-wheel drive V8 car. Just seems odd to basically target the same market.

Any Mini competitors may take that on, but Carrera Cup would be the logical step if you had the $$. Personally I would take a V8 RWD car over a Mini or swift anyday, I think the only reason the Mini's survived was BMW tipping in the cash to get on the VESA bill.

[Sheep Stations]

Originally Posted by cptkablamo

http://www.speedcafe.com.au/2010/12/...e-beyond-mini/

The mini guys are looking at the Carrera Cup...

Hardly a flood of mini competitors...one bloke talking it up after 2 or 3 mini drives. Good luck to him, hope he has a crack at it.

[Oreti kid]

as there is an age limit 25 and under on the swifts there will be a number of Mini guys that will need to elsewhere i guess due to there advancing years!!!! the other choice ofcourse is Aus GT.

[cptkablamo]

Originally Posted by Sheep Stations

Hardly a flood of mini competitors...one bloke talking it up after 2 or 3 mini drives. Good luck to him, hope he has a crack at it.

Well to be (un)fair, 4 guys from the Mini Challenge was a quarter of the field...

Will be interesting to see how all this comes out by season start 2011...

[jd yort]

Is this weekends Shannons Rd the first for the Suzuki series?? 6 cars practiced today at Mallala.

[Axeman444]

massive field!!

[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by Axeman444

massive field!!

The car owners apparently dragged 15 of them to the track, hoping someone would show up with the readies to take a drive... Oddly enough, nobody did... wonder if they put the call over the PA

[alfacors]

The cars themselves are not the fastest in terms of laptime, but they were spectacular through T1 at Mallala heading in their either flat stick or with the slightest of left foot braking. With good grid numbers it will turn out some good racing as the cars are obviously very even. Much like the old Suzuki GTi Cup of the mid-90s, not the fastest, but could be close and spectacular.