v8 supercars& the us free trade agreement.

[spa-eau rouge]

the v8 supercar teams will now have the USA as their oyster, especialy with engine development & rebuilds and freshen-ups... and of course any specialty machining to be done acurately and quickly to realistic timeframes of which they are acustomed to..

[alfasud]

Don't free trade agreements work both ways? Would a US free trade agreement make it forbidden to restrict entries to only Aussie built cars? Not that I can think of any US built car that would fit the bill right now - something from Chrysler maybe?

[lcfp2297]

The free trade agreement does not cover all industries...is motorsport even mentioned?

In any case, free trade refers to trade between the two countries, not the policies nor rules of individual organisations within each country, so even if motorsport is mentioned, the FTA is irrelevent when it comes to who is allowed in each series and who is not...

...and I'm a little miffed as to how the FTA will open the USA up to engine development etc...was this not already available?

[champcarman]

The Cadillac that runs in the Speed World Challenge looks very much like a V8 Supercar.

[spa-eau rouge]

the FTA between australia &usa will allow anything to happen in trade between the 2 countries baring exemptions which at this stage are , SUBSIDISED MEDICINES [PBS AUSTRALIA ]and SUGAR . motorsport components and engineering and engineering developments will be in the USA interests if they cannot be handled or supplied from the australian end..

[mmciau]

I'm not all that fussed about the US being interested in the V8s but HM cars in the big 3 are RWD? - perhaps the Ford Crown Victoria and NASCAR don't recognise that car as the Ford entry- They have *******ised the FWD Taurus to be Ford car in the NASCAR series.

Mike

[lcfp2297]

Originally posted by spa-eau rouge
the FTA between australia &usa will allow anything to happen in trade between the 2 countries baring exemptions which at this stage are , SUBSIDISED MEDICINES [PBS AUSTRALIA ]and SUGAR . motorsport components and engineering and engineering developments will be in the USA interests if they cannot be handled or supplied from the australian end..

Sugar has been exempted solely because both countries currently produce an excess of sugar...how would an FTA benefit this industry in BOTH countries?

I'm not even going to touch the medicine issue, as it is a (deliberate) manipulation of the public to believe something that is not even covered by the FTA...(arguably for political gain...).

I am still confused as to why the FTA would benefit motorsport. Motorsport components, expertise or whatever you want top call them could always be performed between the two nations (and most others) without any trade restrictions...so how does an FTA, which is designed to open up new markets, going to help? And, going back to your original post, why would the FTA make specialty machining be done acurately and quickly to realistic timeframes any better than is currently possible?

Cheers

[Robert Ryan]

Champcar man..more like the Holden Monaro in PROCAR. 3200lb, 6 litre engine, 6 speed sequential gearbox , almost a V8Supercar specs and a A LOT of Financial backing from Cadillac. Strangely both cars blew away the opposition, when the debuted. The SCCA Message board ran hot about the Cadillac "HotRods", where was the parity etc

[spa-eau rouge]

before the FTA their was customs duty payable on anything between the 2 countries [the australian side ] ,now their is nothing ,hence free trade between the 2 countries ,so all our engineering requirements can now go off shore into the largest economy on earth ,therefore cheaper services.

[spa-eau rouge]

australia currently does'nt have the specialty machining capability or expertise required for motorsport purposes and the required trades people definitely do not exist here ,if they do ,then they are retired ,like myself....

[lcfp2297]

I am certain that any duty payable would be minimal compared to conversion from USD to AUD, shipping, insurance etc...The item would need to be at least 50% cheaper from the states before a break even could even manifest.

And on many items within motorsport, their origin would be USA anyway, so a smart cookie would have the engineering requirements performed before they were initially shipped...

[spa-eau rouge]

and that will include engines ,so why even develop and build them here ,all the expertise on pushrod v 8's is in the USA and not here....

[spa-eau rouge]

and certainly not in the UK or EUROPE as FPR have found out at great expense to themselves and team drivers and members of their crew.

[aj_308]

your kidding aren't you? many an engine has been sent to the US and returned with less horsepower. We do just fine here with our engines thanks.

[Robert Ryan]

Spa with that attitude, I am sorry, WE will permanently stay second rate. A strange thing for an Australian to say about Sport!!! I disagree , the talent is here and it is growing

[spa-eau rouge]

dyno's can and do tell untruths in any country no matter where ,the true gauge is " when the flag drops, the **** stops" ...there are very few good engine persons in this country or area of the world, all the very smart persons have gone to the northern hemisphere following the action and there dreams..

[Robert Ryan]

Icfp2297. As the people who run openwheelers have found out, that "solution" getting parts and cars from Overseas can be a very expensive exercise. It is much better if you have a thriving viable racing industry, that can supply relevant parts, quicker and cheaper than overseas firms. A racing industry then expands overseas to lower costs and grow. Motec is one example of a very successful local startup, that has spread to the US, Europe and now Asia.

[spa-eau rouge]

i will say the talent is here, but we do not have the competitve climate to unlock this latent talent nor do we have the teachers to do the very specialised training required, we certainly did have in the past, but not now...

[Robert Ryan]

Spa, if we follow your lead..we will eventuall HAVE No Motor Racing of any sort in this country. It would cost a fortune to race and eventually not economically viable to continue(Super Touring comes to mind as an example)

[Robert Ryan]

Same applies overseas , Spa. In the US it is worse, than here

[spa-eau rouge]

motorsport here now costs a small fortune for the average punter with our tyrany of distance and lack of international formulas to gauge our expertise or lack of , so where to now?

[Robert Ryan]

Spa, If we had a more viable industry, it would MAKE things more affordable. I do not think the "lack of international formulas " is all that relevant. We need more competitve local formula's. Yes things are growing, but more investment in racings infarstructure, will pay off in the end.

[spa-eau rouge]

anyway we are going of thread with this , i could carry on for hours about this, it is one of my favourite hobby horses...

[Robert Ryan]

Spa, I agree. It has been one of mine. I have always advocated a better racing industry for Australia. In the 1970's when the local industry was a lot healthier: we had locally made F5000's being driven by F1 stars : An all Australian car competed and finished 9th in the Indy 500, as well Jack Brabham won the F1 title using a local engine: The Macau Gp was won by Kevin Bartlett running a totally built local car and engine : An Elfin Sportscar finished 2nd in a South African International Sports Car race and the list goes on.

[spa-eau rouge]

my training was on australia's only f1 championship winning engine ,and the training i received has kept me in good stead eversince ,but this was only a once in a lifetime chance with a truely australian company with tenticles stretching to all corners of the globe,this will never happen again in my lifetime...