- CHALK AND CHEESE OF MOTORSPORT

THE ACTION STARTS THIS WEEKEND -

This weekend two of the most exciting championships in Australian motorsport burst into action. Funny thing is most Australian motorsport fans would have only heard of one of them.

Down in Adelaide South Australia , the Jewell in the crown of V8 Supercar racing, the Clipsal 500, will attract more than 260,000 spectators during the party festival centred around two 250km races run on the old F1 circuit.

Formula One, marketed as the pinnacle of motorsport could never have attracted the sort of crowds that will sweep into Adelaide this weekend.

Meanwhile back in Sunny Goulburn NSW (or Freezing Goulburn NSW depending on what the weather feels like doing on that particular day) Round 1 of the NSW State Championships will spring into life and for me this series is as good as anything the V8s can produce.

Even blind Freddy can see these two championships are like Chalk and Cheese when it comes to promotion and crowd attendance but when it comes to sheer entertainment and action, a round of the NSW State Championships is one of the best day’s entertainments for any petrol-head family.

Roll on down to Goulburn this weekend and you will see capacity fields for all 10 categories including Combined Touring Cars, Improved Production Cars – Under and Over 2ltr, Formula Vee, Formula Ford, the old crowd favourite HQ Holdens and much more.

Qualifying and 10 races will be run on Saturday and 20 races (two for each category) will be run on Sunday. That’s 20 races of non stop action all day Sunday starting from 9am .

If you have not been to a round of the NSW state Championships I could not recommend high enough the great day you will have – so make the effort.

Unlike larger events you can pack you car full of all the creature comforts required for a day of motorsport heaven and drive your car right up to the fence. You can even spend the day moving from one vantage point to another without having to fight your way through crowds.

My 6 year old son and I make these events’ our “Boys” day out leaving early in the morning, setting up our BBQ, chairs and esky at our favourite spot before settling in for a day of action.

Make no mistake; the club guys race just as hard as the professionals. Some of the best motorsport action I witnessed during the 2005 motorsport season came from the NSW State Championships.

For me, the most exciting categories are the under and Over 2ltr Improved Production cars. This category, formally known as club cars, has been around for many years and continues to attract capacity fields leading to some very fast and close racing. Things are getting very serious, I stood in amazement in the pit area at Oran Park during the final round of last year's championship gazing upon a transporter that would have put V8 Supercar teams to shame not too many years ago.

The 2005 Over 2 ltr championship was won by Leanne Tander, wife of V8 Supercar Star Garth. Driving an RX7 she showed just how much talent she has beating a very rapid GTR32 4wd twin Turbo Nissan, which in anyone’s language is a fantastic achievement. Leanne has moved to the Formula 3 Gold star Championship for 2006 and I am sure there are a few male ego’s happy to see her gone.

For those unable to make it to Wakefield Park Goulburn there is always the Clipsal 500 V8 Supercar race as an alternate motorsport event.

All Jokes aside, this event just seems to get bigger and bigger each year. There was a time when die-hard motorsport fans scoffed at suggestions the annual duel 250k races around the old (but shortened) F1 circuit would become more popular with fans and just as coveted by drivers and teams that the 1000km classic at Bathurst .

While Bathurst will always be Bathurst and the race that all drivers want to win, the V8 Supercar championship has now become just as important and rightly so. To do well in the championship you need to get off to a good start and that means a good showing at the Clipsal 500. Being the first V8 Supercar Championship round of the year (and for 2006 the first time fans will see the V8 Supercars in action) the party atmosphere of the Clipsal 500 is a great way to kick things off. For many years there was talk of making Bathurst the opening race of the year, similar to the Daytona 500 kicking off the NASCAR year, but the Clipsal 500 seems to have taken on the roll perfectly.

It’s a great race to see live and channel 10 do an excellent job of capturing all the drama and Action that unfolds over the two day event.

I can’t help but feels this year’s event is going to be the best ever. To try and pick a single item I am looking forward to at this year’s Clipsal would be hard to do but James Courtney’s debut drive with Stone Brothers Racing would have to be one of them. There are so many new car and driver combinations, colour schemes and unanswered questions to be finally answered; it’s going to be a massive weekend.

One thing I know for sure – whoever invented the Video Cassette Recorder, should be knighted. It’s the only thing that will allow me to be in two places at once.
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EXPENSIVE ACTION: Don't think for a minute that just because the club guys race their own cars they are not trying..

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MARCOS WHO? - For the past three years of V8 Supercar racing most of the talk has been about one man, Marcos Ambrose. This year there is no Marcos and many are predicting the new kid on the block, James Courtney, who will fill Ambrose's seat at SBR will be just as formidable as the Former Ford Hero.

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