Motorsport: Flat out with the flying V8s

Greg Murphy set his "lap of the gods" record in his K-Mart Holden Commodore in 2003 ... now it is expected to fall as new-generation cars meet the new Bathurst track. Photo / V8 Supercars

New ‘lap of the gods’ tipped on revamped Bathurst track

The Great Race on one of the world's great racetracks will be on our screens this Sunday.

Fans of the most eagerly awaited race on the V8 Supercars calendar can expect lap times to tumble on the resurfaced track during the Bathurst 1000.

Kiwi Greg Murphy's "lap of the gods" (one of the most watched laps on YouTube) was set on a resurfaced track in 2003, and many drivers and pundits expect that 2m 6.8594s qualifying record to go this year.

This is the second year for the new-generation V8 cars on Mount Panorama. The combination of a year's racing and the introduction of the Volvo - there is much rumbling about its straight-line speed - are expected to result in smashed records.
The 6.2km circuit's resurfacing was completed last November as part of a $6.7 million upgrade.

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In the last 10 years the 23-corner track's tarmac had deteriorated. Despite the cars being faster, the lack of grip in the corners has held outright lap speed back - until this weekend.

Technical director Ludo Lacroix of Triple Eight Race Engineering, which fettles the championship-leading car of Jamie Whincup (co-driver for Bathurst is Paul Dumbrell), is positive all three records - Greg Murphy's qualifying lap, Jamie Whincup's race lap of 2m 08.4561s and Craig Lowndes' practice lap of 2m 06.8012s - will be bettered.

As with all good engineers, he's concerned the increased grip and therefore speed may put added stress on cars and drivers. The cars do, though, have a rev limiter to keep outright top speed within the realms of sensibility, but they will be hitting 300km/h down Conrod straight.

The rev limiter came into play at the Sandown 500 last month when drivers were spending up to two seconds on the limit down the back straight because of the extra drive they there were getting out of the re-tarmacked turn four.

Defending Bathurst 1000 champion Mark Winterbottom (co-driving with Steve Owen) is predicting the top 10 shoot-out on Saturday will produce a time to beat Whincup's record by at least two seconds.

Defending V8 Supercars champion Whincup will be aiming for his fifth Bathurst 1000 title and wants the points to help towards a record-breaking sixth series title.

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