BF II and VE Cleared for racing

[minux]

While the V8 Supercars are racing in Bahrain this weekend, Holden’s VE Commodore and Ford’s BF MKII Falcon have been cleared to start racing at the opening round of next year’s championship – Adelaide’s Clipsal 500 in early March.
V8 teams group TEGA, which oversees technical aspects of the sport, has approved the VE and BF after months of evaluation and testing. The Commodore is an all-new car while the Falcon has had a major facelift from the existing model.
The aerodynamic packages on the cars were tested at the Woomera rocket range in South Australia with the Commodore prepared by Holden Racing Team and the Falcon by Triple Eight Racing.
The BF Falcon aero kit comprises a new front splitter, side skirts and greater adjustability for the rear wing.
The official announcement of the approvals says: “The two cars were presented with the same critical aerodynamic components for testing. The objective was to equalise the cars on the lowest of the aerodynamic downforce figures achieved on the front and back of each.”
In the face of the new VE, Holden’s VZ Commodore will remain eligible for competing in the championship but the BA Falcon will only be allowed to race in the development series.
TEGA chairman Kelvin O’Reilly says the final approval process was “seamless” and that “because of this the championship will present a whole new look for the start of the 2007 season”.

[91_Berlina]

i was gonna ask the other day but does this mean that the VE will be racing on its new revised suspension setup rather than the VZ setup, cos that will be way better...

[NickVR]

About time they approved it. Can't wait for 2007, bring it on.

[Ripcell]

what a joke, lets make all race cars the same across all brands. all identicle. great challenge for the developers **rolleyes

[immortality]

it certainly seems that this parity testing etc will take some of the shine off the great work done by holden to produce a fine handling car. it seems however from the above testing that they focused more on the aerodynamic functions of the car so hopefully they have left the re-engineered front suspension/wheelbase/track alone which should still produce a car that handles better then the previous VZ and BF falcons etc. go the mighty Holden VE. can't wait to see it on the track next year.

[BLK-SAB]

Had a look at the Rollcage/Chassis Setup for one of these things the other day, cant wait until the panels start going on

[Reaper]

Originally Posted by immortality

it certainly seems that this parity testing etc will take some of the shine off the great work done by holden to produce a fine handling car. it seems however from the above testing that they focused more on the aerodynamic functions of the car so hopefully they have left the re-engineered front suspension/wheelbase/track alone which should still produce a car that handles better then the previous VZ and BF falcons etc. go the mighty Holden VE. can't wait to see it on the track next year.

The suspension and mechanicals of the race car have zero parts in common with the road cars. Further more, the body panels share very few (if any) parts with the road version. This catagory is getting closer to a shiloette (sp?) class every year.

Reaper

[immortality]

i'm talking more about the fact that holden have moved the entire front suspension/wheels setup etc forwardabout 40mm which will effect the entire balance of the car in a positive way, improve steering etc, improve braking as well as effectively the wieght has been shifted further behind the front wheels which means better front to rear weight balance.

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by immortality

i'm talking more about the fact that holden have moved the entire front suspension/wheels setup etc forwardabout 40mm which will effect the entire balance of the car in a positive way, improve steering etc, improve braking as well as effectively the wieght has been shifted further behind the front wheels which means better front to rear weight balance.

Wasn't the VE race car cut down to be the same size as the VZ?
Also in terms of suspension (like reaper said) the fronts run double wishbone and not McPherson(sp?) struts.

[crazyspoon05]

Yep, the VE is really the final nail in what what once a great series, the cars they race now will not even share a basic shape as the VE has been chopped to fit into the category guidelines so it has lost the one last connection with the road cars

Bernie Jr should be proud that his Nascar Oz Style plan is nearing fruition

[markovr]

And channel 7s coverage in 2007 will be a test on supporters patience....channel 10 does such a great job...cant really see 7 coming close and then theres the brake regulations.....they will kill the sport if they stuff with it too much......I reckon bring back mc pherson struts as a option to the commodores and deregulate the tyres to mix it up a bit.

[J_D]

Originally Posted by Ripcell

what a joke, lets make all race cars the same across all brands. all identicle. great challenge for the developers **rolleyes

Bring back the Group A tourers. We couldnt beat the japs so we banned them. It was a lot more interesting with more than 1.5 body shapes and more than one category of racing at once. But we cant do that people might have to use their brains to understand it.

R32 GTR

[immortality]

if this blueprint thing means that holden have had to shorten the VE to suit the rules then it's not the car as holden intended and therfore its a farce. bring back GRP A racing