Skaife to retire

[VSTrev]

This is direct off Yahoo7 Sport

Bathurst great Skaife quits V8s - Yahoo!7 Sport

Bathurst great Skaife quits V8s
AAP - October 29, 2008, 1:13 pm

Five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Mark Skaife has announced his retirement from fulltime V8 Supercar racing.

Skaife is among the sport's greatest champions, winning five Bathursts and five Australian touring car championships in a career which started in a Nissan Gazelle in 1987.

The 41-year-old retires with more touring car/V8 round wins than any other driver, taking out 40 of the 211 rounds he has contested.

With fellow V8 champions including Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander looking on, Skaife drew the curtain on his full-time driving career in Melbourne after more than a decade as Holden's highest-profile driver.

Skaife admitted the decision to quit had been difficult, but acknowledged it was the right time to move on.

"Motor racing has been my life for the past 21 years, and as any professional sportsman will attest, if you have a love and passion for what you are doing, then retirement is not something you ever easily consider," Skaife said.

 

[Zuicider]

i hope skaife doesnt take over hrt, or their workers will be running from there like hell fire. good driver but ****ty angry attitude

 

[88GreenVN]

Skafy will just end up like Crompton - racing Aussie race cars as the V8 super cars have got very boring.

I like the new Toyota Aussie race car at the QLD Indy race. (Phil Ward said he could have 10 car makers by 2010) Bring it on.

 

[Reaper]

i hope skaife doesnt take over hrt, or their workers will be running from there like hell fire. good driver but ****ty angry attitude

He has owned it for several years ever since Walkinshaw went broke a while back. It was briefly bailed out by Holden and shortly there after sold to Skaife. I understand that Walkinshaw does have a stake in it again now.

Reaper

 

[minux]

i hope skaife doesnt take over hrt, or their workers will be running from there like hell fire. good driver but ****ty angry attitude

You fail.

Skaife has owned HRT since 2003. Amazing how all the workers ran like hell fire...

Only reason I tuned into V8's was to hope for skaifeys next win. Now i can turn the crap off for good.

 

[Torquative]

well you can flame me al you want but i didnt grow up in the Brock era, I grew up in the Skaife era so its a bit tough for me, Skaifes my #1 driver. I have 21x 1:18 scale model cars with the Skaife name on the window with more to come, I have my dash autographed by Skaifey with a personal message to me. Autographed limited edition photos, even a birthday card from the man for my 18th, so yeh its a bit tough for me.

But on the other side, I look forward to Will Davison taking the seat so we can do what ford have done to us, take an up coming rising star and turn them into a bathurst winning champion :thumbsup:

 

[Full Spectrum]

When my spaz brother was in hospital a few years back, We sent emails to FPV and 888 racing to give him a cheer up. FPV sent him a letter get well. 888 sent him a little saying they were in the process of changing sponsor. This all took 2 months..
So just to be a smart **** as he was ford and i was holden, I contacted HRT.. They sent him a letter poster hat!.. And wasn't he shocked all signed by skaife and Kelly.

He was always seen as an arrogant prick, But in person he wasn't usually a gentlemen which i never had an issue with.

On his driving. I started to believe his bad luck was starting to get on top of him. He was still a fast driver, But that bad luck was weighing him down. Then bathurst his track the man who is the fastest around there, He crashed the car in front and it might have hurt him more then anything else.
I hope he drives in endurance races still we shouldn't loose him altogether.

 

[VT-565]

(Phil Ward said he could have 10 car makers by 2010)

Like who??

Hyundai? lol.

 

[hingo1983]

I think Skaifey is still a quick driver, especially around Bathurst. Hopefully he stays on for the enduros like Seto. Bloody good bloke.

 

[Torquative]

yeh he said he'll stay on as an enduro driver. Imagine car HRT #2 Skaife/Seton at Bathurst :thumbsup: