2007 V8 Supercar season

The 2007 V8 Supercar season is the ninth V8 Supercar Championship Series. The season began on 4 March and finished on 2 December. The season consists of 14 rounds covering all states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as rounds in New Zealand and Bahrain.

The 2007 season is significant in that two new models of cars are being used by the teams. The Holden VE Commodore is a completely new car and the Ford BF Falcon consists of several changes from the previous model. These cars debuted at the first round of the season at the Clipsal 500.

This season is also significant in that Channel Seven broadcast the series for the first time since 1997, after Channel Ten had rights to the series for the past ten years.

[edit] Pre-season

The 2007 pre-season began with a number of driver and team changes which occurred during December 2006 and January 2007. The most important of the driver changes being Greg Murphy moving to Tasman Motorsport from Supercheap Auto Racing and Steven Richards changing not only teams, but also manufacturers by moving from the Holden based Jack Daniel's Racing to the Ford Performance Racing team.

A number of team changes also occurred during the off-season with Vodafone being the naming sponsor for Triple Eight Race Engineering and Jim Beam joining forces with the Dick Johnson Racing team.

Most of the team launches occurred during late January and early February with a few exceptions, including the launch of Mark Winterbottom's FPR car in early January. As well as the individual team launches, an official season launch was held in Sydney's Martin Place on the 15th February.

A number of testing days were also held during the pre-season. These tests were conducted at the two race circuits used as test tracks, Queensland Raceway (TeamVodafone, DJR and WPS Racing) and Winton Raceway (most Victorian based teams including HRT, Ford Performance Racing, Toll HSV Dealer Team and Jack Daniel's Racing). Both of these major tests were conducted on the 19 February 2007.

One of the other major stories of the 2007 pre-season involved both of Holden's most supported teams, being the Holden Racing Team and the Toll HSV Dealer Team. Both teams temporarily had their TEGA licences revoked meaning they would not be able to compete in the championship. This was due to issues relating to the ownership of both teams.^[1] This problem related to the ownership of the teams, where under V8 Supercar regulations, one person can only own one team. Officially, Mark Skaife owns HRT and John Kelly (father of Todd and Rick) owns Toll HSV Dealer Team, however the close relationship between the two teams and the presence of Tom Walkinshaw in both teams clouded the ownership of both teams.^[2] The teams had their licenses reinstated temporarily pending the presentation of documents proving the ownership of each team to TEGA. On the 22 February 2007, the Toll HSV Dealer Team produced the required documents and has been fully reinstated to the championship,^[3] and HRT was cleared to race on 27 February 2007 after satisfying TEGA that Mark Skaife is the true owner of the team.^[4]

[edit] Teams and Drivers

The following teams and drivers have been confirmed or are currently speculated for the 2007 V8 Supercar season. Drivers are numbered as per the official 2007 entry list listed on the V8 Supercar website.

Team	Manufacturer	Car model	No	Drivers	Race weekends	Sandown 500 Drivers	Bathurst 1000 Drivers
Toll HSV Dealer Team	Holden	VE Commodore	1	Rick Kelly	All	Rick Kelly Paul Radisich	Rick Kelly Garth Tander
			16	Garth Tander	All	Craig Baird Garth Tander	Craig Baird Paul Radisich
Holden Racing Team	Holden	VE Commodore	2 200	Mark Skaife Mark Skaife	1-8,10-13 14	Glenn Seton Tony Longhurst	Mark Skaife Todd Kelly
			22	Todd Kelly	All	Nathan Pretty Todd Kelly	Nathan Pretty Glenn Seton
Tasman Motorsport	Holden	VE Commodore	3	Jason Richards	All	Mark Noske Jay Verdnik	Mark Noske Jay Verdnik
			51	Greg Murphy	All	Greg Murphy Jason Richards	Greg Murphy Jason Richards
Stone Brothers Racing	Ford	BF Falcon	4	James Courtney	All	James Courtney David Besnard	James Courtney David Besnard
			9	Russell Ingall	All	Russell Ingall Luke Youlden	Russell Ingall Luke Youlden
Ford Performance Racing	Ford	BF Falcon	5	Mark Winterbottom	All	Mark Winterbottom Matthew Halliday	Matthew Halliday Owen Kelly
			6	Steven Richards	All	Owen Kelly Steven Richards	Steven Richards Mark Winterbottom
Jack Daniel's Racing	Holden	VE Commodore	7	Shane Price	All	Shane Price Jack Perkins	Shane Price Jack Perkins
		VZ Commodore VE Commodore	11	Jack Perkins Marcus Marshall	1-12 13-14	Marcus Marshall Kayne Scott	Marcus Marshall Kayne Scott
WPS Racing	Ford	BF Falcon	8	Max Wilson	All	Max Wilson Michael Caruso	Max Wilson Jason Bargwanna
			10	Jason Bargwanna	All	Jason Bargwanna Grant Denyer	Grant Denyer Michael Caruso
Team BOC	Ford	BF Falcon	12	Andrew Jones	All	Andrew Jones Simon Wills	Andrew Jones Simon Wills
			14	Brad Jones Simon Wills	1-3 4-14	Damien White Christian Murchison	Damien White Christian Murchison
Dick Johnson Racing	Ford	BF Falcon	17	Steven Johnson	All	Steven Johnson Will Davison	Steven Johnson Will Davison
			18	Will Davison	All	Alex Davison Andrew Thompson	Alex Davison Andrew Thompson
Supercheap Auto Racing	Holden	VZ Commodore VE Commodore	20	Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel	1-6,8-14 7	Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel	Paul Dumbrell Paul Weel
		VE Commodore	50 100	Cameron McConville Cameron McConville	1-2,4-14 3	Cameron McConville David Reynolds	Cameron McConville David Reynolds
Team Kiwi Racing	Ford	BF Falcon	021	Adam Macrow Paul Radisich Shane Van Gisbergen	1 2-4 8-14	Shane Van Gisbergen John McIntyre	Shane Van Gisbergen John McIntyre
Britek Motorsport	Ford	BF Falcon	25	Jason Bright	All	Jason Bright Adam Macrow	Jason Bright Adam Macrow
			26	Alan Gurr	All	Alan Gurr Warren Luff	Alan Gurr Warren Luff
Garry Rogers Motorsport	Holden	VZ Commodore VE Commodore	33	Lee Holdsworth	All	Dean Canto Lee Holdsworth	Dean Canto Lee Holdsworth
		VE Commodore	34	Dean Canto	All	Greg Ritter Cameron McLean	Greg Ritter Cameron McLean
Team Sirromet Wines	Holden	VZ Commodore	39	Fabian Coulthard Steve Ellery Owen Kelly	1-6,8-10 7 11-14	Fabian Coulthard Chris Pither	Fabian Coulthard Chris Pither
		VE Commodore	67	Paul Morris	All	Paul Morris Steve Ellery	Paul Morris Steve Ellery
Autobarn Racing	Holden	VZ Commodore	55	Steve Owen	All	Steve Owen Tony D'Alberto	Steve Owen Tony D'Alberto
Team Vodafone	Ford	BF Falcon	88	Jamie Whincup	All	Allan Simonsen Richard Lyons	Allan Simonsen Richard Lyons
			888	Craig Lowndes	All	Jamie Whincup Craig Lowndes	Craig Lowndes Jamie Whincup
Paul Cruickshank Racing	Ford	BF Falcon	111	John Bowe	All	Jonathon Webb John Bowe	Jonathon Webb John Bowe

[edit] Race Calendar

Rd.	Race Title	Circuit	City / State	Date	Winner	Team	Report
1	Clipsal 500 Adelaide	Adelaide Street Circuit	Adelaide, South Australia	1 - 4 Mar	Todd Kelly	Holden Racing Team	Report
2	BigPond 400	Barbagallo Raceway	Wanneroo, Western Australia	23 - 25 Mar	Garth Tander	Toll HSV Dealer Team	Report
3	PlaceMakers V8 Supercars	Pukekohe Park Raceway	Pukekohe, New Zealand	20 - 22 Apr	Rick Kelly	Toll HSV Dealer Team	Report
4	Winton	Winton Motor Raceway	Benalla, Victoria	18 - 20 May	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	Report
5	Eastern Creek	Eastern Creek Raceway	Sydney, New South Wales	9 - 11 Jun	Mark Skaife	Holden Racing Team	Report
6	Skycity Triple Crown	Hidden Valley Raceway	Darwin, Northern Territory	22 - 24 Jun	Craig Lowndes	Team Vodafone	Report
7	Queensland 300	Queensland Raceway	Ipswich, Queensland	20 - 22 Jul	Garth Tander	Toll HSV Dealer Team	Report
8	Jim Beam 400	Oran Park Raceway	Sydney, New South Wales	17 - 19 Aug	Lee Holdsworth	Garry Rogers Motorsport	Report
9	Just Car Insurance 500	Sandown Raceway	Melbourne, Victoria	14 - 16 Sept	Craig Lowndes Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	Report
10	Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000	Mount Panorama	Bathurst, New South Wales	4 - 7 Oct	Craig Lowndes Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	Report
11	V8 Supercar Challenge	Gold Coast Street Circuit	Surfers Paradise, Queensland	18 - 21 Oct	Garth Tander	Toll HSV Dealer Team	Report
12	Desert 400	Bahrain International Circuit	Manama, Bahrain	1 - 3 Nov	Mark Winterbottom	Ford Performance Racing	Report
13	Falken Tasmania Challenge	Symmons Plains Raceway	Launceston, Tasmania	16 - 18 Nov	Jamie Whincup	Team Vodafone	Report
14	Dunlop Grand Finale	Phillip Island	Phillip Island, Victoria	30 Nov - 2 Dec	Garth Tander	Toll HSV Dealer Team	Report

[edit] Changes

[edit] Driver changes

• In a joint statement released, Greg Murphy will drive for Tasman Motorsport in 2007, with Paul Dumbrell replacing Murphy at Supercheap Auto Racing.^[5]
• On 1st January 2007, FPR announced Steven Richards as the teams second driver.^[6]
• Andrew Jones will join his father's and uncle's team and race in the second Team BOC car.^[7]
• Jack Daniel's Racing will run two V8 Supercar rookies, Shane Price and Jack Perkins in the 2007 season.^[8]
• Alan Gurr will drive for Britek Motorsport as the teammate to Jason Bright.^[9]
• John Bowe will drive for the Paul Cruikshank Racing team in his final year of V8 Supercar racing before retirement.^[10]
• As of the 14th Of May, 2007 Simon Wills will take over the #14 Team BOC car from the retired Brad Jones.
• After Bathurst Fabian Coulthard was dropped from Team Sirromet Wines older VZ Commodore and replaced with Ford Performance Racing's endurance co-driver, Owen Kelly.
• Between the Bahrain and Symmons Plains rounds Jack Perkins stood aside from his Jack Daniel's Racing VE Commodore citing medical reasons. Recent Carrera Cup star and former Champ Car racer, Marcus Marshall returns to the team after racing in the #11 car at Sandown and Bathurst to complete the season.

[edit] Team changes

• Triple Eight Race Engineering will have Vodafone as their main sponsor in 2007 replacing Betta Electrical.^[11]
• Orccon will return to V8 Supercars as a sponsor for FPR.^[12]
• WPS Racing has undergone a complete re-structure of the team with Team Principal Mark Larkham leaving.^[13]
• At the DJR season launch on 6 February 2007, it was announced that Jim Beam would be the main naming sponsor of the team.^[14]

[edit] Rule Changes

• Points will only be awarded to the top 15 finishers.^[15]
  
• The top ten shootout will only be run at the endurance events.^[15]
  
• A single 45 minute qualifying session will be held in a fashion similar to Formula One, were all cars compete in the first 15 minutes. The quickest 20 will then complete in the second 15 minutes and the quickest 10 will complete in the final 15 minutes.^[15]
  
• No rounds will be dropped for the championship.^[15]
  
• There will be a greater spread of points between the point scoring positions.^[15]

[edit] Results and Standings

[edit] Drivers Championship

Pos Driver Make No Penalty Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Rd 11 Rd 12 Rd 13 Rd 14 Pts 1 Garth Tander 16 0 30 72 58 63 28 46 72 20 45 Ret 58 38 32 63 625 2 Jamie Whincup 88 0 45 11 48 64 37 28 52 32 72 72 40 0 68 54 623 3 Craig Lowndes 888 0 15 35 29 25 44 65 50 38 72 72 28 37 38 44 592 4 Rick Kelly 1 0 58 57 58 51 52 60 23 24 60 Ret 23 30 25 31 552 5 Mark Winterbottom 5 0 20 33 26 8 29 24 32 32 30 24 13 65 45 39 420 6 Todd Kelly 22 10 66 19 47 21 52 40 16 36 27 Ret 0 6 5 56 381 7 Steven Richards 6 0 24 13 18 25 35 30 4 38 51 24 37 12 55 14 380 8 Mark Skaife 2 0 21 54 29 0 65 50 30 24 Ret 10 11 41 44 379 9 James Courtney 4 0 55 6 39 12 13 0 32 11 0 60 29 52 22 28 359 10 Will Davison 18 0 13 37 28 12 20 22 40 22 Ret 51 12 40 18 28 343 11 Russell Ingall 9 0 37 11 27 22 22 6 30 26 33 Ret 49 34 4 10 311 12 Steven Johnson 17 0 31 43 4 25 27 6 6 14 Ret 51 14 44 29 10 304 13 Greg Murphy 51 0 16 26 15 26 11 3 16 9 9 45 32 22 8 12 250 14 Jason Richards 3 0 6 8 11 0 4 25 14 31 9 45 40 6 36 0 235 15 Lee Holdsworth 33 0 8 24 4 13 5 11 16 47 39 Ret 8 5 9 20 209 16 Dean Canto 34 0 8 0 0 3 0 17 6 0 39 Ret 12 24 13 3 125 17 Max Wilson 8 0 0 4 8 9 0 13 5 15 Ret 33 21 0 0 2 110 18 Jason Bargwanna 10 0 3 0 0 8 10 4 3 6 Ret 33 19 23 0 0 109 19 Steve Owen 55 0 0 5 0 21 0 9 0 10 18 36 2 0 2 0 103 20 Paul Radisich 16 0 6 21 9 60 Ret 96 21 Jason Bright 25 0 17 0 0 20 13 0 0 5 Ret Ret Ret 0 9 7 71 22 Paul Morris 67 0 0 4 0 10 10 14 16 0 6 Ret 0 0 6 4 70 23 Paul Dumbrell 20 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8 36 15 0 6 4 0 69 24 Owen Kelly 39 0 51 12 0 0 0 0 63 24 Richard Lyons 88 0 24 39 63 24 Allan Simonsen 88 0 24 39 63 27 David Besnard 4 0 0 60 60 28 Tony D'Alberto 55 0 18 36 54 29 Paul Weel 20 0 0 36 15 51 30 John Bowe 111 0 0 3 2 3 0 4 5 0 15 9 6 0 0 0 47 31 Craig Baird 16 0 45 Ret 45 31 Nathan Pretty 22 0 27 18 45 33 Matt Halliday 5 0 30 12 42 34 Cameron McConville 50 0 3 0 5 5 0 0 3 0 Ret DNS 17 0 0 2 35 34 Luke Youlden 9 0 33 Ret 33 36 Alex Davison 18 0 Ret 30 30 36 Glenn Seton 22 0 12 18 30 36 Andrew Thompson 18 0 Ret 30 30 36 Shane Price 7 0 0 4 0 12 0 0 0 0 Ret Ret Ret 14 0 0 30 40 Cameron McLean 34 0 0 27 27 40 Greg Ritter 34 0 0 27 27 42 Jonathan Webb 111 0 15 9 24 43 Shane Van Gisbergen 021 0 4 0 Ret 5 6 2 6 23 44 Andrew Jones 12 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 11 Ret Ret Ret 0 0 0 19 45 Tony Longhurst 2 0 12 12 45 Simon Wills 14 0 0 0 0 0 8 Ret Ret 2 2 0 0 12 47 Fabian Coulthard 39 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 6 0 0 8 48 Michael Caruso 10 0 Ret 6 6 48 Grant Denyer 10 0 Ret 6 6 48 Steve Ellery 67 0 0 6 Ret 6 48 Jack Perkins 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 Ret Ret 0 0 6 48 Marcus Marshall 11 0 0 Ret 6 0 6 53 Alan Gurr 26 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Ret Ret 0 0 0 0 2 Adam Macrow 25 0 0 Ret Ret 0 Brad Jones 14 0 0 0 0 0 Chris Pither 39 0 0 0 0 John McIntyre 021 0 0 Ret 0 Kayne Scott 11 0 0 Ret 0 David Reynolds 50 0 0 DNS 0 Warren Luff 26 0 Ret Ret 0 Mark Noske 3 0 Ret Ret 0 Jay Verdnik 3 0 Ret Ret 0 Christian Murchison 14 0 Ret DNS 0 Damien White 14 0 Ret DNS 0

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Finished, in points Blue Finished, no points Purple Did not finish (Ret) Not classified (NC) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Blank Did not participate Injured (INJ) Excluded (EX)

[edit] Team Championship

Pos Team Make Penalty Rd 1 Rd 2 Rd 3 Rd 4 Rd 5 Rd 6 Rd 7 Rd 8 Rd 9 Rd 10 Rd 11 Rd 12 Rd 13 Rd 14 Pts 1 Toll HSV Dealer Team 0 88 129 116 114 80 106 95 44 105 0 81 958 2 Team Vodafone 0 60 46 77 89 81 93 102 70 96 111 68 893 3 Holden Racing Team 0 87 73 76 21 117 90 46 60 39 18 10 637 4 Ford Performance Racing 0 44 46 44 33 64 54 36 70 81 36 50 558 5 Stone Brothers Racing 0 92 17 66 34 35 6 62 37 33 60 78 520 6 Jim Beam Racing 0 44 80 32 37 47 28 46 36 0 81 26 457 7 Tasman Motorsport 0 22 34 26 26 15 28 30 40 9 45 72 347 8 Garry Rogers Motorsport 0 16 24 4 16 5 28 22 47 39 27 20 248 9 WPS Racing 0 3 4 8 17 10 17 8 21 0 39 40 167 10 Autobarn Racing 0 0 5 0 21 0 9 0 10 18 36 2 101 11 Supercheap Auto Racing 0 3 0 5 5 0 0 3 8 36 15 17 92 12 Team Sirromet Wines 0 0 6 0 10 10 14 16 6 6 0 0 68 13 Britek Motorsport 0 17 0 0 22 13 0 0 5 0 0 0 57 14 Paul Cruickshank Racing 0 0 3 2 3 0 4 5 0 15 9 6 47 15 Team Kiwi Racing 0 0 6 21 9 4 0 0 5 45 16 Team BOC 0 0 0 0 8 0 0 0 19 0 0 2 29 17 Jack Daniel's Racing 0 0 4 0 12 0 0 6 0 0 0 22 [edit] References ^ "Paper tiger laid down the law", www.foxsports.com.au, 20-02-2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.  ^ "HRT black flagged", www.news.com.au, 20-02-2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-21.  ^ "HSV thrown V8 lifeline", www.v8supercar.com.au, 22-02-2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.  ^ "HRT to start in Clipsal 500", www.v8supercar.com.au, 27-02-2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-28.  ^ "Official: Greg Murphy joins Tasman Motorsport for 2007", www.v8supercar.com.au, 14-12-2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  ^ "Official: Richards moves to Ford", www.foxsports.com.au, 01-01-2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  ^ "Team BOC seeing double in 2007", www.v8supercar.com.au, 09-12-2006. Retrieved on 07-02-2007.  ^ "Price and Perkins Jnr step up to main V8 Supercar Series in 2007", www.v8supercar.com.au, 03-01-2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  ^ "IRWIN industrial tools to enter V8 Supercar racing", www.v8dailydump.com.au, 23-01-2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-23.  ^ "John Bowe Announces V8 Supercar Retirement", www.v8supercar.com.au, 08-02-2007. Retrieved on 08-02-2007.  ^ "Vodafone to title sponsor V8 team", www.autosport.com, 09-11-2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  ^ "Orrcon jumps out of the blocks first", www.v8supercar.com.au, 01-01-2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  ^ "Larkham and WPS Racing part ways", www.v8supercar.com.au, 19-01-2007. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  ^ "Johnson secures Jim Beam deal", www.foxsports.com.au, 06-02-2007. Retrieved on 07-02-2007.  ^ a b c d e "V8 Supercar rules makeover", www.smh.com.au, 03-09-2006. Retrieved on 2007-01-20.  [edit] External links Official V8 Supercar website 2007 Racing Results Archive v • d • e Australian Touring Car Racing Australian Touring Car Championship 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 V8Supercar Championship Series 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • List of Australian Touring Car and V8 Supercar Champions •