I put this in Gen3, probably the wrong place. 

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Quote from: stevo qld on August 14, 2023, 12:35:24 PM

QuoteFord team linked to Camaro Supercars switch
Story by Andrew van Leeuwen •
18h

Talk of a sensational defection from one of the five Ford teams has been gaining traction since the recent Sydney SuperNight.

It comes as the Blue Oval squads continue to struggle against the Camaro-shod outfits due to a lack of rear tyre life.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/motorsports/ford-team-linked-to-camaro-supercars-switch/ar-AA1fd3Dj?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=c28abfceaf6f47859716100f3bf3f1c4&ei=10

Quote

Quote from: AlbertM on August 15, 2023, 03:15:15 PMThere it is. Was going to put that up in the silly season thread but couldn't find it.

Grove or BRT likely, WAU less so. DJR and Tickford very unlikely.

Albert got me thinking. 

DJR: Dick is one of my all-time Holden Heroes but seems to have Ford support, albeit apparently reduced since Penske left. It does have a new major owner.

Tickford: Major owner is a former Holden driver, but they seem to be heavily involved with Ford after market and performance parts.

WAU: Just switched and it seems a bit soon to switch back.

BRT: Major owner was a Holden driver, but they have 2 new Gen 3 Fords. A possibility. Also a possibilty that they will link their efforts with former team BJR. They only started racing Ford because that was the only second hand equipment available at a suitable economic level.

Grove: They have a racing history with 888. Their Ford allegiance, like one driver and the sponsor are legacy situations from previous owners.

If someone changes, Grove does seem the most likely. Thats an IF! All 5 organisations have a previous GM (Holden) association.

Once again, the rumors surround the 4 car organizations reducing to 2 car teams abound.

The SCT money could be in jeopardy with sonny failing to fire and there are a few other perpetual back markers and midfielders that are effectively pay drivers bringing sponsor dollars to the team.

QuoteFord team linked to Camaro Supercars switch
Story by Andrew van Leeuwen •
18h

Talk of a sensational defection from one of the five Ford teams has been gaining traction since the recent Sydney SuperNight.

It comes as the Blue Oval squads continue to struggle against the Camaro-shod outfits due to a lack of rear tyre life.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/sport/motorsports/ford-team-linked-to-camaro-supercars-switch/ar-AA1fd3Dj?ocid=msedgntphdr&cvid=c28abfceaf6f47859716100f3bf3f1c4&ei=10

Re-reading the news, I noticed that Kai Allen is being tipped, by the author at least, for a fully-fledged DJR Supercar Drive next year.

If so, could Anton de Pasquale be headed back to Erebus?

I continue to be delighted with the Brad Jones video explanations of Gen 3 advancements, problems and solutions.

Well done Brad and BJR 

888 apparently can't even get parity between its 3 cars. I wonder if the Nulon Cars are different again?

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/08/10/triple-eight-investigating-gen3-chassis-discrepancies/

There is too much nostalgia stuff on this thread.

Looking forward, perhaps Supercars should consider making their Gen 3 fixes, steering boxes, engines etc., align with NASCAR (Cup or Infinity) with a view of improving what they have now and aligning the cars in the next version.

Perhaps Mike can tell us if NASCAR's latest version has fewer mechanical problems, and less performance variation problems?

Let's face it, Supercars wants to make a travelling circus of 24 cars and lacks the resources of NASCAR, so why not make it a flying circus of NASCAR's.

Gen 3 has been a failure in many ways due to lack of resources.

If NASCAR rules were to be adopted, we would have more manufacturer branded cars than Forn and GM. It would also improve international drivers' chance of crossing to Australia for the Bathurst race.

Here is a thought! It is most unlikely.

SVG goes to USA.
Dane sells out of 888 and goes to USA.
Betty sells race permit to Supercars and they are trying to buy and cancel one entry.
Betty buys Danes holding in 888 and takes Will brown with her.

The problem is that Barry Ryan is a partner in the second car. It is unlikely, but he could link with BRT.
Barry Ryan, Blanchard and Image could be a great combination.

Dream on!

Quote from: AlbertM on August 06, 2023, 01:03:22 PMOr commercial sense? Ford manufacture and sell road cars to the general public. Supercars safety car is hardly their bread and butter.

...

Agreed, they sell very few Mustangs, but surely more than GM sells Camaros in Australia.

In fact, almost 3 out of every Ford vehicle delivered was a Raptor, 5145 of them, and topped the passenger car market.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/vfacts-july-2023-new-car-sales/

To be open, I could not find GM vehicles in the top 10.

So, following the rationale of the quote, the Ranger is the Ford bread and butter, and I would suggest the jam and cream.

Then we look at the course cars. There have been other companies come and go.

The support vehicles are a Safety Car-Ranger Raptor, a Mustang Course Car, a Ranger Raptor Recovery Vehicle, and a Medical Car Escape ST-Line. So, it follows that the Ford representation reflects their major sales and two minor types.

Ford Australia has pulled allegedly vital advertising dollars from Supercars telecasts and most races seem to be highligts only and with advertising from other companies.

I cannot even recall hearing about 'Ford Keys to the Circuit' and Fastest Lap'.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/08/03/ford-pulls-supercars-safety-car-and-advertising-support/

Ford obviously have more sales at stake than the low volume Mustang and GM have a great deal less.

Ford have more resources than Supercars and should be more involved in sorting out any of their alleged deficiencies.

PS: It has been suggested that Supercars selected the engine for use in the Mustang. It is a lovely engine, but very heavy, but I really doubt that the engine type was selected by Supercars.

I have problems with understanding the problem. 

First: Ford have far more resources than Supercars.

Second: With all their resources, Ford should be able to pinpoint the problem and ask Supercars to implement the fix.

Third: Ford, and their nominees, designed the body, aero and engine. They were given (allegedly) full access to the Supercar test results, including the Camaro. If they disagreed, why were some things signed off.

Maybe it is time to adopt the Camaro as the standard and request Ford come up with modification to its specifications changes to equalise the cars.

I feel that Ford have been a major player in their below standard design.

There is also the question of the quality of drivers. Obviously, Camaro have a lot of mid-fielders and back markers driving the cars, as well as a few front runners.

Ford, with less cars, seems to also have a lot of mid-fielders and back markers driving their cars? Seriously, who do they have, apart from Waters and Mostert, neither of which has displayed championship results in previous years although they did give it a shake?

I hope Ford get their act together soon and provide genuine competition.

(With TA2 being so successful, I wonder what TA1 does? must look it up.).

It is just Ford having yet another of their hissy fits.

Quote from: AlbertM on August 03, 2023, 07:03:40 PMWelp, if the decision was a result of Supercars blatant inaction on parity, who could blame them.

On the other hand Ford Australia are downsizing, (probably) leading to closure in the near future and the contract is simply up at the end of this season.

Hell-a funny reading the comments on other sites from the bowtie brigade. Questioning Ford's commitment to Supercars. Supercars paid GM to use Camaro. Now that's commitment...LOL!

There are multiple allegations in that lot. Would you care to provide some supporting evidence?

Quote from: skaifeman on August 03, 2023, 10:01:44 AMSo Reynolds looking likely to move on. Big question for me is if Penrite go with him?

https://www.speedcafe.com/2023/08/02/reynolds-on-market-as-team-18-weighs-options/

Reynolds has been, effectively, a pay driver for some time.

Without Penrite, why would any team want him? He is certainly not a championship contender, although once in the dim dark history, he did have a chance.

There seems to be a rule (unspoken) that any dubious act caught on camera and highlighted (spoken) by the talking heads must be passed to race HQ for attention. 

QuoteBritain's roads could be paralysed by Beijing with electric cars made in China with "major security issues", an industry figure has warned.

Professor Jim Saker, president of the Institute of the Motor Industry, says between 100,000 and 300,000 electric cars in Europe could be immobilised remotely by officials in China.

Saker warned that "the threat of connected electric vehicles flooding the country could be the most effective Trojan horse that the Chinese establishment has" if Beijing wanted to destabilise the UK economy.

Industry analysts have said that 30 electric car brands are preparing to target the UK market before the government's planned ban on the sale of petrol vehicles from 2030 – with many of those being based in China.

Saker said in a report that will go to manufacturers and regulators that he feared it was impossible to prevent the Chinese from including spyware in the vehicles that could be used to bring them to a halt simultaneously.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/beijing-can-bring-roads-to-standstill-with-electric-cars/news-story/1ef6f0e71ce7b3cf836ebef43969ab41

My Wife alerted me to this news. I found the story on Drive.

QuoteCargo ship fire sparks safety concerns over electric-car transport – report

By Jordan Mulach
15:5131 July 2023

Almost 500 electric cars are among the approximately 3800 vehicles onboard the cargo ship which caught fire off the Dutch coast last week – sparking fresh calls for the sea transport industry to implement better policies to put out fires involving electric vehicles.

A cargo ship fire off the Dutch coast last week has prompted the sea freight industry to assess safer practices for transporting electric cars, as blazes involving battery-powered vehicles are said to be harder to contain and manage than petrol and diesel fires.

As reported late last week, a fire broke out in the cargo hold of the Panama-registered 'Fremantle Highway' ship while it was transporting vehicles from Germany to Egypt – killing at least one crew member and leaving several others injured after they jumped overboard.

Initial overseas reports suggested there were just 25 electric cars among 2857 vehicles onboard the cargo ship, though news agency Reuters has since corrected this figure to 498 electric cars out of 3783 total vehicles.

The ship fire has not been officially attributed to an electric vehicle, however some overseas media reports, and the ship's owner have identified a battery-powered vehicle as a possible source of the blaze.

While the fire is reportedly under control, the Panama Maritime Authority has already launched an investigation into the cause of the blaze and how it can be prevented in the future.

According to Reuters, a spokesperson for the International Maritime Organisation – the peak body for global sea safety – said there are plans to "evaluate new measures next year for ships transporting electric vehicles", following a number of recent fires.

Though petrol and diesel-powered vehicles can also catch fire while being transported, electric-car fires burn with more than twice as much energy and are more difficult to put out due to the chemistry within most of their batteries.

The publication claims the new measures could include specific fire extinguishers for battery fires, as well as limits on the amount of charge in the batteries of electric cars being transported – although these proposals are yet to be implemented.

The Fremantle Highway cargo ship fire is already being highlighted as an example of why electric cars can present a greater risk of fires on ships, and why freight companies should introduce more safety procedures while transporting battery-powered vehicles across the sea.

Speaking to Reuters, Douglas Dillon – executive director of the Tri-state Maritime Safety Association – said the Fremantle Highway is a ship that uses a 'roll-on, roll-off' system, where cars are parked bumper-to-bumper in the cargo hold with little space around them.

If an electric car catches fire on the road, firefighters are trained to douse the road underneath the vehicle with water. Similarly, if a fire occurs on a train or truck transporting an electric car, the fire can be isolated by disconnecting a rail car or the truck trailer.

However, Mr Dillon claims these techniques are almost impossible to execute on a roll-on, roll-off cargo ship as there is significantly less space to access the vehicles – a factor which can increase the intensity of a fire and put firefighters at greater risk of injury.

John Frazee, a managing director of insurance broker Marsh, also told Reuters recent electric-vehicle fires on cargo ships has led to an increase in insurance prices for car makers and transport companies.

While Mr Frazee said he believes insurance companies will be pushing for safety standards to change for electric-car carrying cargo ships – by mandating battery-specific firefighting chemicals and equipment – the expert said he sees "no quick solution" to solving the problems presented by transporting electric vehicles.

As previously reported, the Fremantle Highway fire is the second on a car-carrying ship in the past month – following the death of two firefighters in Newark, New Jersey who were battling a blaze on the Grande Costa d'Avorio, which was holding 1200 vehicles.

It also follows the highly-publicised Felicity Ace incident in February 2022, which made headlines worldwide when its shipment of Volkswagen Group cars – such as Porsches, Audis, Bentleys, and Volkswagens – caught fire in the Atlantic Ocean.

Reportedly sparked by a Porsche Taycan electric car, the ship eventually sank approximately 405km from the Portuguese coastline – with the approximately 4000 cars onboard going down with it.

https://www.drive.com.au/news/electric-car-cargo-ship-fire-safety-concerns/