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Adelaide 500 recap

The 2018 Clipsal 500 is the season opener for the category now known as Supercars. This year's event was history making on four fronts: seeing the Audi Sport LMS R8 cars race in Australia for the first time; the debut run for the new SuperUtes category; the first major event for Holden in 2018 after ceasing manufacturing in 2017; and the debut of the Opel sourced ZB Commodore in a trim never to be seen on Aussie roads.   It's the twentieth time that Adelaide has hosted the opening round and the street circuit, renowned for its ability to bite any driver that blinks, didn't fail to do so again.   The program is always full at the Clipsal, with the headline act backed by a solid group of support categories including Improved Production cars, Carrera Cup,  Stadium Trucks, the Dunlop Super 2 series (formerly known as the Development Series), and the Touring Car Masters.   New to Australia were the Audis. There's a strong competition base in this category and they joined the Australian racing scene for the first time after successful seasons in the South East Asian region.   But it was eyes on the ZB Commodore as the new bodyshape hit the track for the first time on Friday. Fourteen of the ZB shapes ventured out and, as expected, it was Jamie Whincup in the Red Bull team that topped the timing chart first up.   However Whincup would also be the first in the Commodores to hit the walls in the notoriously fickle street circuit and necessitating some frantic behind the scenes repair work overnight. Qualifying had Kiwi gun Shane van Gisbergen top qualifying and he'd go on to win the weekend's races.   The Commodore itself has seen much debate, has divided purists and general punters, and with a non V8 powertrain and FWD/AWD inside its hatchback styled body in the road-going versions, further, in many opinions, takes Supercars away from its production based roots.   The Stadium Super Trucks have proved to be a crowd pleaser since they commenced racing in Australia, with the 2018 season seeing a famous Australian name in the charts. Brabham. Matthew Brabham.   Proving that petrol runs deep in his veins, Brabham would close out the weekend with a first and two thirds. The weekend was not without incident for the high flying machines, with one driver hitting a wall just before the finish line after a collision with another driver. Somehow the vehicle made it across the line in a cloud of smoke sans a rear wheel.   As always, the Touring Car Masters, or TCM, put on a show and Rare Spares ambassador John Bowe didn't hold back in his racing efforts. JB qualified third in the Wilson Security/PAYCE Holden Torana SL/R before setting the fastest lap in race one, but traffic early in the race had the Torana fall to mid field.   Race 2 was a better effort, with Bowe finishing second, and just three tenths behind Steven Johnson, son of his old racing partner, Dick. JB also managed to set the faster race time than Johnson and closed to within a tenth of the fastest ever race lap for the TCM at Adelaide, set by one John Bowe in 2017 at 1.29.28.   The Torana continued its form in Saturday's third race, taking the checkered flag a full half second ahead of Johnson in his Mustang, and again knocked on the door of the outright race record. Sunday's fourth and final race for the TCM category saw Johnson failing to finish, but Bowe avoided any entanglements to take out the race, winning the weekend, and seeing just two one hundredths of a second needed to break his own race record, setting a 1.29.30.   As a Rare Spares ambassador, John Bowe is an ideal fit for the Touring Car Masters as well, as Rare Spares have parts and panels for the kinds of cars that race in this spectator friendly category. You can find out more about Rare Spares at www.rarespares.net.au   Were you at the Clipsal 500? What did you think? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below.  

Ute Racing in Australia, What’s Next?

Over the past 2 decades, the V8 Utes became a staple on the travelling Supercars roadshow, with drivers jumping behind the wheel of modified production XR8 Falcon and SS Commodore Utes as a support card to the main events. The racing was fierce, fast and often akin to a dodgem car race as carnage often ensued! The category was used as a proving ground for young talent with well-known racers such as Warren Luff, Grant Denyer, Cameron McConville and Nathan Pretty cut their teeth against a host of series regulars like Ryal Harris, Craig Dontas and Kim Jane. After well over 300 races, the category came to an end at the closing of the 2017 season, making way for the new SuperUtes category in 2018. To say the reception for the new format has been mixed is an understatement, as understandably many are upset at the prospect of aussie V8 powered utes being replaced by diesel powered duel cabs. In this blog, we’ll take a quick look at everything we know about the new category and make a few predictions on how the racing will unfold at round 1 at the Adelaide 500 this weekend. Based on the popular ute segment that is dominating Australian new car sales, the category is open to the Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Nissan Navara, Holden Colorado, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 with all bar the Navara slated to be on the grid in Adelaide. The utes will require a minimum weight of 1800kgs, rear-wheel drive, turbo-diesel power and a control gearbox, rear axle assembly and ECU. Riding considerably lower than their production counterparts and producing power around 340bhp (250kw) and 500 ft/lbs of torque the utes will be lapping the circuit at a fairly brisk pace! Past series champion Ryal Harris, popular competitor Craig Dontas and 2016 Dakar Winner Toby Price headline the driver taking to the new series with the latter competing in select events that don’t interfere with his international desert motorcycle racing commitments. The big question all spectators are asking is “will it be exciting?” and with only short clips from testing gracing the Supercars website no one really knows. The utes are not alarmingly fast, nor do they sound particularly great, however all will be forgiven if the racing is good! Come quarter past two on Saturday afternoon all will be answered. As for our predictions? It’s hard to bet against Ryal Harris although everything Toby Price touches he seems to be able to drive/ride the wheels off it. We anticipate the first of (hopefully) many battle royal’s in Australia’s newest racing category. What do you think of the new SuperUte series? Who do you think will take the chocolates this weekend? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments below.

Rare Spares Summernats 31 Wrap-up

Summernats 31 came to an end after four days of tyre shredding action in Canberra on Sunday 7th January. A huge success, this year’s Summernats drew in an incredible crowd of 105,000 and a total of 2,105 vehicle entrants – one of the festivals greatest turnouts in its long and illustrious history.   “We saw fantastic cars, fantastic behaviour, a great program of events and despite the extreme weather that we have experienced here, our health and safety team worked diligently to make sure our all of our patrons came and went home safely,” said Summernats co-owner Andy Lopez.   The most prestigious award at Summernats is the Grand Champion and for 2018 the honour was awarded to Grant Connor and his spectacular maroon coloured 1967 Ford Falcon, impressing the judges for its near perfection in all areas of design and performance. For owner Grant, it was a special moment.   “What an unbelievable feeling. I never imagined I would ever win Grand Champion. I was hoping for a couple of smaller awards, but this is surreal. I have to thank my family and partner for all of their support.” For Rare Spares, the event was a huge weekend and a massive success! Offering 20% of all orders placed and paid for at the stand, the Rare Spares Traders Pavilion was abuzz with punters for the duration of the four days.   Headlining promotions for Rare Spares at the event was our ‘Rare Experience’ promotion, which will give winners the ultimate motorsport weekend at the 2018 Adelaide 500 in March! To enter, patrons were given a key by the Rare Spares girls at gate 7, which was to be taken to the Rare Spares pavilion where the keys could be entered into a lock. If the key unlocked the lock, then the patron was awarded a prize. The lucky winner of the Rare Experience was D.Clark from South Australia, who can’t wait for their ‘money can’t buy’ experience.   Once again proving itself as the nation’s best automotive festival, Summernats will return in early 2019 for the 32nd time, and at Rare Spares, we’re already counting down the days!   Were you at Summernats 31? We’d love to hear your stories, head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know about your Summernats in the comments section below.

Rare Spares will see you at Summernats!

In the coming weeks, Rare Spares will join tens of thousands of punters in making the annual pilgrimage to Summernats. Undoubtedly Australia’s biggest celebration of all things horsepower, Summernats returns on January 4-7 for the 31st time. At the event, Rare Spares will be running a number of sales and promotions where you could WIN big!   Visit the Rare Spares girls at gate 7 to grab your very own ‘Rare Key’**, by doing so you will be going into the draw to win some truly awesome prizes including platinum passes to Summernats 32, Street Machine magazine subscriptions, Meguiar’s car detailing packs, Rare Spares gift vouchers and much, much more! To find out if you’ve been successful, make your way over to the Rare Spares stand in the Rare Spares Traders Pavilion to see whether your key fits in our prize barrel. Your odds stand at an impressive 1 in 10 chance of taking home some goodies, so don’t miss out! To celebrate our favourite time of the year, Rare Spares have decided to take 20% off* all orders placed and paid for at the Rare Spares stand during the event period! But wait it doesn’t finish there! When you swing by the stand you can enter your details to go in the running to win the ultimate motorsport weekend via ‘Rare Experience’. The winner will receive flights, accommodation and tickets to the opening round of the 2018 Supercars Championship at the Adelaide 500 in March! Along with appearances by John Bowe and Gary O’Brien as well as display cars including Bowe’s TCM race winning Torana and a number of ‘work-in-progress’ cars; the Rare Spares stand is the place to be at Summernats 31!!Summernats is must-see for car enthusiasts and an experience you’ll never forget, so don’t miss out on the event of a lifetime! What are your favourite Summernats memories? Head over to the Rare Spares Facebook page and let us know in the comments section below. *excluding vouchers, American Legend Wheels and items already on special ** For full terms and conditions see the online entry form at the Rare Spares stand. Permit No: ACT TP 17/02272