only a short time to the race that matters; Bathurst.

[ferrari fan]

It is 11 weeks away and we will be all either glued to the telie or congregating on a mountain to watch the one that counts.
Who do you think has got a chance and are we the forum members going to get together.
Biante team is apperantly not able to go and therefore we as forum members better organise something if this is wanted.
I for one will be there.
Most of the teams have named their lineups and from that we can start to deduct who has and who has not got a reasonable chance of winning.
FORD looks strong ,but so did they last year and Holden has won since 1999 every year.
Well have your say and express your hopes and aspirations.

[Footy]

Murphy,its the ONLY choice.or was that Skaife?:D

[Eliot Meadows]

Only 11 weeks!!!
Is it on yet?
Is it on yet?
Is it on yet?
I'm not even going to start counting down, 11 weeks is still too far away for me, I will leave it for another cupla munths before I start getting restless and stock up on essential "lounge lizard" supplies.


Go HOLDEN for seven in a row!!!!!!!

[Oh Five]

Going on past form i have to lean toward HSV (kmart) and HRT, if Murph wins again, it will prove he carried KRT.;)

[69Mach1]

This year will be number 7 in a row for Holden , it doesn't matter which Holden wins as long as it isn't Ambrose .

[wayno]

I'll say Holden will win again this year, but then again, I HAVE to say that! :D
HRT seem to be really getting their act together and I'm expecting big things from both of their cars. It will be very interesting to see how young James Courtney comes to terms with the place. The Castrol team are the other team to watch for mine. Richards and Dumbrell have proved they are both quick at the mountain.
Lastly the HSV teams lead car have a combination in Rick and Garth that I think will be worth watching.
If a Ford team had to win I would think it would be the Lowndes/Ellery car. I think these two will gell together really well at the mountain and be hugely competitive.
I'll be around from about Tuesday/Wednesday as per usual and am looking forward to catching up with a few other forum members. If anyone has an idea what they would like to do then please post some suggestions. I'm easy, and will be available to meet for a beer and a chat pretty much any day! ;)

[Martin Thomas]

HRT.... Tom is back. Was it just a coincidence that HRT started winning when Tom rocked up??

[biante11500]

im gonna go out on a limb and predict a ford win this year
either by, lowndes/ellery or ambrose or ingal. top holdens would be murphy,skaife,steven richards/ kelly/tander there could be a big wreck and a back marker could win also! some sentimental favorites would be JONES/BOWE SETON/JOHNSON i just hope its a great race and may the best team win!:D

[AmonFan]

I'll be brave and say Jason Richards and Jamie Whincup ;).... Id like Cam McConville up there but im a lttle worried about his co driver, lol......

[HSVLOVER]

hope lownds wins but then again with ellery co-driver he will prob crash as usual, come to think of it i do not think ellery has finished the great race in the top 15 ( may be wrong )

[VXfan]

Got to be HRT for me.I'm going to stick my neck out here and predict an upset win for Gentleman Jim and James Courtney.Just have a good feeling about this combo:)

[wayno]

Originally posted by HSVLOVER
hope lownds wins but then again with ellery co-driver he will prob crash as usual, come to think of it i do not think ellery has finished the great race in the top 15 ( may be wrong )

You are. Remember his first stirling drive with Tony Longhurst in the Castrol Falcon. Steve double stinted and impressed all and sundry that day, helping the team onto the podium in his first attempt at the race.

[Dingo]

Originally posted by wayno
You are. Remember his first stirling drive with Tony Longhurst in the Castrol Falcon. Steve double stinted and impressed all and sundry that day, helping the team onto the podium in his first attempt at the race.
And don't forget Ellery finished 3rd in 2003...

[Gan88]

And was on target for victory had it not been for Radisich in 1999.

[TBVX05]

1. MarkSkaife
2. Rick Kelly
3. Greg Murphy

Ambrose to do a Jack Brabham and fail to get off the start! :D

[wayno]

Originally posted by VXfan
Got to be HRT for me.I'm going to stick my neck out here and predict an upset win for Gentleman Jim and James Courtney.Just have a good feeling about this combo:)

I'm with you. They are both superb drivers and have nothing to lose so can push hard all day.

[Esses]

Even though I don't drive a Ford any more, I'll stick up for the blue team & say either: Ambrose, Ingall or Lowndes. MAYBE Seto. Oh, & you should never discount Bowe.

[Hitman_Fan_1986]

As with every year, going back as far as I can remember, I will support DJR once again.

A dude has to stay true to his team.

This will continue my constant watching of the race every year back to 1992.

Food for thought: imagine what it would be like if 7 still had telecast rights, bathurst would be a 10:30pm slot joke.

[lukey73]

For me its one of 6 combo's, depending on quailfying pace it thinks from these teams.

888 Lowdnes/Ellerey
HSVDT R.Kelly/Tander
HRT Skaife/T.Kelly
SCR Murphy/Weel

And as 2 outsiders

DJR Seton/Johnson
Dodo Whincup/J.Richards

The Castrol guys i think will be there abouts but Dumbrell is the weaklink in that team. BOC are a chance but BJ and JB just dont seem to get it together for some reason.

I suppose will have to wiat until the Friday when the boys really come out and try to lay down some quick times to see who is going to be near the top of the tree.

Luke

[brchi17]

For me I'd love to see DJR give Glenn his maiden Bathurst win.

That said, I think at present Bathurst has become a Holden track & I'd suggest that 2005 will see the current streak continue :(

I don't think SBR have got their head around the track & will struggle once again. However I do think that perhaps it could be 3rd time lucky for the boys for Albury & what a surprise win it would be.

cheers. :)

[Kenseth17]

So many combo's for this one. Holden will have to be favourites again but I think Ford and SBR are well over due. Ambrose/Luff or Lowndes/Ellery to do it for the Blue Oval. Any Ford will do!

[awawaw]

GOD NO NOT ANOTHER HOLDEN BATHURST WIN!!!!!!
please, i dont think i can take another one. with the ford being the 7 next best last year, hopefully they can make it ford 1-10 this year. i give up on any one team or driver/s, just any blue oval car will do.

[singer]

I, for one, would like to see the Albury boys go well.

A 1,2 finish would satisfy :D

[spoonster05]

I think that Murph and Weel may take it out, Skaife and Kelly will probably be strong and if a Ford is going to win I would probably back Lowndes/Adam Macrow (if this pairing is confirmed)

[ferrari fan]

Triple 8 Lownes and (Flint)Stone brothers are starting to look pretty sharp !
Shame that these 2 are under contract with CC as they seem to have a delay in producing Bathurst winners.
(Pirtek, and Perkins)
a complete collection would be wonderfull, but seems unlikely at this stage

[VXfan]

Originally posted by ferrari fan
Triple 8 Lownes and (Flint)Stone brothers are starting to look pretty sharp !
Shame that these 2 are under contract with CC as they seem to have a delay in producing Bathurst winners.
(Pirtek, and Perkins)
a complete collection would be wonderfull, but seems unlikely at this stage
How bloody true that is!:mad:

[Martin Thomas]

Originally posted by ferrari fan
Triple 8 Lownes and (Flint)Stone brothers are starting to look pretty sharp !
Shame that these 2 are under contract with CC as they seem to have a delay in producing Bathurst winners.
(Pirtek, and Perkins)
a complete collection would be wonderfull, but seems unlikely at this stage

There won't be any problems for this year... Just another excuse to repackage an existing mould....;)

[Pedro]

Originally posted by awawaw
GOD NO NOT ANOTHER HOLDEN BATHURST WIN!!!!!!
please, i dont think i can take another one. with the ford being the 7 next best last year, hopefully they can make it ford 1-10 this year. i give up on any one team or driver/s, just any blue oval car will do.
your sounding a little desperate for a ford win.
I think they may be able to stretch that out to another holden win this year.
At the moment I would pick any of the top 4 holden teams HRT HSVDT ,Castrol or SCAR
Outsiders triple 8 and the stone bros depending on how well their co- drivers go

[the_goldie]

My money will be on Skaife and Todd as they are both driving well and know how to win that is for sure.

I am counting down the days and the campsite is all booked up and the beer is being chilled :D

[brchi17]

Looking at some of the driving combinations I think there are only a couple of cars that are real contenders (due to who their co-drivers are).

I would suspect that the winner will come from;

Jones/Bowe
Skaife/T.Kelly
Seton/Johnson
Lowndes/Ellery
Tander/R.Kelly

cheers. :)

[wayno]

Tander/R Kelly are really starting to firm in my mind. HSV Racing seem to be starting to really find some pace, and the team certainly knows how to win at the mountain.
The anticipation is starting to kill me!

[Holden2003]

I missed Bathurst last year live. I had a mock TEE exam the next day, so i plugged out the tv and did not watch the race until 4 days later, on video. Still not the same. Cannot wait to make an amends. Every Bathurst I havewatched (since 2000), Holden has won. Best was 2002 holden 1-2-3-4-5! lets make sure more then 1 holden finish with 161 laps done this year, preferably all podium positions.