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Formula 5000 Promises To Bring The Thunder That F1 Is Missing
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Formula Thunder 5000!
What a wild looking race car! And I like that engine formula too: Ford V8. :facelick: I just wish that some of these races would be shown on American TV. Maybe it'll be available for online viewing though. If I could watch this and Japanese Super Formula, I'd be a happy camper.
And it will be dead before it even gets started because:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior
http://www.carscoops.com/2016/10/for...g-thunder.html
From there a large portion of the key components (including the gearbox and suspension) are supplied by Australian manufacturers.
Who?
What Australian manufacturers?
Ford have officially shut down their Australian manufacturing operations, Toyota and Holden will be done by October 2017.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nati...5bd2dff3b6def6
But Victorian Industry Minister Lily D’Ambrosio told The Australian that the commonwealth needed to make markedly more funds available to enable supply chain companies to create opportunities. “We are doing all we can as a state government ... it is an *especially acute situation,’’ she said. Her government has analysed the future of the Victorian supply chain, with 65 suppliers — employing thousands of people — facing a dark future when Ford closes in October.
The Holden engine plant is due to close in the same month, its South Australian assembly plant the following year and Toyota at the end of next year. South Australian Automotive Transformation Minister Kyam Maher said unspent ATS funds of just under $800 million should be used for the supply chain but also other businesses pursuing more modern markets.
...
The Productivity Commission has warned that up to 40,000 jobs are at risk as a result of the closure of motor vehicle manufacturing plants but also found that industry assistance had failed the sector.
- The Australian, 16th Feb 2016.
I doubt that there's going to be many gearbox and suspension manufacturers left to supply anything if this series gets off the ground. Thanks to concerted efforts from Detroit, the car industry in Australia has been repeatedly kicked in the face and then the guts until it has and will be dead.
This series ain't gonna happen.
Not saying that the series will go on to challenge F1 or the V8 Super Cars, but in its heyday, very few of the components used in the old CART IndyCar/ChampCar series were designed and produced in the U.S. But it did have very heavy manufacturer support. What was most important is that it had very heavy sponsor support. So some level of sponsorship is important for a pro series, whether it comes from an automotive OEM (domestic) or not. How much this series would need to sustain itself, in addition to the rich guys who will fund their own rides, I don't know. When the article mentioned that Australian companies would produce many of the components, I don't think they were talking about automotive OEMs. They seldom have a direct connection to the component side of racing anyway.
I don't know the Australian motorsports scene all that well. But I go to pro/am racing weekends here. Those are mostly held at club level tracks. The last one I attended a month or so ago, the crowd was very healthy. So if Australia has something similar, maybe this series can play the under card to bigger series on some bigger race weekends, and also attract enough mid-level pro drivers that they can attract decent crowds to club level tracks.
The nostalgia element, with vintage looks, the raucous noise of that Ford (based) V8, and the spec nature of the chassis should make for an affordable, fun racing series. I wish them nothing but luck.