Weight penalties have been added to top performing V8 Ute drivers to close up the field and spice up the action at six of the eight Rounds in the 2015 Australian V8 Ute Racing Series.
The success ballast will see the top three point scoring drivers during the series carry extra weight up to and including Round 7, however all weight will come out for the final series showdown at the Sydney 500. The top driver will carry an extra 40kg, second in the Series will carry 30kg and third 20kg. The Ballast will stand for the entire round and the top three Utes will be identified with a coloured sticker displayed on the front right of their windscreen.
Category Manager Bill West of SPHERIX believes this will bring more exciting racing to the Series.
“The Series has always been about entertainment and I think adding a bit of weight to each driver will close up the racing a little more and ensure that no one team dominates all rounds. Each team will have the opportunity to set their car up to the corresponding weight between rounds, so it will be a nice challenge for all involved and will really bring out the skills of teams and the driver. It’s only fair that all weight comes out prior to the final round, so the top drivers can all fight out the title on equal terms,” said West.
V8 Ute Reigning Champion Kris Walton, lead the series for most of the time last year and is actually looking forward to the challenge.
“It will definitely tighten up the championship, there’s no doubt about that. I think with the ballast it will definitely throw a spanner in the works and with the new racing format it will throw the whole season up in the air. I’m not sure I think it’s a good idea if I’m winning, but if I’m not fast enough I can deal with it. No matter what it will make for an interesting year,” said Walton.
The V8 Utes will take to the track at the below times at the Clipsal 500:Thursday, 26th February Practice 1 9:15amThursday, 26th February Practice 2 11:45amThursday, 26th February Qualifying 2:05pmFriday, 27th February Race 1 2:20pmSaturday, 28th February Race 2 10:45amSunday, 1st March Race 3 9:00am
In 2015, all V8 Ute practice, qualifying sessions and races will be broadcast live across a combination of the Fox Sports and TEN platforms, with digital coverage through Foxtel Go. International coverage has been extended to include over 40 countries. The series will feature 24 races over 8 rounds, all on the V8 Supercar calendar.
