Skaifey, Good Driver? - Page 2

wulos · 12-10-2006, 09:41 AM

There's been quite a few "high profile" componentry failures on the grid over the years. Remembering back I think it was Peter Brock that sheared one of the first carbon fibre tailshafts on the grid.
Or maybe Skaifeys clutch overheated in a similar way to what happens in Formula1 if they leave it sitting for too long on the grid. They did hold the cars for a long time at revs before the green flag actually dropped this year.
It may well be that MS attempted to take off in third gear, and caused the slippage. I'd like to see/hear some evidence other then hearsay before jumping to this conclusion myself though. Surely there's telemetry, or incar vision, or team members, or people that were watching the bigpond telecast out there that know the truth.

MITCHAY · 12-10-2006, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 82XD351.3v

I agree but i think this all started when he was managing HRT thats when he was making mistakes and trying to drive above the cars capability

I reckon this to be the case too. Being your own manager isn't exactly the best thing. He has to be a driver and an owner. If he stuffs up too many times and the car is off the track, you lose sponsors. Sponsors don't want there dollars on a car that is off the track all the time. It's very much a business as it is a hobbie.

Bud Bud · 12-10-2006, 10:36 AM

It is poor form to label Skaife a poor driver even if he did make the mistake that he is being accused of (especially without any real evidence). It would have been poor form and a mistake for Holden folk to accuse Lowndesy of being a poor driver after he hit the wall for no apparent reason last year and denying himself, Ford and us what it was that we all craved most. Kudos to him for admitting to his mistake.

Why can't we just enjoy the victory for what it was? We should be grateful that it was Skaife's clutch and not Lowndesy's that failed. On the other hand it was good form by Ford and Gorman to allow Lowndesy to peddle one of PB's Torana's before the start.

I know some people could easily match others for words here but I doubt that anyone on this forum could match either of theses drivers on the race track though.

flappist · 12-10-2006, 10:39 AM

Is Mark Skaife a good driver?

What a load of crap. Everyone who was driving a V8SC at bathurst is a good driver and there are very few on here who are even remotely worthy to judge Skaife or any of the others.

If he did launch in 3rd then the whole team should be shot. That is why they have all the telemetry and engineers, to spot potential problems and resolve them before they become actual problems.

JPFS1 · 12-10-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flappist

Is Mark Skaife a good driver?

What a load of crap. Everyone who was driving a V8SC at bathurst is a good driver and there are very few on here who are even remotely worthy to judge Skaife or any of the others.

If he did launch in 3rd then the whole team should be shot. That is why they have all the telemetry and engineers, to spot potential problems and resolve them before they become actual problems.

Spot on and well said.

Skaife may not be the most popular driver amongst these forums, but he should be respected by all as a great driver, they all are.

**ebxr8240** · 12-10-2006, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

Surely trying to take off in 3rd wouldn't really destroy a triple plate carbon clutch ... those things are near indestructable. Unless it was already faulty in the first place.

With 600 h.p it can be done!!! Friction and heat melts anything...
Trust me....

Full Spectrum · 12-10-2006, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPK-383

hey i don't know if anybody has heard this but it was on the radio tonight when i was at work. Apparently the reason Skaifey's clutch slipped so bad at the start of the 1000 was because he took off in third gear, not first! certain people have tried to contact HRT but they are all tight lipped about it. Only what i heard so......

I had to tape the start and he didn't grab any other gear till he got to mountain straight.

drcook · 12-10-2006, 11:56 AM

[QUOTE=Bud Bud]. On the other hand it was good form by Ford and Gorman to allow Lowndesy to peddle one of PB's Torana's before the start.
QUOTE]

agreed, but i have the feeling gorman & ford wouldnt have had a choice. lowndsey would of said "im doing it, try and stop me!"

Walkinshaw · 12-10-2006, 12:13 PM

a 3rd gear launch would toast a clutch good! I trashed an 10.5" clutch with only 250bhp by taking off in 3rd. I have no doubt that 620bhp could easly much a clutch.

Does it make him a bad driver? Of course not.

Uncle Raggy · 12-10-2006, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BLC

He only human. If you judge that as making him a poor driver, then what of lowndes huge crash back in 96 or whenever it was? They are top drivers, all of them, but they, like us, make mistakes.

Fully agree, they all make mistakes, but I don't recall Lowndsie's Calder upender being his making?? Doesn't really matter I guess, the end result is the same.

And the man I believe to be the greatest driver in Touring Car history lost his life recently after what appears to be an error. It's all part of being human. Skaife is no doubt a brillaint talent.

SNB05T · 12-10-2006, 12:28 PM

he has his moments of good luck, but being a ford fan, i've never really liked him. i think his problems started when he took control of hrt which is good more wins for the ford teams. go lowndesy king of 2006

:

SPK-250 · 12-10-2006, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPK-383

hey i don't know if anybody has heard this but it was on the radio tonight when i was at work. Apparently the reason Skaifey's clutch slipped so bad at the start of the 1000 was because he took off in third gear, not first! certain people have tried to contact HRT but they are all tight lipped about it. Only what i heard so......

Okay all you people! please read my first post above and note that i was not accusing Skaife of being a bad driver. As i stated it is only what i heard on the radio while at work. If you got a bit of a chuckle out of what may have happened then thats ok. But if you go away from reading this post in disgust, then blow it out your bum hole. I know Skaife is a good driver, infact he is an excellent driver thats why he does what he does! The boxes they use are a semi-sequential, H-pattern Hollinger 6 speed. The dont use a clutch to go through the gears but take off and down changes require it. As for the clutch, it doesn't matter how much it cost it can still break. Maybe next year they should give him a GM460LE 4 speed auto with a 3500 convertor and stage 2 shift kit, then he wont have troubles taking off!!

TZENU · 12-10-2006, 01:29 PM

This goes to prove no matter how much you spend on your transmission, clutch etc. it is still breakable!

LOL 4 speed GM box for takeoff !!!! how bout a powerglide instead? :P

Bermo · 12-10-2006, 04:35 PM

You can cleary see him change gear 4 times on the replay as he heads up mountain straight...

So unless its running a 7 speed I think you will find the clutch lunched itself.

LTDHO · 12-10-2006, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bermo

You can cleary see him change gear 4 times on the replay as he heads up mountain straight...

So unless its running a 7 speed I think you will find the clutch lunched itself.

No that would be 4th.....

Dezza · 12-10-2006, 05:51 PM

I'd be very surprised if Skaife took off in 3rd. What I noticed was that the cars were held on the start line for a fairly long time, which is where the damage could have been done. We saw the same thing happen to Ambrose at Indy last year, and I think Lowndes had the same problem early last year. In both those cases, the car was held on the start line for too long. I reckon that's what happened this time too. I'm definately not a Skaife fan, but I don't think he did anything wrong.

poolkeeper · 12-10-2006, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SPK-383

hey i don't know if anybody has heard this but it was on the radio tonight when i was at work. Apparently the reason Skaifey's clutch slipped so bad at the start of the 1000 was because he took off in third gear, not first! certain people have tried to contact HRT but they are all tight lipped about it. Only what i heard so......

That was probably the first thing skaife checked, to see if he was in third. If he was he would of just whacked it into first and smoke showed outta there.

XCSEDAN · 12-10-2006, 06:17 PM

my 2 cents, i think the clutch overheated and melted, when they are under that much pressure it's not funny it's no real suprise that it happened to someone, that someon just happened to be skaifey.
And i definatly don't think skafe is a bad driver, even though his form has dropped a bit, but that's probally coz of the fact he owns the team as well and is under 2 much stress
Cheers
Dan

Feathers · 12-10-2006, 06:34 PM

I'm sure that would be one of the list of things they'd be checking for while waiting for the green.

Do I have a hanky?
Did I put clean undies on?
Is my handbag secured? (Maybe thats just a Murph thing)
Is the car in first gear?

*shrugs*
Then again, even I've done it, and I couldn't tell you how I forgot about it.

red_hotxr6 · 12-10-2006, 07:05 PM

Skaife is only a good driver if he gets out front, way out front. Dont forget he had lowndes covering his rear for a while so no one could trouble him.How many times have you seen lowndes in a ford, Marcus or bright or any one else chasing him to the line and he loses it. Or in the rain, he is only average in the rain.Where is he now in the rankings in the top 5, i think not.

Steve · 12-10-2006, 07:14 PM

Could Skaife have made a mistake and started in 3rd? Like I said in my first post, it's possible.
Does a mistake make him a poor driver? No way in hell.
I think the general feeling on FF is that he's a great driver. I don't think he has many friends here and even some of the Holden fans find him hard to cope with but there's no doubting his driving abilities. If he were to end his dealings with HRT and make himself available to other teams, Ford would be pounding on his door with a truck load of cash. Love him or hate him, you've gotta respect him.

AUIII XR8 MAN · 12-10-2006, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Psycho Chicken

I fail to see how that makes him a good driver or not. Everyone makes mistakes. Ingall locking up the rears cos he didn't pump the brakes at Sandown in 2003?

As much as i dislike the guy, i have to agree.

It was just the luck of race was not going the their way.

MITCHAY · 12-10-2006, 07:35 PM

If he had not had that clutch failure he would of been right on Lowndes tail, if not in front of him! That car was very fast this year. Just goes to show anything can happen.

stang01 · 12-10-2006, 07:40 PM

suffer to him and hrt

red_hotxr6 · 12-10-2006, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AUIII XR8 MAN

As much as i dislike the guy, i have to agree.

It was just the luck of race was not going the their way.

And so was bright,s and so was kelly,s, but doing a fast 1 lapper dont cut it when you have to set up for race trim. Did you notice murphy saying that his car would have to get rid of its fuel load before they got some good lap times where as lowndes,s car performs wether the car is full or near empty of fuel. And as for ford tossing bucket loads of cash for skaife to drive for a ford team, when hell freezes over and murphy as well.Never, not a cent.Another couple of years and skaife will be lucky appear in the top ten finishers.

Steve · 12-10-2006, 08:41 PM

Hey, I don't like either of them, but I reckon Ford would have either of them.

SPK-250 · 12-10-2006, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

And so was bright,s and so was kelly,s, but doing a fast 1 lapper dont cut it when you have to set up for race trim. Did you notice murphy saying that his car would have to get rid of its fuel load before they got some good lap times where as lowndes,s car performs wether the car is full or near empty of fuel. And as for ford tossing bucket loads of cash for skaife to drive for a ford team, when hell freezes over and murphy as well.Never, not a cent.Another couple of years and skaife will be lucky appear in the top ten finishers.

who said skaife and murph were gonna drive for ford?

Jeld-Wen Falcon · 12-10-2006, 08:54 PM

Its probably bad management from HRT, I highly doubt it was ANYTHING to do with Skaife. Remember the same thing happened to Ambrose last year at Surfers?

MITCHAY · 12-10-2006, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve

Hey, I don't like either of them, but I reckon Ford would have either of them.

Well Murph has 2 back-to-back Bathurst wins and was looking good for another this year. Hate him or not, they were doing pretty well. I believe Ford would pay quite a pretty penny if Skaife decided to jump ship.

He wouldn't have the accolades he has if he was a crap driver. HRT have won 6 or 7 championships(?) out of the better part of a decade.

Deadman · 12-10-2006, 09:02 PM

Skaife has always been a horrible launcher.

He is a great driver. He wouldn't be where he is if he wasn't. But he's still horrible compared to the other V8 drivers when it comes to getting off the line.