The Touring Car Masters series opens with the V8 supercars at the Clipsal Street races . 
It's a great event for both series because the people of Adelaide support the event in droves.  
Adelaide has always been the best street event by miles.

Mustang Sally has had the world's biggest makeover, the bills have made my nose bleed, so she better behave herself or I will personally set fire to her.

I expect the racing to be as tight as ever with the added bonus of the new Jim Richards Javelin. It looks great and I know if Jimmy and Bruce Tyson have built it the car will be absolutely right.  Interestingly enough, the Javelin was a big player in the American Trans Am series in the late sixties and early seventies.  They were run in 71/72 by the mighty Penske team and won the series.

 The graded or seeded driver rules remain the same as last year but the rolling parity adjustments are now from meeting to meeting rather than race to race.  Time will tell how this works but it is a step in the right direction I think.  I still firmly believe that the current rules favour the 5 litre cars and the Cleveland engine XB , although the 5 litre cars with the exception of the Jim Richards Falcon sprint have been a bit patchy in their performance.  I am seriously thinking about trying to build a 302 engine for Sally to take advantage of the weight and rev freedoms, just need to find the money .

The really good news is that my very good friends at Wilson Security have agreed to sponsor our Touring Car Masters races at Clipsal.  We have been together for quite some time now and they are just the best people.  Their business is the leading security company in Australia and New Zealand and I have got to know their customers very well.  The platform that Touring Car Masters and V8 Supercars provides the Wilson network and its customers with really creates Business opportunities.

It's not just about signs on Race cars.  I have seen and experienced with my own eyes a number of times, motor racing used properly makes good business sense.

We can now safely say that the TCM races in Adelaide will be won by a Wilson Security car, let's hope its Mustang Sally ..

The TCM races really light up the crowd.  Its all about nostalgia and the cars we grew up loving, except these cars are monsters with way more than 600 horsepower and narrow little 8 inch tyres.

It means spectacular racing with lots of opposite lock and bravado.

They swap places often and the brakes are not great, although they are better than they were in 1969, thank goodness!

I love racing in this category,  its like living a boyhood dream.

This weekend in the latest hi tech Ferrari GT3 car at Bathurst 12 Hour and next weekend in the direct opposite, Mustang Sally on the streets of Adelaide .

I am Truly a lucky bloke .. JB

V8 Supercars Preview

There is always a sense of insecurity at this time of year in the V8 supercar ranks.  No one quite knows who has made the vital steps to bridge the gap to the all-conquering 888 Holden's.

From the test day pre season you would have to think that the most likely in terms of speed would be FPR, supported I might add by my friends at Westrac.  Will Davison was fastest at the Sandown test and Frosty won the last race of last year.  Everyone only remembers the winners.

The fact is that the category is incredibly close and the level of driving and engineering is as top level as anything in the world.

I like the look of FPR this year, they need to minimize mistakes and they need to pop up each race weekend with cars that are on the pace . Last year and previous years they did not quite manage that.

This is the last year with the current cars and the last year of V8 supercars as we know it.  The teams with the most resources will maintain their performances for longer over the season.  That means 888 , FPR and Walkinshaw-HRT.  Those teams will be able to chase the championship while building Car of the Future, not many others will manage that.

Adelaide is a very strategic race, more than any other apart from Bathurst.  It may not be won by the fastest car or driver but it will be won by the smartest engineer and team.

I don't like making picks because like everyone I have a few favorites so I am not going to predict a winner other than to say that in the bookmaking world 888 would be short odds.

The things that interest me are how the newcomers to various teams will fare.  Let's take Leigh Holdsworth, one of my favorites, he is very very talented and I have huge respect for the Stone Brothers team, so I am hoping he goes really well.  He has to adjust quickly though to a very different car and a very different method of going racing, not to mention a new engineer.  The engineer is now the most important person in the drivers life !!

How will David Reynolds stack up against Will and Frosty, both incredibly quick . The moment of truth is here.  Can Russ Ingall perform well enough to keep his career alive, I think he can personally  but it won't be easy. 

And let's spare a thought for David Wall and Taz Douglas, the rookies in the field.  I know David well, he is very impressive as a person and a race driver, but the step to the main series is very tough.   Just staying out of trouble for the first half of the season will be impressive enough for me.

He is a beneficiary of the Wilson Security sponsorship, who have adopted a policy the past few years of helping and assisting young drivers without rich dads. I think it's a very noble thing to do,

I was one of those young blokes without a rich dad once.   With people like Wilson Security helping it could be a life changing time for David.   I hope so.

David is driving for my mates the Jones boys at Brad Jones Racing.   They had a patchy season last year but showed great form on occasion, I am hoping the form will be a bit more regular. 
In Jason Bright they have an acknowledged front running race winner on a good day, Fabian must match Brighty for pace, I think he can , he is very natural as a driver.  I saw that at PCR a few years ago.  He is another guy who got his shot through the help of Wilson Security .. Seriously good people.

See you in Adelaide. JB