Skaifey, Good Driver?

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by Deadman

Skaife has always been a horrible launcher.

I have noticed that aswell.

[Falcon Freak]

I'll disown Ford if they ever hired Skaife! He can drive very well. But his personality is very abrasive. Even some people in the red camp dislike Skaife because of who he is. He was an arrogant prat right from the start when he was racing Nissans.

FF

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by Falcon Freak

I'll disown Ford if they ever hired Skaife! He can drive very well. But his personality is very abrasive. Even some people in the red camp dislike Skaife because of who he is. He was an arrogant prat right from the start when he was racing Nissans.

FF

Lol don't worry FF. I think the chance of him jumping ship is very unlikely, considering he bought HRT. I think he payed about $2 million AFAIK.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

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.

Exactly, and Skaife isn't a "crap" driver, just a knob that can drive really well.

[56L]

They were held at revs at the start way to long i think it was pathetic,maybe skaife was riding the clutch a bit with the foot on the brake and the clutch simply overheated,when you are on position 1 on the grid there is so much more pressure to get a good start as you are expected to get to the first corner first.
There could have been numerous problems that went on with that clutch,cable or hydraulic problems or whatever they are ,diaphram ,clutch fork,realise throwout bearing problems who knows.

But to bag skaifey as a racecar driver is outright wrong as look at his record
and in opinions of the great drivers out there including brock he is usually ranked in the top five,as a person we dont see him that way we should be looking at him as a driver , alot of drivers would have spit the dummy at jack perkins but skaifey supported young jack.

Skaifey has grown up alot in recent years and that once spoilt attitude has gone and i give him full credit not to lay the blame on young jack for the bingle on mountain straight

[Disco1986]

i dont think he would have started in 3rd, i belive it was a clutch problem, as much as i hate to admit it, i think hes a great driver and defently one of the best out thier. hes had a few poor seasons,but nothing that cant be fixed next year

[460cixy]

i loved it when thay said some times the clutches come good by them selves . i cant see any clutch comeing good while trying to drive up the mountan at full stick with a sliping clutch. the blokes a tool. how ever he can drive and everyone makes the odd **** up. jack perkins on the other hand you can realy tell his daddys boy

[Falcon Freak]

Originally Posted by 56L

Skaifey has grown up alot in recent years and that once spoilt attitude has gone and i give him full credit not to lay the blame on young jack for the bingle on mountain straight

: He is still a knob.

FF

[Charliewool]

I don't have it in writing from HRT.. But believe me, Skaife DID start in 3rd gear!
As was mentioned at the beginning of this thread, HRT have been extremely tight lipped about this!
Why haven't they simply come out and said it's NOT true?? :

[red_hotxr6]

I think you are right about the clutch, he just over heated it and cooked it.Wasn,t ford having a huge argument back in the EL-AU days about being penalised with their splitters, correct me please if i am wrong, is it avesco, the governing body would not allow them to bring the splitters up to par wiyh their holden counterparts, giving holden a definite advantage. I mean if every time you lap you are losing a 1/4 of a second but you are trying to catch a holden car you are wearing your tyres out. So at the end of the race you have no grip and holden continued to show their dominance and people like murphy and skaife get big noted for driving like heroes.Now we have a level playing field and these guys are getting their butts kicked. And guys like courtney and wincup are going to push them even further down the field.

[Bill_R]

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.

Agreed!

As for the title of this post - I think Skaife is a "good" driver but he isn't a "natural" driver and needs to put a lot of work into it. The same has applied to many drivers who have been quite succesful.

Skaife can fold a bit under pressure. I loved it at Indy (I think 2 years ago) when Skaife was leading and Lowndes was applying pressure. I was thinking "come on Skaife, lose it again" when I heard a screech and looked around to see Skaife lose it right in front of me - loved it!

[Bill_R]

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

...Wasn,t ford having a huge argument back in the EL-AU days about being penalised with their splitters, ....

When this format first debuted the Fords were way out in front. They had the splitters cut back to bring them back to the Holdens. That *really* upset the car's balance. They've been a finicky car to balance since - get rid of the understeer and they oversteer. Rear wing plays a part too - a bit more rear wing would help them out but having less makes them a little more slippery.

Some concessions were later made to the splitters and, I think, Holden had some more restrictions applied.

Somehow, the Fords seem to have gotten through all of this. Aero has been a big issue with them.

[Full Spectrum]

This skaife is a Ahole is really old.. Russel ingell was hated by ford when he drove Holden's. He was hated by many holden drivers also. Moves to ford he is hatted just about by all.
My brother meets him before he won the championship last year and was overwhelmed at the type of person he is one on one. He would have signed his peanut if he asked he is a nice guy. Now before that he didn't have a great opinion of him but he does now.

[jd dad]

Even the best drivers make mistakes, he isnt the first one to suffer a clutch/driveline issue on the startline at Bathurst. By comparison Marcus Ambrose would have to be one of the best ever at getting off the line. The amount of times he bolted away from the pack was unreal

[Ringo]

Skaifey going to Ford ??????.......no way. Skaife owns HRT and is a Holden/HSV spokesperson......even more so since PB.

I've always thought it was a shame that he had a driving record to back up his arrogant 'I am better than all of you' attitude.

Perhaps new wife n kid is having a positive influence on him....

[wiseguy]

my opinion is skaife is too unreliable and tries to hard, he spins out too often to be a great driver, he was only good when holden had their dominent run quite a few years ago now. was not that fast at bathurst last year he drove sensible and within his means and the race fell into his hands due to errors by the faster cars. the hrt cars are now getting very quick but i bet you his spinning out hasnt finished. i have met him quite a few times working at oran park and easter creek for the past 8years doing the camera towers, he is a definite ****er through and through no doubt,he loves himself. and in my xr8 on the monday morning 2 years ago after ambrose kicked *** i had the pleasure of giving him heaps. nicest bloke you will meet is craig lowndes ex holden or not he is a gem.

[AUTickford]

A driver is only as good as his first mistake on the day and that could be his last.

[SPK-250]

MAYBE I SHOULD HAVE TITLED THIS THREAD "SKAIFE, NEEDS GEAR INDICATOR ON DASH". Something tells me people might have been able to understand the meaning of this a little better!!

[Full Spectrum]

Originally Posted by wiseguy

my opinion is skaife is too unreliable and tries to hard, he spins out too often to be a great driver, he was only good when holden had their dominent run quite a few years ago now. was not that fast at bathurst last year he drove sensible and within his means and the race fell into his hands due to errors by the faster cars. the hrt cars are now getting very quick but i bet you his spinning out hasnt finished. i have met him quite a few times working at oran park and easter creek for the past 8years doing the camera towers, he is a definite ****er through and through no doubt,he loves himself. and in my xr8 on the monday morning 2 years ago after ambrose kicked *** i had the pleasure of giving him heaps. nicest bloke you will meet is craig lowndes ex holden or not he is a gem.

Classic. We would never be talking about skaife in any bad light if he moved to ford from Nissan;).
What gives a person the idea that someone is arrogant and up themselves? Because they are self confidant? Or just well known? And you find him arrogant after giving him ****??
I don't think anyone discus Marcus Ambrose and his last year on here?
But if you want to talk mistakes, How many mistakes did Craig make at sandown trying to over drive the car? They all do it get over it.
Everybody has always got a comment on mark skiafe from what they here from Baileys dogs aunties cousins farmers wife who cleans bins at HRT.

[Bill_R]

Originally Posted by Ringo

Skaife owns HRT and is a Holden/HSV spokesperson.

I'm a little sus about just how much "ownership" he has. I dont' doubt he has considerable backing and might me more of a front-man for the owners. That suspicion is reinforced with Walkinshaw coming back into the scene.

Remember when Skaife couldn't even get a drive or the backing to get one?

[Dazza XLT]

I was under the impression that Walkinshaw came back in, and purchased it back from Skaife, so he could focus on his driving commitments?
I have been wrong before.

[wiseguy]

wouldnt want skaife in a ford slickholden as i cant stand him and thats my opinion like it or not.he was arrogent years before i gave it to him. would rather see someone up and coming in a ford like we have with winterbottom, whincup, and not someone i believe is well past his best. as to compare lowndes to skaife look at the championship point score, enough said. ambrose did make some silly mistakes last year and his attitude at times i would agree was a bit big headed,however still finished season ahead of skaife. maybe skaife should go back to his all wheel drive skyline to stop him from spinning.

[red_hotxr6]

Originally Posted by SlickHolden

Classic. We would never be talking about skaife in any bad light if he moved to ford from Nissan;).
What gives a person the idea that someone is arrogant and up themselves? Because they are self confidant? Or just well known? And you find him arrogant after giving him ****??
I don't think anyone discus Marcus Ambrose and his last year on here?
But if you want to talk mistakes, How many mistakes did Craig make at sandown trying to over drive the car? They all do it get over it.
Everybody has always got a comment on mark skiafe from what they here from Baileys dogs aunties cousins farmers wife who cleans bins at HRT.

The talk has been about Skaife because he has been brought up. I dont think russel ingall is that crash hot either or steven johnson or a few other ford drivers either ie John bowe as far as i am concerned they just circulate, but then again the sun does not shine out of Skaife,s exhaust.
If you are talking about Marcus Ambrose, and i presume you mean his arrogance, then he and skaife can shake hands, but that is where it ends because Marcus Ambrose is by far a superior driver to mark skaife any day of the week.
What is wrong with Craig Lowndes overdriving his car, does mark skaife hold the rights to that.See how many times skaife has come off trying to keep up or trying to defend when the pressure is on.And with all his years of experience look where mark is and where craig is. I wouldnt be surprised actually if craig makes his mark on the "MOUNTAIN".

[needaXYGT]

well since he dominated the lap times befor the actual race at bathurst, you would have to say that he has some skill. like mentioned eariler, i reakon hes an agressive driver and perhaps a little inconsistant at times.

[Psycho Chicken]

Didn't Walkinshaw buy it back?

[Bucket]

The Most Memorable event that made me lose all respect for and laugh at Skaife at the same time was when both he and his team mate (cant remember his name) last year attempted to take out Ambrose in a pincer-like move just after the start of the race and ended up taking each other out..two HRT's gone in one foul swoop. Priceless but dispicable

[12]

Originally Posted by SlickHolden

Classic. We would never be talking about skaife in any bad light if he moved to ford from Nissan.

Skaife drove a Ford before he drove a Nissan.

If he was a Ford driver in the current series, I reckon he would have a completely different attitude / personality about him. He's just got "Holdenitis".. a disease that brings out the bogan, I'm better than you, big shot attitude that comes with being a driver / owner of a Holden Commodore. Look at CL for example. Was Ford from the start, but got an opportunity with Holden, took it, realised it wasn't him, moved to Ford where he felt comfortable. They tried to infect CL with "Holdenitis" too, but he refused to take the pill.

"Holdenitis" does exist. I know for example, if I get behind the wheel of a Commodore, I instantly get a bad attitude, the baseball cap gets turned backwards, the seat rest drops so far back that I'm looking at the sunvisor most of the time, and the middle finger seems to go up for no apparent reason. To date, no vaccination has been found for this condition.

Oh, and I'll belive he took off from 3rd gear when there's proof of it. And if someone finds / shows any proof, I will laugh my head off just like I did 30 seconds into the race.

[aidansea]

Mark Skaife is a try hard, and drives crap cars, seriously i dont like him or todd kelly

[Envi XR8]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

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.

True, they have won these championships, when they had the biggest budgets and cornered the market on all the talented engineers, mechanics, engine builders etc. These Championship wins were also almost exclusively in the 3 sprint race formats, where qualifying on pole meant you were at the head of a train of cars and passing was none existent. There were also massive parity issues for the Fords at the time when these championships were won, and an imbalance in the number of Falcons to dunnydores on the grid. When Walkinshaw went broke, and the money pit dried up, so did HRT's dominance.

I've never considered Skaife to be a great driver; I just tend to think that he needs the best people working on his car and a huge budget to be successful, anything less and he has problems. Wasn't that one of the reasons that Lowndes looked at Ford? When HRT took all of the engineers/mechanics/other staff off him and swapped them with Skaifes crew, so Skaife could win a championship?

When Skaife was with Gibson and sponsored by Sega back in 94/95, or whenever it was and money was tight, he did not seem to trouble the front runners too often, until HRT signed him for Brock’s last assault on the mountain in 97 when there was no expense spared, and Skaife put the car on pole. I think this is the definition of the mans driving ability, and I find confirmation in this when you consider that he does not hold all the aces in the series currently and has struggled for consistency now since 2003.

Lowndes on the other hand, was handed a 2 year old Ex-stone brothers chassis when he came to Ford and made everyone stand up and take notice. This is the difference between good and great. Skaife is a good driver, Lowndes is a great driver.

I tend to think that if Skaife did start in third, he probably pulled up from the warm up and simply forgot to put it in first. Easily done no doubt, but a simple, but very effective way to take yourself out of the race. :
And let's face it, Jack Perkins got to punt a HRT Commodore into the wall, an opportunity many people would probably pay money for!! someone else posted on here that Skaife was supportive of Jack Perkins, if you ask me, Skaife said he knew there was a issue as he had reached 5th gear with no drive. He should have pulled completely off the track. If you ask me, Skaife took Jack Perkins out of the race.

In relation to Side-burn SMurph, as much as I despise the man, he could peddle a 12 foot tinnie around the mountain, but I would not support him in a Ford.

just my worthless 2c worth.

Cheers Envi

[Full Spectrum]

Originally Posted by wiseguy

wouldnt want skaife in a ford slickholden as i cant stand him and thats my opinion like it or not.he was arrogent years before i gave it to him. would rather see someone up and coming in a ford like we have with winterbottom, whincup, and not someone i believe is well past his best. as to compare lowndes to skaife look at the championship point score, enough said. ambrose did make some silly mistakes last year and his attitude at times i would agree was a bit big headed,however still finished season ahead of skaife. maybe skaife should go back to his all wheel drive skyline to stop him from spinning.

It's still going too be a long time before anyone can match what he has achieved in V8 supercars. He doesn't drive today because he needs too, He drives because he likes too.
I think your being very easy on Marcus there he left many with there mouths open in shock.
When was the last time skaife spun out?. If your past it you don't drive fast simple as that, And he still is top 5 fastest drivers in the field.

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

The talk has been about Skaife because he has been brought up. I dont think russel ingall is that crash hot either or steven johnson or a few other ford drivers either ie John bowe as far as i am concerned they just circulate, but then again the sun does not shine out of Skaife,s exhaust.
If you are talking about Marcus Ambrose, and i presume you mean his arrogance, then he and skaife can shake hands, but that is where it ends because Marcus Ambrose is by far a superior driver to mark skaife any day of the week.
What is wrong with Craig Lowndes overdriving his car, does mark skaife hold the rights to that.See how many times skaife has come off trying to keep up or trying to defend when the pressure is on.And with all his years of experience look where mark is and where craig is. I wouldnt be surprised actually if craig makes his mark on the "MOUNTAIN".

Ambrose not arrogant just turned into a rude pig in the end over dramatised everything he did get the **** too easy and went off like a kid. Started to ignore people and went out the back door after races and wouldn't stick around.
I don't think we can judge people on there upbringing it's wrong.

Ambrose didn't stay long enough to prove he was going too be better then skaife maybe one day he will return maybe he wont but i think he left because the series was beneath him.

Originally Posted by 012

Skaife drove a Ford before he drove a Nissan.

If he was a Ford driver in the current series, I reckon he would have a completely different attitude / personality about him. He's just got "Holdenitis".. a disease that brings out the bogan, I'm better than you, big shot attitude that comes with being a driver / owner of a Holden Commodore. Look at CL for example. Was Ford from the start, but got an opportunity with Holden, took it, realised it wasn't him, moved to Ford where he felt comfortable. They tried to infect CL with "Holdenitis" too, but he refused to take the pill.

"Holdenitis" does exist. I know for example, if I get behind the wheel of a Commodore, I instantly get a bad attitude, the baseball cap gets turned backwards, the seat rest drops so far back that I'm looking at the sunvisor most of the time, and the middle finger seems to go up for no apparent reason. To date, no vaccination has been found for this condition.

Oh, and I'll belive he took off from 3rd gear when there's proof of it. And if someone finds / shows any proof, I will laugh my head off just like I did 30 seconds into the race.

Craig lowndes moved too ford too prove it wasn't the car it was him.

Off course you believe he took off in 3rd, Why wouldn't you it's what everyone else thinks it's a rumour about skaife lets believe it end of story. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good skaife bag;).

You should be very careful with Hasty generalization.