Mark Skaife

Mark Skaife
Skaife at the Australian GP in 2006
Nationality	Australian
Born	(1967-04-03) 3 April 1967 Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
V8 Supercar Record
Series championships	5
Races	220
Race wins	42
Podium finishes	87
Pole positions	41
2011 Championship position	29th (532 pts)

Mark Stephen Skaife OAM (born 3 April 1967 in Gosford, New South Wales) is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000. On 29 October 2008, he announced his retirement from full-time touring car racing but continues to compete on a part-time basis.^[1] Skaife's most visible role today was as a colour-commentator for Seven Network broadcast of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Biography

Skaife was born in Gosford, New South Wales, the son of touring car racer, Russell Skaife. Skaife is married to wife Toni with three children: Mitch, Mia and Tilly.^[2] He attended Wyong High School and is a known supporter of National Rugby League club Manly-Warringah.

In 2004, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia, for services to motor racing and charity.^[3] In 2006, Skaife set a Guinness World Record with the fastest speed of 277.16 km/h (172.21 mp/h) for a production ute, driving a HSV Maloo at the Woomera Prohibited Area.^[4]

Racing career

Skaife began racing karts in the 1980s. His first car race was at Amaroo Park in 1984, at the wheel of a Holden Torana XU-1 sports sedan, which was partly built by his father, Russell. The following year, Skaife joined the Ford Laser Series, finishing second in the series. Skaife again finished runner up in 1986. Skaife was due to race at Bathurst that year, however his co-driver and team owner, Peter Williamson, crashed the team's Toyota Supra heavily during practice (which saw Williamson spend race day in hospital with a broken jaw after the onboard fire extinguisher had broken free of its mountings and hit him in the face - he was wearing an open face helmet) and the entry was withdrawn.

Gibson Motor Sport

Skaife was recruited by Fred Gibson for 1987. However, his early days at Gibson Motor Sport were spent as a 'gofer' for the factory backed Nissan team with no promise that he would get a drive. During this time, he learnt his way through all aspects of motorsport, while also winning the 1987 Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship with a Gibson Motorsport prepared Nissan Gazelle, breaking Toyota's stranglehold on the 2.0 litre category. Skaife made his Bathurst debut in 1987, finishing 19th in the Gazelle with the Adelaide Hills based Nissan dealer Grant Jarrett, though as Bathurst was a round of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship and was running under that series regulations, the Gazelle was in the 1601 to 2500cc class putting it against the championship leading 2.3 litre BMW M3's and the turbocharged Alfa Romeo 75. Despite this Skaife easily qualified the car, though it took until the final qualifying session before Jarrett qualified for the race. However, rumours soon spread that it was actually Skaife using Jarrett's helmet and driving suit who set the time, with Skaife nowhere to be seen in the pits while the car was on the track (upon returning to the pits, the car went straight into the garage which was immediately closed and only then did Skaife appear in jeans and a t-shirt, allegedly looking rather flushed). In an interview years later, Fred Gibson confirmed that Mark Skaife had indeed set the time credited to his co-driver. After starting from 44th position and encountering early trouble, Skaife and Jarrett completed 138 laps and finished 19th outright. Ironically after his trouble getting up to speed in qualifying, Jarrett's fastest race lap was actually faster than the qualifying lap he was falsely credited with.

Skaife made his Australian Touring Car Championship debut in 1988, driving the team's third turbocharged Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R in the final round at Oran Park that year. He then went on to partner George Fury at the Pepsi 250 at Oran Park in the first of the endurance races where Fury led from pole for the first half of the race before a slow pitstop saw Skaife chasing the Mobil BMW M3 of Peter Brock to the flag. He then partnered Fury at both Sandown (where they led for a number of laps before gearbox failure with Skaife at the wheel put them out with just 35 laps remaining while in the lead), and Bathurst where he was involved in a practice crash at Forrest's Elbow which damaged the front and rear of the Skyline. Skaife didn't get to drive in the race as the Skyline threw its fan belt at high speed on Conrod Straight on lap 17 which instantly overheated the turbocharged engine, causing its retirement.

In 1989, Glenn Seton left to form his own team, Glenn Seton Racing. Skaife also drove a third Nissan at certain rounds of the ATCC, with his first drive coming in Round 5 at Mallala in South Australia where he avoided a first turn accident and ran third for the first half of the race before finally finishing 5th. Two rounds later at Winton, Skaife led his first ever ATCC race after passing the Holden Commodore of Allan Grice after 44 minutes of what was a 60 minute race in what was the most competitive race of the series with as many as 5 different race leaders including the Nissan duo of Skaife and Fury (the eventual race winner). Later in the year, a steady run in the 1989 Tooheys 1000 saw Jim Richards and Skaife finish 3rd outright after Richards had qualified the car in 7th place, the only non-Ford Sierra in the top 10.

Skaife's first major touring car win came three weeks before the Tooheys 1000 when he and Richards drove their Skyline GTS-R to victory in the 1989 .05 – 500 at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne. Although trailing behind the Sierra's the first half of the race, troubles with the turbocharged Ford's saw the pair claim a one lap victory from the Holden Racing Team Commodore of Win Percy and Larry Perkins. While the GTS-R Skyline turbo didn't have the outright power of the Sierra's, it did have a weight advantage over the similarly powered V8 Commodores.

When Fury was released by the team at the end of 1989, Skaife was elevated into a full-time driving role alongside Jim Richards. Skaife also had the distinction of giving the 4WD, twin-turbo Nissan GT-R at Mallala in the 1990 ATCC. Skaife showed that he and the GT-R would be a force to reckon with, storming to the lead and leaving the previously dominant Sierra's in his wake before a broken CV joint saw him retire just before half distance. Skaife ran six of the eight ATCC rounds in 1990, finishing in 14th place overall with a best finish of 6th in Round 5 at Lakeside. Richards, who drove the older GTS-R Skyline until Round 7 (Wanneroo) where he switched to the new 4WD GT-R, would win his 3rd ATCC in 1990.

Although the GT-R only just failed to qualify for the top ten at the 1990 Tooheys 1000, Richards, who started the race, spread eagled the leading Ford Sierra's and Holden Commodore's to be in the lead after just 10 laps. Skaife later got his first taste at leading Bathurst and although problems saw he and Richards fade to finish 18th, Skaife set the outright lap record at Mount Panorama with a lap of 2:15.46 (faster than Richards qualifying time of 2:15.63), lowering the lap record set in 1988 by Tony Longhurst in a Sierra by some 3.6 seconds. Skaife's time was only 0.33 seconds slower than the old Group C lap record set by Peter Brock in 1984 when the circuit was shorter.

The Nissan team entered a GT-R for both Skaife and Richards in the Group A support races at the 1990 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, but only Richards got to race as Skaife rolled his car during qualifying after going up on the ripple strips at the Brewery Bend leading onto the Adelaide Street Circuit's 900 metre long Brabham Straight. The car slid back onto the track and it was only quick braking from Colin Bond which prevented his Caltex Sierra from hitting the upside down Nissan.^[5] Richards sat on pole position for both races, winning the Saturday afternoon race, but failing to finish on the Sunday morning. A week later Skaife and Richards sat on pole for the Nissan Sydney 500 at the new Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney, but failed to finish, only completing 51 of the 125 laps.

Mark Skaife finished second to Richards in the 1991 Australian Touring Car Championship, with the 630 bhp (470 kW; 639 PS) GT-R proving to be a class above the field, their only opposition coming on the tighter circuits from the 2.5L, naturally aspirated BMW M3 Evolution's of Tony Longhurst and Alan Jones. He won his first ever ATCC race by taking out Round 3 of the series at Barbagallo Raceway in Perth. Skaife actually outscored Richards 142 points to 137 over the 9 race series, but the rules required drivers to drop their worst result from the point score which left Richards winning on 137 from Skaife on 132.

Skaife won his first Bathurst in 1991 with Richards. He became the first driver at Bathurst since Peter Brock in 1983 to claim pole position, the race win and the fastest lap. Skaife's Tooheys Top 10 pole position time of 2:12.630 would stand as the fastest ever Group A touring car lap of the Mount Panorama Circuit, while his fastest lap of 2:14.50 remains the Group A lap record (though he set the time in the team's second car and not the #1 car he shared with Richards). The race was also the first since the pace car was introduced in for the World Touring Car Championship round in 1987 to be run without any pace car periods which resulted in a new race record time of 6:19:14.80, beating the 1984 race record set by Peter Brock and Larry Perkins in a Commodore by almost 4 minutes. This time would stand until 2010 (when Skaife won with Craig Lowndes) and remains (as of 2014) the fourth fastest Bathurst 1000 ever run.

The following year became the only driver to win the Australian Touring Car Championship, the Bathurst 1000 and the CAMS Gold Star for the Australian Drivers' Championship in the same year. Skaife won the Formula Brabham Australian Drivers' Championship each year from 1991–1993. In 1992 Skaife had briefly raced in the International Formula 3000 championship, he took part in the last two races driving for the 3001 International team. His best result was a 16th place at Nogaro in France. In 1993 he returned to Nogaro to race in the French Super Tourer round as a warm up event for the 1993 FIA Touring Car World Cup in a Nissan Primera. He and Tony Longhurst represented Australia in that event.

Skaife won his second ATCC title in 1994 driving a Holden VP Commodore. In the following years, Gibson Motor Sport struggled with sponsorship after the ban of tobacco advertising saw the team lose long-time sponsor Winfield. Skaife joined the Holden Racing Team for the 1997 Bathurst 1000, partnering Peter Brock. The pair failed to finish the race.

Skaife also drove internationally in 1997. Midway through the year when his then main employer Gibson Motor Sport was having a limited run due to a lack of funds, Skaife joined the Newcastle United sponsored Lister Storm team at the 1997 24 Hours of Le Mans. His car (#46), shared with former Formula One driver Julian Bailey and Brazilian Thomas Erdos, qualified in 29th place (25th in the GT1 class) but retired after 77 laps with terminal gearbox trouble.

Holden Racing Team

Skaife joined the Holden Racing Team full-time for 1998, alongside Craig Lowndes. Skaife won his third title in 2000, and also won the Queensland 500 with Lowndes. Also in 2000, Skaife pulled off a last-to-first performance in the second race of the Clipsal 500. Skaife successfully defended his crown in 2001, taking a third Bathurst win with Tony Longhurst. In 2002, Skaife had a fantastic season, and he himself has said that the 2002 season was the best he has ever driven.^[6] Skaife won seven of the thirteen rounds, and took his fourth Bathurst title driving with Jim Richards.

2003 saw Skaife finish third in the series, winning the Sandown 500 with Todd Kelly along the way. 2004 did not hold much for Skaife, and he finished 12th in the standings, with his best result 2nd overall at Oran Park. In 2005, he collected his fifth Bathurst win, on the way to 5th in the title. At Pukekohe in 2006, Skaife equalled Peter Brock's long-standing record of 37 ATCC round wins, and moved ahead when he won at Eastern Creek in 2007. He also made his 200th championship start at Phillip Island that year, and marked the celebration by running car number 200. Skaife collected his final round win at the 2008 L&H 500, when he paired with Garth Tander.

On 29 October 2008, Skaife announced that he would be retiring from full-time driving in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. Skaife was given a farewell and tribute at the final round of the series, which was also the last V8 Supercar round at Oran Park Raceway. Skaife sold his interest in Holden Racing Team to Tom Walkinshaw, who owned the team before his UK business collapsed in 2002.

Post retirement

Skaife paired up with Greg Murphy at Sprint Gas Racing for the 2009 enduros. They finished fourth at the 2009 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

With a new rule prohibiting full-time drivers from being team-mates for the endurance races (Phillip Island and Bathurst) in the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series, Skaife paired up with Craig Lowndes at Triple Eight Race Engineering for both events. At Phillip Island Skaife finished first together with Craig Lowndes over FPR's Mark Winterbottom and Luke Youlden. The pair backed this up with a win at Bathurst giving Skaife his sixth win in the event and 41st career round win. For 2011 Mark has once again joined Craig Lowndes for Phillip Island, where they won, and for the Bathurst 1000 where they placed second in the closest ever non formed finish of 0.2917 seconds.

Skaife is currently co-presenter on Fox Sports's coverage of V8 Supercar races. In addition, Skaife also presents segments on lifestyle program Guide to the Good Life. He was a co-presenter on Seven Sport's coverage of V8 Supercar races and co-host of the sports program V8 Xtra between 2009 & 2014

Skaife designed the Homebush Street Circuit for touring cars in Sydney in 2009 as well as the unsuccessful Canberra Street Circuit ten years prior.

Statistics

In 2008, there had been debate over whether or not Skaife has recorded 39 or 40 V8 Supercar round wins. At the start of 2008, Skaife was retrospectively awarded the win of the 2000 Clipsal 500 in place of Garth Tander, giving him his 39th round win at the time. Skaife recorded his '40th' round win at the L&H 500 with Tander later in the year. However, the 2000 Clipsal 500 win has been awarded back to Tander since then, leaving Skaife's tally at 39. Skaife has since won the 2010 L&H 500 taking his total to 40 wins, then 41 wins after victory in the 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. This total was again increased in 2011 to 42 round wins after taking out the 2011 L&H 500 event with Craig Lowndes.

This situation arose because of the unique format of the Adelaide 500. In recent years, the winner of the second leg has been seen as the round winner, regardless of points. In 2000, Skaife only finished with fourth highest points for the weekend, but won the second race. This situation also arose in 2007, where Rick Kelly was awarded the round win instead of his brother Todd, despite Todd recording the most points for the round.

Career results

Season	Series	Position	Car	Team
1985	New South Wales Laser Series	2nd	Ford Laser	Tyretown Racing
1986	New South Wales Laser Series	2nd	Ford Laser	Tyretown Racing
1986	Victorian Laser Series	1st	Ford Laser	Tyretown Racing
1987	Australian Touring Car Championship	17th	Nissan Gazelle	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing
1987	Australian 2.0 Litre Touring Car Championship	1st	Nissan Gazelle	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing
1989	Australian Touring Car Championship	9th	Skyline HR31 GTS-R	Nissan Motorsport Australia
1990	Australian Touring Car Championship	14th	Skyline HR31 GTS-R Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R	Nissan Motorsport Australia
1990	Australian Drivers' Championship	3rd	Spa FB001 Holden	Skaife Racing P/L
1991	Australian Touring Car Championship	2nd	Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R	Nissan Motorsport Australia
1991	Australian Drivers' Championship	1st	Spa FB003 Holden	Gibson Motor Sport
1992	Australian Touring Car Championship	1st	Nissan Skyline BNR32 GT-R	Winfield Team Nissan
1992	Australian Drivers' Championship	1st	Spa FB003 Holden	Winfield Racing
1992	FIA Formula 3000 International Championship	29th	Reynard 92D Mugen Honda	3001 International
1993	Australian Touring Car Championship	6th	Holden VP Commodore	Winfield Racing
1993	Australian Drivers' Championship	1st	Lola T91/50 Holden	Winfield Racing
1993	Touring Car World Cup	35th	Nissan Primera eGT	Nissan Castrol Racing
1994	Australian Touring Car Championship	1st	Holden VP Commodore	Winfield Racing
1995	Australian Touring Car Championship	6th	Holden VR Commodore	Winfield Racing
1995	Australian Drivers' Championship	7th	Lola T93/50 Holden	Gibson Motor Sport
1996	Australian Touring Car Championship	9th	Holden VR Commodore	Gibson Motor Sport
1997	Australian Touring Car Championship	13th	Holden VS Commodore	Gibson Motor Sport
1998	Australian Touring Car Championship	3rd	Holden VS Commodore	Holden Racing Team
1999	Shell Championship Series	3rd	Holden VT Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2000	Shell Championship Series	1st	Holden VT Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2001	Shell Championship Series	1st	Holden VX Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2002	V8Supercar Championship Series	1st	Holden VX Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2003	V8Supercar Championship Series	3rd	Holden VY Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2004	V8Supercar Championship Series	12th	Holden VY Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2005	V8Supercar Championship Series	5th	Holden VZ Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2006	V8Supercar Championship Series	16th	Holden VZ Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2007	V8Supercar Championship Series	8th[7]	Holden VE Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2008	V8Supercar Championship Series	14th	Holden VE Commodore	Holden Racing Team
2009	V8 Supercar Championship Series	31st	Holden VE Commodore	Tasman Motorsport
2010	V8 Supercar Championship Series	33rd	Holden VE Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2011	International V8 Supercars Championship	29th	Holden VE Commodore	Triple Eight Race Engineering
2012	Australian Carrera Cup Championship	21st	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	Porsche Cars Australia

Bathurst 1000 wins

Year	Pos	Class	No	Team	Co-Drivers	Chassis	Laps
						Engine
Group A
1991	1	1	1	Nissan Motorsport Australia	Jim Richards	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R	161
						Nissan 2.6 L S6 Twin-turbo
1992	1	A	1	Winfield Team Nissan	Jim Richards	Nissan Skyline R32 GT-R	143
						Nissan 2.6 L S6 Twin-turbo
V8 Supercars
2001	1		1	Holden Racing Team	Tony Longhurst	Holden VX Commodore	161
						Holden 5.0 L V8
2002	1		1	Holden Racing Team	Jim Richards	Holden VX Commodore	161
						Holden 5.0 L V8
2005	1		2	Holden Racing Team	Todd Kelly	Holden VZ Commodore	161
						Holden 5.0 L V8
2010	1		888	Team Vodafone	Craig Lowndes	Holden VE Commodore	161
						Holden 5.0 L V8

Complete World Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
1987	Peter Jackson Nissan Racing	Nissan Gazelle	MNZ	JAR	DIJ	NUR	SPA	BNO	SIL	BAT 19	CLD	WEL	FJI	NC	0

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
1992	3001 International	SIL	PAU	CAT	PER	HOC	NÜR	SPA	ALB	NOG 16	MAG RET	NC	0

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Pos	Class	No	Team	Drivers	Chassis	Tyre	Laps
						Engine
1997	40 DNF	GT1	46	Newcastle United Lister	Julian Bailey Thomas Erdos	Lister Storm GTL	D	77
						Jaguar 7.0L V12

References

• "Farewell Skaifey", 2008 NRMA Motoring & Services Gran Finale official race programme

External links

• Official Mark Skaife Website
• MotorSM.com – Mark Skaife
• Mark Skaife at the Internet Movie Database

Sporting positions
Preceded by Simon Kane	Winner of the Australian Drivers' Championship 1991, 1992 and 1993	Succeeded by Paul Stokell
Preceded by Win Percy Allan Grice	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 1991 and 1992 (with Jim Richards)	Succeeded by Larry Perkins Gregg Hansford
Preceded by Jim Richards	Winner of the Australian Touring Car Championship 1992	Succeeded by Glenn Seton
Preceded by Glenn Seton	Winner of the Australian Touring Car Championship 1994	Succeeded by John Bowe
Preceded by Craig Lowndes	Winner of the V8Supercar Championship Series 2000, 2001 and 2002	Succeeded by Marcos Ambrose
Preceded by Garth Tander Jason Bargwanna	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 2001 and 2002 (with Tony Longhurst and Jim Richards)	Succeeded by Greg Murphy Rick Kelly
Preceded by Greg Murphy Rick Kelly	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 2005 (with Todd Kelly)	Succeeded by Craig Lowndes Jamie Whincup
Preceded by Garth Tander Will Davison	Winner of the Bathurst 1000 2010 (with Craig Lowndes)	Succeeded by Garth Tander Nick Percat
Records
Preceded by Peter Brock 37 wins (1973 – 2004)	Most ATCC round wins 42 (1987 – 2011), 38th win at the 2007 Eastern Creek round of the V8 Supercar Championship	Succeeded by Craig Lowndes 43 wins (1996 – 2013)

Bathurst 1000 winners Nine-time Peter Brock Seven-time Jim Richards Six-time Larry Perkins Mark Skaife Five-time Craig Lowndes Four-time Harry Firth Bob Jane Allan Moffat Greg Murphy Jamie Whincup Three-time Dick Johnson Steven Richards Garth Tander Two-time John Bowe John Goss Allan Grice Russell Ingall Rick Kelly Tony Longhurst One-time Aaltonen Bailey Bargwanna Bartlett Bond Bosworth D. Brabham G. Brabham Bright Coad Davison Dumbrell Fitzpatrick French Geoghegan Gibson Hahne Hansford Harvey Holden Ickx T. Kelly McLeod McPhee Mezera B. Morris P. Morris Mostert Mulholland Parsons Percat Percy Reynolds Roberts Roxburgh Rydell Sampson Seton Winterbottom

Australian Touring Car Championship / V8 Supercar champions Six-time Jamie Whincup Five-time Ian Geoghegan Dick Johnson Mark Skaife Four-time Bob Jane Allan Moffat Jim Richards Three-time Peter Brock Craig Lowndes Two-time Marcos Ambrose Norm Beechey Glenn Seton One-time Colin Bond John Bowe James Courtney Robbie Francevic Russell Ingall Rick Kelly David McKay Bob Morris Bill Pitt Garth Tander