Skaife

Holden Racing Team (HRT) boss Mark Skaife has warned the entire V8 Supercar field, including his new teammate and reigning Champion Garth Tander, that he means business in 2008.

“Absolutely,” Skaife answered enthusiastically when asked if he could win his sixth title this year.

“I am as eager as I was when I was 20, so I am really looking forward to starting the season,” he said.

Skaife insisted that he was not going to pull over for anyone on the track, including his younger teammate, when the season kicks off at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on February 21-24.

“Clearly we won’t be running each other off the road. We are there to beat each other, but we are also there to do the best job for the team,” he said.

The five-time champion indicated that he was actually excited by the thought of racing against a stable-mate who is considered the best in the game.

“I love the challenge and the competition, and having Garth come in will be very good for me,” he said.

Skaife believes he and Tander can dominate the field for HRT in 2008, just as he and a young Craig Lowndes did in the late ’90s and early 2000s.

And the 40-year-old scoffed at suggestions that he was close to retirement age.

“I haven’t got a timeframe on it (retirement),” he said.
“Jim Richards was probably the world’s best touring car driver in his early 40s. If I’m enjoying it and I’m fit and I’m keen to continue to compete then I don’t see any reason why I couldn’t do three or four more years,” he explained.

He refused be drawn on exactly when he will hang up his helmet to concentrate on managing the team.

“It will be a case of seeing how I feel as time goes on. I want to do what is right for the team so that is a balance that I will have to continue to monitor,” he said.

And he denied pitlane scuttlebutt that this season was likely to be his farewell tour.

“I wouldn’t see this as my last year, but let’s just see how things go along,” he said, appearing to hedge his bets.