JAMES HUNT 30 YEARS ON – A MATE’S STORY
AUSTRALIA’S INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MOTORSPORT
EXCLUSIVE
SUPERCARS LE MANS BID
CAN’T RACE HERE? WE’LL GO THERE!
THE PARITY ISSUE ISN’T TECHNICAL -IT’S TEAM/DRIVER SAYS EX-HRT BOSS
HYPERCAR HYPER-SCRIPT!
FERRARI WINS LE MANS AFTER 50 YEARS AWAY
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F1: OSCAR PIASTRI’S EXCLUSIVE COLUMN ALL ARG’S WINTER WONDERLAND ACTION
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FORD RAPTOR CLAWS FINKE CLASS WIN FORD COMPLETED its maiden Finke Desert Race with great success by claiming a class victory with its new Ranger Raptor. The Australian made Ford Performance Ranger Raptor race truck took on the arduous Finke Desert Race last weekend and conquered it to win the Production 4WD class. With father son driver/navigator combination Brad and Byam Lovell behind the wheel, the “Blue Oval” completed the gruelling 460km course from Alice Springs to Finke and back again in five hours, 56 minutes and 30 seconds. The Ford was in a league of its own in its three-car class with the next best Adam Jiear finishing an hour and a half behind, while Jordan Lawson failed to finish. It was the same Raptor that won its class in the 2022 Baja 1000. Reflecting on the journey, hall of fame off-road racer Brad Lovell likened the
Finke conditions to the brutal Baja. “Coming into this I thought it was a fast rally race with some little whoops. Seeing it torn up now, it’s like San Felipe and Baja whoops,” said Brad Lovell. “We had a great time, there’s a lot of variation. We were charging hard, but the Ranger Raptor took it, it is a super tough truck. “The Ranger Raptor pushed hard the whole time; it took everything we dished out. “The whoops out there are getting huge. I’m not sure how many suspension cycles we were doing per mile, but it has got to be a record!” The Raptor’s journey finished with a 226km run from Aputula, Finke to Alice Springs, which it completed in a record time of two hours, 51 minutes and 18 seconds. It was such an impressive performance it got the tick of approval from Ford
Performance global director Mark Rushbrook. “The Finke Desert Race is Australia’s toughest off-road race, set in what’s almost the spiritual home of the Ranger Raptor,” he said. “The Finke track, and terrain around Alice Springs was a key proving ground for the Ford Performance and Ford Australia engineering teams as we developed the Ranger Raptor. “This was Ford Performance and Ford Australia working together in a true global effort to showcase the ‘Built Ford Tough’ nature of the Ranger Raptor. “Combined with the expertise of the Lovells, Huseman Engineering and Walkinshaw Performance, this incredible team conquered Finke.” Seeing the Raptor cross the line was an emotional moment for many and especially Ford Performance and Special Vehicles engineering manager Australia
Justin Capicchiano. Capicchiano and his team has worked on the truck for almost three years and he said a class victory at Finke was a ‘dream come true’. “The Finke Desert Race is one of the toughest events on the off-road calendar, and one that we’ve wanted to take on for a long time,” said Capicchiano. “To have been able to achieve what we have over the past few days is truly dream come true stuff for me, and for my team. “We made it happen with some excellent and committed partners and a small and dedicated team, which grew as the program did. “Our Ranger Raptor finished as well as it started, and seriously looked like we could drive it back to Melbourne. “It’s an incredible truck, and we are immensely proud of this outstanding result.” Thomas Miles
READ TO ‘GO DOWN SWINGING’ IN FINALE
THE TIGHT fight for the 2022/23 Burson Auto Parts Australian Top Fuel Championship will be decided at Hidden Valley this weekend and Phil Read has vowed to “go down swinging.” With just the Nitro Up North event to go, three drivers are still in the championship chase. Leading the way is 2015 champion Damien Harris, who only has a 65-point advantage over both Read and Peter Xiberras. Despite not winning the championship for 15 years, Read heads to the Northern Territory in a confident frame of mind. He is full of belief he can take victory in the season finale and will not leave anything on the table in his chase for a breakthrough triumph. “I am highly confident that we can take out the event win,” Phil Read said. “To win the championship at the same
time will require some cards to fall our way, but I can tell you what – if we don’t win it, we will be going down swinging. “Absolutely everything that we have as a team is going into this event, and we will be leaving nothing on the table. “We know the same can be said for the
Harris and the Rapisardas, and Xiberras and PremiAir Racing, so one thing is for sure – the fans are in for a hell of a show!” Read has recent winning form, going all the way in the Perth event, which provided a further boost to his championship push. The veteran has seen a lot in drag racing
and knows anything can happen in the season finale. “In drag racing, and especially in Top Fuel drag racing, you can never say never, you can never discount any possibility, and you can never safely predict anything – it is a cliché, but absolutely anything can and does happen in this great sport of ours,” Read said. “Sixty five points isn’t a super close gap, but it isn’t insurmountable either, and we will be doing all we can to make sure we are in the best position possible to take out the title. “We will be swinging for the fences, that is for sure, and hopefully we can bring home an event win and maybe even a title.” The Nitro Up North event will be held this weekend at Hidden Valley Raceway alongside the Supercars. Thomas Miles
CARUSO RECOUNTS WILD WINTON RIDE JORDAN CARUSO’S defence of the Precision National Sports Sedans title had a wild start at Winton. Caruso has a fight on his hands in 2023 with the return of Tony Ricciardello to the category and the former Supercars driver drew first blood by emerging on top in a tense scrap in the opening race. However, both found dramas in race 2 as neither reached the chequered flag. With Ricciardello’s Alfa Romeo not recording a lap due to mechanical dramas, Caruso hoped to regain some valuable ground and looked the goods as he led the first five laps. Caruso looked set for a certain victory
as he crossed the line to start Lap 6, but his race came to a sudden stop by the time he approached Turn 1. As the #1 Audi A4 approached the opening left-hander, the nightmare scenario of a jammed throttle occurred which sent the defending champion spinning into the infield. This meant Caruso joined Ricciardello on the sidelines as Josh Haynes cruised to a 4s win over Ashley Jarvis. Reflecting on the moment, Caruso said he had to switch the engine off, but this did not stop him from spearing off. “Into Turn 1 the throttle got stuck which was a little bit scary,” he recounted to AUTO ACTION.
“I got down a few gears and felt the throttle was sticking, so I instantly turned the engine off. “But by that point I was already too deep and had a few spins. I did not hit anything which was nice though!” It left Caruso’s Earlcore Property team in a race against time to get car #1 ready for the final race. The frantic rush ended up being worth it as Caruso put in a special storming drive. Despite starting down in 17th, he only needed three laps to fly all the way to first. The defending champion was in untouchable form in his Audi
and crossed the line 10s ahead of Ricciardello. Caruso admitted it was a lot of fun behind the wheel. “I have had a few races (coming from the back) but it was probably the best,” he said. “Just a massive thanks to all the guys to make sure the car was good to go because we just got it on the starting grid “The race was a lot of fun making lots of moves. Everything just sorted itself out perfectly.” Sports Sedans return at Queensland Raceway on August 4-6. Thomas Miles
40 YEARS AGO: SCHUPPAN GIVES AUSTRALIA LE MANS GLORY This year saw the Centenary of Le Mans 24 Hours race at the Circuit de la Sharthe, it was also the 40th anniversary of Vern Schuppan delivered Australia victory in the famous race four decades ago. The 1983 24 Hours of Le Mans belonged to Mount Barker’s Schuppan, who pushed Porsche to a famous win alongside American co-drivers Al Holbert and Hurley Haywood. The trio driving the Rothmans Porsche 956 denied teammates Jacky Ickx and Derek Bell victory in a tense finish where both cars completed 371 laps. Porsche was the car to have with the entire top eight saturated by the German brand. Despite Porsche’s dominance, the AUTO ACTION report written by David Segal that documented the success explained why it was far from a walk in the park. “Vern Schuppan won the classic Le Mans 24 Hour endurance race in France, but the car just made it,” read the front-page review.
“Late in the race after taking the lead as early as quarter distance, Schuppan had the door of his racer blow off at full speed down the long Maulsanne straight. The Australian was doing over 210mph at the time!” “A pitstop restored the car to a closed machine once more, but then Holbert had the replacement door fall off as well. “A second pitstop further eroded their lead, but still threy seemed to have it won.
“However, the third door was fitted incorrectly and partly blocked the engine intake. “The car gradually overheated as the race end drew near, and then on the final lap the hot engine blew out an old seal. “The factory Rothmans backed Porsche finished with clouds of smoke pouring from the exhausts!” Schuppan recently reflected on his triumph 40 years ago and the nerves he
experienced during the final stint are very much still with him as a two-lap lead was trimmed to seconds. “Hurley and I were standing there on the podium looking at a TV monitor, and we suddenly thought ‘christ! Our car is smoking!,” he recalled in 2021. “We’re looking at each other thinking ‘blimey, if we don’t win this now at the finish, we’re going to jump off the podium!’ “We were so on tender hooks that Al wasn’t going to make it back. “The engine actually seized on Al at Arnage, but he managed to drop the clutch and he had enough momentum when that happened during the last quarter of a lap. “He made it across the line before it seized up completely!” On that special day in June 1983, Schuppan joined Bernard Rubin (1928) as Aussies to win at Le Mans outright. Brothers Geoff and David Brabham have since joined them as Aussies to conquer Le Mans in 1993 and 2009 respectively.
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ALLEN’S DREAM BACK-TOBACK LE MANS VICTORY JAMES ALLEN has given some insight into his Centenary 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 Pro Am class victory, with the Aussie helping secure a dominant back-to-back win. Racing for Portuguese team, Algarve Pro Racing (APR), James Allen took on the challenge of going back-to-back with new American teammates George Kurtz and Colin Braun. The dominant 5 lap victory over its Pro Am class rivals COOL Racing, saw the team take its fifth ever WEC win, giving APR the best current LMP2 Pro Am class record. Starting from P2 in the class, the team survived a myriad of battles including a slight late scare with their #45 ORECA going off track but pulling up short of the wall to rejoin out of the gravel, still holding a comfortable lead. For the Aussie LMP2 regular, that makes it two-from-two in the worlds biggest 24 Hour races in 2023 after his incredible photo finish win at Daytona earlier in the year, where he ironically beat an APR ORECA to the line by 0.016s driving for Proton Competition. Allen spoke about the team environment, and the feeling of winning Le Mans with it being the 100th anniversary of the race at Circuit de la Sarthe. “The 24 Hours of Le Mans is always a pretty special event, but particularly this year with it being the centenary,” Allen said.
“This is the third time I’ve been on the podium and the second time I’ve won, and it’s always amazing to see the entire pit straight full of people from the top step. It’s really impressive. “This is the first time I’ve ever worked with George (Kurtz) and Colin (Braun), but I was really impressed with both of them when we first tested together at Monza. “They adapted well to the new aero kit and tyres on the LMP2 car. As a result, we hit the ground running and got everything sorted out quickly here at Le Mans, and it soon felt like our race to throw away.” Allen took the treacherous first stint in the #45 APR, choosing to stay out as long as possible before pitting, leaving the team with a solid position.
Allen then put the car into a class P2 over his next stint, and was consistently matching lap times with the LMP2 leader into the night time hours. The teams hot pursuit of P1 was put on hold when it was forced to replace an Accident Data Recorder at around midnight, but a full coarse yellow shortly after minimised any time lost. They then assumed P1 after surviving the night unscathed, when the #80 AF Corse car took terminal damage in a high-speed collision with the barrier at the Porsche Curves - Allen would take over with the car in a comfortable P1 with nine hours to run. They were never headed after that, and after 322 laps an historic victory was recorded. In the scope of the 13 WEC LMP2
Pro Am races to date, this was comfortably the biggest ever winning margin, as APR solidified its spot as the sub-categories most winningest team. Team Principal Stewart Cox described some ins-and-outs of the incredible achievement, describing APR’s well prepared approach as its key to victory. “It’s a remarkable achievement to take the 24 Hours of Le Mans LMP2 Pro-Am two years on the trot, and the way the race was managed by the team and drivers was critical to our success,» Cox said. “I can’t fault our attention-to-detail this week; we worked hard to prepare George for his Le Mans debut, with thorough track walks, incident and data analysis, and by showing him how the car feels at every stage of the day and night, in all conditions. “Our pace and overtakes were managed, our guys were kept fully informed of incidents and other drivers’ mistakes, we had people on pushbikes reporting the weather in various locations, because the strategy was to simply keep the car on the track. “Thanks to everyone involved for doing their jobs so brilliantly. I’m keen to enjoy this result and really let it sink in.” Allen and APR will return to the European Le Mans Series full of confidence after a disappointing first round by their standards in Barcelona, where they hope to turn it around at Paul Ricard on July 16. TW Neal
DICKIE PRIMED FOR PIKES PEAK ASSAULT BRETT DICKIE is back in Colorado, USA, prepping his Project Import Honda S2000 Pikes Peak car for another run at the ‘Race to the Clouds’. The Melbourne racer will be amongst 68 international entrants and is the only Aussie starter in 2023, after he first taking on the historic Pikes Peak hill climb in 2021. He returns again with an extremely prepared and hard working team, with the team already having done some runs in the lower area of the course. The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb first ran in 1916, making it America’s second oldest race behind the Indy 500, with the 19.9 km course
containing 156 corners as it climbs up a 14,155 foot summit. The preparation for Dickie and his team has been meticulous, with the car being stripped and rebuilt every day of running in a bid to perfect the performance. Dickie’s Honda S2000 features a 2.0 litre turbocharged 800hp engine with a six-speed paddle shift operated gearbox, and this year, he also goes to Pikes Peak with a revised aero kit designed by RS Future. Once again Dickie will be performing in the 15 car Unlimited class. “We’ve just finished practicing on the lower section here at Pikes Peak, and
relatively speaking, we’re pretty happy with how the car went,” Dickie said on his socials. “There’s a few little things that the Project Import team have had to sort out…but all in all, it’s been very positive. “Heading into race week we’re pretty confident with what we’ve got, and we’re looking forward to repaying the sponsors and all the crew for their really hard work.” Dickie finished in P31 in 2021 after recording a 7:58.078s lap. The time was enough to finish sixth in the Unlimited class on a shortened 14.5kms course due to adverse road conditions.
He’s already been over to the states in 2023 with the S2000, taking on the Time Attack Super Lap Battle at the Circuit of the Americas, and will also return to California in October and November to contest the Global Attack Finals in Buttonwillow. Practice and qualifying for the famous hill climb takes place over Tuesday to Thursday on June 20-22, followed by an optional practice on the Friday. The green flag on the 101st running of the Race to the Clouds gets under way at 7 30 am on Sunday June 24, with the projected event end coming at 5pm that evening. TW Neal
RADICAL CUP SEASON READY TO FIRE AT SMP THE 2023 Radical Cup Australia season is set for a new year with a record grid entered for this weekend’s opener at Sydney Motorsport Park. Entering its second season under the current one-make sports car format, the opening round will feature a 20 strong grid of Radical SR3 sports cars, and arguably, its strongest field yet. This year sees a five round calendar that runs through until November, with trips to Queensland Raceway, Phillip Island, and the Bend, with the Championship then wrapping up where it began at SMP. The series will also punctuate its year with a trip to Mount Panorama for the Bathurst International, with category manager Charise Bristow saying they’re proud of the calendar they’ve put together. “It has been the hardest calendar to piece together, but the reward is such a strong grid for Sydney Motorsport Park,” Bristow said. “We’ve worked extremely hard to make the series affordable, competitive and fun for the competitors and the fact we’ve got such a diverse group of drivers and teams competing is exactly what we hoped to achieve. “There’s so many storylines to follow and it’s going to be a great weekend of racing.” Some of the names fronting upon at the SMP, will be former Supercars driver Melinda Price joining the Radical series, sharing the driving duties with Greg Kenny. SMP Hometown racer and defending champion Chris
Perini also returns with his Bing Technologies GWR SR3 XX. The Sydney siders consistency got him across the line last season, but also took a race win at his Eastern Creek home to cap it all off. The series will also be privy to young 15-year-old driver Alex Gardner embarking on his circuit racing journey, with the Karting prodigy to take up the wheel with Volante Rosso Motorsport. With Price also racing for Volante Rosso, it’s not a bad way for a young aspirant to enter the racing world with that kind of racing experience on-hand to learn from, with Josh Hunt and co-driver Peter Clare also in the team. 2022 title contender Elliott Schutte is also back for a second crack at the championship with WA outfit Arise
Racing, as well as Jordan Oon who will be partnered with another young Karting ace in Zara Horn, making her national level debut. Sue Hughes from Hughes Motorsport will also be returning in the #32 PPF Studio Radical after a good point scoring back-half of 2022. Among some of the other RCA debutants will be Arise’s Cooper Cutts, Warwick Churche, and Simon Arthur, making it a total of seven rookies to take on SMP. Peter Paddon is another returnee, but will this year take up a single driver role in the #31 GWR First Focus entry, whilst SA S5000 BRM driver Mark Rosser will steer the #69 SR3, with it being BRM’s first tilt at the RCA. After challenging for the title with co-driver Peter Carr last year, Peter Paddon, returns to compete as a singledriver duties to commence the 2023 title aboard his First Focus entry, prepared by GWR. The 2023 Workhorse Radical Cup Australia commences with three practice sessions on Friday, June 16. Qualifying and the first 50-minute race will be held on Saturday, with the second race kicking off at midday on Sunday. The Sunday show will be broadcast live on 7Plus as well as the Workhorse Radical Cup Australia social media channels, and the Motorsport Australia social media channels. TW Neal
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BIG MOMENT IN SAN MARINO FOR GILL
LE MANS AUSSIES THAT TOOK ON DE LA SARTHE IN THE support categories at the centennial running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, six Aussies took on the world in the Porsche Carrera Cup and the LMP3 Le Mans Cup. It’s easy to oversee the support racing from afar due to the immensity of the main event itself, but what an experience it must have been just to be there for the occasion, let alone be able to race on the historic Circuit de la Sarthe during the week of festivities. In the Porsche Carrera Cup, which was a monster 64 car 911 GT3 Cup field, Rodney Jane and Marc Cini took on the combined French and Scandinavian field in the Am category. Whilst the LMP3 Le Mans Cup field saw Scott Andrews, Andres Latorre Canon, Fraser Ross and George Nakas compete in a 58 car prototype field. Over the two races, Andrews fared the better with a high of P5 in Race 2 for United Autosport, finishing +10.047s off
the front runner, after taking P11 in the opener. The French Graff Racing pairing of Fraser Ross and George Nakas - who compete at the European Le Mans Series together - ended up with a P39 and P47, but in Race 1, an inspired drive from P25 had them in podium contention. “What an experience racing at Le Mans, didn’t manage the traffic well in qualifying so we started 25th for the race. Moved to 7th in two laps and 4th by the end of my stint,” Ross said. “Sadly damage following the driver
change meant we dropped back…but some of the funnest racing I’ve done! “Second race was just as fun but sadly a drive through penalty for driver time ruined chances of a high finish. Incredible being at the event.” Latorre Canon also had a tough run of it with engine issues scratching him from Race 1, and a P37 in Race 2. He did however get to race for Inter Europol competition, the eventual LMP2 race winners in the main show. In the Carrera Cup, Jane brought the iconic Bob Jane T-Marts logo back to Le Mans for the first time since 1984. The Aussie Carrera Cup racer did pretty well with a P5 in the Am class racing for Pierre Martinet by Almeras, +1.35.307 off the leader, and around 41 seconds off the podium. All round Aussie GT regular Marc Cini ended up in P46, also in the Am class, finishing P16 in class, racing for Martinet by Almeras. TW Neal
TAYLOR GILL’S 2023 Rally Star season will finally kick off as he and co-driver Dan Brkic take on Europe’s San Marino Rally. After winning the ARC Production Cup last season, Gill then went on to qualify for the FIA Rally Star Program after winning the Asia Pacific finals, meaning he is now in the frame to compete for a spot in the highly sought after Junior WRC circuit. Gill and Brkic were put through an intense two days of testing in Sardinia prior to this weekend’s June 16-17 rally. “Some really positive steps forward developing my notes and driving technique on tarmac, I am really looking forward to being able to implement it into our tarmac rallies this year,” Gill said after the Sardinia testing. Now the NSW youngster is now raring to go to test himself against some of the highest rated junior rally talent in the world. Living out of Finland, it’s a big moment for the rally driver and mechanic by trade. “I just can’t believe it’s finally happening. It’s nice to know that the many months of planning and thinking about it has all been worth it,” Gill said. “For the first time in a long time it’s rally week, and it’s pretty surreal to be heading to the San Marino Rally this week, we are itching to get going in our first rally outside of Australia.” In regards to the testing, Brkic said that the two are as prepared as they can be. “Our research has been lengthy and we’re making sure we are as prepared as we can be,” the co-driver explained. “We’ve been lucky enough to drive a Rally3 car in the lead up to the program, which I’m not sure many other participants have. That should give us an edge on the competition and the ability to prove ourselves early in the program.” The action gets underway this Friday with a Super Special Stage on Friday, before full days of rallying over the weekend, with the results to be posted on ewrc-results.com TW Neal
JONES KEEPS PODIUM RUN ALIVE AT HOCKENHEIM YOUNG AUSSIE Porsche star Harri Jones continues to make strides in his debut European season, as he doubles up his premier Mobil 1 Supercup duties with the German Carrera Cup season. After a great first round where he took P2 and P1 in the rookie class at Spa, Jones then got on the rookie podium again at Monaco in the Supercup. On the weekend, the 2022 Australian Carrera Cup champion also returned to the podium again at the Hockenheimring in Germany. After qualifying as top rookie in P10 for Race 1, and again for Race 2 in P6 overall, things didn’t go to plan with a P25 finish in the opener. He then flipped his opening performance on its head, but was unfortunately run down by Rookie class leader Theo Oeverhaus. “What a difference a day can make…P6 in
the second race of the weekend and a podium in the Rookie Classification,” the Scherer Sport PHX Aussie said. “Had a mega start and jumped into P4 for a couple of laps but ultimately slipped back to P6 after some battles and an excursion through the gravel. “Generally lacked a bit of pace over the weekend, but we still put up a great fight. Looking forward to our next round at Zandvoort in two weeks time, in the meantime we are off to Red Bull ring for more testing. Thanks to all involved for another awesome week at the track” It’s a busy few race weekends for Jones ahead, as he takes on the German one-make series again at Zandvoort on June 23-25, before Round 2 of the Supercup for Lechner Racing at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on June 30 - July 2. TW Neal
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TOURING CAR MASTERS TEAMS DISCUSS TAKEOVER PLANS…
FOLLOWING ANOTHER SMALL FIELD AT THE RECENT EVENT AT WINTON, PLANS ARE BEING DISCUSSED FOR A POTENTIAL TAKEOVER OF THE OWNERSHIP RIGHTS TO THE CATEGORY… IN RESPONSE to the development, AUTO ACTION’s Publisher and Editorial director, and TCM car owner Bruce Williams, looked at some of the issues and spoke to ARG’s John McMellan and leading TCM competitor Andrew Fisher at Winton last weekend. There was plenty of speculation and discussion around the future of Touring Car Masters at Winton last weekend, including possibly developing plans for a potential take-over of the category by the entrants themselves. It is considered to be a serious enough proposition for things to get to the point where a meeting took place on Saturday evening in the Winton pits, where some heated discussions developed between interested competitors. Just a few years ago there were consistently
more than 25-30 cars regularly competing in the hugely popular Touring Car Masters series, but over time that figure has continued to decline, and with that, the competitors, category management and fans, are not happy. Whilst the big names such as Steven Johnson, John Bowe and Ryan Hansford and other category stalwarts are still putting on a great show, a meagre total of 13 cars took part in the latest round at Winton last weekend, which is the most in the entire 2023 season. The trip to the Victorian circuit was the second TCM trip on the SpeedSeries schedule after the opener at Tasmania, while it has also made an appearance on the Supercars platform on the high-profile event on the streets of Newcastle. However, neither of those events attracted large numbers either, with just 12 and nine
cars racing at Newcastle and Tasmania respectively. After three underwhelming rounds, conversations have begun about why the decline has continued even with new ownership, with one of the most popular categories in Australian Motorsport having an average of a dozen cars showing up to a race meeting. Leading TCM driver Andrew Fisher, one of the prime movers of the potential move in a change of the ownership structure, says that the owners and the competitors have to take as much responsibility for the health and well-being of the category as the current owners ARG do. “Well, as car owners we are as much investors in TCM as the owners ARG are, and as such we are looking to the long-term future of TCM… It’s about what’s going to be good for the category,” Fisher said.
“Everybody loves TCM. All the owners, the drivers racing in the category and the fans all love TCM. “The cars themselves are great, and again the fans love them, and it’s one of the appeals for many of us who are racing in TCM, but we have seen a real drop off in numbers and it’s an issue that has to be dealt with,” he confirmed. “What we see as one of the major issues from the TCM competitors’ point of view is that it’s just not sitting in the right position in terms of the profile and the way the category is being promoted, even just from an internal ARG marketing perspective. “TCM is down the order of priorities within the ARG portfolio, and there is no doubt that TCR, Trans Am, GT and S5000 are ahead of TCM in the pecking order. “TCM doesn’t even get a mention on their category transporter, and for TCM to thrive it
must have a bigger focus.” Looking ahead for a potential category takeover Fisher explained that despite there being a significant amount of enthusiasm for the competitor buyout, it was still a long way away from happening, and that other considerations had to be in place for it to be successful. “Part of the process is talking to some people that can run the category for the entrants, because the owners can’t run it. We will need a representative that runs it on our behalf, so we are looking for a professional category manager to look after it,” Fisher continued. “We have Graham Sattler who is a cracking administrator on a race weekend, and we would like him to be part of the plans going forward.” Fisher said that many of the TCM owners want to race at more Supercar events and I asked him about two of the more high-profile Supercars rounds being poorly supported. The Adelaide 500 at the end of last year delivered 13 cars, and then at Newcastle for the start of the Supercars season there were 11 cars, are those events not high profile enough that would encourage people to come back out? “It could all change, if ARG said, ‘we’ll profile you as our second highest category and we’ll market you, we’ll give you the four high profile events and we’ll back you guys’ as I think they should, then maybe that could work. “And then how do you bring new people into the series, rather than bring past competitors back to the series? “And I don’t think that we can bring new talent into the series whilst the majority of the series is run at non-high-profile events. “I think the real thing is, is looking at what the future of TCM looks like? “So, we need to find a way to get new people interested and excited and to make
it an attractive category to be part of and refresh what TCM is all about and being on more Supercars events is one way to get more competitors interested.” Fisher concluded. In response, ARG’s John McMellan put the case for ARG’s position and confirmed discussions had taken place… “We have always regarded Touring Car Masters as one of the cornerstone categories of Australian motorsport and its huge popularity with fans is well documented,” he said. “We continue to be committed to TCM and ensure that it has opportunities befitting its value; however, it’s clear that there needs to be more engagement from competitors in support of these opportunities. “The initial key messaging was that they wanted the profile of big events, however providing both Adelaide and Newcastle made little if any difference.” McMellan acknowledged that there is talk about possible approaches-but nothing has actually eventuated as yet, and I spoke to him for his feedback on a potential sale of the category. “We have merely discussed with competitors that we are happy to look at any option to assist in achieving the best outcomes for TCM and are open to discussing options, some of which may even include a potential JV, sale or lease if there is a party or parties that can demonstrate how
they will genuinely contribute to assisting in re-building the core into a bigger base.” It is common knowledge that some competitors have upped the ante when it comes to chasing performance, which is partly the reason for the increased expenses associated with the category, and there is no doubt that this has an effect on racers who don’t have the funds to bring their own cars back to a level of competitiveness. “It’s no secret that TCM has also had its challenges in recent times with increased costs due to the investment some have made in chasing performance which is not unusual in any motorsport,” he said. McMellan further explained that there is a perception among many in the sport that there has been an explosion in running costs for TCM competitors. “These issues were well entrenched and existed at the time of our purchasing of TCM. At the time this was the key factor and some competitors stated it was impacting their ability and desire to race – the cost to be competitive.” “We have a lot of great TCM racers with cars that have been dormant for a few years, many who were quite competitive when they last raced, but the owners of these cars see that they would need to spend a significant amount of money to bring them back up to speed and that keeps many away. ARG have worked on a series of initiatives to encourage competitors of older generation
TCM cars to return to the category, some of which include racing for their own series points and awards, and have even offered discounted entry fees etc and other incentives to get more cars onto the grid. McMellan also acknowledged that many TCM competitors have pushed hard for the category to run more regularly on high -profile Supercars events, however despite some competitors believing this was the “fix”, frustratingly the numbers have remained low despite organisers providing “some very high profile” events for competitors. “We understand that TCM has often been seen at high-profile events such as the Adelaide 500, Newcastle and the Townsville Supercars events and we have worked hard to deliver these programs for the competitors, but again we haven’t seen any real support from a lot of the competitors who regularly state this as a reason for themselves not racing. “Despite us providing some very highprofile events, entry numbers have remained below where we would like to see them. “When we [ARG] purchased Touring Car Masters we had hoped to achieve an alignment with Supercars to deliver an expanded motorsport event calendar, and we saw TCM as a key product in supporting any aligned expanded calendar,” McMellan said. “That did not transpire, and we have now had to focus our limited resources on building additional events and event broadcasts of our own. “This has meant that we have limited capacity to provide in-depth support to address the underlying issues from a technical viewpoint and we also have to respect the significant investment that has already been made by some car owners. “Motorsport is about ‘entertainment’ and ‘the show’ and enviably TCM can provide both on track entertainment and the heritage, and uniqueness of the cars certainly adds to the show element. “We are committed to the category and its importance and are always open to ways to address the current challenges and move it forward.” The Touring Car Masters returns to the Supercars stage at The Bend on August 18-20.