V8 Supercars entering their own crucial phase

V8s. photo by scott glick

They may have taken centre stage at Surfers Paradise by default, but it was still a significant moment for the V8 Supercars. Should they convince the Queensland government to retain the event as a V8 Supercar-only weekend, it will be another significant development for the series.

The V8 Supercar calendar has slowly transformed over the last decade; moving away from the likes of Eastern Creek and Oran Park – suburban permanent race-tracks – to temporary street circuits with their festival atmospheres.

Adelaide was the first and has become the archetypical model that V8 Supercars wanted to transplant in other city centres. It’s been joined by Hamilton in New Zealand, Townsville, Surfers Paradise, and soon, Homebush in Sydney.

But one of the principal reasons Adelaide – and Townsville this season – work is because they are, in effect, regional communities starved of large events.

Could Surfers Paradise sustain the event with just the V8 Supercars headlining?

Crowds were well down – by approximately a third – over the weekend compared to previous years. But it was to be expected considering the last minute, and high publicised, no-show by A1 GP.

Surfers crowds have become accustomed to open wheelers over the past two decades, but there is no reason why the event could not sustain the V8s alone, and the track shortening suggested by V8 Supercars executive chairman Tony Cochrane would help cut costs and condense viewing areas accordingly.

Like Adelaide, the Surfers Paradise event has the name and historical recognition to continue without open wheelers.

It’s a testament to the rise of the V8 Supercar category that this stepping up to the breach is possible.

But how will they fare at their own brand new street circuit event, namely the season finale at the Homebush Olympic Park precinct?

Getting the event off the ground is considered one of the categories greatest achievements, overcoming political bureaucracy and the doubts of critics. And they have certainly worked hard at promoting the event, once again modelling the weekend’s festivities around the template set by Adelaide.

But will Sydneysiders turn up? How will people react to seeing the Olympic precinct scarred by barriers, tyre bundles and V8 Supercars?

It will be fascinating to see if Sydney embraces the event, and it will be a real acid test to the popularity of V8 Supercars.

These are interesting times for the series.

Next year’s Middle Eastern start will be another acid test too; to see whether Channel 7 thinks the series is worthy of primetime coverage.

Previous visits to Bahrain have avoided a primetime slot due to race-scheduling, but considering the Middle East trip will open the season at a time when there is little sport on, arranging the race schedule so races can be beamed in live at primetime should be a priority, and V8 Supercars are reportedly working on this with the network.

Should Channel 7 consider the V8s not worthy of a primetime slot then questions must be asked regarding the categories ability to even threaten the football codes.

Ratings for Bathurst, the categories ‘Grand Final’, were strong, especially compared to the football codes, but the true test is in primetime.

Aside from the calendar, Cochrane has reiterated that the category is open to other manufacturers entering, and this may become a necessity as Ford and Holden continue to struggle in an ailing car market; moving away from fire-breathing V8’s in their road car divisions and committing more of their resources to greener, nimbler cars.

Such manufacturer support is crucial considering how the series has marketed the Ford and Holden rivalry; a battle still popular with the categories core supporters, but irrelevant to casual sporting fans.

Cochrane has often stated that V8 Supercars are in a position to threaten the NRL.

There is no doubt about the strength of the category in terms of its ability to pull crowds to its showpiece rounds – inflated to a degree by the festive parties around them.

But how it fits into the Australian sporting landscape is difficult, perhaps impossible, to pinpoint considering it doesn’t exactly fit the mould of the traditional ball sports.

But coping with these issues will be crucial in determining the long-term growth of the series and whether it has any chance of threatening in the code war.

As the football codes undertake their new expansionary stages, the V8 Supercars are also entering a crucial new phase of their development – one crucial to the categories sustainability.