The deal means Australian Motor Racing Partners Pty Limited (AMRP), backed by Archer Capital, will soon own 60 per cent of the series, the teams’ 40 per cent and, critically, current chairman Tony Cochrane, who has guided the series in its current guise, will stay on, leading the charge.
Andrew Gray and Brad Lancken will represent AMRP, joining Cochrane and team representatives Roland Dale and Brad Jones on the new board of directors of V8 Supercars Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, guiding the overall direction of the series.
Meanwhile, a new commission, likely to be modeled on the AFL’s, will concern itself with decision-making on sporting matters – technical and sporting rules and regulations.
With the new ownership structure in place and licence holders (team owners) suddenly $4 million-plus richer, the sport can move forward into what’s shaping as a critical decade: its next television deal due for 2013, the Car of the Future regulations (the next generation cars), new manufacturers and international expansion, all the while fighting for mainstream attention at home.
And while the AFL, NRL and company battle over the Gold Coast and western Sydney, V8 Supercars is looking to the United States, India, Qatar, Singapore and elsewhere.
Cochrane confirmed in the sale announcement that the series would expand to 18 events in 2013, with up to six overseas events (not including New Zealand) allowed as part of V8 Supercars’ recent deal with motorsport governing body, the FIA, which awarded the series international status.
Why expand into Asia?
Well, apart from Formula One’s recent intrusion into the region, it remains relatively untapped for motorsport and international sport. Other categories, such as the World Touring Car Championship, have a minimal foothold in Asia, and given the growing motorsport culture and economic opportunities that lie within our neighbours to the north, it makes sense for V8 Supercars to have a presence in the region, more so than in the USA, South Africa or elsewhere.
Ultimately this is about growing the V8 Supercar pie.
V8 Supercars and its teams can offer sponsors and backers a growing global audience and a presence in economies across Asia and the Middle East; an advantage they’ll have over Australian sports’ heavy hitters such as the AFL and NRL, whose reach is limited to Australia and New Zealand.
For multinational corporations already in the sport, such as Vodafone, Pepsi, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam and co, overseas events are obviously attractive – significantly increasing the bang for their buck and the reach of their sponsorship.
While the AFL and NRL flirt with international growth and a long-term presence in markets such as Asia, it will be easier for V8 Supercars to sell its universally understood product – motorsport – compared to the footy codes’ unique games and rules.
But no one in V8 Supercars should underestimate the challenge ahead.
After all, such expansion needs to be about more than bottom lines, as the series risks isolating its Australian fan base without adequately attracting a new one in these new regions.
Even Formula One, with mega worldwide television deals and a global profile only rivaled by European football, cannot fill stadiums in China, Turkey, Abu Dhabi etc. And the quintessentially Australian V8 series has a way to go to educate and attract an international audience to the ways of V8 Supercars.
The product is strong.
Television ratings and crowds have been up in 2011 off the back of the thrilling end to the 2010 season (it’s not often you see all three championship contenders follow each other into the wall in the penultimate race of the year), and that competitiveness has carried into 2011, where two teams – Kelly Racing and Brad Jones Racing – have claimed their first race wins this season in an incredibly deep field.
There are 28 strongly supported cars with a growing portfolio of non-automotive sponsors entering the sport. Only NASCAR in North America can claim to have a stronger domestic motorsport category.
But is that enough to warrant such international growth?
Important in all this is not just the prospect of new manufacturers entering the sport as a result of Car of the Future, but also the next television deal, which will be critical to the sport’s popularity at home.
Live coverage, as all codes are finding, is fast becoming a requirement, and it remains to be seen whether Channel Seven, recently renewed as the free-to-air home of the AFL, can retain V8 Supercars.
Should they on-sell a game or two, there will conveniently be a gap in the schedule for some V8 racing. Like the fortunes of the NRL television deal, V8 Supercars will have to wait for the conclusion of the AFL’s before they can settle their own.
And if V8 Supercars is to appease its Australian fan base on international expansion, overseas events cannot be buried in the middle of the night back home. The next television deal must guarantee Australia-friendly coverage times.
Selling Australian fans on international expansion and the move away the Holden versus Ford duopoly is an imperative for V8 Supercars’ new owners. It cannot afford to alienate its Aussie fan base at a time when the Australian sporting landscape is so competitive, and so many codes and clubs are fighting for their share of your attention.
But Australian fans needn’t worry that the series will be completely lost to overseas, exotic locations.
The decision to award majority ownership to the Australia-based Archer Capital as opposed to Asian sports agency World Sports Group, who were also leading bidders, highlights a desire to retain the Australian core of V8 Supercars.
World Sports Group, heavily involved in the Asian Champions League, the Indian Premier League and other Asian interests, would undoubtedly have pushed for a heavier Asian focus – more so than Archer Capital with its Australian interests.
As V8 Supercar board member, team boss and driver Todd Kelly said, “They (Archer Capital) are not going to go and tip the sport on its head and send us to ‘god knows where’ overseas to go and race for half the year.
“They are extremely conscious of the Australian fans and that’s the first thing that everyone is going to concentrate on, making sure that we’ve got everything happening back here in our own backyard as best we can.”
That backyard will always be V8 Supercars’ heartland, at events such as Bathurst, Winton, Darwin, Sandown and co, just as the AFL’s heartland will remain in Melbourne, the NRL’s in Sydney and so on. Expansion should not be mistaken for relocation. But, ultimately, V8 Supercars’ expansion represents one of the bravest expansion plans in Australian sport – far more so than any of the footy codes’.
Is it a risk too far? We shall see…
Godspeed, V8 Supercars.
Follow Adrian on twitter @AdrianMusolino
Ash
Guest
Listen to you people. Dont comment on this if you dont understand motorsport. Go back to your meathead games chasing around a pigskin ball. Live. Love. Race!!
Brissy Boy
Guest
Or interest. I'm the first to admit that the idea of standing in one spot for three days while a posse of drivers run laps waiting for the chance to overtake the leader while his pit crew is changing his tyres is... well, excrusiating boring doesn't quite do it justice. Nor does environmentally damaging, lethargic or boganesque. But then again, I'm the guy who doesn't like Top Gear, who sold his car to do less damage to the planet and his wallet, and who never was terribly impressed with yobbos who cut laps all evening around town, so I'm probably not the target audience...
Megaman
Guest
Exactly. No series can rely on just two manufacturers. If Ford or Holden pull out the series is screwed.
Megaman
Guest
Don't think that's the argument but what Asia expansion can offer V8s into terms of business sponsors and money is enough to justify it.
Daniels
Guest
People wonder how beneficial having 3 or 4 manufacturers would be and how having international rounds will help. All you need to know is that ford have been really cutting down the funding, and several teams have now turned to Holden, and with out intervention, I would of thought, apart from 5 or 6 cars, all the cars would be Holden (making it little more than a one make series). If they need to have some races in the home nations of manufacturers, such as Japan, korea and the us, so be it. I think it is an important part of the deal that they delebretely chose an Australian management company rather than an Asian company. They actually value the main market of the sport, by keeping the Australian focus on the sport, however are still aware of some serous issues in the sport.
Haz
Guest
Really good article , but what about the v8s will capture the Asian audiences more the the more universally popular f1s ? -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
Shane Moore
Roar Rookie
You have no idea Brissy Boy...
Shane Moore
Roar Rookie
Are you serious Chris? Nobody cares about F1. Right... Just found this after 30 seconds of searching; it's a list of the most watched sporting events of 2004. 1 Football: Euro 2004 final Portugal v Greece 153 million 2 Olympic Games: opening ceremony 127 million 3 Olympic Games: closing ceremony 96 million 4 American football: Super Bowl 95 million 5 Olympic Games: men's 100m metres 87 million 6 Olympic Games: men's 200m freestyle swimming 66 million 7 Formula one: Monaco grand prix 59 million 8 Football: Champions League final Porto v Monaco 56 million 9 Basketball: NBA finals 25 million 10= Tennis: Wimbledon women's singles final 21 million 10= Tennis: Wimbledon men's singles final 21 million 12 Cycling: Tour de France final stage 16 million 13= Football: FA Cup final Millwall v Man Utd 9 million 13= Horseracing: Grand National 9 million 15 Rowing: University Boat Race 5 million Number 7 was just a single grand prix, albeit the Monaco GP. Look at some of the events above. Four out of the six were at the Olympic games, which is held only once every four years. The other two events were both football finals, which are obviously only held just once a year. Monaco, on the other hand, was just another one out of eighteen races for the year. It was not a final or of any greater significance than any other race. By saying that no one cares about F1, then I guess no one cares about the NBA finals, Wimbledon finals, Tour de France etc etc. I've read in numerous sources that F1 is the most watched sport on the planet besides the Olympic Games and the World Cup. So anyway Chris, tell me more about these "unevolved nations" that will be the only ones to "ever have interest in such buffoonery"? I assume you would include countries like France and Germany in that list? Japan too? Last time I checked they were fairly well evolved nations, and it would be fair to say that F1, and motorsport in general, are extremely popular sports in each of those countries. I just don't understand your comment. It's ridiculous...
Megaman
Guest
I was waiting for someone to throw this line of argument on here... Boring.
Brissy Boy
Guest
Not a sport. If driving a car is a sport, then playstation and knitting are sports. They require about the same amount of physical effort and concentration.
Rodney
Guest
I used to be a massive fan of the v8s but no longer. For two (main) reasons: 1. They're not Fords & Holdens anymore. They're 99% the same car with a different body shell, and even they look alike. Need to get them back closer to the showroom variety. I much prefer watching the Production Car races that they have. 2. Just too many ads. Every year when I watch Bathurst I've got to re-learn to circuit to know what corners have changed names!
Jaceman
Guest
Apples with a forest. I'm surprised V8s arent bigger because the motor accessories market in Australia is $7Bn (last time I looked ) and 10% of that in advertising is lucrative...
Megaman
Guest
Big risk for V8s but if it all goes to the wall overseas theres a market here for them. Still a huge gamble.
Nathan
Guest
Good luck, V8s; would be good for Australia to have this kind of developing positive soft-power exposure in Asia.
Michael
Guest
LMAO AFL international reach? Get your hand off it. lol. NRL at least has Australia, NZ & UK. And its been expanding by 3-4 countries arranging indepedent leagues every year. I don't think the V8 is a challenge because its an entirely different set of supporters. I applaud them for doing so, but they need to now entice some International drivers to drive in the competition...Getting a middle-eastern driver/Asian driver would be great for the sports exposure imo.
Redb
Roar Guru
Rather puny attempt to draw attention to the V8s by inciting some footy code war rhetoric. Maybe if it was Ford V8 v Holden V8 expansion?
Chris
Guest
There's nothing brave about the expansion plan, and there's absolutely no symmetry between motor racing and unestablished sports - AFL and NRL - that require real development; As opposed to throwing money around and riding the coat-tails of others. Motor racing itself is established the world over(League and ARF are not), there's a difference between a niche and a product. League and AFL are both niches, the V8 is a product that makes up part of an already established niche. One(V8) is easy to market, the others aren't. The reason Formula 1 can't fill stadiums is because nobody cares about it. Likewise, nobody will ever care about V8, Nascar or any other lets-drive-in-circles hick sports. Only America, Australia and other unevolved nations will ever have interest in such buffoonery. IF people wanted to watch this kind of motor racing, Nascar would be popular the world over -- It isn't.
Stevo
Guest
Good article, I enjoy your pieces on local motor racing. It is a ballsy move, but I don't know if it will work. The V8s are very much an Australian/New Zealand series, and I think Asians would be more inclined to follow series involving a move diverse group of developers (European/Asian). If the V8s follow that road, and can get manufacturers like Toyota and Nissan in, then maybe they're a chance. But in doing so they may alienate Aussie fans. That's the problem. For the TV rights, I hope they go back to Channel 10. They seemed to give the V8s a better viewing than 7 does. Just as long as the new TV deal doesn't have them finishing races on time rather than laps completed in the early afternoon, just so the TV can go show a game between two Victorian AFL teams on Sydney TV (or TV anywhere - I'm just giving my example).
peeeko
Roar Guru
unfortunately i can see asian expansion being nothing but a waste of money. V8 racing seems to polarize a lot of people, more so than other sports. a lot of people love it but a heap cant stand it.
Buck
Guest
How long before the TV issues are settled? Is there any pressure on 7 to formalise its AFL arrangements? The big difference for the V8 circus compared to the footy codes is the amount of volunteer labour used to generate V8 profits at the meetings around the country. If that was paid, what would be the effect on the bottom line?