First things first, don’t Panic. Volvo are still racing this year, Scott McLaughlin still has a chance in the championship.
Don’t Panic. Everything is fine.
Polestar, Volvo’s performance and motorsport arm, have said in a statement that they have not renewed their contract with Garry Rogers Motorsport to support the team.
First off, this doesn’t mean Volvo is definitely leaving V8 Supercars. Polestar entered the sport in 2014 in a joint agreement with GRM and Volvo Australia. So only one of three backers behind the team have pulled out.
There were signs that Polestar were going to drop their support, with the Polestar branding being replaced with ‘Volvo Cyan Racing’ and ‘Volvo Dealer Racing’. Volvo Cyan racing refers to the Scandinavian Touring Car team which Scott McLaughlin drove for in a one off deal last weekend.
Garry Rogers himself said that “we haven’t dealt with Polestar in over nine months,” believing that news has not changed anything in the current 2017 negotiations.
The move was foreshadowed by comments made by Volvo’s global marketing boss Alain Visser, who said in December 2014 that “Motorsport does not conform with our brand, where we stand for smaller engines and safety.”
The boss planned to pull out of the STCC as soon as possible, although the plans to drop out at the end of 2015 appear to have been dropped, with the S60 still running in the STCC. Volvo also entered the World Touring Car Championship in 2016, further sending mixed messages on their motorsport ambitions.
The news comes in contrast to reports from last week, in which News Corporation Papers said that GRM had signed a deal with Volvo, although the article does not clarify whether the deal pertains to Polestar or Volvo Australia.
However, Volvo Australia is unlikely to continue supporting GRM without Polestar report and are yet to comment on the situation.
It means that we are still yet to any factory support confirmed for 2017 with Ford already out, Holden and Nissan undecided and Volvo unlikely to continue.
The future of V8 Supercars in its current state looks more uncertain day by day. But still, we better enjoy it while it lasts. How awesome would it be if Scott is able to get Volvo a championship in their swansong year?
CG2430
Guest
Sad but true.
Cento
Guest
Well aware of their "dodgy accounting" as far as viewer numbers go and the punters haven't been sucked in by the claims. With the KL round now mired in court action and most likely not going ahead it seems (much to my delight) that the Warburton era is losing its gloss. Might be a long 5 years stuck with the current broadcast arrangement as they try and build a new series that few can watch.
Naveen Razik
Roar Pro
Problem is that V8 Supercars calculate ratings by adding up the total amount of people watching a race, live or highlights or Inside Supercars or whatever. Clipsal on 10 Hit around 462,000 for the end of the race on Sunday, with about 444,000 at the start. Highlights for Tasmania didn't even make the top 20 programs. Can't find much info on Fox, but I doubt it would be more than 10-20% of what they get on FTA. The broadcast deal certainly isn't encouraging manufacturers that they can advertise their cars here...
Cento
Guest
Latest news is that Volvo is definitely out at the end of this year with a requirement that the cars and engines be returned to Sweden at season's end. GRM will have to pick something else to race next year or that's it. Doesn't really leave them too much time to start a new program alongside running the Volvo and, given that they have a shot at the title by the sounds of it they wouldn't want to divert resources to a new program. What a conundrum! Can anyone enlighten as to what the ratings are like this year? Last year Warburton was very happy to release figures after each round to discredit the naysayers. This year it's a struggle to locate any information whatsoever.
anon
Guest
It seems inevitable that this will become a GT championship. People I know who lived and breathed V8 Supercars have lost interest in the series. That Ford vs Holden rivalry is all but dead except in very low socioeconomic areas, and once they stop making them here even those people will no longer care. It's a demographic thing too. Cars just aren't that important to young people any more. They want something reliable and economical. They'd rather spend their hard earned money on organic smoothies, creatine, $1,000 phones and travel. You just don't see many souped up V8's with the doof doof music anymore.