I can see your point Beages, just like the other argument of why not buy up all the old blueprint cars that will no doubt be flooding the market and use them. But i'd imagine the budget involved to run those cars (or even the COTF) would be far above what most NZ teams could afford. I have heard (and happy to be corrected here) that the cost of 1 year in ST's is about the same as 1 round in supercars.
From my point of view as fan/spectator, i really enjoy the fact that these cars are actually quite different, and have a kiwi slant on them. The cars at the end of the day seem to be very similar in performance to a supercar (although we may not get to see them share the same track space at the same time for a while yet
) and they do look very different when you look at them hard enough and take in the significant aero differences.
Its a cost restraining/capping formula which suits NZ in my views.
The other thing of interest is the amount of issues which occured at Adelaide, gearbox issues, heat issues etc etc. To iron them out in Aus is not a big deal, but for a team to iron them out over here could be the difference between racing and not racing on the weekends. And yes there where issues in the ST's, some quite big ones in fact, but it seems that the category handled it well and as cost effectively as possible. To the point where there are more cars this year, and more hopefully on the way. The class seems to be attractive to some
Unless of course they just went with COTF bare chassis and put their 7L engine, quaife gearbox, and live rear axles into those. But i'd still bet it is cheaper doing it the way they are.
Good point though...