Will V8Supercars Still Be Around In 5 Years? (Merged)

[redreni]

V8SC would do well to look at BTCC. In all honesty, if only because of Bathurst, it's currently probably a bigger deal in Australia than BTCC ever was in the UK, but the same principles apply.

If you move to a channel people don't watch, move from saloons to hot hatches, shorten the races and generally dumb down every aspect of the format with gimmicks, you're on the BTCC's well trodden path to irrelevance.

For me the most admirable thing about V8s to date is the way it's had confidence in its product and in the cars and the personalities that make the series what it is. It has resisted the tendency towards shorter and shorter races, reverse grids, success ballast and other gimmicky nonsense.

But now the format's being looked at, Ford and Holden don't appear to want to enter big saloons going forward, international viewers now have an official stream to watch (which is good) but it's behind a paywall (which is really dumb if you want to keep your sponsors, V8SC), and we'll have to see whether domestic viewers who don't subscribe to Fox Sports will continue to get a decent level of coverage. Maybe it's naive to think everything can stay the same, and to an extent the series has to roll with what manufacturers want, but it looks to me like all the wrong things are being done and I can't see it ending well.

[Bell_End]

Originally Posted by velly4

Is it just me or is V8SC seem to be suffering a bit the same way F1 is now?

Too many people in the sport purely for financial gain rather than the good of the sport?

Who is gaining financially atm?? 888 Engineering probably and a few drivers are pocketing a decent wage if the various reports are correct... Don't believe Archer Capital has pulled millions out of the sport in loans against future earnings (like CVC in F1 but for billions) and wouldn't think the majority of teams are rolling around in surplus cash from the sport. TC and his merry men are probably the last ones to get "rich" out of v8sc

[velly4]

Originally Posted by Bell_End

Who is gaining financially atm?? 888 Engineering probably and a few drivers are pocketing a decent wage if the various reports are correct... Don't believe Archer Capital has pulled millions out of the sport in loans against future earnings (like CVC in F1 but for billions) and wouldn't think the majority of teams are rolling around in surplus cash from the sport. TC and his merry men are probably the last ones to get "rich" out of v8sc

You've said it yourself, people have pulled millions out of the sport and walked away. Archer are now only invested in the sport to make money. No other reason just like CVC in F1.
I guess in some ways V8SC are very much like F1. Ferrari get cash just for showing up which is kind of like 888 being used to manufacture components of the COFT. Right from the get go they are at a financial advantage compared to other teams. The rich get richer while the others struggle.
That isn't a bash of 888 either, they have done nothing wrong. Set themselves up and making the most of it.

[Bell_End]

Don't see an issue with TC and co selling the sport and walking away, all the current at the time teams got a massive payday from it.

Archer may of invested in the sport to make money but don't think that is the case

[Trev Campbell]

I've been thinking that the current bad blood between V8SC and the 12 hour may also be as a result of bigger issues for V8SC. I can see the V8SC series morphing into more of a GT series than a touring car series with the new 2017 rules, whatever they be. But it will involve different engine configurations, probably 2 door bodyshells trying to keep Ford and GM involved with the Mustang and Camaro possibly. Which will then bring V8SC into direct competition with the Bathurst 12 Hour and the Aust GT series which both run to the international GT3 standard. Are V8SC already setting themselves up for another war as it was with the Super Tourers ????

[Bell_End]

I thought I read (could of been on here or not which doesn't mean much really) that the "bad blood" was born out of the 12hr playing ten/seven off each other for the tv rights and ending up with seven after ten looking like the winner which would of been more* beneficial for v8sc?


* personally I can't see why both can't co exisit and is there really a chance of GTs being a viable alternative to v8s in the foreseeable future.. will the current gt3s even be around long enough for v8sc to fail?? they ain't becoming cheaper with a mini arms race happening there.

[Racenut]

From the way I see it 'V8 Supercars' are, and will be tube chassis with a body that is similar in appearance to a production car ala NASCAR. It is a domestic series.

GT racing is an international category ACTUALLY based on a road car and uses the original chassis.

NASCAR is talking about other engines for the future. Maybe they could change the name to AUSCAR even though it has been used before.

[porsche91722]

For V8SC's to survive in the long term, they have to change. Atm, they are suffering from being stuck in a time warp, and not attracting new younger fans, other than those who turn up at the party style events, and the iconic B1000, and most of these just inflate the already dubious figures they produce now. Going to payTV could either be a master stroke or a total disaster. On recent history with other sports, disaster is more likely the outcome. All jokes aside, here in Australia, we tend to take on fashions, styles and customs later than most westernized overseas countries. We tend to stick to our own footy codes and sports we have always excelled at, even though the rest of the world has moved on. Soccer is a prime example. Although the other footy codes are still way more popular in Australia, Soccer has them worried, and is generally accepted as the sleeping giant, about to wake up. No matter what the neanderthals who follow V8's think, it's day's are numbered. Unless the series changes its outdated thinking and attitudes, its not gonna be around much longer than the end of the Fox contract, in its present format. By that stage, Warburton and Co will have pulled the pin and have their feet up under a palm tree somewhere, with the teams left to put the pieces back together. Putting my love of sports car racing aside, I honestly believe that GT3, in its present form, is the category they should be looking at. Young, high income dudes buying cars aren't interested in the family/sales rep/taxi/bowls club style of car they presently race in the V8SC series. A BlancpainGT ruleset with pros and ams running in a mix of sprint and endurance races is the way to go. All the AusGT guys would still be racing, with the benefit of actually racing in the main game, and competing in cars that are capable of mixing it with the pros. Sure, the grid numbers would fluctuate, but generally speaking, there would be bigger grids, than what we have now. So, whether O'Brien, Quinn, Warburton or whoever, is in charge, something should be done sooner rather than later. V8SC's have locked themselves in to the Fox deal now, so we'll see how it all pans out.

[Umai Naa]

Only thing that puts a damper on a large capacity grid now, is that the infrastructure at most tracks now only caters for the magic V8SC grid number of 28.

On top of this, I doubt some of the existing AusGT teams would be prepared to lock horns with the likes of a Triple Eight, Walkinshaw, or Prodrive Australia-run GT3 assault. Perhaps a multi-tier arrangement like we have now with V8SC, DVS and KV8TC?

[bluesport]

If sports sedans are surviving then supercars can survive too, in one form or another.

[GTRMagic]

There will ALWAYS be a top tin top category of motorsport in this country.

It was Series Production, Improved Production, Group 'C', Group 'A', Group 3A/V8Supercars...

It will evolve as tastes change.. it always has, it always will..

[dsg]

While I like the current cars, I wouldn't complain if the V8s transitioned into these type of cars in the next 5 years. I think they tick most of the boxes by allowing different manufacturers to promote popular (smaller) mainstream vehicles, with different engine configurations, yet maintains the popular traits (well my preferences) such as rear wheel drive and purpose built race cars.

[Mixer]

I think the MARC cars are superb and I'd love to own one, but I am just not sure that formulaic look is what is going to suit manufacturer-supported racing like V8Supercars.

Look how different the profile of the Ford, Holden, Volvo and Benz are, I think you can't achieve that with something like the MARC.

It is remarkable what they have done, it will be interesting to see what the next car comes out like.