Virgin Australia in Administration

[Kingair]

Supercars sponsor has just gone into administration, announcement on the ASX.

Interesting to see what happens with sponsorship dollars for the rest of the season.

[Jack65]

Dead and buried. Even though there is a contract, the administrator has the power to decide which will and won't be honoured. Will add to costs too with teams having to pay for their flights which I believe was contra.

[Armco Bender]

Virgin has been going down the gurgler for ages,the sponsorship cant have involved much ca$h...they didn't have any to spare.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

Virgin has been going down the gurgler for ages,the sponsorship cant have involved much ca$h...they didn't have any to spare.

But didnt VASC trumpet the partnership as highly lucrative and representative of their strong value to the corporate world?

[Jack65]

Originally Posted by Armco Bender

Virgin has been going down the gurgler for ages,the sponsorship cant have involved much ca$h...they didn't have any to spare.

Speedcafe is reporting it was a $1.5 million contra deal. Some large frequent flyer points balances and a few VIP lounge memberships may have just become worthless.

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

But didnt VASC trumpet the partnership as highly lucrative and representative of their strong value to the corporate world?

All relative, it had been many years since the series had a naming rights sponsor, so anything was better than nothing.

[blaarg]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

But didnt VASC trumpet the partnership as highly lucrative and representative of their strong value to the corporate world?

Yes, it was a lucrative deal for head office, flying themselves around the country can get awfully expensive! I don't know if anyone can really say how the deal contributed to the overall health of the sport.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by blaarg

Yes, it was a lucrative deal for head office, flying themselves around the country can get awfully expensive! I don't know if anyone can really say how the deal contributed to the overall health of the sport.

You do know that the teams fly themselves around as well don't you? those costs can be significant when multiplied by number of team personnel and number of races.

If the suggestion that it was a contra deal is correct, it would have saved teams a lot of money to spend on other things or to keep budgets workable - either way good for the health of the sport.

[blaarg]

Originally Posted by Tourer

You do know that the teams fly themselves around as well don't you? those costs can be significant when multiplied by number of team personnel and number of races.

If the suggestion that it was a contra deal is correct, it would have saved teams a lot of money to spend on other things or to keep budgets workable - either way good for the health of the sport.

Well, it's being reported that the teams benefited (contra) to the tune of 35k per car, per annum plus discounted flights and other bits and pieces.

How long do you feel 35k might last? (or 70k for a two car operation?)

[Jack65]

Originally Posted by blaarg

How long do you feel 35k might last? (or 70k for a two car operation?)

Had the 2020 season progressed as planned, teams would have had 11 or 12 interstate races. So divide that by $35k and comes out at $3k per meeting, probably a fair bit short of what it actually costs to fly a team.

[GTRMagic]

Orgasms for all the VASC series haters.
The sky is falling!!!

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Orgasms for all the VASC series haters.
The sky is falling!!!

Understand you want to keep your head in the sand but how is the below situation not worthy of discussion?

- Main manufacturer gone
- No long term television deal in place
- The calendar a mess with government restrictions
- No event revenue because of no events
- Teams not making any money either
- Team budgets screaming for cost containment anyway
- Series sponsor in administration

Your first reaction might to be deflect and ignore GTR but those without blinkers can have a mature discussion around the current situation

[rich07]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Orgasms for all the VASC series haters.
The sky is falling!!!

The sky is falling albeit slowly.

The only upside to the events of the last few months is that it might push the series to change and adapt so that the series can have a healthy long term future. But if the series can’t change when needed (and that change is a good five years overdue)don’t expect fans like us to pat them on the back and say everything is fine. Because everything is not fine.

Just because we don’t drink the Supercars Kool-Aid doesn’t mean we are haters.

[Langers]

Originally Posted by blaarg

Well, it's being reported that the teams benefited (contra) to the tune of 35k per car, per annum plus discounted flights and other bits and pieces.

How long do you feel 35k might last? (or 70k for a two car operation?)

Pays a mechanic’s salary in a 2 car team.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by blaarg

Well, it's being reported that the teams benefited (contra) to the tune of 35k per car, per annum plus discounted flights and other bits and pieces.

How long do you feel 35k might last? (or 70k for a two car operation?)

Lasts long enough to assist with the costs of running the team. Plus part of the deal is heavily reduced airfares on top of the direct contra - all adds up and provides a benefit to the series overall, which is the question that was put.

[Jack65]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Orgasms for all the VASC series haters.
The sky is falling!!!

Bit melodramatic, don't think it's going to fall over tomorrow, but naive to suggest there weren't serious problems pre COVID-19.

[bathurst77]

Originally Posted by Langers

Pays a mechanic’s salary in a 2 car team.

A qualified mechanic in a professional 2 car team will be getting paid much more than 35k or even 70k
... or he would go work at the local kmart auto.

[blaarg]

The point I was trying to make was, don't get too hung up on the Virgin Australia sponsorship loss, in the grand scheme of things it was a nice to have, but won't cripple the sport if it's gone.

Does anyone know if the contra deal covered the air freighting of vehicles to/from NZ?

[Jack65]

Originally Posted by blaarg

Does anyone know if the contra deal covered the air freighting of vehicles to/from NZ?

As Virgin don't operate any freighters, unlikely. The event promoter may well pick up the tab for this.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Orgasms for all the VASC series haters.
The sky is falling!!!

Still pushing buttons I see to see what reaction you get.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Casper

Still pushing buttons I see to see what reaction you get.

exactly the contribution you want and expect from a moderator

[mayhem]

I wonder how many street races the series will have by 2021 given the amount of government funding goes into each of them.

[one five five]

Originally Posted by GTRMagic

Orgasms for all the VASC series haters.
The sky is falling!!!

The sad part is that so many of the so called “VASC haters” are long time fans of touring car racing and Australian Motorsport

[PVDA]

I believe part of the deal was late Sunday evening flights timed to allow team members time to pack up and get to the airport and fly home.

[GreenMachine]

Originally Posted by one five five

The sad part is that so many of the so called “VASC haters” are long time fans of touring car racing and Australian Motorsport

This sad how?

The world moved on, and all Supercars could do was revert to a spec car. It seems, for a number of reasons, that might have been the wrong path - even if looked like a monty in the short term.

Now that Archer are running the show, let's see what a bunch of 'entrepreneurs' can do to to fix the show post-CV19, post-GM/Ford withdrawal, post-gas-guzzling V8 era. I might also add post-big-budgets too ... not that that will be limited to V8SC, be interesting to see what entries turn up for the 2021 B12Hr.

[one five five]

Originally Posted by GreenMachine

This sad how?

The world moved on, and all Supercars could do was revert to a spec car. It seems, for a number of reasons, that might have been the wrong path - even if looked like a monty in the short term.

Now that Archer are running the show, let's see what a bunch of 'entrepreneurs' can do to to fix the show post-CV19, post-GM/Ford withdrawal, post-gas-guzzling V8 era. I might also add post-big-budgets too ... not that that will be limited to V8SC, be interesting to see what entries turn up for the 2021 B12Hr.

Sad in the sense that so many long time touring car fans and Australian Motorsport fans, who’ve become disillusioned with where the once great ATCC has gone, just get labelled as “VASC haters” for having an opinion that goes against the Supercars gospel

For too long anyone in this forum who dares to criticise Supercars gets howled down by certain members for seemingly not following the “everything to do with Supercars is awesome” guidelines.....