32 Car Grid? (Merged)

[GTRMagic]

Noise around and about suggests that there are a number of teams with aspirations and desires and hopes and dreams of running more vehicles than they currently do in the Supercar main series.... and that there is an issue in accomodating them all..

Lets take a Cook's tour...

1/4, 9 SBR (2)
2, 22 HRT (2)
3, 23 Tasman (2)
5, 6 FPR (2)
7 RNR (1)
8, 11 CPR (2)
10, 20 LMS (2)
12, 21 BJR (2)
14 IMS (1)
15, 51 KRT (2)
16, 50 PWR (2)
17, 18 DJR (2)
021, 777 TKR (2)
24 Romano (1)
29 PMM (1)
30, 31 SER (2)
33, 34 GRM (2)
44, 45 Dynamik (2)
48, TBA WPS (2)
75 PLR (1)
88, 888 888 (2)

So by my count thats 37 places for 35 cars, and a series organiser who only wants 32 cars at best....

Something doesnt quite add up now does it?

[1200Datto27]

Get rid of IMS and Romano's for not showing up for starters, and introduce a relegation system, that the five bottom placing teams are sent to the KM for the following year, and the top two KM teams can come up (if they want) will make for 32 cars.

[retro]

From all the interviews I have seen TC is the only one who has expressed a view to have a grid of 32 cars. He also has said he has no power to change the number of cars on the grid.
My view is let em have extra cars with the top 32 to race.

[Just Do It!]

How do you sell either of the above two scenarios to a sponsor? To get sponsorship dollars, you need a guaranteed start!

[retro]

Might just be that the field would be reduced to 32 cars due to lack of sponsorship - self regulating in a weird way!!!

[eduardo1]

GTR, you left out the #43 entry of PWR.

Level 1
1 SBR
2 HRT
3 PWR
4 KMart
5 FPR
6 Valvoline
7 DJR
8 BJR
9 Tasman
10 Perkins
11 Dynamik
12 888
13 Larkham

Level 2
1 Morris
2 Nash
3 Toll IPEC
4 Supercheap
5 Team Kiwi
6 WPS
7 IMS
8 PWR
9 Romano

Of those, WPS & Supercheap both want to buy another franchise. Imrie & Romano are happy to sell, Weel maybe, possibly even Nash if a few circumstances change for the worse for him. So there's a few around. But the IMS franchise has reportedly already been sold to a Level 1 team so...

[Onlooker]

Originally posted by Just Do It!
How do you sell either of the above two scenarios to a sponsor? To get sponsorship dollars, you need a guaranteed start!

How do you sell a sponsorship deal when you and the sponser are both more worried about being so slow at a game of going fast that in a free market there is every likelyhood that you wouldn't make the cut. :confused:
I don't think nationally there are to many classes that have a garenteed start system but to my constant amazement the show seems to roll along and plenty of cars have signage representing not only the sponsors belief in them that they will do a good job but they will also present a car who's performance is worthy of the companys name being plastered down the side

[Archer]

I cant get my head around how much this story changes. The fact that Supercar have been threatening to go to 32 car grid for so long signals that it must be iminant.

However, going to a 32 car grid conflicts with a lot of teams plans. For example Steve Ellerys planned expansion, WPS's planned expansion (or retainment of 2 spots) Tasman's rightful second spot, LP's plans for world domination etc. etc.

Is it going ahead or isnt it?

If so what are the fates of Rod Nash, Bab Romano, Mike Imire and Paul Weel's L2. Logically they would be the ones to be deleted or bought back (with the exception of Nash being in Perkins' pocket) but that would then leave WPS and Ellery with one car and a questionible re-expansion of Tasman/Lansvale.

Whats going to happen and what effects with the ripple have?

Anyone?

[V8 Superdave]

Avesco want there to be just a bunch of superteams.... it's less to spread the money around to.

This will all be because it's "fiscally more viable", and will actually have nothing to do with the quality or quantity of any racing.

[GTRMagic]

There is another thread about this, how the franchises for 2005 will be a little unbalanced

[eduardo1]

AVESCO reportedly offered Weel, Imrie and Romano $70,000 each for their franchises.

Considering the asking price is $700K, needless to say the offer was rejected.

[Kerri]

$700K, are you serious?
Is that each or combined?

[eduardo1]

Each.

consider that the Franchise-holders asking price. The prospective purchaser can then negotiate from there, although I hear that the owners of the 'available' L2 franchises are pretty united in the price range they want.

Having said that, I don't know what Thexton sold his for to WPS.

Those prices also don't take into account any tangible assets (cars, transporters, workshop equipment etc).

[Kerri]

[StuiE]

Why 32? If this 'show' is really for the fans then why do they want less cars? How many fans wasnt to see less cars on the track?

[Onlooker]

Originally posted by Kerri
$700K, are you serious?
Is that each or combined?

Don't forget that these are Level 2 franchises that carry different rewards etc, things ranging from the monies payed for participation,limit of 1 car garge and boom alocation and I think a limit on voting rights on TEGA issues.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally posted by eduardo1
consider that the Franchise-holders asking price. The prospective purchaser can then negotiate from there, although I hear that the owners of the 'available' L2 franchises are pretty united in the price range they want.

Did someone say collusion or price fixing? Not me.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally posted by gtr69
Why 32? If this 'show' is really for the fans then why do they want less cars? How many fans wasnt to see less cars on the track?

Too bloody right! Practicalities aside, no fan wants a smaller field. Teh more the merrier.

[GTRMagic]

Originally posted by eduardo1
AVESCO reportedly offered Weel, Imrie and Romano $70,000 each for their franchises.

Considering the asking price is $700K, needless to say the offer was rejected.

Well it would be $700k, except nobody wants to sell.... besides which there is an issue with one of the three having already joined the Ellery empire, and another on a performance warning, and will likely be sold to the highest TEGA-member bidder... the other one is sourcing a VY from parts unknown for the balance of the year, presumably in Smiths Trucks, or TTM livery...

[Woody75]

Performance warning??????

Toll or Nash i presume

[racer69]

NASCAR (which seems to be the AVESCO model nowadays) even allows the 'little' guys in, and until this year was turning away the slowest cars after qualifying.

[Dingo]

Originally posted by GTRMagic
Well it would be $700k, except nobody wants to sell....

I would have thought that at least one, and possibly two, would be desperate to sell, especially given that TC will almost certainly take back one from the house of Romano. Especially if the PWR one is heading to SER as rumoured.

[eduardo1]

You'd think it would be a buyers market at the moment: WPS and Ellery the only 2 buyers with 3 available.

But then again, if they're only offering less than half the asking price, what's the incentive to sell.

Romano, Imrie and Weel can run the car at each round for around $10K. If they want 700 but they're only offering 350, then they could run for about 2 years, sell when the demand grows, and still come out ahead.

Even if they ran a car properly it won't cost them that much more.

That's why the franchise system is so stupid. IMS, Romano and PWR wouldn't be in this situation if it was an open slather entry, with only the top 30 qualifying with 5 discretionary spots open for the top 5 in the championship. If those top five are already qualified, then 31st-35th all move into the race!

You only get the AVESCO money based on the number of rounds you enter, plus bonuses for qualifying and finishing.

That gives an incentive to some of the Konica boys to have a go at the big game and progress gradually. The current series is a closed shop old boys network.

[Archer]

AVESCO want a 32 car field because of pit restrictions at most of the tracks that the series visits! It is obsine to think that if some of the semi-high profile teams expand or re-expand like Tasman, WPS, Supercheap to two cars that it would mean that you would have a very high quality field. But the expansion plans of said teams are only viable if the field stays at 35, but then how do you tell your perspective sponsor that its only 50/50 chance you would be racing in places like Hidden Valley, Barbagello, Pukakohe, Symmons Plains to name a few. Its kinda lose lose.

Keep a 35 car grid, leaving room for teams to expand but run the risk of high profile cars missing the cut for some rounds.

or

Cut the field to 32, leaving no room for team expansion.

[GTRMagic]

Interestingly enough, there are shimmers in the water to suggest a driver currently in a team, but off contract at season's end, is interested in picking up an L2 franchise for the formation of the latest "Big Thing"