GARRY THE
GURU
E e In
W
hilst we
have all
loved the
V8 era of
Supercars,
it’s time to move on. The new
engine rules could just be what
the sport needs.
One criticism I have had
is that as a sport we haven’t
done enough to attract new
fans. We have the stalwarts
who love it but the fact is that
we really need to push into a
new market, a much younger
market, and this may be just
what we need to do that.
If Supercars has a good busi-
ness plan and keeps the racing
exciting and the television enter-
taining, does it matter what sort
of engines we have got? I don’t
think it will matter two hoots.
The diehards, of which I am
considered one, will say they
don’t like it. But it’s a similar
situation to alternative strips
in the AFL; some fans complain
that it’s not the old traditional
jumper. Well, I say get used to a
new jumper and make the best
of it, or, in our case, get used to
new engines or new cars and
make the best of it.
The new engine rules are
broad enough that other manu-
facturers can get involved. And
one thing Supercars has been
good at with the introduction
of the other makes is the equali-
sation of the engines, not just
the horsepower but also the
drivability.
I am confident that they will
be able to get the rules with dif-
ferent engine configurations to
work properly. It may take a bit
of time and experimentation
but it will work.
The entire rulebook needs to
be stringent enough to make
sure that we remain a touring-
car category.
The cars must be able to
seat four people comfortably,
so that we don’t end up with a
whole gaggle of sportscars, but
I am confident that Supercars
can achieve that.
We also need rules that pre-
vent the Porches and Ferraris
because if we allow those cars in
then we have lost our category.
Whether it gets to a stage
where it’s so definitive that
there is a list of eligible cars and
if you want to run something
different then you have to
apply and it gets approved or
not approved, I don’t know as
that is up to wiser people than
myself to sort out.
My belief is that we should
have as few rules as possiblebecause we don’t need a million
administrators at race meetings
just to make adjudications on
this rule and that rule.
Supercars taking over the
running of GTs will be good
for the business. This is about
getting more people involved
in our industry. There is an
element of the crowd who love
to see the McLarens and the
Lamborghinis. If they start
to draw a bigger crowd to the
race meetings because somefans want to watch them then
everyone is a winner, especially
the overall event.
Being an old car dealer I know
only too well that the first thing
you need to do is get them
through the gate and then sell,
sell, sell.
Will we run in GTs, Supe-
rUtes or Super5000s? That’s
ultimately a decision for Barry,
but if it stacks up commercially
then anything is possible...- Garry
MOVING ON WITH NEW ENGINES
“IF SUPERCARS HAS A GOOD
BUSINESS PLAN AND KEEPS
THE RACING EXCITING AND THE
TELEVISION ENTERTAINING, DOES
IT MATTER WHAT SORT OF ENGINES
WE HAVE GOT?”