Sweet Lord in Heaven I hope this happens!!
AUTO RACING - V8: Supercars Series Eyeing American Round
In an interview held with V8 Supercars Chairman Tony Cochrane in October of 2010, the boss of the popular Australian tin-top series told SPEED.com made it clear that North America did not figure into the series’ plan for expansion.
But in light of recent changes to the territorial boundaries that once limited the Supercars to Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East, the doors are now open for V8s to race in the United States.
“A couple of things have shifted,” Cochrane told SPEED.com on Thursday from his office in Queensland. “Firstly, our announcement that the FIA has approved our growing to 18 events, with six having international status, has certainly created a lot of interest in markets throughout the world. We’ve had a number of inquiries from new markets for the V8 series.”
Cochrane credited the television exposure in the United States as one of the factors that has helped to spark an interest in bringing a round of the series to our shores.
“We’ve also had quite a bit of interest in North America thanks to SPEED, and we’re working now with SPEED to grow our presence going forward on the network, and that has certainly helped many fans in North America to become familiar with our product. Now there has been very strong interest from a number of American circuits to host a round of our great championship. We don’t have anything signed, but we are talking with people.”
The V8 Supercars series is highly experienced at mobilizing its cars and teams to race abroad, making a fly away race in America easy to execute, but the costs to run a race—and possibly a title sponsor for an event—would need to be in place before such an event could become a reality.
“There’s an element of that, for sure, but by nature we’re a pretty cost-effective outfit,” Cochrane explained. “As we’ve proven, in markets where motorsport has a strong interest factor, we are capable of selling a lot of tickets. We have some incredibly exciting racing, and we have a three-day format which also excites race fans. And we have a lot of sponsors in the championship that are global brands. There’s a lot of positives to work from here.”
A number of international racing series have suffered huge financial losses after attempting to headline its first round in the United States, but Cochrane says if an American V8 Supercars round is established, he’s unsure whether he’d try to place the series as the feature or as part of an established event.
“Firstly, let me say that you are blessed in America. You have some absolutely brilliant circuits of the permanent nature and temporary like at Long Beach. The second thing is that we’re pretty open-minded. One of the things that I think makes this an interesting exercise is that we’re open to talk to people about their ideas and our ideas and try and find some common ground. Sitting here today, I wouldn’t say we’ve ruled anything in or anything out. We’ve spoken with a number of North American promoters and regions that are interested and we’ll continue to have open dialogue with them."
For now, Cochrane says he'll continue to explore and develop the opportunities that have been presented to him.
“We’re keen to get one round in North America. The level of interest is growing from fans, from sponsors, and from a Fox Sports point of view; we have a very good relationship with [Fox Sports Media Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer] David Hill. Obviously, [Fox’s parent company] Newscorp was originally an Australian organization and still has a great reach here, so add all of those things up and there’s great potential and interest across many platforms.”
With cars from the Australian arm of General Motors (through its Holden brand) and Ford comprising the entire V8 grid, there’s a natural appeal for Dearborn and Detroit if the Supercars do find their way to America.
“I can’t speak for any of the auto manufacturers, but I know there are a lot of people in GM that are keen to see us there,” said Cochrane. “That isn’t meant to cast aspersions on Ford; it just means we haven’t spoken with Ford North America yet. Our manufacturers here are excited about our product because what we have to offer is authentic. The body shape of what we race is pretty much what you buy on the showroom floor, so I think we translate very well for GM and Ford. Our racing engenders strong product interest. Generally, we’re a very strong branding exercise for GM and Ford. I’d expect the same in America, but with probably the Chevrolet brand rather than Holden, obviously.”
Cochrane closed our discussion by addressing the timing of when fans might see the first V8 Supercars round in America.
“Given the fact that we’re well and truly down the road on the 2012 calendar, I’d be very surprised if anything happened by then. You never say never, but 2013 is more of a possibility. As I said at the beginning, we’re at the point of holding dialogue right now, so we don’t have anything to announce, naturally, but if we do come to North America, it would most likely be after 2012.”
AUTO RACING - V8: Supercars Series Eyeing American Round
In an interview held with V8 Supercars Chairman Tony Cochrane in October of 2010, the boss of the popular Australian tin-top series told SPEED.com made it clear that North America did not figure into the series’ plan for expansion.
But in light of recent changes to the territorial boundaries that once limited the Supercars to Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the Middle East, the doors are now open for V8s to race in the United States.
“A couple of things have shifted,” Cochrane told SPEED.com on Thursday from his office in Queensland. “Firstly, our announcement that the FIA has approved our growing to 18 events, with six having international status, has certainly created a lot of interest in markets throughout the world. We’ve had a number of inquiries from new markets for the V8 series.”
Cochrane credited the television exposure in the United States as one of the factors that has helped to spark an interest in bringing a round of the series to our shores.
“We’ve also had quite a bit of interest in North America thanks to SPEED, and we’re working now with SPEED to grow our presence going forward on the network, and that has certainly helped many fans in North America to become familiar with our product. Now there has been very strong interest from a number of American circuits to host a round of our great championship. We don’t have anything signed, but we are talking with people.”
The V8 Supercars series is highly experienced at mobilizing its cars and teams to race abroad, making a fly away race in America easy to execute, but the costs to run a race—and possibly a title sponsor for an event—would need to be in place before such an event could become a reality.
“There’s an element of that, for sure, but by nature we’re a pretty cost-effective outfit,” Cochrane explained. “As we’ve proven, in markets where motorsport has a strong interest factor, we are capable of selling a lot of tickets. We have some incredibly exciting racing, and we have a three-day format which also excites race fans. And we have a lot of sponsors in the championship that are global brands. There’s a lot of positives to work from here.”
A number of international racing series have suffered huge financial losses after attempting to headline its first round in the United States, but Cochrane says if an American V8 Supercars round is established, he’s unsure whether he’d try to place the series as the feature or as part of an established event.
“Firstly, let me say that you are blessed in America. You have some absolutely brilliant circuits of the permanent nature and temporary like at Long Beach. The second thing is that we’re pretty open-minded. One of the things that I think makes this an interesting exercise is that we’re open to talk to people about their ideas and our ideas and try and find some common ground. Sitting here today, I wouldn’t say we’ve ruled anything in or anything out. We’ve spoken with a number of North American promoters and regions that are interested and we’ll continue to have open dialogue with them."
For now, Cochrane says he'll continue to explore and develop the opportunities that have been presented to him.
“We’re keen to get one round in North America. The level of interest is growing from fans, from sponsors, and from a Fox Sports point of view; we have a very good relationship with [Fox Sports Media Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer] David Hill. Obviously, [Fox’s parent company] Newscorp was originally an Australian organization and still has a great reach here, so add all of those things up and there’s great potential and interest across many platforms.”
With cars from the Australian arm of General Motors (through its Holden brand) and Ford comprising the entire V8 grid, there’s a natural appeal for Dearborn and Detroit if the Supercars do find their way to America.
“I can’t speak for any of the auto manufacturers, but I know there are a lot of people in GM that are keen to see us there,” said Cochrane. “That isn’t meant to cast aspersions on Ford; it just means we haven’t spoken with Ford North America yet. Our manufacturers here are excited about our product because what we have to offer is authentic. The body shape of what we race is pretty much what you buy on the showroom floor, so I think we translate very well for GM and Ford. Our racing engenders strong product interest. Generally, we’re a very strong branding exercise for GM and Ford. I’d expect the same in America, but with probably the Chevrolet brand rather than Holden, obviously.”
Cochrane closed our discussion by addressing the timing of when fans might see the first V8 Supercars round in America.
“Given the fact that we’re well and truly down the road on the 2012 calendar, I’d be very surprised if anything happened by then. You never say never, but 2013 is more of a possibility. As I said at the beginning, we’re at the point of holding dialogue right now, so we don’t have anything to announce, naturally, but if we do come to North America, it would most likely be after 2012.”
