Warburton racing hard to seal the deal in Asia

OUTGOING Supercars boss James Warburton has told his staff to “get out your passports’’ after promising to seal a historic race in Asia before he leaves at the end of the year.

Warburton has been working on a Supercars championship Asian double header in Singapore and Thailand.

Off to head up APN Outdoor, he has made it his mission to take the series into Asia after a race in Malaysia fell through last year because of a legal wrangle between rival promoters.

“James described Asia as unfinished business,’’ a V8 staffer said after Warburton addressed Supercars personnel last night.

“And something he wants to get across the line by the end of the year. He is very passionate about taking the sport to Asia and has been working hard on securing deals to race over their for a long time.’’

It is understood he has agreements in place for Supercars to race at the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix in a support category capacity, and at Hua Hin in Thailand as a standalone event.

Warburton may also have negotiated a third agreement for Supercars to replace Formula One and race as a headline act at Sepang in Malaysia.

All three events will be confirmed pending funding.

He is hopeful of locking down the deals before linking with ASX-listed company APN Outdoor Group.