Fast cars, fast t
New Zealand motorsport as a whole is still paying a heavy price for bein n a sorry tale of splits, massive financial losses and lawsuits, reports Jackk
MOTORSPORT fans know how golden it is for Kiwi racing drivers in Australia right now: Scott McLaughlin, Fabian Coulthard and, of course, Shane Van Gisbergen showing the way in the V8 Supercars.
Yet it begs the question. With Kiwis doing so well across the ditch, why does there seem to be so little happening in motorsport here?
Many say the answer lies in the long-running battle over New Zealand’s V8 Supertourer series, once seen as the new, bright hope of New Zealand motorsport.
It’s a sordid tale of splits, massive financial losses, lawsuits . . . and what might have been.
In 2009, people were beginning to agree that the New Zealand V8 series – the country’s flagship motorsport series – was starting to lag.
Garry Pedersen was a long-time member of Motorsport New Zealand as well as an integral part of what became the V8 Supertourers series. He says it was time for a change.
‘‘The cars were getting older,’’ he says. ‘‘They were very expensive to build and run, and some of them had even been around since the early 2000s.’’
With viewership on the wane, alternatives were scouted out. Eyes wandered across the Tasman, where the V8 Supercar series was eyeing its own replacement, which was called the Car of the Future. It looked ideal: a car that was fundamentally the same underneath, making it easy to repair and relatively cheap to operate. The racing also promised to be much tighter, relying on driver skill more than any sort of car superiority.
Unable to finance the project itself, Motorsport New Zealand encouraged interested parties already involved in the New Zealand V8 Series to give it a go.
The challenge was primarily taken up by a trio of long-serving motorsport figures. Pedersen, Mark Petch and Wayne Anderson had long been involved in the sport in New Zealand. Together, in 2010, they teamed up and funded the construction of a prototype designed by Queensland’s Pace Innovations.
What emerged was the modern, sleek Car of Tomorrow.
‘‘It was one of the greatest cars we’ve ever seen,’’ Pedersen says. ‘‘There was parity built in. You could buy one of them, get it hooked up and then head out and go as fast as you can.
‘‘It was a truly fantastic car.’’
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
In the late 2000s, the New Zealand V8 championship was run as a joint venture between Veega and The Motorsport Company, or TMC. Veega consisted of NZV8 entrants themselves, while TMC was tasked with organising and promoting Motorsport New Zealand championships.
Motorsport New Zealand had a 60 per cent stake in TMC. Relations between the two had never been smooth, and by the 2010-2011 V8 summer series they were barely getting along.
According to those involved, many Veega members were unhappy with the way TMC ran their operations and distributed money. Particularly disgruntled was Petch, a major figure in New Zealand motorsport and Veega’s chairman and chief executive.
In June, 2010, Petch emailed Brian Budd of Motorsport New Zealand, raising concerns about TMC.
‘‘If the result of your meeting with TMC is the killing off of the agreements between Veega, NZV8s Ltd and TMC,’’ Budd wrote back, ‘‘MotorSport New Zealand would be comfortable about that.’’
Shortly afterwards, relations between TMC and Veega completely broke down.
The opportunity was ripe for change. In September, 2010, Petch helped form the V8 Supertourer group, and a month later the fledgling group took over everything to do with the Car of Tomorrow project.
Petch says the vast majority of Veega members joined the new group, with only a small handful remaining behind.
Though now separate from Motorsport New Zealand, the Supertourers group still planned to run the cars at Motorsport New Zealand events. But rumours began to swirl; Motorsport New Zealand, people said, was unhappy about the group’s formation.
On the grid before a NZV8 Championship race in early 2011, Petch wandered over to have a chat with a Motorsport New Zealand figure.
‘‘I said, look, there’s no reason we can’t co-operate,’’ Petch says. The answer was blunt. ‘‘This is war,’’ he was told.
‘CREDIBILITY WAS LOST’
The Supertourers group now realised it was completely on its own. Still, despite the drastic change in circumstance, they looked to forge ahead and roll out a prototype Car of Tomorrow at the 2011 CRC Auckland Speed Show.
Expectation was high, but then, just days before the launch, came another blow. Veega – by now basically in competition with the Supertourers – threatened an injunction against the rollout on the grounds that the car threatened their copyright.
The injunction didn’t go ahead – ‘‘they would have been laughed out of court,’’ Supertourers director Chris Abbot says – and the car was launched. Still, it was an occasion overshadowed. By now, it was clear the sport’s governing body was actively against the series.
Pedersen, Petch and Abbot say potential sponsors became jittery.