Decisions loom for Supercars
Kiwi Supercars boss Sean Seamer says the New Zealand round of the series remains an important event, but they’ll continue to look at where to fit it into the calendar.
Seamer, who became Supercars CEO this year, will be at Pukekohe this week for the ITM Auckland SuperSprint to get a first-hand look at the circuit for the first time in four years.
It’s hoped there will be good weather this weekend when Kiwis Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen battle it out in the penultimate round of the season.
However, next year when the Auckland round takes place in September, organisers will be in the lap of the gods for getting good weather. It was a move brought about by a number of factors, including the lack of 747-400 freighter planes to get cars over from Australia and the length of time it takes to come by ship.
‘‘The thing for us is making sure we can get in and out of New Zealand at the right times,’’ Auckland-born Seamer said.
‘‘There is a lot being said and a lot going on with air freight and decommissioning of 747s.
‘‘We’re working through that. It’s important for us as we start to look at an evolution of the season, that the windows of opportunity give us the best chance to do the best job in New Zealand.’’
From 2020, Supercars is looking at switching to a summer schedule to reduce the time it goes head to head with the AFL and NRL, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the New Zealand round will be held at a better time of the year.
‘‘It’s tricky, because we had a lot of problems with rain last year,’’ Seamer said.
‘‘Getting the weather right in New Zealand is tough. You could put it in January and get hit with one of those traditional cyclones that always likes to turn up around that time of year.
‘‘The other thing we’ve got to bear in mind next year is the Rugby World Cup running from the end of September to the beginning of November, so we didn’t want to be clashing with that.’’
As far as the Supercars series goes from a New Zealand point of view, it has never been so good, with five drivers in the category and this year’s title to be won by either McLaughlin or van Gisbergen. Ticket sales for the event
‘‘We’ve got some great characters coming up through the sport.’’
Sean Seamer
are well up on this stage last year and a huge crowd is expected.
McLaughlin has the potential to become the new face of Supercars, once Craig Lowndes steps away from being a full-time driver at the end of the season.
‘‘Craig has and will continue to be an important part of the sport and his personality and approach has been very endearing to a lot of fans,’’ Seamer said.
‘‘We’ve got some great characters coming up through the sport. Scott has the ability to be that household name in New Zealand, much like Greg Murphy is.
‘‘There are other characters coming through, like Dave Reynolds, Shane van Gisbergen, Chaz Mostert, so there are plenty of brilliant and interesting characters and our job as a sport is to make sure we bring those personalities out, so that the fans can engage with them.’’
When in New Zealand, Seamer will meet with Ateed, the arm of Auckland Council, which helps fund the event, and the Counties Racing Club. No doubt discussions on improving the facilities at the run-down venue will be high on the agenda.