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“But by 2018, definitely one participating manufacturer won’t be running a V8. How many non-V8 engines will be on the grid in the first season of Gen2? “If I were a betting man, I’d say ‘none’!” Warburton admits. That involves the Gen2 Car of the Future set for 2017, still with a front-engine/rear-drive configuration but with rules opened to accept coupes and powerplants other than the traditional V8s. The category is further transitioning from the old Blue-versus-Red V8 battles to something more varietal and technically diverse. We’ve spent a long time professionalising the sport.” “We’ve had a massive turnaround, anchored by a crucial new television deal with Foxtel at the end of 2014. Warburton says the situation now is a far cry from the dark days of 20, when it was all in danger of falling over.
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He sells hard and with a touch of evangelical conviction. His favourite word could be “incredible”.
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Using a generous array of marketing-speak, the impressively numerate Warburton paints a way rosier picture of V8 Supercars while rattling through a range of outcomes, all with a dollar value and growth included.
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Plus some pesky media who, damn them, ask tricky questions. As well as Archer wanting a positive outcome, and the tough demands of team owners, there are hard-to-please fans firing away on social media. Welcome to V8 Supercars, James….Ī former advertising and then television industry executive once tagged Mr Ambitious by Seven’s larrikin former boss David Leckie, Warburton has had to deal with more than one master and plenty of peripheral naggers and snipers in his two and a half years in the role.
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The killer blow was 2014’s bad – read cheap – last-minute TV deal with Seven, which impacted viciously on income to teams. Through much of this had been poor leadership and a revolving door of unsuccessful CEOs, and then Archer dumped Cochrane. But now Ford is officially out, and there will be no more Australian Holdens from next year. Though too late and too expensive, CotF did at least achieve some of its aims by attracting Nissan, Volvo and AMG to play alongside the founding ‘Aussie’ brands. The Car of the Future, successor to the original and passionately tribal Holden versus Ford formula, bowed to a mixed reception in 2013. Many V8 Supercars staff, including some good people, were let go as Archer sought to stem fiscal haemorrhaging. There was a stench about a government-supported street race at Sydney’s Homebush ramrodded by Cochrane and disgraced former NSW Labor minister Ian Macdonald. Hello and goodbye Shanghai, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Hamilton and Austin. A succession of off-shore races powered by Cochrane’s enthusiasm and intemperate aspirations for global dominance had tanked badly. The teams were initially thrilled to divvy up a large pile of money from the sale, but quickly became concerned about Archer’s motives and its lack of motorsport expertise, leading to poor ongoing returns.įrom the very start, the savvy, grown-up media had been distrustful of V8 Supercars’ imaginative attendance figures and TV ratings claims. Private equity firm Archer Capital had in 2011 controversially bought a majority shareholding in V8 Supercars Australia in a $130 million deal overseen by bombastic founding chairman Tony Cochrane. He faced the real possibility of grabbing the controls of a potential train wreck. James Warburton took over the running of Australia’s premier racing category in mid-2013 at a challenging – some say desperate – time in its history. V8 Supercars is still Australia’s top motorsport category, but for how long? CEO James Warburton talks candidly to Wheels about the rising GT3 threat, a future without Falcons and Commodores, and more.