Owen Bateman, a former promoter of the Sydney Showground Speedway, has died after a prolonged battle with cancer.
Bateman was a former sales executive with News Corp and a strong financial supporter of speedcar legend Johnny Stewart.
He financed his original Trackburner midget and Offenhauser race cars.
Bateman launched the Craven Filter national series.
He was invited to join the Board of Empire Speedways on the retirement of John Sherwood.
At the time Mike Raymond left to launch a new look Liverpool City Raceway for Frank Oliveri.
“We were fierce commercial rivals in the seventies and eighties with both tracks running on the same night, but we remained close friends,” Raymond told Speedcafe.com.
“It was during that time competitors and wives received season tickets and there was no added nomination fee for any meeting and we had to promote for front gate returns and the back gate was strictly for vehicular exits.”
Bateman was 85.