In a report by The Age, Benalla Auto Club vice president Ross Wood said he thought he was authorising a three-year lease agreement to Les Smith and not a sale of the governing body.
The Benalla Auto Club claimed a change of company details document was not presented to the committee.
Smith has refuted that suggestion, stating that key stakeholders were well-informed and abreast of the sale.
“At the outset, I want to publicly thank everyone who has continued to support Australian Auto-Sport Alliance Pty. Ltd. (AASA) over these last few weeks,” Smith said in a statement.
“It has been surprising to read reports which suggest that the Committee of Benalla Auto Club Inc (BAC) claimed to have no awareness of the share sale transaction until only very recently.
“This is in circumstances where I was involved in discussions and exchanged documents about the transaction with certain committee members, from mid-2025 onwards.
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“I also ensured that all payments in connection with the transaction were made as and when required. This included payments which were made in October and December 2025.
“As I am sure everyone appreciates, the sale and purchase of shares in a company requires a considerable amount of paperwork, which must be signed by all relevant parties.
“Whilst most of that paperwork is confidential, a copy of the Change to Company Details Form, which was lodged with ASIC in April 2026, is a publicly available document.
“This document not only confirms that a transfer of the shares in AASA took place in March 2026, but as has recently been reported, was also signed by the Vice President of BAC.”
The Benalla Auto Club also disputed the timeline of Stephen Whyte’s tenure as its chief executive officer, a position it says he held until June this year.
Whyte claims to have been appointed CEO in 2023 but says he stepped back from that position in 2024, at which point he took the reins of the AASA.
In The Age report, Whyte continued to “assist the committee with executive matters” after he finished up as the CEO of the Benalla Auto Club.
“I remain committed to doing all that I can to support AASA and am proud to be surrounded by others who share the same mindset,” said Smith.
“This includes Stephen Whyte, who has been the CEO of AASA since mid-2024 (after stepping down from his role with BAC) and has helped take AASA from strength to strength since that time.
“AASA remains first and foremost a sanctioning body, with a purpose of facilitating the provision of public liability and personal accident insurance coverage for the greater motorsport community.
“It continues to retain and manage one of the largest programs in the country, supported by longstanding relationships with reputable insurers which have been built over many years.”
Smith also addressed reports that the Benalla Auto Club was planning legal action.
“Despite some reports suggesting that legal proceedings have been commenced, I am not aware of any such proceedings,” he said.
“I am keen to bring closure and finality to these issues and would welcome the opportunity to do so, in an open and public forum.
“In the meantime, I remain focused on continuing to support the great work being done by AASA, along with the broader motorsport community.”
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