Potential RACE purchase of ARG yet to be decided

The potential RACE purchase of the Australian Racing Group (ARG) is yet to be decided on, despite a target being set for the end of August.

RACE bought Supercars in its entirety last year, successfully winning the bid for the 65 percent owned by Archer Capital and also taking over the 35 percent owned collectively by teams.

There are a number of investors within the RACE business, including the Henslow Group, while ARG currently has representation on the board in the form of Garry/Barry Rogers.

Previously, ARG co-founder Brian Boyd also had a 15 percent stake in RACE, however, he sold out of the consortium last month, as reported by Speedcafe.com.

That led to a statement being released by RACE Chairman Barclay Nettlefold, confirming the sale of shares, however, a bizarre twist also came to light.

Nettlefold advised that the organisation could in fact move to buy ARG, which could be viewed as a rival promoter to Supercars, despite a commonality among the owners of the two organisations.

Said statement outlined that RACE “expect to finalise any recommendation” by the end of August.

Speedcafe.com understands those discussions are ongoing.

Tension between shareholders of RACE has been well documented, particularly concerning related parties of ARG.

One factor is the lack of cohesion between Supercars and ARG’s suite of categories.

That was highlighted when Triple Eight prevented Shane van Gisbergen from competing in the ARG-run Trans Am series, reportedly due to pressure from RACE.

It is claimed a driving factor for the Rogers family and Boyd to buy into RACE in the first place was to reduce the fragmentation of the Australian motorsport landscape.

That is evidenced by an email penned by Garry Rogers to Supercars team owners where he said as much.

Rogers also noted the divide that remains between Supercars and ARG.

The future of the Rogers family’s shareholding in Supercars was at one point under a cloud after it expressed interest in selling up their shares via a more recent email to team owners.

Since the latest email was sent at the start of August, it is suggested Rogers has stepped back from that position.

ARG CEO Matt Braid recently also spoke of friction on the RACE board but said ARG’s relationship specifically with Supercars management is healthy.

RACE was contacted by Speedcafe.com for comment.