Firstly, full disclosure. I’m writing this from the heights of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and, whilst I did watch both Supercars races from Darwin, I wasn’t able to track the whole weekend as comprehensively as I normally would.
These days, as I’ve said a few times recently, I really do watch the Supercars events as a punter rather than as a participant, and I try to relay through this column my thoughts from a broader audience point of view. It’s so easy, when one is at the coalface in team-land, or in any organisational role, to forget that the real purpose of what Supercars does is to entertain. That’s Job 1, Job 2, and all the way through to Job 100. I know only too well that, when one’s raison d’être is, first and foremost, to win races, the bigger picture is mostly lost from view.
And that’s ultimately why teams and competitors shouldn’t be making the rules. That has to be done by a competent body with a solid plan for the overall objectives of the category and, by maximising that plan, thereby create a sustainable and rewarding platform for both the promoters and the participants.
Unfortunately, the current lack of the right organisational capability within Supercars is giving us a sub-standard product that doesn’t do justice to the efforts of the teams, and others, and will be unsustainable in the long term without a change in approach very soon.
Mindful of all the above, I watched the Darwin races, hoping for short-term relief, at least, on this last point. Regrettably, that wasn’t the case.
Now, I must start by saying that the stunning display by Triple Eight on Sunday, and the performance of Broc Feeney in particular, was spectacular from a pure motor racing point of view. For Broc and Will Brown to gap the field over the course of an effective race distance of 45 laps (given the early Safety Car) by 16 seconds to the reigning champion, Brodie Kostecki, in third, and 27 seconds to everyone else was nothing short of remarkable, and would be so in any situation. That’s an average advantage of half a second per lap, for god’s sake. To do this with Gen3 cars where there is zero team-specific technical innovation allowed and engines are drawn by lottery was outstanding and proved again the depth of talent in this team on and off track.
But, and it’s a massive But, it didn’t make the sort of spectacle that will have more people tuning in or going to watch live. There was zero effective jeopardy in the result.
Now, don’t go blaming Triple Eight. Their job is to win races. Full stop. They should be respected for that, not shot down by the inevitable tall poppy keyboard warriors, most of whom haven’t ever won a raffle.
Unfortunately, the opposition is far too inconsistent, up there one minute and in 20th the next. Literally, every other team in pit lane still hasn’t understood how to consistently deliver over the last 16 years now. Only DJR, with four championships, has won more than one championship since 2008, apart from T8. But even DJR has, in its off seasons, all but disappeared off the screen too many times.
The key to ongoing success is not a secret. Process, and then attention to detail thereafter. It’s as simple as that but it needs to be applied across the whole operation, from finding the dollars to supporting the partners and then to building and running the cars.
Something has to change if Supercars is to get real traction from the next round of media rights and also turn around the financial outcome of the less economically attractive events. It’s not so much of a problem for Bathurst but it is a massive one for much of the calendar.
NASCAR might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it does offer real jeopardy when it comes to race outcomes. Supercars desperately needs to buy some of that uncertainty.
Don’t misunderstand me, I’ve fought like a dog to maintain an edge in all sorts of ways in my position as a team principal over the years. That was my job. But now I’m looking at the wider picture in a sort of poacher turned gamekeeper way. I know what’s needed and that’s frustrating when you love the sport. I suspect that those who have never operated a team don’t. And why should they? But it can and must be done. The turnstiles need to be clicking faster urgently.
The cream should still rise to the top over a season, as in NASCAR, but individual races need more unpredictability in this day and age.
Whilst the overwhelming takeout from Darwin, apart from the superb performance of Feeney, was one of disappointment in the racing, there were a few other points I’d make:
- The turnout of the Hidden Valley circuit is always superb, and that’s the way it looked once again on the broadcast. It’s a real credit to the organisational team up there. Hats off.
- The incredible efforts of the teams to create the Indigenous liveries should, once again, not be underestimated. They all looked great and the crews should be congratulated for working to achieve the right look and feel for the event.
- With the notable exception of Larko, the less said about the commentary, the better. I know it isn’t going to make me friends, and that this is getting repetitive, but it really is time to move on. A very notable and experienced figure in the commercial world sent me a text to say just how “dull” he found the race commentary from Darwin, especially in comparison to the ball sports games he watched over the weekend.
- Safety Car restarts at Darwin were, years ago, improved to minimise clusterf**ks of the sort we saw on Sunday. The key to this is to release the Safety Car itself early enough to get it into pit lane and green flags out before the lead car reaches the last corner. It’s been discussed until everyone was blue in the face, so why didn’t that happen in Race 2 last weekend? After all, the current Safety Car is one of the fastest accelerating cars in the world, unlike some of the previous ones used. Maybe there was a reason that I missed, but I hope that it’s being examined properly in the Motorsport Australia debrief this week and appropriate action is being taken to stop a repeat.
Finally, this two-race format, as in Perth, simply doesn’t work! It’s a rip off. Endless practice is still boring, as it was four weeks ago. The Gen3 cars look and sound awesome, but please race them, don’t practice them. As in Perth, 45 laps of droning round is another race distance.
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