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Sam Shahin remains tight-lipped on speculation that he has or is planning to buy Supercars.
The rumour mill seems to have kicked off approximately a week ago in his home state of South Australia thanks to a segment on an Adelaide breakfast radio show.
Speedcafe’s enquiries with paddock insiders suggest there is little substance to the gossip, if any.
Shahin himself, when he fronted media to publicise the official renaming of The Bend Motorsport Park, would neither confirm nor deny that the rumours are true.
“At any one point, I might be considering five or 10 opportunities for business, for South Australia, and Shell V-Power Motorsport Park,” he said.
“When we have something to say, we’ll say it, but at any one time, we don’t go talking publicly about those opportunities or where we are.
“So, I have no comment to make about that story or any others that have circulated.”
The Shahin brothers are literally invested in motorsport through The Bend and Mallala Motorsport Park, and both Sam and Yasser themselves have achieved success as drivers in competitions such as Porsche Michelin Sprint Challenge Australia and Fanatec GT World Challenge Australia Powered by AWS.
Through the Peregrine Corporation, they bidded for the Supercars business during the Archer Capital sale in 2021, although it is thought that their offer was among the lowest.
Pressed on another play for the business now, Sam Shahin replied, “I’m a realist, I’m pragmatic, I chase down opportunities that are fit for us to chase, for the betterment of this business.
“It’s no secret that we were bidders for the Supercar business at the last round when the business was for sale.
“Yes, we run a business, and anything that is good for the business, it would be remiss of us not to chase that opportunity.
“So, whether it’s Supercars, whether it’s any other opportunity, whether it’s a new event – local, interstate, national, international event – if it’s there to be got for South Australia, we’ll go and get it.”
The Bend, now ‘Shell V-Power Motorsport Park’, this weekend hosts Event 8 of the Repco Supercars Championship, the OTR SuperSprint.
One theory on a Supercars sale to the Shahins was that, rather than a full buy-out, they may be looking at a sufficiently large minority stake such that they gained the right to board membership and hence could ensure The Bend remains on the calendar.
Speedcafe can now report that it is a not especially likely proposition either.
Such is the make-up of RACE (Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd), the parent of Supercars, the most obvious source of such a stake would be that 15 percent holding which belongs to Barry Rogers, who is also a majority owner of the Australian Racing Group.
With John McMellan stepping away from RACE earlier this year, there is no ARG-aligned figure on the board.
Rogers told Speedcafe then that he was committed to his 15 percent share and he has now reiterated that stance, in the wake of the Shahin rumours.
“I don’t know anything about that, the Shahins,” he told Speedcafe.
“No idea, haven’t heard about it. We’ve still got our share; nothing’s changed.”
Rogers furthermore confirmed that there is no plan in the foreseeable future to sell his stake in RACE, thus ruling out one of the more plausible theories connected to the Shahins.
While the South Australian convenience store magnates can never be completely ruled out as future owners of Supercars, there is little reason to believe that they are in the process of making a play for the business at this point in time.
