The voices of the sport for over 15 years, Crompton and Skaife have been removed from lead commentary positions and are set to be replaced by a rotating cast of fresh talent.
Crompton revealed last week he’s been offered a two-event involvement, while Skaife is believed to be facing a similar downgrade.
The news of Crompton’s fate has been particularly poorly received by fans, with a petition supporting the 65-year-old having reached 23,000 signatures.
Cochrane, who took over the promotion of Aussie V8 racing in 1996 and led it to immense success before stepping away in 2012, is livid over the development.
“Sometimes I sit here and wonder if Supercars are trying to put themselves out of business, or if they’re intentionally trying to upset as many of their remaining fans as they’ve got,” Cochrane told Speedcafe.
“I’m more than perplexed. Why you would get rid of the two leading commentary voices for the last 15 to 20 years in one hit, I have no idea.
Click here to find out how.
“Even if you wanted to consider a change, surely you’d do it piecemeal by piecemeal.
“You might do one in the near future and one in a year or two down the track, so you take the fans with you as you exit what have been the voices of V8 Supercars now for an awfully long time.
“It’s bitterly disappointing for both of them. I gather from everything I’ve heard from around the traps, it’s been very poorly handled.
“Again, it doesn’t speak to a sport that’s really got its act together, because if you’ve got your act together you do respect at least the champions of the past.
“Both of those guys, love them or hate them, have given an enormous contribution to the sport.”
Cochrane formed close relationships with Crompton and Skaife during his time running V8 Supercars and reached out to both parties in the wake of the news.
Although declaring it’s not his position to offer any public advice to the pair, Cochrane labelled a two-round cameo offer as “embarrassing”.
“I think they both would be in a position where neither of them probably wants to depart from the sport because they both love it and know it so well, but equally they are both pretty proud people,” he said.
“I don’t see either of them just bending over and being a part-time commentator in what has been a part of their lives and careers for so long.”
Both Crompton and Skaife have various connections to the sport outside of commentary.
Crompton was a key figure in bringing Toyota to Supercars, a goal Cochrane failed to achieve during his time in the business.
The Toyota relationship has been touted as a potential conflict of interest – a notion that Cochrane firmly rejects as a legitimate reason to be moved on.
“That’s just ridiculous, it’s just stupidity, there’s no other word for that. That’s just rank stupidity,” he said.
“In my 17 years of running the sport, if somebody brought us or helped bring us something of that magnitude, we did the opposite – we got them in and celebrated their success and what they’d achieved for the sport.”
Supercars isn’t backing down on its plans to rejuvenate the broadcast, which is said to come off the back of research pointing to declining satisfaction among non-core viewers.
The shake-up will stretch far beyond the commentary box, with all elements expected to be refreshed following a comprehensive review and a change in production partner.
Cochrane concedes the TV product does need improvement, but added: “I guess if I had a top 10 list of things I wanted to fix up, I’m not sure these two commentators would be on the top of my list.”
Leaving V8 Supercars in 2012 following its buyout by Archer Capital, Cochrane’s current roles include a place on the independent infrastructure and co-ordination board for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
Discussion about this post