Plans for a new Supercars team based out of Sydney remain far from finalised with less than three months before the 2020 campaign begins.
Supercars announced the two car Sydney team project in the lead up to this year’s Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, confirming Jonathon Webb’s Tekno Autosports as one of the team’s partners with James Courtney landing one of the seats.
It was also understood that Sydney businessman Rod Salmon was among the partners keen to secure a second Racing Entitlements Contract although it is believed he has distanced himself from the Webb family that owns Tekno Autosports, casting some doubt over the project.
It is anticipated the squad would eventually move into state-of-the-art facility at Sydney Motorsport Park courtesy of a $33 million financial incentive from the NSW Government, which aims to construct a motorsport Centre of Excellence building at the venue.
The championship has however been unable to provide an update to the media for commercial reasons.
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Speedcafe.com understands the meeting was positive although details regarding resources and hardware are yet to be resolved but it has been suggested that Sydney’s Crown Casino will back the squad.
A key part of that is the second entry which is yet to be secured and it is believed the Webbs have now expressed an interest in purchasing a REC with discussions between the squad and Supercars ongoing.
Adding to the complexity of the situation, is that it is known Salmon has been investigating the possibility of forming his own team having spoken to a number of team owners in the Supercars paddock.
It is known Salmon approached Garry Rogers Motorsport but the Melbourne team, who will exit Supercars at the end of this year, told Speedcafe.com that they were not planning to return to the grid next year.
Should the Sydney project secure its second entry, there are a number of drivers on the market that could slot into the team.
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