Betty Klimenko to sell $4 million race team to team owner in the making for one dollar

Who wants to be a millionaire? Betty Klimenko made the stunning revelation that she will give her Bathurst winning Supercars team away when she is ready to walk from the sport.

Betty Klimenko will sell her race team – worth an estimated $4 million – for just one dollar as part of a plan to ensure her V8s legacy.

In a philanthropic act that will instantly create a millionaire, the Westfield heiress made the stunning revelation that she will give her race winning Supercars team to “the right person” when she is ready to walk away from the sport.

Speaking about her Erebus Motorsport succession plan for the very first time, Klimenko revealed that the only thing stopping her from giving the team away for free was that a transfer of ownership requires a monetary exchange to be legal.

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Betty Klimenko will sell her $4 million race team for one dollar: Picture Rohan Kelly

“I will hand it over to the right person,” Klimenko said.

“I don’t know if you can call it a gift because legally you can’t gift it. But you can sell it for a dollar. I do know that this team will go to the right person, even if that right person has no money.

“Not everyone who has money is smart.”

Klimenko, 62, said that she will take a back seat over the coming years after turning a V8 seed into a racing empire.

In a blow for every V8 fan, the pink-haired and tattooed daughter of Westfield co-owner John Saunders is already thinking about her successor.

“It will go to the person who will make sure that the team is there in a 100 years and that people will walk in and see a picture of me and know that I was the one that put it all together,” Klimenko said.

“I want someone that will be able to take it into the future. The business itself needs to be carried on by someone else who loves it as much as me. I want them to be able to pay it forward to another generation.“

David Reynolds and Betty Klimenko celebrate victory in the Top Ten Shootout during the Bathurs 1000. Picture: AAP

Entering the sport in spectacular fashion in 2013 by putting two Mercedes AMG Supercars on the grid, Erebus Motorsport has grown into a team that is capable of winning a V8 crown.

Once regarded as a giant killer because of a series of against-the-odds wins against bigger and better established teams, Erebus is now a top team in its own right.

Putting her heart and soul into the race team – and also a part of her fortune – Klimenko has already stepped back from the business with team manager Barry Ryan running the show.

Ryan bought a 50 per cent share in a racing license (REC) for one of the Erebus race cars in 2019.

“My days of being in the limelight are behind me,” Klimenko said.

“I am quite happy for Barry to lead the charge. I am not getting any younger. The sport is moving forward and it takes a younger person than me to understand it. I am quietly taking steps backwards and at some point it will be passed on.”

Klimenko will miss her first Bathurst 1000 since putting Erebus on the grid because a health issue has prevented her from receiving the coronavirus vaccination.

“I am kind of getting used to watching it from the couch,” Klimenko said.

“You get a different perspective of things so it is not all bad.”

Originally published as Betty Klimenko to sell $4 million race team to team owner in the making for one dollar