NZ double header? International racing? Champion feud? Supercars boss talks state of the sport
Formula One gripes, Asian expansion, new manufacturers and driver power – Supercars boss Barclay Nettlefold reveals the sport’s most pressing issues and biggest opportunities to REBECCA WILLIAMS.
Motorsport
Don't miss out on the headlines from Motorsport. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Supercars embarked on a new era last year when it launched its Gen3 product with the General Motors Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang.
A year on, Supercars chairman Barclay Nettlefold sat down with REBECCA WILLIAMS to discuss how the rebooted series is faring and the issues in the sport.
In a wide-ranging interview, Nettlefold addresses the success of Gen3, the prospect of new manufacturers joining the grid, overseas expansion, the Brodie Kostecki saga, calendar conundrums and his vision for the sport.
THE SUCCESS OF GEN3
The opening season of the Supercars Gen3 era was beset by parity controversy and debate but Supercars chairman Barclay Nettlefold says the series is now seeing the fruits of its investment in the new product with this year’s racing.
“It has been a journey to get to success and I think that’s now starting to be proven with where we are now with the racing and the team engagement to the product,” Nettlefold said.
“We took on seismic change … but taking on an aerodynamic change as well as a motor change both at once was always going to come with some issues and some challenges.
“So, yes, results are speaking. We have had more winners in a competition than ever so that is exciting. The gap between first and last is closer and there is a lot of overtaking.
“There were a lot of criteria that we were looking at with Gen3 to enable exciting racing and maintaining or being the best touring car product in the world.”
Supercars has invested heavily in its quest for parity between the Ford and the GM Camaro after last year’s battles with the Mustang.
It embarked on an extensive off-season testing program headlined by the series’ first-time use of a state-of-the-art wind tunnel in the US.
While Nettlefold was confident in the outcomes so far, he said the series would follow through with its commitment to complete engine investigations.
“We have still got a commitment to do more with the AVL dyno testing on the engines,” the RACE – owners of Supercars – chairman said.
“We are getting great information now out of the torque sensor work and the testing we are doing with the cars.
“But you have to continually do it. The more that we do, the more we are convinced that we have the cars on an equal playing field for both manufacturers.
“We are having continual discussions with the manufacturers. Ford is one and we recognise where the issues were as a collective and we have addressed those.
“Ford, from all discussions and accounts, are happy with where we are going and I think we are seeing fast Fords out there.”
NEW MANUFACTURERS
One of the design features of the new Gen3 cars was brought in to make it easier to welcome potential new manufacturers to the grid.
While Nettlefold said Supercars was not in discussions with any potential new manufacturers “at this stage”, he hoped the sport could be in a position to welcome a fresh face to the grid as early as 2026.
“Our focus has been around getting the (Gen3) car to the level that we can have constructive discussions with other manufacturers,” Nettlefold said.
“We hope that we will be through that hurdle in the next months to come, where we can then hand on heart be very proactive in talking to other manufacturers, which will make it cost efficient, turnkey to come in on the product.
“I think we all would (like to have another manufacturer in the sport). Even Ford has openly said we think it would be the best thing for the sport. So, yes, we would love to.
“We would love to see another two cars on the grid, the more the better.”
Nettlefold said he would like to see another marque manufacturer on the grid in two years, but the sport had to first refine its parity testing process.
“If we have completed the AVL testing … we would want to do wind-tunnel testing with them,” Nettlefold said
“We would have to go through the same rigours to ensure we have parity and an equal product on the track.
“So I would say if we can have that done by 2026 and be poised for a ’26 launch, that would mean we would have everything ready by the end of this year.
“It would take time to then develop another manufacturer, I would have thought.
“We need to have done our work where we can make it easy for a manufacturer to turnkey on to our product and know we can do it within a nine-month window, where we do wind-tunnel testing, AVL testing and make sure that it’s a competitive product because we don’t want manufacturers to come on and not be competitive.”
THE CALENDAR
Nettlefold indicated his magic number for the right number of Supercars rounds in a season was 15 but a 14-race season in 2025 appears the most likely scenario.
The most pressing calendar issue for Supercars is settling on a new season opener after the loss of the Newcastle street race.
Mount Panorama filled the void this year when the Bathurst 500 opened the 2024 campaign but Nettlefold said he was not a fan of running two events at the circuit each year.
His preference was to open the season on the east coast.
“We would love to open on the eastern seaboard,” he said. “It’s where our big fan base is.
“It was disappointing not to get to race at Newcastle this year but thank god Bathurst council and the NSW government supported the transitional year.
“We like to start off with a big bang for the fans and we want to do it on the eastern seaboard. I don’t know where.
“There have been no discussions yet from the executive or the board in regards to what is possible but that’s where we need to be.”
A potential Perth street race has also been mooted but Nettlefold said discussions with the government in Western Australia were in their infancy.
“West Australia, it’s an opportunity that could potentially be there along with other opportunities in other states. But again these are early discussions,” Nettlefold said.
“But we would love to race a major street race in every city. That would be the ultimate outcome for the sport and for the fans.
“The NSW government is supportive of us relocating Newcastle into another street-type race but it’s about finding the right venue.
“There are lots of those discussions happening with various states and let’s hope we can get back to another major street race, certainly on the eastern seaboard.”
Nettlefold hailed Supercars’ return to racing in New Zealand last month in Taupo as a success and said he would “love to” do a double-header across the ditch.
He would make it happen next year if he could but stressed that ensuring the Taupo race prospered would be the priority.
“There is demand there and demand from us to do a back-to-back (in New Zealand),” Nettlefold said.
“It is all going to be about how we can get that track suitable that enables that to occur and it’s the right level and grading … to make sure they are compliant and have all the hospitality needs.
“Notwithstanding (racetrack owner) Tony Quinn is committed, we are committed, but we just want to make Taupo a success first.
“If we could next year, that would be great. I don’t know if we’ve got time to do that.”
OVERSEAS EXPANSION
Beyond Supercars’ desire to expand its footprint in New Zealand, Nettlefold said there had been “enormous inbound inquiries” about the series racing overseas.
RACE has made no secret of its ambition to expand the sport internationally and Nettlefold said the Asian market presented the most logical destination, while there has also been interest from the Middle East.
A place on the support card at the Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix has been mooted for several years.
“The Asian market place is ideal,’’ Nettlefold said. “Time zone, fans, commitment, exposure – it works.
“There is demand for us to be there but it all comes down to commercial outcomes, fitting in with our Australian-New Zealand calendar.
“We will just keep looking at that. There is interest from the Middle East … all that region is very aggressive at the moment in regards to sporting rights.
“I think the preference for us and the fans would be Singapore as a first port … anything we could do in Asia would be ideal as a starting point before anywhere else.
“If we could jump on a plane and go race in Singapore tomorrow I would do it, I think it would be great.
“But I would rather see 15 races in Australia as a way ahead as a precursor to sacrificing our expansion internationally.”
Asked if there was the possibility of an overseas race outside New Zealand being added to the calendar for 2025, Nettlefold remained hopeful but said the series’ focus was on the trans-Tasman foundation first.
“I would hope so but the focus has to be on getting enough racing in Australia and New Zealand as a priority,” he said.
“The focus has been Australia-New Zealand and it will continue to be there while we’ve settled the Gen3 product into the country and the region.
“We have had enormous inbound inquiries for us to race (overseas) … but we are working on the strategy.”
THE KOSTECKI SAGA
Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki’s stand-off with his title-winning team Erebus Motorsport dominated headlines at the start of the season.
The defending champion missed the opening two rounds of the 2024 campaign at the Bathurst 500 and in Melbourne, before making a belated return in New Zealand.
Amid a widely reported breakdown in relations, Nettlefold said Supercars had done as much as it was able to in the situation “between Brodie and the team”.
“Unfortunately, there was not a lot we could do outside,” Nettlefold said.
“We had several meetings with the Erebus team but it was really something that could only be dealt with between Brodie and the team.
“We don’t have the absolute power to tell a driver or tell a team how to run their business.
“But we are going to look to – through some TRC discussions we are having now with the teams – give us more power so that we can get more involved for the betterment of the sport.”
Nettlefold said he had been concerned about Kostecki throughout the saga, which cost Erebus several key sponsors from last year and has now left the reigning champion playing catch-up in the title race.
“I was more worried about how much it hurt Brodie,” Nettlefold said.
“Brodie, for a young guy who won a championship, for him to make that decision because of health reasons, he was troubled and that was the catalyst that concerned me.
“(It was more) how can we help drivers that are having those issues, more so than why isn’t he driving? If he is not driving, there is a reason.
“But if it is health-related – and health-related can come from many ways – and if it means that it was a work environment that he was struggling with then we have to be supportive to him on that.
“It was very unfortunate. I think it was the last thing in his wildest dreams that he would not want to defend his championship properly.
“You can see he is already starting to get speed back in the car. It won’t take him long.
“I would be the first to be happy for him if he wins a race in the next couple of rounds.”
Nettlefold said he was satisfied that any potential issues in the workplace environment had been addressed.
“I believe that (team owner) Betty (Klimenko) has stated that she addressed certain concerns that Brodie had,” Nettlefold said.
“As long as that has been done … Brodie has realised you have done what you said and I’m happy to come back and race and I’m mentally strong enough to do it now.”
SUPERCARS’ FUTURE AT THE AUSTRALIAN F1 GRAND PRIX
No one in Supercars doubts the sport should be at the biggest motorsport show of the year in Australia at Albert Park but Nettlefold said the series wanted some conditions to change to ensure its future at the event.
A longtime and popular staple on the support card for the race at Albert Park, Supercars has found itself bumped down the pecking order following the addition of F1’s own feeder categories F2 and F3 to the event’s schedule.
F1’s junior classes made their debut at Albert Park in 2023 and the Supercars field this year lost its position in Albert Park’s second pit lane to the F2 championship.
Supercars teams operated out of tents in the paddock behind the second pit lane and the area where they operated this year was restricted access and not open to general admission and the category’s fans.
Nettlefold said Supercars had not sat down to discuss its future with Australian Grand Prix organisers but the category had a “few things to consider”.
“We haven’t debriefed with the AGP as yet, certainly we will in the coming months,” Nettlefold said.
“Our racing was very good … Thursday with Supercars on the grid, 65,000 people there, our fans were excited, a lot of F1 fans were very excited by our driving, our racing.
“But the timeslots, there is a whole raft of things that weren’t ideal.
“Was the pit situation ideal? No. Was the lack of fan engagement to our teams, which is a powerful thing for our sport (ideal)? No. Were the timeslots appropriate? No.
“So, there are a few things we want to consider if we want to race there again.”
Nettlefold said Supercars wanted to remain a part of the F1 event but being able to have fan engagement was a top priority for the sport.
“I think everyone likes to be a part of the show but we have just got to make sure that it works for our fans foremost and then the sport in general,” Nettlefold said.
“An ability to be fan-engaged is fundamental. For us it is (a priority). We are all about our fans.
“About racing at the right time of the day and not being bumped into doing too much racing in one day where we can be a bit more structured across the event.
“And commercially what does it mean? It’s just got to be looked at through all those different lenses.”
FUTURE VISION
Nettlefold said growing Supercars’ fan base was the top priority when considering his five-year vision for the category.
“For our sport, we just want to keep growing the fan base,” he said.
“We want to be more and more relevant as a number one tier sport in this country. We want to be more relevant to the global marketplace as the best touring car product.
“We know we are but it’s just about being more visible.
“We would like to have the ability to be the number one sporting event from a participation base in every state. We’re nearly there.
“We are the largest event in most states now but there is a lot of work that goes on in getting there.
“Also, it’s about just continually growing our fan base outside of our core base.
“We are seeing a far greater engagement with youth, with females and our KPIs on the sport are good, we’re very happy where they are growing.
“We are excited by the future, hence we are happy to continue to invest in the sport.
“If our fan base is growing, it’s a tick. If our demographic around our fan base is growing, it’s a tick.
“If people are enjoying our racing, if we’re changing up and growing our entertainment platform as part of our proposition to the fans, it’s a tick.”
On the track, Nettlefold wants the drivers to again become the “heroes”.
“What I loved about the old days was the call out of Brock, Moffat, Brock, Moffat,” he said.
“Now we are calling out Penrite Racing or Erebus. To me that’s not the same, I think there are some things to tweak in that regard. We have to make our drivers the heroes again.
“That’s what we all aspired to, getting an autograph from their heroes.”
Daniel Ricciardo is living his best life
Following his unceremonious exit from the F1 grid, Daniel Ricciardo has been keeping busy, including a wild day in Buffalo.
Calls for Piastri change after ‘No. 2’ furore
There is growing scrutiny on the dynamic between McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Lando heading into this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix.