‘Shaped the sport’: Supercars mourns the death of its modern architect

Supercars is mourning the loss of a man who reinvigorated the Dick Johnson Racing team before becoming one of the sport’s most instrumental figures.

The death of Wayne Cattach has been felt deeply by both Supercars and Dick Johnson Racing given the incredible role he played in their respective histories.

News of Cattach’s passing was made public on Thursday morning, prompting an outpouring of admiration for a figure that wasn’t necessarily high-profile, but remarkably important for Supercars’ most famous team, and the sport itself.

In both of his key Supercars roles, Cattach was the powerhouse behind a superstar. Initially it was racing legend Dick Johnson. Later it was ringmaster Tony Cochrane.

Wayne Cattach in 2006. Picture: Supplied

Cattach arrived in motorsport with next to no knowledge about. It was the early 1990s and DJR was struggling as a business, to the point that backer Shell told Johnson that he needed to hire a CEO. They suggested Cattach, a 19-year Shell employee.

According to Johnson it was a “light bulb moment” that changed his life.

In the eight years that followed, Cattach expertly steered the DJR ship. When Shell scaled back its spending in the mid-1990s, it was Cattach that devised a plan to effectively on-sell FAI Insurance policies to other partners, if they signed on as a joint primary sponsor. Cattach oversaw DJR moving into what it claims was the first purpose-built motorsport factory in Australia in 1995. And it was Cattach that lured technical gurus Ross and Jim Stone to DJR.

Wayne Cattach and Dick Johnson in 2008. Picture: Supplied

During his DJR tenure, Cattach was also instrumental in the formation of the Touring Car Entrants Group of Australia, known as TEGA, which would later become a stakeholder in the brand new Australian Vee Eight Super Car Company (AVESCO), led by Cochrane.

In 1999, Cattach made the incredibly difficult decision to part ways with close friend Johnson and join AVESCO as its first CEO. That marked the start of the second chapter of his motorsport career.

At AVESCO, the forerunner to what is now Supercars, Cattach revolutionised the sport. He was the perfect calming deputy to the colourful Cochrane as they oversaw the golden era of Supercars. Cattach introduced the franchise system for team owners and took Supercars to the world with its first proper international race in China.

“Wayne’s impact on Supercars cannot be overstated,” said current Supercars CEO Shane Howard in response to Cattach’s death.

“He brought a business-focused approach that transformed the sport’s organisational structure and paved the way for its continued growth.

“His vision for a franchise system and his efforts in international expansion were groundbreaking.

“Wayne was a mentor and a friend, and his legacy will live on in the sport he helped shape.”

Supercars CEO Shane Howard paid tribute to Cattach. Picture Mark Brake

Johnson, meanwhile, offered a touching tribute to his departed friend.

“As CEO of DJR, he changed our team. As CEO of V8 Supercars, he changed our sport,” said Johnson.

“You wouldn’t believe it, but after joining the team as our major sponsor through an agreement that we made on the back of a drinks coaster, the head honchos at Shell stepped in at the start of 1992 to tell me that to take the team forward, we really needed to appoint a CEO.

“That light bulb moment changed my life, and set a new course for Dick Johnson Racing.

“Following a stellar career with Shell that saw him at the peak of his craft both here in Australia and in the UK, Wayne joined DJR. He was instrumental in the leadership of the Touring Car Entrants Group and then to the formation of V8 Supercars.

“Wayne lured Ross and Jimmy Stone to DJR and helped us win Bathurst in 1994 and [John Bowe] to win the championship in 1995. He was savvy commercially as he was in setting up the team’s future, building 10 Emeri Street in Stapylton in 1998 as the first purpose built motorsport factory in Australia.

“Wayne joined Supercars as CEO after I hung up the helmet in 1999. He was the powerhouse behind Tony Cochrane, who as the ultimate ideas and sales man, needed the yin to his yang. A bloke who could get it done and make sure the trains would run on time. In Wayne, there was no one better.

“Coming from a background of working at DJR as well as Shell, he understood teamland and truly made him the enormous success he was in Supercars.

“He was a dear friend. [My wife] Jillie and I share our heartfelt condolences to all his family and friends. But most of all, today of all days, I have tremendous gratitude to a bloke who changed my life. Someone who came from outside motorsport to truly become a cornerstone of it.

“In Tasmania, our Mustangs will pay tribute to the memory of Wayne Cattach, a fellow former Nasho – a great man, fearless leader and true friend.”

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Originally published as ‘Shaped the sport’: Supercars mourns the death of its modern architect