Asian Motor Sports

Next year’s V8 Supercar championship could be broken into two phases with a mid-season break from late July to mid-September, the sport’s executive chairman Tony Cochrane said yesterday.

Former drivers’ champion Mark Skaife will head a committee aimed at enticing new manufacturers, while 14 cost-cutting proposals are aimed at keeping teams in business.

Cochrane said the changes were to keep the sport viable.

“Despite the global financial situation, we still remain highly sought out as a championship,” Cochrane said. “Certainly the possibility exists for us to expand either next year or the year after to 16 events.

“One of the problems you’ve got in this country is because of football codes, and not many countries have three major football codes and we do. Trying to program time to satisfy everybody in that mid-July to mid-September period is very, very difficult.”

Skaife and his team will be charged with sorting out the so-called “car of the future”, the only requirements being that it run off a V8 engine and have a top-end price of $250,000.

The current cars cost around $500,000 to $600,000.

Cochrane confirmed the new car could bring in manufacturers other than Ford or Holden in 2011-12.

“I know Mark has already spoken to some manufacturers and I know that he intends to have follow-up meetings with some, I know he intends to speak to additional ones on top of that,” he said. “We very much want to maintain a very healthy, a good relationship, going forward with both Holden and with the Ford Motor Company of Australia.

“Both of those manufacturers are saying they would like to see other manufacturers involved.”

Cochrane also revealed 14 cost reduction methods which could save the teams millions.

“As each item is approved by the board, it will then be added to the rule book as a matter of urgency because I am determined, and I have a mandate to deliver on real cost reductions to every team,” he said.

“We have been criticized for how slowly we have moved on these issues - I intend to change that perception.”

Following the resignation of chief executive Cameron Levick last week, Cochrane hit out at suggestions it was struggling.

“Let me assure everyone in the wider motorsport community, V8 Supercars has an extremely strong management team, a strong championship going forward, a strong financial position, in fact the envy of many sports,” he said.

“There are no leadership concerns whatsoever in V8 Supercars Australia.”

Meanwhile, in his ninth season as a V8 Supercar driver, Holden’s Jason Richards secured a career-first pole position at the Triple Crown event in Darwin yesterday.