[MacrosNZ]

Taken from the Facebook page

SELL OUT

V8 SuperTourers sells all first year franchises


The huge interest from existing and potential motorsport teams in the brand new V8 SuperTourer series reached new heights this week with the news that the championship organisers have sold out of Season One franchises and reached their target of 20 cars.

The sixteen cars now in the country will be joined by a further four cars purchased by Kiwi Indycar icon Steve Horne, New Zealand team owner Colin McLennan and former notable New Zealand racer Bill Farmer. The twentieth car has been provisionally sold, subject to confirmation by the team’s principle sponsor.

The four extra cars will be built up over the months of April and May well in time to take their place on the Enduro Series grid when that part of the season begins in August. This will bring the 2012 total to ten Holden VE2 SuperTourers and ten FG Ford Falcon SuperTourers and will add yet more high quality drivers to a field that is already attracting international interest. That field includes Greg Murphy, John McIntyre, Craig Baird, Kayne Scott, Andy Booth, Paul Manuell, Cameron McConville and rising young Kiwi Star Scott McLaughlin.

“When one considers none of the production cars have even had the opportunity to turn a wheel in anger yet, the interest has exceeded all of our expectations" said Paul Radisich, V8 SuperTourers CEO.

“We made the decision to cap the field at 20 cars for Season One earlier than was first envisaged so that we could focus on the championship itself. We are actually still receiving regular enquiries of the very highest quality from potential entrants even in these tough economic times but there comes a point where you have to focus on the main objective, and for us that was always about putting on the best motor racing series this country has seen in years.

“There are other outside factors too, such as being able to properly garage a pit lane of 24 cars to the quality standards we have set ourselves. Several of our NZ circuits need to make a step in that direction and we genuinely believe the success of V8 SuperTourers will provide some impetus for those circuits to achieve that, but we cannot expect it to happen overnight.

“Twenty two cars for Season Two [2013] and a final total of 24 cars remains a target that is firmly in our sight, and we would love to see a third manufacturer in 2013. There’s no reason to assume we cannot achieve those goals.”

The first season of the inaugural V8 SuperTourer Championship will run during the 2012 calendar year, commencing with Round 1 at the Hampton Downs circuit on February 17, 18 and 19. There will be races at Taupo, Manfeild and Ruapuna and the two-part season will include four sprint format rounds and three endurance rounds where the drivers in the series must share driving duties with a non-series regular.

The 500km "Grand Final " at Ruapuna will run exactly one week after the Surfers International V8 Supercar round, and organisers have already received strong interest in that event from big name international drivers.