Quote:
Originally Posted by mac
I agree - though I think a lot of the reason for its disappearance was to do with the inflexibility of V8 Supercars in regards to the date.
The IRL wanted to move it forward to fit in with their season (primarily the Motegi round), Tony Cochrane refused - the organisers decided to lie prostrate at the feet of Cochrane.
If Cochrane and the organisers had been willing to negotiate, the IRL would probably still have been a part of the event - however, I firmly believe Cochrane saw a reunited IRL (with two strong Australians involved) as a threat to the status of V8s at the event, so did everything he could to remove them... ie. refusing to budge on the date.
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I agree with your view of Cochrane. If one examines everything he has said for the last six or seven years, he has always wanted the race for himself with no other international series on the card.
However now it's V8SC's by default and we'll see how they handle it.
The irl trying to twin the race with Motegi didn't really matter to teams pocketbooks. The whole trip was paid for and AFAIK teams weren't out of pocket for anymore than they would be at any race in the USA, maybe even less.
Ultimately I think it was pretty simple. The irl made it clear they just didn't want the race. They took it on when KK bailed out of Champcar to facilitate a deal ending the series so KK could keep Craig Gores money around. When it was clear that Gore was on his way out and KK was no longer essential, so was the race.
In any case I think it was dumb for the irl to dump the race. Again it was a completely paid for gig and an established race that was secure, so it was a no brainer. Instead the irl would rather go to tiny places like Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama.
