Brian Rudman: A V8 miracle - or perhaps just election year

It might have taken an impending election and some arm-twisting behind the scenes by Helen Clark, surely the politician least likely to enjoy a car race, but Whenuapai airbase has miraculously become available as a venue for the V8 supercar races.

What a pity the penny didn't drop about the obvious merits of this venue a year ago, before first Auckland City and then Wellington City wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars of ratepayers' money, battling for ridiculous and impractical street-circuit proposals.

The only sour note accompanying last Friday's good news came from that crass Australian loudmouth, V8 supercar supremo Tony Cochrane.

Despite being aware of the lifeline the New Zealand Government was throwing him and his multi-million-dollar commercial enterprise, he couldn't resist letting rip with one of his trademark eruptions of bile.

"Whilst recognising we have been treated appallingly by government agencies and councils alike in New Zealand, we will do our utmost to not disappoint hundreds of thousands of New Zealand fans from witnessing the spectacle of Greg Murphy and other leading New Zealand drivers competing in front of their own countrymen."

The reality has always been that far from treating Mr Cochrane and his V8s appallingly, councils and government agencies - presumably he is referring here to Transit New Zealand - have bent over backwards to try to accommodate his city-stopping proposals.

I've long argued that the relationship, in Auckland at least, was much too cosy. The street races proposals bombed, not because the world hated Tony Cochrane, but because his plans were daft and dangerous.

The Whenuapai venue, on the other hand, which has been pushed by racing identity Frank Radisich and planner Pete Sinton since 1999, seems to have just about everything going for it. The Radisich dream is of it becoming the home of New Zealand motorsport as Silverstone is to British motorsport.

Situated between two motorway arteries a few kilometres north of the main city, it offers easy access for fans, masses of parking, and a blank tarmac on which to create any circuit that's required.

With Pukekohe's days numbered, Western Springs under threat, and Whenuapai under-used by the military, it seems a win-win proposal. But until the Prime Minister's intervention, the big stumbling block had been the Air Force, which seemed to feel a bit put upon, being asked to share their base with a mass of civilian petrol-heads.

On March 2, Defence Minister Mark Burton rejected "with considerable regret" the idea of motorsport sharing the base with the Air Force. Despite the economic benefits the V8 races would bring to the country, he said the risk to operations and "particularly non-scheduled emergency/humanitarian responses, and the risk to which the base infrastructure is exposed" was greater. Earlier racing events at the airport had "caused considerable damage to the runway, taxiways and other airfield installations" and there was a risk that "chipping of the asphalt" might expose aircraft engines "to the risk of catastrophic damage."

Undefeated, the Radisich duo appealed to the Prime Minister.

On May 17 a high-powered meeting between the applicants and senior Government officials took place, including the Chief of the Defence Force, Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson, Air Vice-Marshal John Hamilton, head of the Air Force, and Transport Safety Minister Harry Duynhoven. Also present was Steve Reindler, general manager, engineering, Auckland International Airport, to offer the Air Force a temporary home during the car racing. As a result of this "very constructive" meeting, Mr Burton has now said that Whenuapai is available to V8 supercar racing for the next six or seven years, subject to certain conditions.

The two most likely sticking points are first, the condition that any petrolhead occupation of the airbase last no longer than 10 days and second, that the Air Force must have the right to reclaim the base at 24 hours' notice if a "significant emergency" arose.

Indications are that the 10-day limit can be worked around, but that the 24-hour notice clause is a potential deal-breaker.

Seems that even if the Air Force accepts Auckland International Airport's kind offer to put it up for the duration, it is worried about access to spares, and workshops and the like. Even if a "significant emergency" were to pop up, with a bit of goodwill, this should be solvable. Even if it means putting off bombing Tony Cochrane's Gold Coast headquarters for another week.