Action from a V8 SuperTourers race. Picture / Andrew Bright/www.championshipdigital.com
Action from a V8 SuperTourers race. Picture / Andrew Bright/www.championshipdigital.com
It's time for the V8 wars to end, writes Eric Thompson
We are now into the third season of motorsport since the acrimonious split in domestic V8 racing. Both the breakaway V8 SuperTourers and the New Zealand national championship NZV8 Touring Cars are struggling to fill their grids.
It is hard to believe the "he said, she said" stuff is still happening.
As New Zealand has such a small population, both factions had better sort out their respective angst before motorsport fans say "enough" and find a new passion to follow.
You just have to look at the lack of crowd numbers at the two opening rounds of the V8ST 2014 series to note the lack of punters coming through the gate.
Sure, there's television, but it doesn't take a genius to realise the fickle nature of TV production, which can change its mind in a nano-second - and it costs money that neither category can afford.
Bums on seats are the lifeblood of any sport. Once people stop coming to events it's nigh on impossible to get them to return.
It's time for all parties involved, V8ST, NZV8TC and the governing body to put their personal concerns aside and look at the bigger picture.
The sport is haemorrhaging money, fans and competitors and is slowly dying.
Kiwi great Greg Murphy sat down with Driven to put his views.
The four-time Bathurst winner has been competing in the V8 SuperTourers series for two seasons and is almost at the end of his tether with the dysfunctionality of the sport in New Zealand.
In the first of a three-part look at the parties involved in the stoush, I asked Murphy his thoughts on why there are still huge problems in motor racing in New Zealand.
Over the next two weeks I will contact NZV8TC and the governing body to garner their thoughts on the problem.
Greg Murphy
"It's a real concern what's happening with the sport in New Zealand," says Murphy.
"There's so much great stuff in New Zealand motorsport with great champions in the past and great races.
"There seem to be some people ... making decisions, doing things and saying things for personal reasons rather than doing things that make sense.
"What we're trying to do with SuperTourers is provide the best domestic championship and having a dozen or more Supercar drivers coming over to compete in the series and being ignored by the governing body is amazing - I can't work it out.
"There is so much rubbish and lies being told about the problems in our class that just aren't true by people who aren't part of SuperTourers.
"There are a number of us who are trying to make the sport more professional in New Zealand and we're continually banging our heads against a brick wall.
'I can't believe how we're spending more time putting out fires rather than focusing on providing entertainment for the fans," he says.
"There's no question that we [SuperTourers] have made our own mistakes and have been trying to sort the problems out. There have been a number of changes but we are limited by funds to make it even better.
'We shouldn't have started the series again so soon after the end of the last one but commitments were made. But we can fix that and make things better," says Murphy.
"At the moment it's just so terribly fragmented with people making decisions with no comprehension about what they're doing.
"The people who are governing the sport should concentrate on the governance of it and not get involved in other aspects.
"There appears to be no foresight or structure in place for the long-term good of the sport
