Motorsport: V8 SuperTourers go off with a roar

Racing in a domestic series for the first time in 15 years, Greg Murphy was a big drawcard for the event. Photo / Geoff Ridder

After a year of spats, finger pointing, legal wrangles, he-said-she-said, hissy fits, name calling and more Machiavellian machinations than the man himself could have written, the V8 SuperTourers hit the grid last weekend.

There's been more than enough ink and airwaves wasted over the schism in New Zealand V8 racing. Most people are bored rigid with talking about how grown men can't just grab a box of Shiraz and lock themselves in a room until they've found a solution.

There's been a lot of talk out of the SuperTourers camp about how the opening round of seven at Hampton Downs was going to be the best thing since sliced bread. While not being as earth-shattering or life-changing as being able to pop your bread in a toaster without having to hack at it with a carving knife, the new category did put on a good show.

As promised, 16 cars were on the grid and a lot of credit has to go to chief executive Paul Radisich and his team to bring what was 18 months ago a pipe dream. The cars looked good, sounded great and the driver line-up was up there with the best from days gone by.

Putting Radisich at the head of the programme was inspired, as the run-up to actual racing had been fractious, to say the least. Also having someone of the calibre of Lyall Williamson and his International Motorsport outfit, who have been a watchword in professional racing in New Zealand, among others, added extra cache to the fledgling series.

When you have drivers like Greg Murphy and Steven Richards (who between them have six Bathurst 1000 wins), former A1GP driver Jonny Reid and former NZV8 champions John McIntyre, Kayne Scott, Andy Booth, Craig Baird and Paul Manuell, along with up-and-coming drivers like Ant Pedersen, Scott McLaughlin and Andre Heimgartner and others, it can't be all bad.

Now before any readers get the idea that the V8 Supercars is actually the best thing since sliced bread, hold your horses. There has been so much hype, good and bad, about this new series and how it might become the national championship rather than a standalone series, but last weekend was just round one.

Remember what happened with the Australian V8 Supercars when it decided to move to Hamilton? Crowds of up to 165,000 turned up at the first event, only to taper off to such an extent that there's a lot of chatter that this year could be the last event on New Zealand soil - mainly because of a bit of mismanagement and political wrangling.

The V8 SuperTourers are off down south to Ruapuna on April 7-8 - we know the Southerners love their motorsport - but it's after then that the new series will have to be handled with great foresight, finesse and care.

The racing will have to be close, fast and furious to keep the fans and television audience entertained. Fans want to see door-banging, love taps and handle-bar rubbing and the odd crash - as long as nobody gets hurt.

But that brings its own problems, as seen during race three at Hampton Downs. The first two races were a bit of a procession after the opening laps, which is totally understandable.

New toys, a new series on a new track (for V8s) and a lot of drivers who had never seen each other on a track before does make for a bit of tippy-toe caution.

Come race three all hell was let loose. Great racing by any standards. There were cars being turned around, rear shunts that would loosen a driver's fillings, bonnets being shoved up the inside of car doors, panels flying off and cars spearing off into the kitty litter.

Folk at the track and at home were on the edge of their seats - it was bloody marvellous. But the watchers don't have to pay the bills. If that sort of mayhem and madness had happened in race one it wouldn't have been surprising to see only half the 16-car field make it on to the grid for race two.

If the weekend's event is anything to go by, where reportedly 6000 turned up on Saturday and closer to 9000 arrived on Sunday, such early popularity should bode well.

Having Murphy home to strut his stuff in a domestic series for the first time in 15 years was an excellent drawcard and despite the meeting being a bit of a double-edged sword for him (he had to win, really, considering his Aussie V8 Supercar pedigree) he really seemed to enjoy the challenge.

The organisers can tick the box for round one and now it's up to them to gain more traction and get some momentum going, especially if they want the V8 SuperTourers to be the next big thing. It's early days, but gentlemen, the ball's in your court.