by

9^th May, 2002

36-car grids? V8 `Waterloo’ looming

The off-track V8 Supercar war could climax in a final, bloody conflict tomorrow (Friday) when teams and administrators hold a summit on the Gold Coast to debate the sport’s future.

A growing army of disgruntled team owners will converge on the sport’s Southport headquarters for an extraordinary general meeting of the Touring Car Entrants Group (TEGA).

High-profile TEGA members, led vocally by Larry Perkins, have met this week to rally support for their cause.

If their demands are not met tomorrow, a no-confidence motion could see the board overthrown.

Grid capacity increase sought
Discussions will revolve around the pre-qualifying situation, a bitterly contentious issue that, after many months of debate, finally appears to be reaching a resolution.

The board is expected to rubberstamp a proposal to increase the non-endurance grid capacity to 36 cars (up from the current 32-car limit) for the rest of the season.

Restricted pit facilities at most venues have been the main stumbling block, though a reorganisation of pitlane and a review of pit stop regulations should make the decision a viable one at all but a handful of events.

The make-up of the grids will be at the discretion of the board, with preference given to Level 1 teams committed to the entire series.

That should go some way towards calming tensions between administrators and many smaller franchisees struggling to make the grid each weekend.

Paul Morris is one such driver; devoted to all 13 rounds, with strong sponsorship, yet unable to force his way onto the grid for the past two rounds of the championship.

Morris’ name will most likely be on an alternative ticket tomorrow, along with John Briggs and Kees Weel, should a spill at board level take place.  The Holden Racing Team’s Jeff Grech is the only current board member believed to have the support of the rebel group.

Cochrane defends AVESCO
Pre-qualifying is only the catalyst for a debate that has been a long time coming: the reasons behind a mass communications breakdown between administrators and competitors.

Teams have long claimed both the TEGA board and the sport’s promotional arm AVESCO have made important decisions without consultation.  A recent cutback in Saturday practice time, slashed by 50 minutes in an apparent cost-cutting exercise, is the most recent example.

V8 Supercar boss Tony Cochrane this week took the extraordinary step of sending a detailed letter to all V8 Supercar teams, defending the position of AVESCO.

The letter, described by Cochrane as one of the most important documents he has written as AVESCO Chairman, was leaked to Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper.

“My goal, and I believe that of the other office bearers in the AVESCO organisation, is to maintain and promote your [V8 Supercar teams’] achievements,” Cochrane wrote.

“Walking a tightrope between fantastic sporting ability, technical advances, sponsor needs, fiduciary obligations, fairness and, of course, the needs of the motorsport public is never going to please everyone all the time."

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