INTERVIEW: IAIN SHERRIN – PUTTING IN THE LONG HOURS
Iain Sherrin chats to Auto Action – Photo: Dirk Klynsmith
IF ONE category has shown signs of blossoming on the Shannons Nationals program, it could well be the Australian Production Car Series. As this season culminates, plans are already in place to further development into 2018, so AUTO ACTION sat down with series administrator Iain Sherrin to see what will unfold.
AA: One would assume you wouldn’t really want to deviate from your calendar and the mix of formats.
IS: To start with, the Bathurst 6 Hour will not be part of our series. We will be looking at five rounds. Phillip Island, Sydney Motorsport Park and Queensland Raceway will be three of them. We are hoping to get back to Sandown and we think the timing for that might be right next year. We would to target Tailem Bend as our fifth round.
Obviously the 6 Hour (in early April) will be a big factor in when we start. It would be hard to put on a round before it and within a month after it. So we would be looking at starting our series a month to six weeks after Bathurst, around mid-May.
Bathurst is a great race and many of our teams want to be part of it. Cars are built for it, and then come and race with us.
As to why it won’t be part of the series – conflicting sponsors, sporting regs, cars not eligible, and timed pitstops are among the issues. Besides there are two separate organisations involved here, one runs a race, one race a series.
Our four one-hour race format at SMP was a success, and that is what we should take to our first round – lower price, less crew, a more affordable round. You can do the Bathurst race, and then without a lot of prep, roll out to our first round.
Certainly we are not looking for more night races. The ‘Fight In The Night’ is a great event. If we did more, then that event would not be iconic or unique. I want each of our rounds to be based around endurance events but make them different.
Iain Sherrin’s BMW M4 in the Australian Production Car Series – Photo: Dirk Klynsmith
AA: We are already hearing about new cars coming into the category but not the sort we normally associate with Aussie Production Cars, like Porsches, Lotus, Alfas and the like.
IS: We are the national category for Production Cars. There is Production Cars – Touring, and Production Cars – Sports.
If we don’t encompass Production Sports Cars under $150,000 we basically exclude around 30 percent the market. Technically, if someone wanted to run an SUV, they could.
We are also looking to strengthen the classes with such things as the Nissan 370Z, the MX5 and the new Mini JCW. The Ford Mustang would fit into Class B and we would have three or four of them if they had have been eligible for this year’s 6 Hour.
AA: The series was once the Australian Manufacturers Championship with essentially no manufacturer support. How do you envisage that will unfold in the future?
IS: Our customer base is mainly a businessman. He is a guy who likes to go racing and has his business name on the side of the car. That is like 90 per cent of teams. Obviously we want to bring in younger drivers, coming up through the category and using it as a stepping stone.
There is a great opportunity for race teams to align themselves with and be the specialist with a brand. In this age because its production cars and teams have issues with computers (the often-maligned limp mode scenario), there is an opportunity here for a race team to go in and look after a particular car like Subaru, BMW or Mercedes and be the expert in fixing their gremlins and even carry spares.
Lotus Cars Australia is coming in. I am hoping to see one or two of those cars at Phillip Island… or definitely by the end of the year. Their theory is to build the car, for the customer who will then run it and they will turn up at the track and support them – like Porsche do in Carrera Cup and GT3 Cup Challenge.
You look at the Mazda MX5, a fantastic little car and you might see four or five cars come along and a Mazda dealer with their own parts truck to support them. That is the kind of thing I think you will see come into the category.
The spread of cars currently stretches nearly 20 years and that will continue for the likes of the Saloon Cars that have competed. They don’t look out or place, and are not impeding anyone else in their classes or outright. V8 Utes for instance, where are they going to race next year? Why not with us in the Invitation Class?
Australian Production Cars Fight in the Night at Queensland Raceway
AA: What else has changed and is likely to?
IS: There was some bad blood between the national series and (the state-based) Production Touring. First off we had to fix the regulations so that we were all on the same page.
We are negotiating to have include a Queensland state round as part of the ‘Fight In The Night’. We want to open up discussions with NSW to have one of our national rounds double as a round of their series.
The winner of this year’s Queensland series will have free entry into next year’s Qld national round and we are looking to the same in NSW.
The new tender for tyres is out October for 2019, and will be finalised and announced early next year. Three manufacturers have already shown keen interest.
Friday practice may not be compulsory next year as part of a need to reduce costs per round.
Television is a huge cost to us. We don’t have a mega dollar TV, we have to actually pay for it. We would like to utilise our own YouTube and Facebook channels more so.
GARRY O’BRIEN
Article originally published in Issue 1720 of Auto Action.
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