SUPERCARS CALENDAR CONUNDRUM

Supercars calendar conundrum – Photo: InSyde Media

NEXT YEAR’S Supercars calendar is still a work in progress that is not due to be announced until well into October.

By MARK FOGARTY

With a reduction of the number of rounds looming, the 2019 schedule is subject to ongoing negotiations that will delay its announcement to later than ever.

The Supercars calendar has traditionally been announced in September or, at the latest, before the Bathurst 1000 in early October for the following year.

But Supercars chief executive officer Sean Seamer has indicated to AUTO ACTION that next year’s calendar – the first under his new reign – won’t be announced until around the October 19-21 Gold Coast 600.

Seamer said it would be finalised in time to be presented to team owners at a meeting scheduled for “the middle of October”.

As far as AA is aware, the team bosses are not due to gather after the October 4-7 Bathurst 1000 until their annual general meeting at Surfers Paradise ahead of the GC600.

In any event, Seamer conceded that the 2019 calendar wouldn’t be announced until “probably after Bathurst”.

AA has learned that Supercars is under pressure from the teams to reduce the number of events from 16 to 14 – or 15 at the most.

They argue that as well as being too costly and stretching staff too thinly, this year’s expansion to 16 championship events with the addition of the Australian Grand Prix and The Bend has not increased revenue.

Several sources have confirmed that Supercars is still being paid the same in its broadcast deal with Fox Sports for the original 14 events as it is for 16.

As well as increasing costs for Supercars Media, the broadcast division that produces the broadcasts for Fox Sports and free-to-air partner Ten Network for a fixed annual fee that is part of the rights agreement, it reduces the annual dividend to REC holders.

All but the very top teams have complained that they’re on the edge financially and cannot afford to contest 16 events without increased compensation.

Seamer is acutely aware of the imbalance and is working to cut the schedule while exploring the potential of converting marginal events to the more lucrative night or twilight format.

Most vulnerable are the Supercars-promoted Phillip Island event and the Winton SuperSprints, promoted by the Benalla Auto Club, which attracts small crowds and low corporate hospitality support.

The Island event is promoted and organised by Supercars, which effectively rents the track, while the Winton round is run by the Benalla Auto Club, which owns the circuit.

BAC relies on Victorian government funding to justify its event, but it remains marginal for Supercars, while the Island is a high-cost indulgence.

AA understands that Phillip Island track owner Linfox is keen to keep its Supercars round and is negotiating a new deal that could offset the financial drain.

There will be pressure to keep the Island on the basis of tradition and the oceanside circuit’s ranking as one of the greatest tracks in the world.

Seamer hinted that there were calendar conundrums to be resolved despite asserting that finalisation was on track.

“It’s going well,” he told AA. “We’re still working towards an October release for teams and public. Obviously, we have to talk to our government partners, to our sponsors and to Fox Sports as well, so there are quite a few people that we need to work with on the calendar.

“But it’s tracking fine and we’re still working towards October.”

Side-stepping the lateness of the calendar’s confirmation, he admitted the announcement would be post-Bathurst.

“We have a team owners meeting in the middle of October that we’ll be targeting for the release of the calendar,” he said. “We won’t have assembled the teams prior to that.”

Asked if the schedule was largely locked in, he replied: “We’re still working through it. Like I say, we have to get everybody comfortable with it, so we’re waiting on feedback from external parties.”

The success of the Sydney SuperNight 300 virtually guarantees it will return with refinements next year, although the main criticism that the race was too long doesn’t seem to have registered.

“We’re really happy with Sydney,” Seamer said. “We’re happy with the growth in (broadcast) ratings, we’re happy with the growth in ticketing, so if you look purely at the data, we’re very happy with it.

“There are some things we want to improve. We need to address egress and transportation for the fans. We’d like to improve the food and beverage options. We’d like to improve the audio-visual experience at the track. With the 300 km race, it’s important that everybody knows what’s going on when you’re sitting in the stand, so big screens and other audio.

“But by and large, given that it was the first time we’d done that, I think our media (TV) and events teams should be really proud of what they pulled off.”

Seamer confirmed that other night or twilight events were being considered, although he cautioned that a major part of the Sydney SuperNight’s success was that it was unique.

“Twilight and night are both options are on the table as we’re looking at the calendar for next year,” he said. “We have to be careful, though, because it needs to continue to be special. You don’t want to switch everything to night racing. It was a special event and it needs to keep that.

“But there are other places that we could potentially look to do that, either in a twilight or a night format, and that’s part of the calendar discussion for next year.”

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