BIG PLANS HELD FOR NAPA AND REPCO
By Bruce Williams
Date posted: 27 August 2020
Big plans held for Repco and NAPA – Photo: InSyde Media
In an Auto Action exclusive, Genuine Parts Company Asia-Pacific managing director and CEO Rob Cameron has outlined ambitious plans for the Repco brand and at the same time revealed sister company NAPA will target the grass roots motorsport scene.
By BRUCE NEWTON
The announcement that Repco will become naming rights sponsor of the Bathurst 1000 in 2021 highlights Cameron’s vision for that part of the GPC organisation, but the group also intends to utilise its NAPA brand in classes outside of Supercars.
The program, which is in its earliest stages, is likely to be coordinated by the Australian division of NAPA and its parent Genuine Parts Company Asia-Pacific.
“I’d like to keep Repco at the top-end with Supercars and then have our NAPA business support grass roots and local motorsports,” explained GPC Asia-Pacific boss Rob Cameron. “I think that’s the right thing for NAPA and with that I think we have our bases covered.”
Cameron said he would like Motorsport Australia involved with GPC on the program.
“I am going to work with (MA CEO) Eugene Arocca. I have met with Eugene a couple of times now and we’ve got a desire to work with them. I think that’s the right thing for NAPA.”
Repco has just done a deal to back the Bathurst 1000 for at least five years from 2021, sponsors DJR Team Penske and is hunting other investments in Supercars.
NAPA also has some Supercars presence, but Cameron says an expansion of its grass-roots role is the right direction.
“There are a number of motorsports enthusiasts who are racing around in their own vehicle to which we provide tools, accessories, parts etcetera. So we do a fair bit of that as well. That’s something I am going to up the ante on quite significantly. It still is a definite work in progress.
“What I would really like to do is give some rope to our branch managers.
“We have around 100 NAPA branch managers around the country and they all heavily involved in their community. They have got contacts with all of these guys who are bashing around on the weekend and I’d love to be able to give our branch managers a little bit of rope to support their mates, or people in their local communities.
“We need to evolve that as we get more serious about it.”
Further plans for the Repco and NAPA brands can be read in the full exclusive interview with Rob Cameron, featured in Auto Action #1793. Out now.
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