It’s crunch time for S5000

S5000 supporters are backing ARG/Barry Rogers calls for Motorsport Australia to require Supercars to abandon what they see as its ‘discriminatory’ Superlicence qualification rules.

For the past two years, with MA’s Superlicence qualifying points system in place, allowing drivers in most categories to accumulate performance-related points, Supercars has added its own additional rule – that any driver must contest six Super2 races in order to qualify for a Supercars Superlicence.

In short, it means that – despite having qualified with sufficient points – nobody can race a Supercar until they’ve completed a Super2 season, at up to $600k in cost for a season in a top car.

However, after it was realised that two young drivers headed for Bathurst wildcard entries this year didn’t qualify, exceptions were made – which now include top three finishers in both Carrera Cup and Super 3 championships being eligible for dispensation.

Fan watch S5000s fly through Albert Park at the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. Image: Daniel Kalisz

That excludes S5000 – as well as other ARG categories such as TCR and Trans Am. It meant that, early this year, talented double Gold Star champion Joey Mawson was told he could not accept an offered co-drive with PremiAir Racing, as he hadn’t done six Super2 races …

ARG owner Barry Rogers has drawn a line in the sand by maintaining that if the Super2 compulsion is not removed, he will “park” the S5000 cars.

Joey Mawson dominated S5000 before his break. Image: Daniel Kalisz Photographer

THE OPEN LETTER

S5000 ‘creator’ Chris Lambden has entered the discussion and, earlier this week, published an ‘Open Letter’ to address the Supercars licencing requirements and other S5000 issues which have hurt the spectator-popular category.

Lambden says in an Auto Action News Extra conversation in this week’s edition that, “while it (Supercars) sets its own technical and competition rules, it must be required to meet the sporting and social values that the FIA/MA have in relation to discrimination, anti-competitive behaviour and so on. It’s 2023, not 1980 …”

At the same time, he dismisses Supercars’ rationale that time in Super2 is about safety, and an essential part of better preparing young drivers for Supercars itself.

“Think back. What do the names Skaife, Lowndes, Bright, Kelly, Murphy, Larkham, Bargwanna and so-on have in common? They all raced Formula Holden – the predecessor to S5000 – then moved directly into Supercars. And they did okay!

“More recently, time spent in S5000 by Thomas Randle and James Golding (who qualified for Superlicences prior to the rule change) has clearly been beneficial.”

Thomas Randle ahead of the 2021 S5000 season opener at Symmons Plains. Image: RACE PROJECT

At the same time, Lambden points a finger at Motorsport Australia which, he says, has more often than not been less than helpful along the S5000 journey to date, citing Bathurst restrictions not applied to other categories – and ultimately a ban – as examples.

“Whether S5000 is a bit close in look/market to the FIA’s F4/3/2 preferred, and lucrative, F1 pathway, I’m not sure, but S5000/MA interaction has been moderately negative – and as recently as Adelaide last month, it’s been ‘unhelpful’.

“When you’ve got a category conceived, designed, and developed in Australia by some of the smartest and best motorsport engineers – Michael Borland, Roger Higgins (InnoV8) and Holinger Engineering in particular – for the Australian motorsport scene and audience, you would hope the Australian motorsport governing body would be right there. Instead, I think they sometimes forget that the sign on the door says Motorsport Australia, not ‘FIA South Pacific.’

James Golding in the S5000 cockpit. Image: RACE PROJECT

He concludes that “Certainly, as the organisation that urged its members to vote in the Referendum, MA must be an organisation that would abhor the degree of discrimination, anti-competitive behaviour etc being exhibited by Supercars, and should demand it be discontinued.”

With the Rogers/Supercars/MA stand-off delaying formation of a 2024 calendar, Lambden hopes that, once the Superlicence issue is resolved, that S5000 2024 might follow the format he had hoped for from the start – a compact five-round season/series at the tail end of the year – late September to November – “after many of the European/US motorsport seasons have concluded …”

BARRY ROGERS AGREES

ARG/S5000 category owner Barry Rogers has endorsed Lambden’s sentiments and, at the same time, re-affirmed his company’s commitment to S5000.

S5000s charge down Bartels Road at Adelaide. Image: Jack Martin Photography

“Contrary to what you might hear, we have absolutely no plans to sell the cars overseas’” he told AA on Monday.

“But unless that licence situation is fixed, you’re not going to be able to attract the young drivers to come and drive them.

“And, as Chris says, anyone, literally anyone, can qualify for a Supercars Superlicence – you’ve just got to do six Super2 races. So, there are some fairly modestly talented drivers out there who have a Supercars licence, and Joey Mawson doesn’t.

How stupid is that …

For a full interview with Chris Lambden grab this weeks issue of Auto Action or listen to what he has to say when he makes a guest appliance on the Auto Action rev limiter pod cast which goes out on Wednesday.

AUTO ACTION’s latest issue #1875, is out now in its digital form downloadable right here, and available in all good newsagents and stockists near you, continuing on as Australia’s most trusted independent voice in motorsport.

If you can’t get a copy locally, you can also subscribe to the latest issue of Auto Action print or digital edition of the magazine here. For more of the latest motorsport news.