2021 Supercars and Supports

WTCC, BTCC, DTM and Aussie V8s
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theracer120
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#586

Post by theracer120 »

Bottom post of the previous page:

As expected Feeney has been confirmed as Whincup's replacement.
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#587

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

theracer120 wrote: 2 years ago As expected Feeney has been confirmed as Whincup's replacement.
Yeah no surprises there and quickly became the obvious one once other names got other gigs.

So this is what we have confirmed likely and not so likely.

2022 Repco Supercars grid (provisional)

Team
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Shane van Gisbergen
Broc Feeney

Dick Johnson Racing
Will Davison
Anton De Pasquale

Tickford Racing
Thomas Randle
Cameron Waters TBC but basically done deal
James Courtney TBC
Jack Le Brocq TBC


Walkinshaw Andretti United
Chaz Mostert
Bryce Fullwood TBC

Team 18
Mark Winterbottom
Scott Pye TBC

Erebus Motorsport
Brodie Kostecki
Will Brown

Brad Jones Racing
Nick Percat
Todd Hazelwood TBC
Macauley Jones TBC
Jack Smith TBC

Kelly Grove Racing
Andre Heimgartner TBC but likely
David Reynolds

Matt Stone Racing
Zane Goddard TBC
Jake Kostecki TBC

Team Sydney
Fabian Coulthard
Garry Jacobson

Blanchard Racing Team
Tim Slade

Many of those TBC ones are basically ride buyers and associated (ie Smith and Jones at BJR) so will likely happen

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#588

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Bathurst 1000 set for first weekend in December slot

After all the drama regarding the move of the Bathurst 1000 race from its traditional October slot to a November date, and the ensuing legal challenges before a compromise peace deal with other Bathust events scheduled in November, all seem out of the window now, with the NSW Covid situation worsening rather than improving.

A further postponement is now looking likely.... to an early December date, with the hope that this will further enhance prospects of the event having minimal spectator restrictions at an event where the income is a critical factor, not to mention another 1000 with minimal spectators leading to a lack of the traditional atmosphere. With a date in early December one of the key factors is this will allow for the double vax rate to climb to the 80%, touted to be the level for restrictions on spectators at events to be lifted. Gone are the days where the original Covid zero targets are even a thought.

An early December date will mean a further re-jig to other events, with the likelihood of the December proposed Bathurst date to make the event also the season finale.

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#589

Post by theracer120 »

Heimgartner is surprisingly leaving KGR, probably for BJR.
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#590

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

theracer120 wrote: 2 years ago Heimgartner is surprisingly leaving KGR, probably for BJR.
That really surprises me. I seem to remember reading it was a mere formality a coule of weeks ago. I can only imagine there is something with the new Grove ownership and management he doesnt like. I know he had a very close bond with the Kelly's that of course is no longer there. :dunno:

Heading to BJR if he does, well that puts pressure on whether Macca Jones or Hazlewood makes way for him. Family ties v potential with Jones and Hazlewood.

Smith is safe at BJR surely as his REC is owned by Daddy Smith.

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#591

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Re the Heimgartner seat at Grove Racing I see the hopefuls are busy already....
Kiwi young hotshot Matt Payne is emerging as a left-field candidate tfor the seat.

The revelation comes with the announcement of Payne’s signing of a long-term agreement to become the first Grove Junior academy driver..... presumably he comes with a budget.

There are still a few gas in confirmed line us, a seat at WAU alongside Mostert seems to be between Fullwood and a wanting to return to V8's Holdsworth.

Technically Waters is yet to sign with Tickford but he wants to stay and they want him so I guess they are just talking about how much they want him (ie $$$ paid). Also Le Broq is yet to be confirmed at Tickford... maybe Fullwood if he does not keep the Walkinshaw gig.

Some seats still to be confirmed down the order but most of it is sorted, and most of those are byo $$$ seats AFAIK.

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#592

Post by theracer120 »

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 2 years ago
theracer120 wrote: 2 years ago Heimgartner is surprisingly leaving KGR, probably for BJR.
That really surprises me. I seem to remember reading it was a mere formality a coule of weeks ago. I can only imagine there is something with the new Grove ownership and management he doesnt like. I know he had a very close bond with the Kelly's that of course is no longer there. :dunno:

Heading to BJR if he does, well that puts pressure on whether Macca Jones or Hazlewood makes way for him. Family ties v potential with Jones and Hazlewood.

Smith is safe at BJR surely as his REC is owned by Daddy Smith.
Apparently he just got a better offer from someone else.
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#593

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 2 years ago Re the Heimgartner seat at Grove Racing I see the hopefuls are busy already....
Kiwi young hotshot Matt Payne is emerging as a left-field candidate tfor the seat.

The revelation comes with the announcement of Payne’s signing of a long-term agreement to become the first Grove Junior academy driver.....
This did not take long to be confirmed.... a sure sign of giving Payne a taster of what a V8SC will be like. I dont know much about him so it will be good to see him up against the current cream of aspirational young drivers (ie Whincup 2022 replacement Broc Feeney) in the main feeder category.

Kelly Grove Racing has confirmed it is planning to enter the Dunlop Super2 Series later this year with newly signed junior driver Matthew Payne.

What I have discovered about him.... Payne has very little experience in car racing.

The prolific karter only made his competitive single-seater debut in the three-round Castrol Toyota Racing Series earlier this year.

In the weeks after he won the title, the 19-year-old made the move to Australia to join Earl Bamber Motorsport and contest Porsche Paynter Dixon Carrera Cup Australia.

Now he is looking at contesting Carrera Cup and the Super2 Series for the remainder of 2021.

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#594

Post by Vassago »

If the Kelly bros effectively run the garage then I assume Heimgartner feared it would be a complete amateur hour once they are gone and that's why he left?
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#595

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Vassago wrote: 2 years ago If the Kelly bros effectively run the garage then I assume Heimgartner feared it would be a complete amateur hour once they are gone and that's why he left?
I know Heimgartner was very close and loyal to the Kelly's, particularly Todd. It was the Kelly's who saved Heimgartner from having to return home to New Zealand as a 'failed' (he had no full time drive) V8 guy who had run out of funding.... they offered him the lifeline of a full time gig when Todd decided to retire back in 2018. They also ket him on when they downsized from 4 to 2 cars. He has always said at renewal time he owed the Kellys and would be loyal to them. Now they are out of the day to day running of the team it seems that the Grove management style is very different to the Kellys. Clearly there was something in their lan that Andre did not like....
"This hasn't been an easy decision for either party but it became apparent over our discussions that it would be best for Andre and his career to start a new chapter and challenge," Grove said.

"When the time comes, he will leave us with my blessing and huge goodwill from every single member of the team.
What I dont understand is why BJR seems to be the target for him.... he has whatever team it is he goes to, signed a contract already and the actual announcement is in the hands of whatever team that is.

I would have thought that he would have been better off at WAU alongside Mostert where there is an unconfirmed seat. Or at Tickford in place of Le Brocq who seems out of favour there and is out of contract.

Anyway the future of Andre will no doubt be confirmed shortly.

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#596

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Scotty Mac 95% sure he wont make Bathurst this year
“I’m 95 percent sure I’m not coming, unfortunately, and I think that’s not only sad for me to not be able to race Bathurst and be with the team again, but at the same time, there’s a chance we won’t be back in Australia for a long time or New Zealand,” said McLaughlin.

“It certainly sucks a little bit, but it’s all part of it. It just has to be a lot easier for me to get in the country. Like I said to you before, the quarantine is the issue. I can’t be away for as long as I need to be. I can’t do the two weeks then do another three, if you know what I mean.

“Straight after the season, with IndyCar, we have like a winter testing type thing where we try and test as soon as we can because that’s when the weather is good before it gets cold everywhere else we race. It’s certainly a bit of a spanner in the works, for sure.”
Basically although confident when the November Bathurst date became known it was likely..... then it became apparent it would likely clash with the end season Indycar testing dates it became less likely. Now we are looking at a December date , given the 14 days quarantine it is all a bit in the too hard basket.

Especially as the situation in Aus and particularly NSW looks more bleak by the day, a likelihood of Aus becoming elevated to a red zone (currently green) makes it likely he would maybe need to quarantine on return to the US as well as entry to Aus. Never going to work.

At least DJR can leave it to the last moment to decide should anything change for the better.... Alex Davison has been contracted to fill in on a very much if required basis. Should McLaughlin miss Bathurst, Alex Davison will slot into either the #11 with Anton De Pasquale or the #17 of Will Davison while Tony D’Alberto will take the other seat.

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#597

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

OK when is a contract not a contract? Silly Season stuff indeed going on in V8SC land.....

Percat quits BJR and moves to WAU, Heimgartner takes his BJR place and Fullwood moves to Tickford....

It was only weeks ago Nick extended his contract with a multi year deal at BJR, amongst words of love and continuance on both sides and high right it feels etc etc.... well it seems things changed. Percat is now off to WAU in lace of the moving on Fullwood.

After two years with WAU, Fullwood, with the substantial backing of Middy’s bolstering his case, is expected to land at Tickford Racing in 2022.

The 2019 Super2 champion would take the place of Jack Le Brocq, whose struggle for pace has been well documented.

Fullwood is even more attractive to Tickford because it is believed to have lost most of its NTI/Truck Assist backing, which is currently the naming rights sponsor of Le Brocq’s Ford Mustang.

We learnt of the likelihood of BJR going to get Heimgartner, which has now happened.... we wondered whose seat he would take. Now we know! I certainly never icked it, and indeed thought Heimgartner should have gon for the WAU seat when his quitting (Kelly) Grove was confirmed.

https://autoaction.com.au/2021/09/09/ex ... nes-racing

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#598

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Phillip Island round axed... Winton set to follow.

The Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) has announced it will not host the Repco Supercars Championship at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit next month.

The event at Winton Motor Raceway is also set to be axed.

Not surprising considering the border closures from Victoria and Queensland meaning interstate travel between the two is not currently possible without an exemption. Compounded by the fact road travel (Victorian transporters) more or less has to be via NSW without doubling the distance by skirting NSW. The same vice-versa with Queensland teams travelling to Vic.

That has left a substantial two-round gap in the 2021 calendar, though it’s believed replacements for those will soon be announced.

With Bathurst now set to be run on the first weekend of December (not yet confirmed) clearly that will lead to the cancellation or
postponement of the Gold Coast 500 that was set to run at Surfers on the street circuit that same weekend.

They seem to be expecting a miracle to happen in NSW.... the whole reason for moving it (Bathurst) into December was on the basis of NSW reaching the 80% vax rate for Covid, and with it the dropping of restrictions and the firm lockdown being lifted. The new infections there still seem to be rising faster than the vax rate, although it is still some time in the future so hope we get some turnaround by then and a relatively normal life returns.

So expect some major rewrites of the Supercars calendar to be confirmed shortly.

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#599

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

OK re this out of the blue headline I posted last night I am wondering now whether all the details are actual confirmed fact.... has Auto Action, where I saw the story, reverted to why they became known a few years ago as "Auto Fiction" in local parts. after a spate of wrong press releases and false stories.

I say this because one would imagine that with such a headline story why is it not mentioned in any other motorsport press today
beyond the Heimgartner out of Kelly Grove.

Even Auto Action seem to have tamed down a bit although they still say Percat is out of BJR. The other moves are now only a "we believe..../ sources say...." status.

Im not saying it wont happen as they say but it seems that it has not officially happened yet.

Auto Fiction or fact? Lets call it strong rumour only at this stage (beyond Heimgartner out of Kelly to a destination unknown but suspected to be BJR).

Oh and re Heimgartner Auto Fiction is the only website to refer to the Heimgartner move as him being fired by Grove and replaced by their Junior Grove Academy driver. :wink:

This is the info and article I was talking about....

Everso Biggyballies wrote: 2 years ago OK when is a contract not a contract? Silly Season stuff indeed going on in V8SC land.....

Percat quits BJR and moves to WAU, Heimgartner takes his BJR place and Fullwood moves to Tickford....

It was only weeks ago Nick extended his contract with a multi year deal at BJR, amongst words of love and continuance on both sides and high right it feels etc etc.... well it seems things changed. Percat is now off to WAU in lace of the moving on Fullwood.

https://autoaction.com.au/2021/09/09/ex ... nes-racing

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#600

Post by Everso Biggyballies »

Then there was one.....

That is the news on the sale of Supercars, a process that has been going on for a couple of months now with various interested
parties involved and bidding. There has now (yesterday) been a meeting between Archer Capital (who hold 65% of the stake and that stake is what is for sale) and the teams who own the remaining 35%. Following that meeting it has now been confirmed that a potential purchaser has been selected from those interested and the process is now entering the final stages of due diligence.

It seems that a short list of two was drawn up....the merged TLA Worldwide/TGI Sport/Australian Racing Group bid being the favourite, and the Brisbane Broncos’ partnership with a Peter Adderton-led consortium the outsider.

Today Adderton has confirmed that his consortium / partnership have withdrawn from the bid, with a to me seemingly snotty statement of even if the remaining bidder falls over we are are out and have no further interest....
Adderton wrote:“So they have basically sold it to them [TLA/TGI/ARG] on the deal that they agreed to, and as long as they don’t change the deal, they’ll own it,” Adderton confirmed .

Even if that deal falls over at the last hurdle, with final due diligence still to be conducted, Adderton’s bid will take no further part in the process.

“We will not be bidding again,” he said.

“Even if Miles and Archer [Capital, majority shareholder] came back to us and said ‘okay, we didn’t get to where we want to get to’, we are no longer involved. We’re out.

“We’ve put our best foot forward and we’re just going to move on.

“We’re out 100 percent, our consortium is out.

“We wish the other side all the best. We will not be coming back even if the other side falls over, we won’t be coming back in.”
It is understood the TLA/TGI/ARG bid was in the vicinity of $60 million for Archer’s estimated 65 percent stake. However they are also looking to additionally acquire the teams’ 35 percent holding and in effect take total ownership of Supercars. Not sure how that will go down with teams but it will all come out in the wash.

The front-running bid is being spearheaded by TGI Sport boss Barclay Nettlefold, with TLA’s Craig Kelly and ARG’s John McMellan shaping as candidates to join him on a potential board. Supercars driver-turned-commentator Mark Skaife will also be involved in some sort of consultant capacity.

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#601

Post by theracer120 »

Percat has confirmed he's quitting BJR
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