IN communicating an improved set of financial results for the 2023 calendar year, Supercars owner RACE affirmed that it had been all too happy to reduce the number of cars on the grid to 24.
The regular Supercars Championship field was trimmed from 25 in the off-season.
That was facilitated by Tickford Racing selling two of its four Teams Racing Charters; one was passed onto the Blanchard Racing Team which had previously been a single-car operation, while the other headed to the shelf.
As well as being a payday, Tickford saw it as an opportunity to streamline its focus.
For Supercars/RACE, it made sense to have an even number of cars on the grid, given the nature of having two cars sharing a pit boom – which had left BRT to be the odd ones out during the 25-car era of the past two seasons.
But smaller grids than seen in years gone by is often a sore point for fans… so with RACE reporting it had made “a strategic investment to optimise the number of Teams Racing Charters”, does that mean a continuation of 24 is the desired model?
It’s worth noting the maximum number of TRCs available is 26, and that each entry has guaranteed payments from RACE attached to it.
“If there was a reason to be at 26 in time, we would consider it,” explained Supercars and RACE chairman Barclay Nettlefold.
“But at the end of the day the accounting treatment on acquiring back a TRC is an actually an expense to us through an audit and hence why it doesn’t actually create an investment back on our balance sheet. That’s what that adjustment is.
“But what it does, it actually creates better earnings for us moving forward and gives us what we set out to achieve, which is an even number on the grid.
“I think everyone agrees that is the right thing to do.
“Twenty-four today is the number we’re racing with but we have still got the rights to give out two more if the commercial reasons (are there), if it was right to do it.”
There will be 25 cars in action at next month’s Darwin Triple Crown, with Triple Eight wildcard Cooper Murray making a cameo appearance.
