BARRY Rogers has taken aim once more at Supercars’ entry barriers which he says have put the Australian Racing Group’s suite of categories at risk.
Rumours have swirled for several weeks, particularly in relation to the future of S5000, with suggestions that the Adelaide 500 in November will be the open-wheeler series’ swansong.
ARG supremo Rogers didn’t exactly move to quash that theory when it was put to him by V8 Sleuth.
“To be honest with you, a lot of things are up in the air, whether it’s S5000 or all racing categories with all this bloody blocking on drivers being able to qualify to race a Supercar,” he said.
“The Super2 requirement is having a huge impact on national level motorsport.
“I mean, there is absolutely no doubt that the top of the tree in Australian motorsport is Supercars but national level motorsport is going to be (hurt) if that issue isn’t resolved.
“So to me, everything is at risk – no one category in particular.”
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Beyond S5000, ARG’s categories include TCR Australia, Trans Am, Touring Car Masters, GT World Challenge and the Kumho V8 Touring Car Series – many of which have battled with smaller than ideal grids in 2023.
Supercars’ continued imposing of a requirement for drivers to have competed in Super2 to be eligible for a main game seat has frustrated Rogers, especially given such rules have been happily manipulated when it suits the category.
There are generally most costs associated with competing in Super2 than other non-elite categories in Australia.
“It’s really frustrating and we’re at our wit’s end with it all, so look, as I say, everything is in question,” he continued.
“We’ll see how it unfolds as the year goes by.
“It’s disgraceful… we’re shareholders in Supercars so it’s not in our interest to impact the business negatively, but you need to help motorsport from grassroots all the way through to the top level to be successful.
“The AFL doesn’t thrive just because the AFL competition is strong; all the other competitions have got to be strong. That’s all I’ve got to say about it, we’ll go from there.”
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That analogy is pertinent; while the AFL has flourished from top to bottom, elite rugby union has declined in Australia arguably in line with the grassroots level suffering.
Motorsport Australia is shutting down its Superlicence system at the end of the year, but Supercars may yet still enforce its own restrictions – something which Barry and Garry Rogers have already approached the likes of Barclay Nettlefold about.
“If they think that by protecting their little bit of turf with Super2 is helping the sport, well I tell you, the ramifications long-term are going to be huge,” Rogers added.
Meanwhile, ARG has cut ties with its long-time executive producer of broadcast Andrew Janson.
The next round of the ARG/MA-run Shannons SpeedSeries will take place at Sandown on September 8-10.
