MOTORSPORT: $10m dispute in V8 Supercars

Controversial Gold Coast businessman and former V8 Supercar team owner Craig Gore has made a claim on V8 Supercars Australia for that amount over the failed Supercar credit card venture.

The claim is made by Supercar Supercard Pty Ltd in correspondence on the letterhead of financial group WPS -- the acronym for Wright Patton Shakespeare with which Gore became synonymous.

No writ has been issued, but the author of the letter, Mark Adamson, apparently a solicitor for WPS Law, wrote that he was "taking instructions to issue proceedings against V8 Supercars Australia Pty Ltd".

V8SE says it has responded to the letter and that it "rejects outright the vague and spurious claims made against it by Supercar Supercard Pty Ltd".

"An agreement once existed between V8 Supercars, V8 Supercar Supercard and WPS, however it was terminated in January 2007 following payment defaults under the agreement by Supercar Supercard," V8SA told the Carsales Network.

"Any suggestion that V8 Supercars has any liability to Supercar Supercard is baseless and without merit."

V8SA has so far declined our invitation to provide its written response to Adamson. This correspondent contacted WPS seeking to speak to Adamson but the receptionist could not find any record of him.

A message for another solicitor listed as a WPS Law principal has not been returned.

The claim is seen by some in the inner circle of V8 Supercars as an attempt by Gore to muddy the waters as the organisation negotiates the possible sale of a controlling interest in V8SE, which has been seen as likely to be finalised within the next few weeks.

Gore last year avoided a second bankruptcy (his first was in the 1990s), settling debts of almost $500 million by paying $3 million -- and then landing a position with a reported $2 million salary.

He was a colorful and outspoken figure in V8 Supercar racing for several years, and in American racing where he sponsored Australians Will Power and Marcos Ambrose. He was long seen as a close friend of V8SA chairman Tony Cochrane and WPS at one time supplied the V8 Supercar safety car in its livery. However, that deal faltered and Gore abruptly shut his V8 Supercar team just weeks before the 2008 season.

Gore's claim over the Supercard will be seen as opportunistic, especially after the comparatively paltry amount he paid to settle almost half a billion dollars of debt.

The Adamson/Supercar Supercard letter of March 7 said it was giving notice of "a claim for damages for breach of agreement".

"The company (Supercar Supercard) entered into an exclusive dealing agreement with Austalian Vee-Eight Supercar Company Pty Ltd (the previous name of V8 Supercars Australia Pty Ltd," the letter said.

"Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, the parties entered into an exclusive arrangement to co-brand a Visa or Mastercard affinity card with the intent of generating income and also raising the profile of each of the parties as well as the V8 Supercar Championship Series in general.

"The nub of the (Supercar Supercard) company's complaint is that the V8 Supercars Australia Pty Ltd failed to perform in terms of the agreement.

"As a consequence... the (Supercar Supercard) company suffered a substantial loss and damage -- by way of indication, the company estimates the loss and damage as an amount not less than $10,000,000."

Adamson wrote that "the director of the company" (Gore, although the letter does not contain his name) "is disappointed with the conduct of V8 Supercars Australia Pty Ltd".

"What weighs heavily in the mind of the director... is that the company suffered a massive loss of commercial opportunity -- particularly having regard to the fact that our client and its resources were tied up in the agreement thereby depriving our client of the opportunity to earn profits from other business opportunities that could have been undertaken by it," Adamson concluded.

The matter may well prove to be a mere pimple on the skin of the V8 Supercars organisation, although any potential buyer of a majority stake in V8SA is likely to want that clarified promptly before signing on the dotted line.

Adelaide's Clipsal 500 is now well established as the second biggest event in the championship after Bathurst, but there is a prospect of rain in the City of Churches this weekend.

It hasn't rained during a Clipsal race since Mark Skaife's memorable last-to-first victory in 2000. While the weather could toss up a surprise winner if rain eventuates Saturday or Sunday afternoon, the favourites must be the drivers in the main Holden teams -- reigning champion James Courtney and Garth Tander at Toll Holden Racing Team and dual champion and Clipsal specialist Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes.

Although Whincup and Courtney won the Abu Dhabi races, the Fords showed great pace in the Middle East.

Factory team Ford Performance Racing needs Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison to perform well now that the series is on home ground, while the Stone Brothers Falcons could be the year's big improver -- and a victory cannot be far away for Shane van Gisbergen.

Jason Richards, the popular Brad Jones Racing driver sidelined late last season by cancer, makes a welcome return this weekend -- although not in the "main game".

Richards is still battling his illness but will be racing a Ferrari in the GT category and a Greg Murphy Racing Commodore in the Fujistu development series.

Hoping to be return full-time to V8 Supercar competition by this year's endurance races, Richards says he sees this week's activity as "therapy". He's sure to have everyone's best wishes.

Aussie NASCAR racer Marcos Ambrose is looking to follow-up his strong fourth at Las Vergas for his new team Richard Petty Motorsports at Bristol.

The Sebring classic, the first round of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), is likely to be a duel between sports car racing's heavyweights Audi and Peugeot, while the new Honda Performance Development car to be driven by David Brabham has shown promise in this week's testing.

Apart from racing again this year for Highcroft Racing in ALMS, Brabham will drive a Nissan GT-R in the European-based GT1 championship.

The four-car SUMO Power team includes two other ex-Formula One drivers, Brazilians Enrique Bernoldi and Riccardo Zonta, as well as Peter Dumbreck -- the Englishman who had a similar spectacular crash in a Mercedes-Benz to the two of Australian Mark Webber at Le Mans in the late 1990s.

Brabham's teammate will be Jamie Campbell Walter.   

SUMO Power is being managed by Brit Nigel Stepney, who was run out of Ferrari and F1 in the infamous "Spygate" saga in 2007.

Talks were held with Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) president Jean Todt during his Australian visit this week.

NSW's Coffs Coast will host its first Rally Australia this September 8-11, but -- with the WRC calendar limited to 12 or 13 rounds a year these days -- it is hard to see Oz, unlike the "old days" in Western Australia, doing better than having a round every two years, alternating with New Zealand.

Next year's calendar should be finalised in early April if not by the end of March.

World champion driver Sebastian Vettel, still only 23, is reportedly on about $24 million a year now -- probably twice as much, or more, than his Australian teammate Mark Webber.

Team principal Christian Horner says he and Webber will discuss his future mid-season.

Perhaps depending on Webber's performances in the early races of the season starting next weekend in Melbourne, another one-year extension of his contract could be agreed before mid-year.

Webber will drive a Red Bull F1 car over Melbourne's Bolte Bridge tomorrow (Saturday) morning, then on to Docklands.

Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site