MOTORSPORT: Chartering a new course in the US

America's NASCAR, which on some scales – certainly attendances and size of the field – is the biggest race series in the world, is about to begin its new season on a different business footing.

A charter system, effectively franchises for the regular participating teams, was introduced this week ahead of the start of practice, qualifying and lead-up sprint races for February 21's Daytona 500.

While the charters will give teams greater financial stability and a bigger say in the running of the series, NASCAR already has long-term arrangements in sync with tracks in its 36-round series.

Just as Bernie Ecclestone, and more recently private equity company CVC, have profited massively as controlling owners of Formula 1, NASCAR has been a goldmine for America's France family for more than half a century.

However, NASCAR has been more mindful of all its stakeholders – including participating manufacturers, drivers, sponsors, employees and fans – getting more value from the sport than F1, Australia's V8 Supercars and the failed teams-owned Indy racing organisation of the CART days.

Richard 'The King' Petty (pictured), winner of a record 200 NASCAR Cup races and Australian Marcos Ambrose's team owner in his final seasons in the US, has called the introduction of the charters, with a nine-year 'life', the most important day in NASCAR history since the founding of the sanctioning body in 1948.

Prominent track operator Eddie Gossage, of Texas Motor Speedway, said the new system created equity value in the teams and was "really important in giving our sport stability long-term".

"It ensures our teams have solid financial footing. The cost to go racing is so expensive. To run up front you are talking US $25 million to US $26 million a year to keep that car on the track and competitive," Gossage said.

Thirty-six charters have been issued for cars in NASCAR's 36-round Sprint Cup, with the maximum race field now capped at 40 cars – down from 43.

Teams without a charter can compete for the remaining four spots in the field.

Two charters are set to be sold before the weekend, perhaps at close to US $10 million each.

They were allocated to Michael Waltrip Racing, which folded at the end of last season, and will be bought from MWR's former majority owner Rob Kauffman by Toyota squad Joe Gibbs Racing and Chevrolet outfit Stewart-Haas Racing.

JGS and SHR already have three charters each but have four cars each.

Kauffman is now co-owner of Chip Ganassi Racing – which represents Chevrolet in NASCAR and IndyCar, while it is spearheading Ford's new GT racing activity – and chairman NASCAR's new Race Team Alliance.

Meanwhile, Michael Waltrip – a two-time winner of the Daytona 500 – has secured a one-off drive with obscure BK Racing for his 29th start in Sunday week's 'Great American Race'.

Brian Vickers, a three-time Cup race winner, is in line to replace triple series champion Tony Stewart, who has been sidelined by a back injury from a crash in an all-terrain vehicle at a California beach.

 
Bathurst steps up push for second circuit
The Bathurst Regional Council took its case for a $50 million second circuit in Australia's oldest inland city to Canberra this week.

A delegation headed by mayor Gary Rush and the regional city's treasurer Bob Roach met federal cabinet secretary Arthur Sinodinos to discuss funding.

The council is proposing that the federal and NSW governments each contribute $20 million on top of its $10 million commitment to build another circuit to the east of Mt Panorama.

It would be primarily for motorcycle racing, manufacturers' test days and car club meets, with associated industrial and commercial infrastructure for businesses.

The council already has acquired land for the project, which is being called Velocity Park.

New Zealand off the Formula 4 calendar
The New Zealand finale scheduled for the second season of the Australian Formula 4 Championship has been scrapped, reducing the series to six rounds.

The wings-and-slicks open-wheelers were slotted to run with an Australian GT Championship enduro at Tony Quinn's Highlands Park on NZ's South Island in mid-November.

However, cost concerns caused its deletion from the calendar.

Five of the six remaining three-race F4 rounds will be at V8 Supercar events, starting at Tasmania's Symmons Plains on the first weekend of April and ending at the Gold Coast 600 in October.

The F4s are on the bill for the Shannons Nationals at Sydney Motorsport Park on the first weekend of July, with the other rounds at Victoria's Phillip Island in April, Queensland Raceway in July and Melbourne's Sandown in September.

CAMS bought 20 French-made Mygale F4 cars with 1.6-litre Ford Ecoboost engines from overseas to lease to competitors, but barely half of them were taken up last year.

While there will be a new team this year – Junior Racing Development, joining Team BRM, DREAM Motorsport and AGI Sport – the size of the 2016 field is not yet known.

Reigning champion Jordan Lloyd, of Toowoomba, is to drive a Mazda-powered open-wheeler in this year's US Formula 2000 Championship for Canadian team Pabst Racing.

Luis Leeds, a Melbourne 15-year-old, who contested Australia's first F4 championship and won the F4 race at the Mexican Grand Prix, is now in the Red Bull junior development squad and will race in Britain's F4 series this year.

Another Victorian, Thomas Randle, runner-up to Lloyd last year, is to race in this weekend's NZ Grand Prix at the final round of the Toyota Racing Series at Manfeild, near Palmerston North.

"From a high-performance, elite-talent development perspective we couldn't be happier with year one [of F4 in Australia]," CAMS chief executive Eugene Arocca.

"F4 is a critical step on the path to international success."

While the scrapping of the NZ round was the first of the "key changes" announced by CAMS under the heading of "exciting new initiatives" for F4, full insurance will now be included in the annual lease fee of $35,000 for a car.

Arocca said a competitor's cost for a season would now be about $165,000, excluding testing.

Instead of annual prize money, winners at each round will get $10,000, runners-up $5000 and third placegetters $2500.

V8 Supercars to run utes at Clipsal
V8 Utes competitors will meet V8 Supercars officials at Adelaide's Clipsal 500 in three weeks to discuss the future of the ute series.

Amid uncertainty about the proposed introduction of a purpose-built chassis with SUV-based ute bodies, Australian V8 Ute Racing Pty Ltd – representing the 32 shareholders with 16 Fords and 16 Holdens – is to be wound up.

Its category management agreement is being handed back to CAMS, but V8 Supercars will run the utes at Clipsal.

"It's important to keep the [ute] competitor base together and offer an opportunity to discuss the model for the remainder of the 2016 season and for the longer term," V8 Supercars chief executive James Warburton said.

"There is no guarantee that we will step in permanently – it will depend on the model we present to the board and if we believe there is enough strategic interest from manufacturers and from the competitor base."

Honda about to get dirty
Honda is expected to confirm within weeks that it is entering rallycross.

It will compete in the American-based Global Rallycross Championship, perhaps with its Fit (Jazz) model rather than the Civic.

Ford, Volkswagen and Subaru already take part in the GRC, while Chevrolet, Citroen and Hyundai are involved to a lesser extent.

Former V8 Supercars supremo Tony Cochrane became an adviser to the series late last year.

A Honda announcement could come at either Chicago's motor show starting this weekend or at New York's from March 25 until April 3.

It is not clear yet whether it will start competing this year or next.

While Honda is expected to build its own 600-horsepower rallycross cars, they may be fielded by Bryan Herta, who has IndyCar connections to the Japanese-owned manufacturer.

The GRC starts in Phoenix in May and ends in Los Angeles in October.