MOTORSPORT: The V8 Supercar TV picture

This was a matter that occupied our mind a bit immediately after last season, then the festive season kicked in, but as the drivers prepare to don their helmets again an announcement this week by V8 Supercars Australia on the category's TV audience(s) last year prompted us to put our thinking cap back on.

The first thing we noticed about this announcement is that it did not contain any quote from any executive of V8 Supercar telecaster Channel 7.

The source for its numbers, which we will come to in a minute, was given as Mitchells -- and that would be the media buying agency of that very large Harold Mitchell we see so often in the media commenting on media matters.

The numbers trotted out dwarf old Harold, and this type of thing -- as we have pointed out here before -- is one reason motor racing struggles for credibility among the broader public and people with a broad interest in sport.

With football and cricket we get real crowd figures from games and credible TV audience figures -- certainly within our shores.

Yet with motor racing we get fudged, inflated crowd figures and distorted crud about TV audiences.

V8SA chairman Tony Cochrane says in this announcement that V8 Supercars can no longer be regarded as a second-rate citizen.

Yet that is precisely what it will remain while he and his cohorts trot out this kind of nonsense.

Just so we are absolutely clear what we're commenting on here, this is the first half, the relevant half, of Tuesday's announcement, headed "Record 22 million Australians tune into V8 Supercar Championship Series".

"V8 Supercars Australia is looking to build on the record 22 million television viewers of 2007 -- up from 17.5 million on the previous season -- during this year's Championship Series.

"Last year the sport was watched by just on 22 million (Source: Mitchells) people across Australia as the first year return to Network Seven rocketed the sport to new heights.

"It was a 25 per cent hike in total viewers across Australian metropolitan and regional markets."

"The move to Network Seven and their all-network commitment to the sport could not have had a more successful first year back", V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane said.

"The partnership is getting stronger and stronger as Network Seven discovers the huge fan base of our sport which spreads from Broome to Brisbane and Darwin to the Derwent.

"Compare this to the A League that was recently applauded for having a 23 per cent increase to 2.8 million viewers and it offers you a real perspective on what Australians are watching.

"Crowds in 2007 were also up by around 1.5 per cent up on comparison with the previous year."

"V8 Supercars can no longer be considered as a second class citizen in the Australia sporting arena", Mr Cochrane said.

"It also is reflected in our international television numbers which are receiving the same phenomenal growth."

There we have it. Nine paragraphs of V8SA/Cocho magic.

Thankfully Cocho spared us any specific claims on those international numbers, because the bruises are still coming out after we fell off the chair earlier in the week when Australian Grand Prix chairman Ron Walker rolled out his old familiar 350 million viewers in 132 countries, with tens of millions more to be added with a 3.30pm start for the F1 race in Melbourne next month -- even though it will still be before dawn in Europe.

As we've pointed out a couple of times, there is what looks like pretty credible evidence now that the average global audience for an F1 GP is about 100 million viewers, with a race like Monaco above average and Australia below average, because it's run when it's night-time in F1's European heartland.

A Renault document, according to London's Financial Times, puts the average F1 audience lower, at around 50 million.

But back to our domestic V8s.

We've spoken to a few people in the television/audience delivery industries over the past couple of days and feel we now have a bit of a handle on the V8 Supercar picture.

The move back to the 7 network last year, after a decade on 10, resulted in a bigger audience.

Overall, 7 is a bigger, higher-rating network -- indeed it's now No. 1 nationally -- and that automatically helped.

But there were some specific factors that contributed to the bigger audience on 7.

While 10 had the V8 Supercar races up until 2006 it was constrained from showing the Saturday heat of each round live because of its commitment to Australian Football League coverage that day, so it used to show the Saturday heat on delay on the Sunday, then the other two heats.

Because 7 doesn't have that Saturday AFL commitment it can show the Saturday heat that day -- and thereby count the viewers it gets that day, as well as those it gets the following day. And fair enough.

Another factor up until the end of 2006 (the network 10 days) was that the 9 network was showing two AFL games on Sunday afternoons, which was very stiff competition for 10's V8 Supercar telecasts.

Now in 2007, once the protracted negotiations on the latest AFL television arrangements concluded, there were only three of eight AFL games a weekend on free-to-air television, and only one of them was on Sunday afternoons (on 7 from mid-afternoon), with five on pay TV each weekend instead of the four up until 2006.

Therefore, less free-to-air competition on Sundays.

This backdrop automatically helped 7 draw bigger audiences, and V8SA can be well pleased with itself for engineering a switch that has produced that result -- and anyone who loves the sport also would applaud that outcome.

Because of the automatic factors, that increase may even be in the order of 25 per cent.

But where the V8SA announcement distorts things is that a viewer who watched all 14 rounds would have been counted 14 times.

And once things got into that realm of multiple counting we suspect 7 executives would have had very cold feet about being associated with any announcement, if they ever contemplated such involvement at all (we hear relations between V8SA and 7 are already pretty strained, as is common and indeed almost inevitable in any TV deal).

Clearly there has been overall growth in the V8 Supercar audience, but a couple of particularly interesting points have emerged from our chats this week.

The first is that the TV audience for the Bathurst 1000, by far our premier V8 Supercar race, was a little lower on 7 last year than it was on 10 the year before.

The explanation for that is the '06 event had the Brock factor -- it came just weeks after the death of Peter Brock, and all the emotion that went with that because of his phenomenal record and status at Bathurst.

While it may not have been widely known that the audience was down a little last year on '06, it's entirely understandable.

One of our experts tells us the difference was "a smidgeon" and that the '07 audience was "on a par with previous Bathursts in the modern era of V8 Supercars".

But the one round that especially interested us was last year's season finale at Phillip Island, at which three drivers (and mathematically four) were vying for the championship.

We touched on this here at the time, because we felt that such a title decider surely ought to attract the second biggest audience of the season, after Bathurst.

Surely that's one of the reasons you have a championship, and make such a fuss about the finale or "grand final".

Certainly that factor worked in F1, because as we highlighted in January the report of Initiative Sports Futures showed the Brazilian GP that decided the 2007 world championship, with F1's first three-way contest at its final round in 21 years, was the second most watched sports event globally (behind the Super Bowl) for the year, with 78 million viewers watching the whole race (the '07 Super Bowl equivalent was 97 million).

In terms of people watching at least three minutes of a sporting event, that GP was the most watched in the world (with 152 million viewers to the Super Bowl's 142 million, according to ISF).

Our feeling at the end of the last V8 Supercar season was that the Phillip Island finale should have had a bigger audience than either the Adelaide season-opener or the Gold Coast round, for two reasons -- firstly, that's precisely what a championship ought to be about, a season-long tussle to a final climax; and, secondly, because from our strong recollection, there was not a lot of other major sport on around the country that weekend.

Yet we glean that, while the Phillip Island TV numbers were above average for races other than Bathurst, they were not at the same level -- that is, heights -- of those for Adelaide's Clipsal, the Gold Coast Indy, and perhaps even the Darwin round.

That, to us, is unfathomable.

Surely the simple fact that by early December the weather around the country is warmer and more enticing for people to do things other than view motor racing -- particularly title-deciding motor racing -- on TV cannot be so overwhelming to produce this kind of result.

As terrific as Clipsal is, and for that matter Surfers' Paradise and all the other rounds, surely the final round that decides the championship, with multiple contenders and all the rivalries that have developed -- Holden v. Ford, Lowndes v. Kellys, Lowndes v. Tander, Whincup v. Tander, and the controversial end to the '06 championship at the Island -- ought to make the season finale the next biggest thing to Bathurst, which is on a pedestal of its own because of its long, unique and special traditions.

Now this "grand final" TV outcome leads to something else.

There is a point of view that, while 7 had a bigger audience last year than 10 did in '06, from the end of the football seasons (AFL and NRL), the 7 audience may not have been bigger than 10's the previous year.

And one of our expert friends says that it is only in that post-football phase of last year that the comparison between networks 7 and 10 is a comparison of apples with apples.

In the words of this expert, the V8SA announcement is "a lot of nonsense, contains lots of double counting, and is very misleading".

That tallies with our view, but we gather that 7 -- while there is no indication it endorses this week's V8SA statement in its entirety -- reckons that its audiences were up by as much as 40 per cent on some rounds, largely because of its Saturday coverage, and that about seven out of 10 of all Australians watched some of its 160 hours of coverage at some point last year.

It is contenting itself that more Australians watched V8 Supercars last year than at any time in the sport's history, and that there were plenty of appearances by drivers on programs like Sunrise, Dancing with the Stars, and Better Homes and Gardens, and on 7 News.

Those specific programs yes, but there has been plenty of criticism of the amount of V8 Supercars, and the placement of stories about them, in 7's news bulletins.

V8SA's claims, and finger-pointing at soccer's TV popularity, have been made to look rather silly by the attention that Wednesday night's Australia v. Qatar soccer match at Melbourne's Docklands stadium attracted, massively overshadowing the V8 Supercar launch nearby.

Indeed, to have held such a launch anywhere near the soccer match was an odd move.

Soccer certainly was a bigger winner on Wednesday night than V8 Supercars.

Anyway, our general feeling is that V8 Supercar viewers ought to be pretty pleased with what 7 is delivering them.

And we believe they have a lot of goodwill towards 10 for its decade of devoted service to the sport and its fans.

So at the end of the day there's not too much to be concerned about, except for the tripe we endure from V8SA regarding the TV coverage.

In severe financial difficulties since the collapse of former sponsor Westpoint, DJR announced Schwerkolt's new involvement with it this week -- without any mention of how much of the business he's buying.

"Charlie's intervention has given us the business and financial security to ensure the long-term future of DJR and to return us to the very top of V8 Supercar racing," Dick Johnson said.

Schwerkolt's business skills would enable him (Johnson) and team manager Adrian Burgess to concentrate on track performance.

The investor is said to have known to Johnson for a long time and also apparently has been a regular at races.

Johnson has also gone to considerable lengths to thank No Limit Group's John Marshall, who had long been mooted as the potential investor to save the team.

Jim Beam remains in place as major sponsor of DJR, which made major improvement in the V8 Supercar Championship last year and continues with Steve Johnson and Will Davison as its excellent driver line-up.

Schwerkolt said his new partnership with DJR came as "a complete surprise".

"I was trying to help Dick because of the predicament he was in, but I had always said I didn't want to get involved beyond that," Schwerkolt said.

"As it has turned out, the opportunity presented itself to become an owner on a very sound and viable business basis, otherwise I wouldn't have done it."

The announcement is pretty vague, but anyone with V8 Supercar racing's interests at heart will welcome any move that keeps the great DJR name out on the country's tracks -- and hopefully right back at the pointy end against the British-owned/controlled teams that have been winning all the races.

In a radio interview not picked up by the print media, Brumby made the point that the GP had never made a profit, reiterated that Ecclestone's wish for a night race would not be met, and made clear that there was a limit to how much of his state's taxes would be used to keep the race -- with the distinct impression that limit had just about been reached, especially with a projected loss of more than $40 million this year.

"It has to represent value for money ... well at the moment it costs us $35 million a year and we've got to come up in 2010 and sign a new deal, but if Bernie Ecclestone came along and said, ‘We want $70 million a year or $100 million a year', obviously I'd think twice about that," Brumby said.

"Obviously there has to be a limit the state is willing to pay.

"When the event first started (in Melbourne, in 1996) it did break even, or almost broke even. I should say it's never actually made a profit, but as the licence fees got higher it's been harder to bridge that gap. So it's a value-for-money question."

It all sounds rather ominous and we suspect the Victorian government is looking to use the money it is dropping on the GP as part of a $300 million redevelopment of Melbourne Park, which hosts the Australian Open tennis and many concerts.

Talk of NSW trying to get the GP is, we suspect, little more than Brumby's counterpart in Sydney winding up Victoria.

The GP would swallow NSW's new three-year major events budget of $85 million pretty quickly, and a senior powerbroker in Sydney told us recently that NSW authorities had information that suggested to them that Melbourne's losses are considerably heavier than has been reported.

Toyota, Holden, Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi and Honda are all in the field, as well as Hyundai and Subaru.

There's also the BMW 335i that won last year, with Craig Baird, Paul Morris and Craig Holt looking for a repeat, a couple of diesel Alfa Romeos, a Proton, and Lotus will be represented by two Exiges.

Holden Motorsport's 6-litre V8 Sportswagon SS for V8 Supercar drivers Shane Price, Cameron McConville and endurance specialist Nathan Pretty is sure to be one of the most popular entries.

Other drivers with V8 Supercar experience are John Bowe, Lee Holdsworth, Brett Holdsworth, Garth Walden, Damien White, Grant Denyer, Joel Spychala and Michael Trimble.

Organisers promise that live timing will be available here for Saturday's qualifying and Sunday's race, which starts at 6.30am.

We recall seeing mention of a three-hour TV package being slotted for
Channel 7 on Saturday, February 16, at 2pm -- but, as they say, be sure to check your local guides.

WPS Bathurst 12-HOUR entry list

Class A -- SONAX High Performance All Wheel Drive

Car -- Team Sponsor -- Drivers

Subaru 03 WRX STi -- WBR/Gizmo/Laminex -- Kurt Kratzman/Ian Tulloch/Brett Collins
Subaru 03 WRX STi -- Wilson Brothers Racing -- Daniel Schulz/Andy Knight/James Winslow
Mitsubishi EVO VIII RS -- Pro Duct P/L -- Bob Pearson/Anton Mechtler, Jason Walsh
Mitsubishi EVO IX -- Alan East Motorsport -- David Wall/Des Wall/Martin Notaris/Trevor Symonds
Subaru WRX STi -- Humes -- Gary Deane/Rob Rubis/Rod Dawson
Mitsubishi EVO IX RS -- VIP Petfoods (Aust) P/L -- Tony Quinn/Klark Quinn/TBC
Mitsubishi EVO VIII -- King's Springs -- Mark King/Mark Brame/Michael Trimble
Mitsubishi EVO VIII -- Coopers/Brock Harcourts -- Michael Brock/Garry Young/Jack Elsegood
Mitsubishi EVO VIII -- SKWIRK.com/Alan Heaphy -- Damien White/Rod Salmon/Graham Alexander

Class B -- PENRITE High Performance Rear Wheel Drive

Car -- Team Sponsor -- Drivers

Lotus Exige -- Lotus Cars Australia -- Mark O'Connor/Andrew Fisher/Richard Buttrose
BMW 335i -- Rondo/CIS Group/P&I Auto Body Repairs -- Barry Morcom//TBC/TBC
Falcon GT -- V8 Race Experience -- Joel Spychala/Lindsay Yelland/Alex Saliba
BMW 335i -- Eastern Creek Karts P/L -- Garry Holt/Craig Baird/Paul Morris
Lotus Exige -- Queensland House and Land.com -- Robert Thomson/Greg Willis/Tim Poulton/Guy Gibbons
Holden HSV -- G & D Performance -- David Mertens/Leigh Mertens/Terry Wyhoon
Holden HSV GTS VY II -- Donut King -- Barrie Nesbitt/Tony Alford/Paul Freestone

Class C -- Hot Hatch Performance Cars

Car -- Team Sponsor -- Drivers

BMW 130i -- XEETEC -- Luke Searle/Peter Kelly
BMW 130i -- Sherrin Motorsport -- Iain Sherrin/Michael Sherrin/Grant Sherrin
Mazda 3MPS -- Grand Prix Mazda -- Jake Camilleri/Scott Nicholas/Tim Sipp
Mazda 3MPS -- The Shire Conveyancer -- Allan Shephard/Dennis Cribbin/TBC

Class D -- DISC BRAKES AUSTRALIA Production Vehicles under $50K

Car -- Team Sponsor -- Drivers

Holden Sportswagon -- Jack Daniels -- Cameron McConville/Shane Price/Nathan Pretty
Holden Commodore -- Paul Wakeling Holden/Briffa Smash Repairs -- Steve Briffa/Lee Holdsworth/Brett Holdsworth
Ford Falcon BF XR8 -- The Car Stockade/Blue Oval Garage -- David Heath/Warren Luff/Ian Luff
Ford BF XR8 -- Century 21 -- Chris Delfsma/John Bowe/Paul Stubber
Holden VZ SS -- Walden Motorsport/Syd-fab -- Brian Walden/Garth Walden/Michael Auld
Ford Falcon XR6 T -- Aporschapart -- Richard Howe/Dennis O'Keefe/TBC

Class E -- Production Sports under $50K

Car -- Entrant -- Drivers

Honda Integra Type R- Aussie Stop Leak -- Richard Mork/David Turner/Richard Prince/TBC
Toyota Celica -- Osborne Motorsport -- Colin Osborne/Neil Bates/John Roecken
Toyota Celica -- Osborne Motorsport -- Bill Sherwood/Hadrian Morral/TBC
Honda Integra Type S -- Hankook Tyres/Disk Brakes Australia -- Peter Conroy/Terry Conroy/Carl Schembri

Class F -- Under 2.5 Litre Production

Car -- Entrant -- Drivers

Hyundai Sonata -- Kangan Batman TAFE/Hankook Tyres -- Ross Buckingham/James Augustine/Brett Youlden/Greg Sticker
Subaru Impreza RS -- Jim Hunters Suspension -- Jim Hunter/Warren Bossie/Matthew Windsor
Proton Satria GTI -- Lubrimaxx/Bongtown -- Darren Harris/Nick Lange/Lindsay Kearns

Class G -- Eco Diesel Over 3.5 Litre

Car -- Entrant -- Drivers

Alfa Romeo 159 -- Thomson Alfa Romeo -- Kean Booker/David Stone/Rocco Rinaldo

Class H -- Eco Diesel 3.5 Litres and Under

Car -- Entrant -- Drivers

Alfa Romeo 147 JTD -- Thomson Alfa Romeo -- David Filipetto/Nathan Gotch/Wayne Vinckx