MOTORSPORT: TV and takeover issues for Supercars

Behind the scenes it’s been another challenging few days for Supercars with its free to air broadcaster Network Ten going into voluntary administration and its majority owner (reportedly) deciding to withdraw the category from sale.

Luckily this weekend’s championship race in Darwin will refocus everyone’s mind on the sport of Supercars rather than the business.

In the wake of Network Ten’s financial troubles, Supercars CEO James Warburton - a former Ten boss and experienced TV industry executive - moved quickly to reassure fans they will still be able to watch the category without having to pay for a Fox Sports subscription.

In the short term at least, Ten will keep operating and keep telecasting the championship. In the longer-term, Warburton pointed to the six-year media rights deal with Fox which guarantees six events on free-to-air (FTA) television - so if Ten does collapse, those FTA broadcasts will need to migrate to another network.

“There are strong protections in place to ensure those events remains on free-to-air television,” Warburton told the official Supercars website. “It is business as usual.”

Well, for now, maybe.

It was the same “business as usual” line from Warburton when it came to Archer Capital’s decision to withdraw its 65 per cent stake in the business from sale. According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, none of the bidders – said to be as many as five - got near the $100 million offer the private equity firm was after.

Archer Capital bought in for close to $200 million in 2011, so you wouldn’t classify this exercise a financial success.

Back to the racing.

This will be the 20th outing for the category in Darwin. One of former Supercar czar Tony Cochrane’s earliest moves into a regional area, it has proved to be an outstanding success.

The Northern Territory formula for success includes warm, sunny weather, a sizable and enthusiastic crowd and the Hidden Valley circuit’s combination of a long 1.1km front straight and amphitheatre back-section which provide the basis for some great, physical racing.

Sometimes, too physical, as Lee Holdsworth can testify, after he got spat out of the pack and into a concrete wall last year. The Preston Hire driver fractured his pelvis, right knee and two ribs in the 56G impact and missed three races.

Expect DJR Team Penske’s Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin and Red Bull Holden Racing Team’s Shane van Gisbergen and Jamie Whincup to feature at the front this weekend, as they have all year.

They have cleared out from the rest in the fight for the driver’s championship and, at Winton Raceway last month, staged a couple of brutal and thrilling battles.

We’ll find out in Darwin if a test day since then has granted either team the ascendancy.

Certainly, the RBHRT Holden Commodore VF II drivers will be looking to snap the qualifying dominance of the Shell V-Power Ford Falcon FG Xs which between them have claimed the last six pole positions in qualifying.

Van Gisbergen, currently fourth in the title race, began his charge to the championship in Darwin last year, and will be looking for history to repeat in 2017. Team-mate Whincup runs second but is still hunting his first win in 2017.

Coulthard holds the championship lead, but McLaughlin has been the recent form man.

Just 37 points separates all four of them – a zero margin really in a series where 300 points is up for grabs at every event.

Prodrive Racing Australia should be the best of the rest, as both Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert have good records in Darwin. Their former team-mate David Reynolds is also a past winner at Hidden Valley and could feature in the improving Erebus Motorsport Penrite Commodore VF II.

Nissan Motorsport, after a dreadful start to the year, will be hoping its usual strong Darwin form resurfaces. Last year Michael Caruso won a race in the Nismo Altima and carsales.com.au’s Todd Kelly qualified on the front row.

Here’s what to watch out for this weekend:

>> Cameron McConville will drive the second LDM Commodore, becoming the third occupant of the seat this year after Taz Douglas and Matt ‘grandson of Jack’ Brabham.

>> Rising star Jack Le Brocq will join the Darwin championship outing as a wildcard in an MW Motorsport Nissan Altima backed by Gogetta. Brad Jones’ son Macauley will also front for his second outing.

>> The CrownBet Darwin Triple Crown comprises the 11th and 12th races of the 2017 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. It includes practice on Friday; practice, qualifying and one 120km race on Saturday and qualifying, a top 10 shootout and a 200km race on Sunday. The cars will race on the new Dunlop super-soft tyre.

>> The anti-clockwise 2.9km rural circuit on Darwin’s outskirts has a top speed of 271km/h. Average speed is 149km/h.

>> Hidden Valley’s 1.1km front straight puts an emphasis on engine power. Long radius turn one puts a lot of stress on the right-rear tyre. Temperatures in the cabin are high up north, even in winter.

>> The track has had a new tyre barrier installed where Lee Holdsworth crashed heavily last year.

>> Craig Lowndes set the qualifying lap record in 2016 in the Team Vortex Commodore at 1:06.0259 sec. Rick Kelly set the race lap record in 2015 in a Nissan Altima at 1:06.8659 sec.

>> Mark Skaife has the most wins in Darwin with eight, while Craig Lowndes is next with seven. Skaife and Mark Winterbottom share the most poles with four each.

>> The Triple Crown refers to the clean sweep of both races and the Sunday top 10 shootout by one driver. The feat has never been achieved.

>> Second generation racer James Moffat celebrates his 33rd birthday on Sunday.

>> The youngest driver in the race, Alex Rullo, turned 17 yesterday (Thursday) which triggered his promotion from provisional to full Superlicense status.

>> Expect lots of laps from the Porsche Safety Car at Hidden Valley. No race has been completed without one since 2010.

>> Fox Sports will show the action live. Ten and ONE will show highlights on Saturday and Sunday.