The race strategy review carried out by Motorsport New Zealand indicates a broad acceptance that international trends are bringing us more and more to a future where our premier touring car category will not feature outdated cars with bent-8 engines.
Announced in tandem with the news that the TCR international category would have a place in New Zealand summer motor racing, the review acknowledges tin-tops as a legitimate pathway for young racers who may not have purist single-seater ambitions.
Moving to TCR should bring greater access to sponsors both for teams and events, because all 33 cars homologated are current-model and all are hatchbacks, long the most favoured body format for New Zealand motorists. MotorSport New Zealand has always said it would follow Australia’s lead, and Aussie’s own TCR series is about to take to the track, meaning ours must follow suit with at least some demonstration races/drives this year ahead of a proposed beginning year of competition in 2020.
Currently, the review on which the strategy is based continues to see the NZV8s as a premier category – but how long will that continue? Certainly, there has been massive investment in the category, but neither the Ford nor Holden products on which is built itself are now available to buy, while neither the dealer-project Camry nor the Nissan that arrived soon after it can be bought off the showroom floor as a road car. It is always about the money, and in this case those fantastic-sounding Daytona-spec V8s in the Richards Camry V8 cars are simply race-only. A pity really.
Lest anyone decide to leave a paper bag of burning dog doo on my front doorstep I should be clear: I’m in no way saying the V8 is dead. Such sweeping claims are the preserve of motor noters far bigger than I. And having been flamed for earlier discussing our single-seater race structure (when current race drivers thought I was calling for the end of Formula First. Perish the thought), I’m a tad reluctant to get crisped once more.
It’s obvious that the V8s will be allowed to wither on the vine as TCR arrives and gathers momentum. The class 1 (TLX and Supertourer) cars put on a good show, but they are developmentally static now and not a good look for an up and coming driver aiming to make a name for themselves in tin-tops.
I’m musing on how much change has occurred, even if it felt glacial when it was happening. Things have moved a long way – when NZV8s were growing, the Aussies under Tony Cochrane wouldn’t have a bar of them being on the same event programme as their Supercar product. The exit of that gentleman was the beginning of a thaw in relations between the V8 categories and these days we often see the V8 team bosses at Pukekohe up on the VIP pit lane level to watch the local product.
But for all those dyed in the wool V8 fans who claim to ‘only come for the thunder’, isn’t it long past time that the thunder clouds cleared?
Motor racing needs a modern tin-top product to front its TV packages alongside TRS and if the packed grids and close racing seen in 2.0-litre touring car racing of 20 or more years ago are any indication then the four cylinder, two wheel drive, turbo four category is the way to go.
The TCR category is now fronting the World Touring Car Championship along with national champs in Europe, Asia and other countries.
Globally, this is no flash in the pan – TCR started in 2015, and there are many very good low km race cars for sale at very reasonable prices. Hands-on manufacturer involvement is being managed to ensure the category doesn’t simply become ‘Supertourers ver 2.0’ as one UK critic has suggested. He was referring to the global Supertourer phenomenon that swept in at the end of the Group A era, not our local two-make series.
Finally, MSNZ will now move to appoint a category manager, responsible for both the direct day to day management of TCR in this country and for its promotion. There has been no formal indication of when this position will be filled or who might be putting their names forward. I could hazard a few guesses though.
So the touring car side of the motor racing career ladder looks set to go forward in this shape:
- – ‘Grassroots’ club and regional categories with dozens of events being run by clubs every month
- – Sanctioned series such as the BMW E30s, Pre 65s, NZ Six or OSCA
- – Then on to a premier level category such as the Toyota 86 Championship, V8 Touring Cars or TCR.
The great thing about TCR is it pulls New Zealand and Australia closer together, as regs are standardised so drivers from either country or further afield can budget to come and race here.
It also means our racers can look offshore for fledgling race opportunities that can lead interesting places such as Porsche Carrera Cup.
Currently, neither NZV8 nor TR86 championships share regs with the Lucky Country.
“The saloon car pathway provides for a competitor to commence their racing in career in an entry-level class such as 2KCup and progress right through to V8 Touring Cars or TCR as the pinnacle in New Zealand, and beyond to an international career.”
In many ways this is correct. The goalposts have shifted, it’s arguably no longer important to have single-seater experience before dropping into a saloon car or GT drive.
Let’s face it, there are 20 seats on an F1 grid. Given that a certain number of those are pretty rubbish (and in that I look sadly at the Williams equipe), is it really fair or kind to give Kiwi drivers of a calibre slightly less than Liam Lawson or Marcus Armstrong – and perhaps Calum Hedge – false hope about maybe one day being up there.
Is driving around the back of an F1 field and being lapped up to three times in a race a way to get noticed? I’d say not.
Plenty of our finest race drivers have carved out excellent careers without sitting in an F1 car. They go up through the excellent Porsche Carrera Cup championships, the regional GT and endurance race championships. They go to Asia and tap into the rewarding regional championship up there. They do what Brendon Hartley and Mitch Evans have done – race and race and race for teams like Murphy Prototypes and then they get the chance to drive at Le Mans or even take up a team drive in the Wold Endurance Championship.
Perhaps now is the time to be giving our rising race stars a broader awareness of the opportunities out there.
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