Holden buys HRT

[Xcesiv308]

Hi guys,. some interesting developments ...

read at:

http://www.sportal.com.au/v8x.asp?i=news&id=35796

[XR8]

Quote from above article:

"TEGA rules state that a manufacturer (both Holden and Ford) cannot own a team, so special approval must be granted to allow the HRT to race under its new ownership structure. A Holden spokesman said he was hopefull this would be granted early next week so the team could front up to the Grand Prix meeting with no uncertainty. "

Ho-hum. The more things change, the more they stay the same..

Ed :)

[Graeme]

TEGA and HRT....

I suppose that if HRT were not granted the appropriate 'approval' then we could possibly see a return to competitive racing in the "V8 Supercars" Championship Series.

The six ex-TWR HRT affiliated cars could then run a separate series of their own, but I wouldn't want to be the bookie placing bets on who the series champion might be.

Seriously though, does it really matter what company owns a team, when that company already has an obvious business and/or financial relationship with a relevant vehicle manufacturer ?

After all, famous drivers and team owners like Brock, Moffat and Johnson didn't become famous without direct manufacturer involvement in their careers.

[admin]

Originally posted by XR8
Quote from above article:

"TEGA rules state that a manufacturer (both Holden and Ford) cannot own a team, so special approval must be granted to allow the HRT to race under its new ownership structure. A Holden spokesman said he was hopefull this would be granted early next week so the team could front up to the Grand Prix meeting with no uncertainty. "

Ho-hum. The more things change, the more they stay the same..

Ed :)

If they exclude the 6 HRT cars, they (TEGA) will be the only ones at the races!!

[Aussiecollector]

Funny that after the launch pics came out I was going to comment on the fact that the cars had no TWR logos, but though that it may have just been due to the the car being a launch car like 2001 when many of the sponsor logos were different.

NOW I KNOW.

Glenn

[ferrari fan]

Goodnight uncle Tom.
Who are the drivers now contracted by?
If I could have seen the problem some time ago ,and posted on this forum, with the same old members telling me I was wrong, how come Jeffy and his team dod not think the implications through and now a mad scamble is going on!
I hope ;Goodnight boy Jeffy.

[oldxr]

Hopefully they wont be allowed to race or it will just prove once and for all that this series is owned and run buy holden.

[admin]

Originally posted by oldxr
Hopefully they wont be allowed to race or it will just prove once and for all that this series is owned and run buy holden.

I can't believe some of these comments or how one eyed some of you guys are.
If there was only Holden or only Ford racing, it would be so boring it would wind up within 6 months.
You never win anything by hoping your opposition doesnt turn up or is wiped out. You win by trying harder and rising above the opposition..not wait til they fall.
And who do you think owns Ford Performance Racing?? Your next door neighbour??

[oldxr]

Admin, if you think changing the rules to suit HRT/Kmart racing will make for a better race thats your opinion but ithink it will turn many fans away from the series as they like me will just get sick of holden having so much control of what is supose to be a open parity ( meaning being on par, meaning equal) championship.

[Odin]

Both manufacturers actively sponsor the championship heavily. Having HRT in or out isnt going to change that.

Having HRT gone is going to loose the series fans so I dont mind Holden owning HRT. Do you really think that holdens not going to keep HRT at arms length so it doesnt get unfavourable feedback.

The only thing thats making HRT win at the moment is its Budget.(ie the size of it) Its not because holden is involved

[mustang1966]

Although it is in some parts of the media, the thought of HRT/Kmart being given the royal boot is a load of crap. Even though I call 50% of fans sheep, they turn up to the track and bring money into the sport.

The powers to be TEGA\AVESCO know know this and will not give them the flick over something so small. Concessions will be made for the good of the sport.


Admin I thought the Factory Prodrive team was owned by Prodrive and FoMoCo Australia has a smaller share, just as Holden had a smaller share in HRT/HSV and TWR was the major shareholder.

I guess what they are talking about here is a controlling share in the team.

Then again did ford own 51% of Tickford or was it 49%? Amazing what 1% can do. ;)

[admin]

Originally posted by oldxr
Admin, if you think changing the rules to suit HRT/Kmart racing will make for a better race thats your opinion but ithink it will turn many fans away from the series as they like me will just get sick of holden having so much control of what is supose to be a open parity ( meaning being on par, meaning equal) championship.
How are the rules being changed to suit Holden? Where did I say that? You remarked that because Holden owned part of HRT, "hopefully they won't be allowed to race"
Holden have always owned part of HRT, just the same as Ford owns part of FPR. Should FPR be excluded too...THAT would be true parity according to your reckoning!

And Odin, its not the size of the budget...it's what you spend it on that counts.

[Odin]

ok its their budget and the people they have etc :D

[Highlander]

Has nothing to do with who owns HRT,Skaife is the number 1 Driver in the Country,and its up to someone else to beat him on the track ,not in a regulation book that the drivers have no control over, if they raced without these Six drivers,any Victory would be meaningless.

[BATHURSTFAN]

why is there such a rule (factory not owning a team) anyhow?.

My opinion is that they will be there racing but its good to see their feathers getting ruffled a bit, hopefully the circle is turning...

[Grubby]

The way I see it is that Holden had to purchase the TWR assets etc because of what the receivers will be doing to try and sell them off. They are not in the business of owning race teams nor do they want to be the 100% owners.

To keep the team(s) and all employees ( from top to bottom ) they had to step in.

Ok the rule says that a manufacturer can not own a race team. I have no problem with that. This I am sure is an interim measure by Holden, until a permanent arrangement of ownership outside of Holden can be arranged / made.

Can you imagine the race track with no Red Army of supporters. Then take away those KMart and Murphy supporters. A lot of empty seats.

No matter who you follow Ford or Holden you want to see the best against the best. Otherwise their is no satisfaction or sense of acheivement when a win comes along. ( Hollow victory some may say )

The sport is in the top 3 for following and veiwing. Let's hope it stays there and I believe for this to happen HRT & KRT have to be racing.

Well that's my two bobs worth - Let's hope it gets sorted quickly and all teams are on the track come GP.

Grubby

[Glen Alexander]

You can't really say all that crap about special treatment to Holden blah blah blah. The same situation hasn't really happened to Ford, so you don't know whether or not the same leniencies would be given to them. Holden have put s**tloads of effort and development into the sport, so fair go.

[Graeme]

My post was partly in jest ....I certainly think that the V8 Supercars would suffer without the most prominent Holdens and their drivers present. And, of course, any future 'changing of the guard' cannot be properly achieved without a fair fight on the racetrack.

Of course, the GP event is not the real concern ....it's the Championship Series that really counts. When you consider what is at stake, I'm sure you'll find that Holden has already looked at all the 'legals' in this situation. As with most juicy stories, I reckon not all chapters are to be printed for general publication.

[SWRT]

Skaife is NOT the best touring car driver in the country.
He's only doing well because the machinery around him.
Lowndes has more Driver Skill and that has been proven at Indy 02.
One thing Skaife is good at is his gear changes,he's 0.3sec faster then anyone with a H gear box,Wonder if the Barras will have sequential boxes like the Monaro?

[Oh Five]

Maybe if ford put money into a team, rather than poaching and spending millions on holden drivers, they might be up there!!
If lowndes is better than skaife i must have missed his results for the last 2 years. The only reason people wont admit skaife is good is because of his personality, NOT his ability. This argument will never cease because its just a case of What if's...
It was the same 20 years ago,, was brock really that good or was it just that red brand on the side of the car???????

[XR8]

Originally posted by admin


If they exclude the 6 HRT cars, they (TEGA) will be the only ones at the races!!

My wish is certainly not to have ANY cars excluded from the racing.

My concern is aimed the appearance of a double-standard, for want of a better description.

The question must be asked: Would the same leniency be applied to a team of similar stature, or that of the hard-working privateer, be it either Holden or Ford??

The rules exist for a reason, be they correct or incorrect, and this issue deserves close scrutiny, as I believe an interesting precedent may be set.

It will be worthwhile to note the outcome, and the events that may follow.

Ed :)

[brchi17]

Being a Ford supporter I would love to see Holden excluded from anything, but lets have a little think about the current problem.

What's the difference between TWR (Holden is a part owner in there somewhere) owning HRT & Holden owning it ?

On face value absolutely nothing, sure on paper Holden is not the actual owner, but in reality we all know they are.

So does this mean that the new Ford Performance Racing are also excluded as they are advertised as being owned by Ford ??? (remember the headlines of a few weeks ago of Seton selling out to Prodrive/Ford ???)

Perhaps a little bit of paper shuffling needs to be done to show that Holden does not own HRT but we all know that HRT is the Holden Racing Team.

Does it really matter anyway ???

I think there might be a bit of a revolt if HRT & K-mart (you could proberley include the all new Team Brock as well) were not allowed from racing at the AGP (restriction of trade pops into my head straight away).

This problem also bring the question of why can't a manfacturer own a team anyway ???

If there is only two manfacturers in the sport, surely there input/ownership is an important facisit of the sport.

Could you imagine Ford & Holden not being a part of the sport ???

We'd be left with a pretty average event if they wern't a part of it.

Well I think it's time for me to come down from the soap box & I can't wait for the 1st race of the season on Friday.

cheers.:D

[BATHURSTFAN]

In Sundays paper Craig Lowndes basically said that he would rather beat a full field than one without the best being there.

Its that same as the Rugby League wars, we had two grand finals and two winners and I bet to them it was a hollow victory not having competed against the best available.

to OH FIVE, I disagree about your comments about Ford POACHING drivers, they are professionals and they go where they can get a drive and get paid to do so.

Some of last years Holden drivers were on the way out of their current teams anyhow and were good enough to get deals with other teams, be it Ford or Holden. Do you think a driver will sit out of the series because he doesn't want to drive for another make? I don't think so.

You compared the Lowndes Vs Skaife results for the past two years, that comparison is unbalanced due to the difference in teams. Compare the results when Lowndes was at HRT with Skaife when they were in similiar machines.

[FOMOCO]

Holden will simply shift ownership to someone else to avoid missing out on the series, My guess would be that John Faulkner would be very excited right now after selling his franchise to HRO and being tied up with the Young Guns Team, this looks like the obvious out for Holden to solve its problem.

[biante1478]

I'm with XR8 on this one -- Ford do not have any ownership of FPR, as per the TEGA rules -- Same rule that applies to Ford should apply to Holden. Whether or not there is any competitive advantage to be gained is irrelevant.

Hopefully TEGA will honour Aussie's desire for fairness in sport. If not, they risk losing a lot of racing fans.

My 2c !

[Troy_H]

I dont understand the arguement here. What is to stop Holden setting up a dud company thats only fuction is to own 51% of HRT?

Its not who owns the team that counts, its the drivers and crew and the quality of machinery that matters. We all know who pulls the strings at HRT anyway, same as for FPV. Manufacturer involvement is going to be there, whether on paper or not so why worry about it.

[ferrari fan]

Why ohh why does the system not allow Toyota and Bitsmissing into the series with their shell wrapped around the rollcage and we would have a bit of variaty or is it only open to models that are used as taxi's here in OZ:confused:
Think about it before reacting

[biante1948]

Watching the news in Brsibane Ch 10 5pm Monday was the subject of Holden buying out TWR , has got to go to AVESCO now to see if the 2 x hrt and 2 x k-mart cars and possibly the 2 brock cars will be allowed to run this weekend at the Melb GP.
Will be interesting to see how Holden get out of this one.
But then again they usually get their way, have done for the last 2-3 years.
Have to wait and see how it all pans out over the next couple of days..........
But- Rules are Rules.

[BATHURSTFAN]

Being a Ford fan I would rather see HRT-Holden there racing, but more importantly they should be looking the franchise rules.

How can one team indirectly run six cars???. Thats the real issue here.

Two cars - fine, but lets not have this turn into two big budget teams VS The Rest- one was bad enough!.

I support all Ford teams and I hope they all do well and get fair treatment in all aspects of racing.

[bernoo]

I really hope all the V8`s race in Melbourne. That will be WAY more ENTERTAINING than the HO-HUM F1 procession.