2019 Australian GT Championship

[Umai Naa]

The whole thing is now geared towards making Mr Manolios a lot of money.

More tyres, at a higher price - He's the Pirelli motorsport tyre distributor for Australia.

Introduces a 'Cup' class so he can sell a few Huracan Super Trofeos - He's the Lamborghini Sqaudra Corse distributor for Australia.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Tourer

New category management this year so will have to see how AGT goes. Lot's of stories going around right now about unrest in the series, long-term manager gone, higher number of tyres per race weekend, range of things really. The word "cluster" being used regularly in regard to what has been happening.
Hopefully a case of a new category manager shaking things up a bit and making changes rather than any long-term problems.

Will the people complaining about Tony Quinn last season be calling for his reinstatement?

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Will the people complaining about Tony Quinn last season be calling for his reinstatement?

I doubt it - but they might choose to simply walk away and spend their money somewhere else.

Umal is I think on the money re the source of the issues floating around the rumour mills just now. It may settle down, it may not but I suspect that if it doesn't, there are some who may simply give up on the idea of running in the series - maybe do the 12 hour and some races in Asia or something like that.

[rich07]

Originally Posted by Umai Naa

The whole thing is now geared towards making Mr Manolios a lot of money.

More tyres, at a higher price - He's the Pirelli motorsport tyre distributor for Australia.

Introduces a 'Cup' class so he can sell a few Huracan Super Trofeos - He's the Lamborghini Sqaudra Corse distributor for Australia.

Well you can kiss the series goodbye then. I’ve had more then one previous competitor complain about entry costs and tire prices under the previous ownership-hence the previous entrants. Not to mention a bunch of ****ed off pro drivers who can’t compete anymore except in enduro cup.

Some people don’t learn do they??

8 champ class cars down from 13 in 2018 and 27 in 2016/17 is worrying seeing as though it’s supposed to be the series glamor event that previously has attracted massive grids of the latest and greatest cars.

[D.R.T.]

A good summary of the 4 races during Round 1.
http://www.dailysportscar.com/2019/0...s14MoR4y_mhiV8

[D.R.T.]

DAVID VERVAART APPOINTED AUSTRALIAN GT CATEGORY MANAGER

http://australiangt.com.au/2019/03/2...bme5xyEkV2fEz8

https://autoaction.com.au/2019/03/22...CgAb8YDRy40xgg

[chavez]

First Round of Endurance Series Red Flagged.

Repair to tyre barriers and underway.

[Bcarr6]

Any streaming anywhere or is this series still in the dark ages?

[Umai Naa]

Was streamed on the The Nationals website.

Aus GT seems to be on life support. Low grid numbers, particularly GT4.

[Bcarr6]

Just watched the race.

Got to say its a great shame so little is available of this series. Interesting strategy race, some great battles for position, all of which weren't frantic but instead more about keeping close and working passed someone strategically, then making decisive moves. Philip Island seems to lend itself to that approach.

Shame the grid isnt bigger but didnt feel like a huge detriment to the quality of the race today. Maybe more noticable elsewhere.

[D.R.T.]

Originally Posted by Umai Naa

Was streamed on the The Nationals website.

Aus GT seems to be on life support. Low grid numbers, particularly GT4.

Live streaming has been a staple of the series for years now - especially for the endurance events. Surprised some people can’t locate it?????

Not sure about life support but will be interesting to see if the new category management can entice some of the competitors back under the tent. Eg. Maranello Motorsport

Let’s hope we can get some stable regulations - Pro/Am without timed pit stops and longer races. Not sure this is the area that is keeping cars away though

[Bcarr6]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Live streaming has been a staple of the series for years now - especially for the endurance events. Surprised some people can’t locate it?????

Not sure about life support but will be interesting to see if the new category management can entice some of the competitors back under the tent. Eg. Maranello Motorsport

Let’s hope we can get some stable regulations - Pro/Am without timed pit stops and longer races. Not sure this is the area that is keeping cars away though

Well streaming seems to be dependant on who they are running alongside each weekend, and not on youtube so not so easy for Europeans, US folk to find.

[Umai Naa]

Originally Posted by D.R.T.

Live streaming has been a staple of the series for years now - especially for the endurance events. Surprised some people can’t locate it?????

Not sure about life support but will be interesting to see if the new category management can entice some of the competitors back under the tent. Eg. Maranello Motorsport

Let’s hope we can get some stable regulations - Pro/Am without timed pit stops and longer races. Not sure this is the area that is keeping cars away though

Unsustainable operating costs seems to be the common theme. And perhaps the series owner, also holding distrubution rights to the tyres and all things Huracan...

The overlapping formats are fragmented, too. Time to consolodate, and encourage as many GT cars as possible onto the track. Plenty of them in the country, but all racing elsewhere.

When there's state level GT championships, and a breakaway series, the market isn't big enough for what they're trying to do. Not sure we really need seperate sprint and endurance championships when neither grid is healthy.

The other thing is, GT4 elsewhere in the world is on the rapid rise. Here, it's the same two KTMs, with the occasional something else.

[bludvl_x19]

What happens when a series gets less than 10 entries to a round? Or 8..... or none?

[Speed-King]

Well, it's a transitional year - I guess there's hope for things to get better next year.

Personally, I'm wondering if an all-comers endurance series (like VLN, or geographically closer: in New Zealand) with GT3 as the top class would make more sense than a bespoke GT-only series for Australia.

The only countries in the world that can right now sustain a healthy national GT series are the US, Germany, Britain, China and Japan - and to a lesser degree with their series being exclusively for GT4s, France.

All of them have more than twice the population of Australia, so their pool of potential well-heeled drivers is much deeper and (if it plays a role) potential TV audiences are much larger.

[Tourer]

Competitors had a meeting with the category manager at the Bend and according to this report are concerned.

When you think about it, the category has been in something of an identity crisis for a while now - is it for well-heeled part-timers to enjoy themselves or does it want a big fanbase for example has been a discussion point for 2 or 3 years now. The focus seems to be on the former but if the costs associated make it too much for them, then low entries could be the norm.

I see that Mr Taylor understands the "transitional" year but is saying that many of the entries not taking part aren't necessarily going to wait that long. Tough situation for the new category managers to work out but clearly there are some issues in how it is being run too. The point about the category manager agreeing with competitors a month ago to contact those choosing to not take part to find out why not - and then not making those contacts is a telling one in my view.

Your point re population is valid Speed-King, plus of course the competitors have a non-CAMS GT series as an alternative in Australia now. Whichever series you choose to run in though, from all reports the cars are very expensive to buy, run and get parts compared to where GT3 costs used to be and in a small country like Australia, that has a larger impact.

[Tourer]

So hearing rumours today that Sandown’s AGT round is at risk of not happening due to lack of entries.

If there’s any truth in this, no doubt the category managers are working the phones hard to salvage the round but man it sounds like it’s a struggle just now.

[Bcarr6]

Michael O'Brien, junior Mclaren Factory Driver confirmed alongside Fraser Ross for the Sandown weekend (should it actually happen)

[Tourer]

Entry list for this weekend's GT field at Sandown released.

Four GT3 cars, three GT4 cars and the remainder local cars that have been invited to take part but which would not normally be eligible for the series.

When I posted about the rumours a week or so ago I was hearing that it was three GT3 cars and a struggle to get much else so they've clearly been working the phones hard since.

It really has run just about all the way off the rails over the last couple of years of decline but with all the GT3 cars sitting in the country, the organisers must still have some hope of resurrecting it if they can make the right moves.

Unless of course, the competitors have all headed off to join Rod Salmon in the GT1 series and left CAMS and the AGT people behind on the way?

[Scrut]

Hearing that the new category manager is causing a lot of the issues with
the teams. Not well liked by the teams.

[cavvy]

Originally Posted by Tourer

Entry list for this weekend's GT field at Sandown released.

Four GT3 cars, three GT4 cars and the remainder local cars that have been invited to take part but which would not normally be eligible for the series.

When I posted about the rumours a week or so ago I was hearing that it was three GT3 cars and a struggle to get much else so they've clearly been working the phones hard since.

It really has run just about all the way off the rails over the last couple of years of decline but with all the GT3 cars sitting in the country, the organisers must still have some hope of resurrecting it if they can make the right moves.

Unless of course, the competitors have all headed off to join Rod Salmon in the GT1 series and left CAMS and the AGT people behind on the way?

Something must have driven the Likes of Max Twigg away, whats the story on the Salmon camp?

[Umai Naa]

It's a shadow of it's former self.

It needs a broom through it, and the race formats consolidated and simplified.

[Tourer]

Originally Posted by cavvy

Something must have driven the Likes of Max Twigg away, whats the story on the Salmon camp?

Salmon camp is the GT1 series being run under AASA sanction. Not across all the detail but think it was originally a series for older GT3 cars but has grown beyond that I believe.

[Bcarr6]

Anywhere to watch this weekends Aus GT races online globally or is this now the only remaining sizeable GT3 championship not to do so

[bludvl_x19]

Originally Posted by Bcarr6

Anywhere to watch this weekends Aus GT races online globally or is this now the only remaining sizeable GT3 championship not to do so

They are running on the Supercars support card, so their opportunity to put out their own coverage this weekend is limited to non-existant.