READER'S BLOG: Nostalgia key to Supercars' future

After the visionary (?) category of touring car racing known as Group A, V8 Supercars – now just 'Supercars' – seemed like a fossil, brought to life to sate a very loud, very parochial group of racing fans.

But now that the two supporting pillars of the category – the Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore – are on first-name terms with extinction, the future of Supercars is in serious doubt. Yet there's no denying that it's a well run category that continues to draw crowds. It's racing we can't afford to lose, and something should be done, which led motoring.com.au Editor-in-Chief Mike Sinclair to throw out a challenge about a week ago.

In his comment, Mike wrote: "...It's fashionable and (relatively) easy to give these guys a kicking ... but what would YOU change and how would YOU evolve Supercars in the next few years?"

He also said something about hearing from smart people, which I’ve not quoted because I don’t fit the criteria, but here’s my two cents anyway.

There ARE some great things about the series, and top amongst them I think is that everyone knows the drivers. You can stream racing from anywhere in the world these days, but I find it a lot less interesting because I don’t know anything about who’s behind the wheel. Great racing is great racing but still, this is definitely an added connection to capitalise on, so I’d be making sure everyone’s contracts are up to date.

I would also take a big learning from (believe it or not) Formula 1. They seem, finally, to have woken up to the fact that despite the recent issues the series has had, they have a long, long history that can deliver the greatest marketing juice of all – nostalgia!

How good was the recent spectacle of Lewis receiving an original Senna helmet?! People like me grew up watching Senna, Prost, Mansell, Hill, et al. race. And there are those who are older still, and remember different eras through a Dame Edna-sized set of rose-coloured glasses. Having some of that nostalgia rub off on the current series is solid gold.

Could Supercars do this in Australia? Yes!

Obviously we’re at the end of a twenty-year era and the Commodore and Falcon are sadly dead (and shouldn’t hang around in the series another second) but what about reaching further back to the likes of the Camaro and Mustang? Or from my early days, the Sierra and of course, Godzilla. The return of these cars would be a huge story - “the monsters from the past are back, blah blah blah”.

Again, you can draw on drivers – both past and present – to add to the drama. Nissan did a fantastic job at this for Bathurst last year, with Michael Caruso interviewing Skaife about his 1991 Bathurst win. This is exactly the kind of thing I’d love to see more of (although frankly it was just depressing seeing the Altima next to the R32 Skyline).

Someone will have already cracked out the keyboard to remind me of all the problems Group A had – but guess what? I don’t care! I’m reliving my youth over here damn it!

I think there’s a fairly realistic path to this via GT4 and GT3. The list of cars I mentioned above is just a ‘GT4 Focus RS’ away from already existing in these categories. Teams ‘just’ have to go out and buy them. As well as the nostalgia factor there is also a battery of other GT3 and GT4 cars we’d all love to drive that play in this category. All driven around the world by talented drivers we could blend with our locals for an Australia v The World dynamic we see a bit of every year in that “other” Bathurst...

So that’s what I’d do. What about you?

Guest reader: JWM

Have you got something that needs saying? Would you care to have a crack at writing about something that offends, amuses or bemuses you? Most importantly, can you sum it up in an incisive opinion piece between 500 and 800 words long? If so, why not send an email to editorial@motoring.com.au with an outline? Who knows, you could be the automotive industry's own Ernest Hemingway – or even a Hunter S Thompson – and not even know it...