the Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix), Warburton is keenly aware of the need to act fast, less the prospect of an Australasian GT Endurance starts to take root.
O’Brien has had frequent meetings with Blancpain GT and Asian GT Series organiser Stephane Ratel to discuss the probability of the B12Hr joining the Asia GT Series in line with a number of endurance events such as the 12 Hours of Sepang in December.
“I’m confident we will do something”, said Ratel. “But James (O’Brien) will need to confirm this… Our intention is to work together.”
Another man looking to do business with O’Brien is Australian GT organiser Tony Quinn. Quinn also has plans to include five endurance rounds in the championship, with two New Zealand rounds at Hampton Downs and (at his own circuit) Highlands Park. The Bathurst 12 Hour is firmly on Quinn’s radar, but has opted for a deferential attitude, saying: “It’s incumbent on myself to show good form to the V8’s (Supercars) as they’ve got the best show in town regardless of what people say.”
Ratel is keenly aware of the clan-mentality currently escalating down under and understands the need for haste, admitting that “our British GT manager has met with Australian GT Championship and maybe I should.”
It’s certainly nice to feel wanted and there is no man more wanted in Australian motorsport at the moment than James O’Brien. I do wonder however whether his eventual status of either pawn or impresario will ride heavily on which way he swings.
With V8 Supercars incrementally downsizing their V8 engines as to remain commercially road-relevant and increase its ability to attract new manufacturers, the last thing they need is an attractive rival series cutting into their slice of the pie.
As Ratel correctly points out: “When you are part of the bigger picture you will get more teams joining and more manufacturer presence.”
In the race to be in the bigger picture, there are sure to be some casualties. Trouble is, Warburton may just have already orchestrated a coup d’état, not just on sports cars but the future of Australian motorsport.
So what of the future? With the introduction of Stephen Richards BMW M6 GT3, a new Porsche 911 GT3 R for the Walkinshaw Group, a trio of McLaren 650SGT3s for the Bathurst 12 Hour race winning Tekno Autosports squad and at least four AMG GT3s across the board at Erebus Motorsport and Eggleston Motorsports suggest the series is in rude health.
Over the course of the Phillip Island 101 weekend, Managing Director of J’s Consulting, Mr. Hongsik Jeon was seen chatting to various Australian GT teams about the prospect of competing in Korea’s recently launched international long-distance endurance race in Korea, ‘RACE123’, held at Korean International Circuit during April.
“RACE123 is a significant event, as it will be the first international endurance race here in Korea that is promoted by a Korean organiser and not overseas organisers hosting a race event here” said Jeon.
“it is expected to expand the domestic motorsports base with this event, and I will personally be focused on ensuring that this race grows to the likes of the ‘24 Hours of Le Mans’ in France or ‘Nürburgring 24 Hours’ in Germany.
RACE123 will grow to become a true