Procar.

[Cap'n Jack]

It was winton I think.

 

[millencolin]

PROCAR HAS SHUT DOWN!!!!!!!!

this is very sad news. great racing now gone. shocking

no more formula 3 :'(

plus, the career advisor at school was trying to get me some work experience in procar when they were coming up to queensland raceway.....now thats gone as well.

R.I.P procar

 

[Schrodes]

PROCAR HAS SHUT DOWN!!!!!!!!

No 5hit. Look back about 4 or 5 posts.

 

[millencolin]

i kno i read it.....smartarse.........but im just so cut about it, as im sure we all are.

any news about whats going to happen about the racing series? the v8brutes might be taken up by AVESCO to coincide with the konica series. same with f3.

 

[Schrodes]

any news about whats going to happen about the racing series?

There is nothing official yet, but here is a few things I have found. Some people may have read it already but here is a few bits and pieces for those who haven't...

Don’t write off Procar just yet.
I’ve just listened to a local motor sport segment on 2BS Bathurst presented by Brian Nightingale.
Brian has spoken to Peter Brock this morning regarding Procar.
Peter said that that his phone has been running “red hot” with people wanting to invest in Procar. As far as he is concerned one way or another “it will be racing as usual”.
Peter said that he would be flying to Bathurst next week to meet with the new Bathurst council and discuss strategies re B24h.
In the studio with Brian was Mike Berretta from Channel 7 and one of the new Bathurst City Council Councillor who is on the Mount Panorama Committee.
Mike said that Channel 7 was very pleased with the viewing audience of the B24h and has plans to make it “bigger and better” this year.
Of course BCC will be doing every thing it can to keep the B24h.
I can’t remember all that was said but I was encouraged by what I heard.
I believe that some good news may be forthcoming in the next week or so.
Oh, one thing I just remembered is that Peter told Brian that “Ross Palmer was by no means insolvent”.

We can all sit around and ponder the demise of Procar. How's , why's and who caused it.
The main thing is a visionary in Ross gave all the players a chance at chasing their dream , either as a driver, entrant ,the officials,photographers,journo's and the like.
He has asked now for Procar to stand down but has left the door open for the catagories to continue.I know of one team who is continuing to build a new championship car and two others for the 24 hour race.
How does every one know what is going to happen ?
Wait and see what happens next Wednesday at Peter Boylans meeting.
As "louonline" says about the Peter Brock interview on the radio,if the line about Peter's phone lines running hot with people wanting to invest,then all the people on this website should have a chance to vote with their conscience and buy shares in the series which they love so much..
They fat lady is nowhere to be heard just yet
On this particular weekend and in the true ANZAC Spirit...
Never give up and never surrender...And remember the fallen.

There is an article in today's Sun-Herald:

"Former Procar director Peter Boylan said yesterday he was confident a rescue operation could be mounted to ensure the various categories and the basic Procar structure could continue but in a leaner, ultimately profitable guise."

When asked about the B24H he said that "the Bathurst 24 Hour race will continue, though it is unlikely to be run this year."

The noises coming from a number of different camps from Procar seem to suggest a healthy future. The ceasing of operations by Procar was probably a necessity for the longevity of the categories involved in the PROCAR Champ Series. The plans being put forward at present from these different camps involve the PROCAR Champ Series continuing as is with all categories staying intact. The noise is that future rounds will continue as scheduled although there is doubt over the next round at Sandown in three weeks time.

The shut up shop by PROCAR is healthy in the sense that cost where getting out of control and starting to restrict many teams from entering the series. Ross Palmer has been personally financing the series for some 10 years now and the in recent years the level of capital injection from Ross seems to be increasing not decreasing. For a series to have a prosperous future it must be a commercially viable venture i.e. not rely on a benefactor to proceed. There are over 100 teams in the PROCAR series that have heavily invested in the series and their future needs to be secure for commercial reasons not wether or not the benefactor wishes to continue.

In an essence the shut down of PROCAR is just a pressing of the reset button. I believe and the noise I am hearing suggest the series will have a reorganisation and a massive cost cutting that will see benefits flow back to competitors involved in the series. Previously PROCAR was pulling around 200 competitors a round and the last round at Oran Park competitor numbers reached just over the 100 mark. The biggest problem not the TV deal or crowd numbers but the registration cost for the race meetings. The new look PROCAR will be able to attract the cars back to the series and should increase numbers above and beyond the previous PROCAR meetings. With high participation and good race as has been a feature of PROCAR meetings crowds will return and with high public interest increased Television exposure will be a future benefit of the Series.

Many of the People from these different groups of PROCAR are excited about Wednesday’s forthcoming meeting and some have labelled the meeting the Phoenix, which symbolises the rising from the ashes. It will be time for the people that have had their hooks into PROCAR for funds that don’t have any real influence on the betterment of the series to take a Reality Check. The new look PROCAR series will not involve affluent spending and will be specific in its goals as to produce a first class racing series with as little cost to competing teams as possible. This could well be an exciting time for the people involved in the PROCAR Champ Series if all goes well.

There is still hope. Remember CART last year. Remember Sydneys drag racing scene after 1997. Remember TOCA in Britain over the last few years. I do however feel that we have seen the last of the Nations Cup category in it's current form. It was getting too expensive, not only in terms of the purchase price of vehicles, but also the running costs involved. The NC needs a clearly defined set of rules, whether it be N-GT, go back to the Group 2 regs or something new. If anyone does take over the NC category, what they need to remember if they do change the regulations is that even though grids have been small, there are a lot of cars in the country that are still eligible for NC whether it be Group 1 or 2. They should keep these cars in mind when drawing up or deciding on new rules so that these cars don't end up with nowhere to race.

 

[cpl_richie]

Its sad to see Procar not running anymore. But its hard when there are only a handful of cars running in each of the nations cup classes.

I feel sorry for the competitors that have to go back to their sponsors and say they wont be on TV after all. This could have some serious financial implications for some competitors.

I doubt it is a decision that was taken lightly.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I reckon AVESCO should have the nations cup, APCC, brute utes etc apart of the tour. It would be sad to see the bathurst 24 hour gone, it was fun watching it last year.

 

[cpl_richie]

Well it seems like Procar series (or the teams in the championships anyway) isn't done for yet:

"THE third round of the 2004 PROCAR Champ Series will go ahead as scheduled at Melbourne’s Sandown motor racing circuit on 15-16 May, following a meeting today which discussed a decision by organising body PROCAR Australia to cease operations.

The meeting of competitors, members of an interim executive entrusted with PROCAR’s series rights and representatives of motorsport governing body CAMS expressed unanimous support for the continuation of the PROCAR Champ Series.

While preparations for the Sandown round continue, the interim executive will put together an interim management and administration structure for the Series.

The chairman of the interim executive Peter Boylan said: “We have put arrangements in place to make sure we can keep the momentum going and run the scheduled Sandown event complete with television and the entire PROCAR Champ Series.

“At the same time we are working to ensure that the following event at Winton Raceway in June can also go ahead as scheduled.

“While all this is happening we are also working on the long term plans for the Series, part of which will be revealed to the competitors at Sandown in a little over two weeks’ time.

“There has been some concern as to the Category Management Agreement and collective intellectual property rights currently owned by CAMS and PROCAR. The interim executive is working closely with CAMS to stabilise the immediate situation and also to find ways of moving forward.”

From www.procar.com.au

This is great news. I hope it can continue in some form or another.

 

[millencolin]

this is excellent news, reallygreat news


cant wait to see some more f3 action

 

[Schrodes]

I reckon AVESCO should have the nations cup, APCC, brute utes etc apart of the tour.

AVESCO want the V8 Brutes and the V8 Brutes want AVESCO. The problem with this is that AVESCO have agreements with all their support categories until the end of the year. I think all the PROCAR categories should stay on the same program as a stand alone event. They have enough potential, competitor support and support from the motorsport fans to stay a separate series. This would continue give supporters some diversity in mainstream motorsport.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Looks like the Bathust 24 hour will be happening this year!

24-HOUR RACE LOOKING STRONGER AFTER COUNCIL TALKS

21/5/2004:
THE likelihood of a Bathurst 24-Hour race running in November this year is much stronger following a very positive meeting between Bathurst City Council and PROCAR representatives yesterday.

Bathurst Mayor Councillor Kath Knowles said representatives of the Board of PROCAR Australia are working with the Council to see that this world-class event continues for a third year.

“A number of options are being considered at the moment that look very positive for the immediate future of the event,” Cr Knowles said.

“For the benefit of the city and the future of the extensive redevelopment project at Mount Panorama, Council is committed to doing what it can to see that the Bathurst 24-Hour race does go ahead.

“There has been a significant level of international recognition achieved in only two years of the event and Council would like to see that its investment on behalf of the people of Bathurst continues to grow.

“Both State and Federal Governments have also made a significant investment in the future of Mount Panorama and it is important that Council does what it can to see that events that support ongoing tourism business in the Bathurst region, like the 24-Hour race, are given the best chance to succeed.”

PROCAR Chief Executive Officer Frank Slowiak said the company was keen to provide ongoing support for the event where possible.

“It would be a very positive thing for the region and indeed the nation if the 24-Hour could be allowed to continue to reach the potential PROCAR founder Ross Palmer could see it becoming when he developed the concept almost three years ago,” Mr Slowiak said.

“The Bathurst 24-Hour is a unique event that last year was broadcast to a worldwide audience in 100 countries and attracted seven international teams and 15 international media outlets - in only the second year.”

The third Bathurst 24-Hour is scheduled provisionally for 19-21 November.

 

[millencolin]

i hope it comes back on ....... its a good race to watch, any ong race is good to watch. its relaxing

 

[Schrodes]

It seems PROCAR has reached a critical point in it's history with founder Ross Palmer refusing to throw any more of his own money at the series and the B24hr. The next round at Winton is still scheduled to go ahead but how long can all this uncertainty go on for? Former PROCAR director Peter Boylan, Peter Brock and Ross have been in discussions with the Bathurst council to ensure that this years race goes ahead. It is extremley important that the B24hr is run this year and doesn't have a year off to see what happens with the running of the PROCAR series. If they were to cancel this years race a lot of people, here and overseas would forget about the race and it would lose momentum.
A lot of talk has centred around the re-birth of the Nations Cup category. It is pretty much agreed that the reason for the loss of competitors and the defection of some to Carrera Cup is because of the increase in running costs which came with the introduction of N-GT based regulations a few years ago. Does the NC category need re-inventing? If so, what should they be re-invented as? Should they stick closer to N-GT regs, should they be more like the JGTC and ALMS or should they drop back to Group 2 or even production car specs? The thing to remember is that the B24hr relies on the inclusion of international entries to add some diversity and to raise the profile of the event. Any changes to the NC specs musn't alienate the overseas teams. The NC cars shouldn't be allowed to run faster than international series regs but we musn't slow down our cars so they don't have a chance when international teams do come to compete. Keeping that in mind, I believe the British N-GT regulations would be an ideal model for the NC cars. There would be fewer parity concerns because parity would have been sorted over there and they would be on equal terms when the B24hr comes around.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I was watching teh Nations cup yesterday and it said PROCAR will be around for another 10 years! That is really good news for me, Because I just love the procar tour, all teh series are great!

 

[Schrodes]

Yes, Peter Boylan has secured the rights to the intellectual property of the PROCAR series for the next five years with a five year option after that. Nations Cup cars will apparently have a reduction in performance to make the cars cheaper to run and the class two cars will be sped up to bring them closer to the class one cars. Boylan reckons there are 50 cars around Australia which are eligible for NC and he wants to entice them back to PROCAR.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

It will be good if the cars in the NC get powerd down, so then the slower cars like the Mustang and NSX can have a chance of getting better positions and teh Viper will be back at the top.

 

[Schrodes]

Things were looking up for Procar and the B24hr but it doesn't look so good any more. Although the next few rounds are still going ahead, the rights for the categories have been handed back to CAMS. CAMS will be selling the rights to the highest bidder. This could be good for some of the categories like the V8 BRutes and GT Performance who will likley be picked up by AVESCO but there is a cloud hanging over the other categories. Anyhow, unless someone with a pocket full of money rocks up to buy all the categories, it seems as though the categories are going to be split up.
http://www.procar.com.au/
http://www.cams.com.au/

 

[Cap'n Jack]

👎 That sucks. I hope AVESCO takes NC too.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

13/8/2004:
(The following media release was issued on Thursday 12 August jointly by Bathurst Regional Council and the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport)

ANY hope that the Bathurst 24-Hour Race would be run in November this
year has faded with an announcement from Bathurst Regional Council and
the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport (CAMS) today ending
speculation.

Rights to the event were handed over to CAMS from creators of the
endurance race, PROCAR's Palmer Group, just over a week ago but the
search for a new promoter has proved too difficult.

Council Administrator, Kath Knowles said there were just too many
obstacles to getting the event off the ground in under three months.

"As we had suspected, the level of organisation required in an event of
this scale within three months is not really feasible.

"With the news this week that it was unlikely that a television
broadcast deal could be secured for the event and serious doubts about
the sustainable viability of the current proposals it is no longer an
economically viable option.

"Although there was some strong interest from a number of international
teams in recent months, the ground work required to secure these and
other entries could not be achieved by November.

"Council is very disappointed that the event will not go ahead this year
but remains optimistic for the future."

CAMS President, Colin Osborne, said it was always going to be difficult
to put together a viable business plan for the event this year given
time and other constraints.

"It is very disappointing but we should acknowledge the efforts of
Bathurst Regional Council and others in exploring all available
commercial opportunities that would enable the event to go ahead.

"There was always going to be a marginal viability to an event of this
kind in the short term but we are confident that in the long term the
Bathurst 24 Hour Race or a revised version of this event will go ahead."

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Heres something that was posted at the Procar forums...

Those of you that have picked up the herald sun and have been to page 36 of the cars guide have no doubt had a great big smile on your face as I have. Its an article Headed "GTs could hit 300km/h" and states "A plan being discussed could see Mount Panorama providing a down under leg for the booming international FIA-GT series" The boss of the series Stephane Ratel is in Aus at the moment and is expected to meet with BCC officials. It also goes on to talk about the more international rounds of the championship, cars and the 550 Tony Raftis is sending to Dubai. I'm at work so i gotta go sorryabout such a brief summary but thats all i got time for atm! I couldn’t find the article on the net yet. Oh also mentions "next year" dunno if that’s a possibility or just dreaming. But we can always hope. Cheers.

 

[Schrodes]

I read about that on the Bathurst 24hr forums. There was also a mention about the World Touring Car Championship visiting Australia but the Bathurst City Council have said they will only have two races per year at Mt Panorama. Lindsay Fox is trying to get the FIA-GT series to Phillip Island but the organisers of the GT series seem to be more keen to get the Bathurst 24hr running again.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Couldn't they just make the 24 hour part of the WTCC?

 

[cpl_richie]

You'd think the Bathurst City Counicl would be interested in having more than 2 races a year. Especially since the pitlane has been renovated and expanded. I'm sure the State/Federal Government (the one's that put up the cash for the renovation) would be happy to see more races at Bathurst to help give them some return on their investment.

 

[Schrodes]

Couldn't they just make the 24 hour part of the WTCC?

What about a Festival of Motorsport week where the WTCC and FIA-GT race on the same weekend? Have practice and qualifying during the week, have a 6 hour WTCC race starting at 8 or 9 on saturday morning and have a 24hr race for the GT cars start at 4 on saturday afternoon. Wishful thinking.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

That soulds awesome!

And cpl_richie - I think it would be a bit annoying for the people who live up on the mountain. But who knows.

 

[cpl_richie]

Yeah you're right, I forgot people actually live on the mountain

 

[Cap'n Jack]

So, does anybody have any news on the 2005 season? I hope that there will be more cars in each round, instead of cars entering if they can. It sucked at the clipsal 500 this year tehre was only 8 cars racing. I saw the Corvette C5 in the paddock but it wasn't racing.👎

 

[Schrodes]

No news on Nations Cup for some time. No news is bad news in this case.
GT Performance are supposed to be in negotiations with the Premier Series. They tried AVESCO's Konica Series but were turned down.
V8 Brutes are with AVESCO next year.
APCC are also in negotiations...

Production Car Association of Australia News
12/11/2004:
Production Car Association of Australia
(Incorporated in Australia)

The Production Car Association of Australian (PCAA) has secured the Category Management Rights, in principle, for the Australian Production Car Championship (APCC) for the next three years after meeting with the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS).

PCAA President, Brett McAlister and Series Administrator Gary Mennell, who were both in attendance at the meeting today, are excited about the 2005 outlook for Production Cars in Australia after the decision was made.

The PCAA currently has a letter of intent in place with the organizers of the 2005 Australian Motor Racing Series (AMRS). It is proposed that the APCC will be run over 7 rounds in 3 States, with the same level of exposure for TV coverage that the category received in 2004.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

Well, its good that the Brute utes are gonna be with Avesco. It would be good if they could do the same thing for nations cup, Avesco would make it more orgonised.

 

[Schrodes]

AVESCO don't want anyone who may put on a better show and have potentially faster lap speeds. That's another reason I think it would be great to get the GT cars to Bathurst, to show Cochrane that 2min6sec is snails pace.