Revolt looming in boardroom brawl to oust TEGA
16/4/2002 13:13 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
An administrative coup is brewing on the V8 Supercar circuit, as tensions between teams and the sport’s governing body reach crisis point.
The Age newspaper today reports the Touring Car Entrants Group (TEGA) board has lost the confidence of many of its members, with team owner Peter McDougall calling for an overthrow of the current regime.
Teams are becoming increasingly concerned over the pre-qualifying situation at each meeting, which sees drivers who qualify outside the top 25 at the previous round battle for a strictly limited number of grid positions.
Smaller teams are particularly hard hit, with failure to make the grid depriving them of the television exposure their sponsors demand. It is believed sponsorship deals have been put at risk without guarantees of event entry, threatening the future of some smaller franchises.
Six drivers missed the cut at Phillip Island last weekend: Paul Morris, Cameron McLean, Matthew White, Greg Ritter, Anthony Tratt and Tomas Mezera.
Last week, McDougall sought to have the 32-car grid capacity increased via the Supreme Court of Victoria. But Justice Beach found in favour of TEGA, ruling grid capacity was at the discretion of administrators.
Ruling body AVESCO, 75 percent owned by TEGA, has previously cited restricted pit facilities and the need for quality over quantity as reasons for the strict policy.
Now McDougall wants heads to roll, namely current TEGA board members and fellow franchise owners Dick Johnson, Kim Jones and Garry Rogers.
He’s called for an extraordinary general meeting of the board, rallying teams at Phillip Island last weekend to oust the current administration. The Age reports John Faulkner Racing, Lansvale Racing Team, Romano Racing and Team Kiwi Racing are all backing the proposal.
McDougall has put colleagues Kees Weel, John Briggs and Larry Perkins forward as possible board replacements. TWR Australia manager Jeff Grech is the only current board member to have the support of McDougall.
The issue is unlikely to go away, with as many as eleven drivers facing pre-qualifying for the next round at Eastern Creek – including McDougall’s son Dugal.
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