With the two Tasman Motorsport licenses currently being offered for sale, and massive interest from a number of new potential entries, V8 Supercars executive chairman Tony Cochrane has reaffirmed the series' board's desire to have a maximum of 28 franchises in the Championship Series.

At present, there are 29 existing franchises in the series and the V8SA Board has had a long-stated policy to wind this back to 28, by natural attrition if possible.

“Clearly, with the number of team changes and potential Racing Entitlements Contract (REC) holders changes, this could be an ideal opportunity for the teams to purchase back a franchise so that we hit our magic 28 number,” Cochrane said, “With the exception of NASCAR, virtually no other professional motorsport series in the world runs this many cars in their championship.

“We have to bear in mind that our primarily market is a country of only 22 million people and motorsport is a highly competitive and extremely expensive sport in a professional environment. The teams now receive a large part of their funding from V8SA and we are constantly seeking a strong economic case to underpin our racing teams.

“At the end of the day this is a teams decision and the teams will decide whether to reduce from 29 to 28 or not. One could certainly say it is a nice position to be in.”

The V8SA Board next meets on 18 November to consider the current REC's available for sale. The Fujitsu Development Series will continue to allow open entries for competitors.