Reigning V8 Supercar champion Garth Tander and predecessor Russell Ingall have both called on the West Australian government to explore the possibility of constructing a brand-new circuit in order to save the state's round of the tin-top series.
Tander, who lies second in the championship ahead of this weekend's fourth round at WA's Barbagallo Raceway, is the most successful circuit racer in the state's history and firmly believes WA deserves its place on the V8 Supercar calendar.
“As it stands right now, this is the second-last WA race,” he said, “Not just for Barbagallo, but the second-last race in WA for the foreseeable future. Obviously, that's disappointing.
“To lift Barbagallo to a greater capacity for fans, to realign the pit-lane and do what they need to do to get the garages on pit-lane would cost a huge amount of money and it's money the sporting car club over there doesn't have.
“V8 Supercars wants a street race [in Perth], but that's only going to happen if the government supports it. As it stands right now, the government isn't prepared to support it, so it's a very difficult predicament.”
While upgrading the sub-standard facilities at Barbagallo Raceway and/or switching to a Perth street race have long been discussed, Tander said the feasibility of a new purpose-built facility deserved to be investigated.
“One option might be for the government to invest in a brand-new facility of an appropriate standard, and maybe we can keep Barbagallo as well to have two circuits over there,” he said, “If the government isn't prepared to spend money on a street circuit, are they prepared instead to spend that sort of money on a racing facility where suburbia's not far away?
“That might be an option that hasn't been looked at, and perhaps we could look at extending the Barbagallo contract until that new facility is in place. There are many options that can be worked on, but it just comes down to a matter of funding.”
