Motorsport: Radisich stamps V8 mark

Two-time World Touring Car champion Paul Radisich has been appointed chief executive of V8SuperTourers. Photo / Supplied

In the continuing battle to see which V8 racing class will be the dominant force in New Zealand motorsport, V8SuperTourers has stolen another march on MotorSport New Zealand by announcing the appointment of Paul Radisich as its CEO.

The two-time World Touring Car champion and long-time V8 racer both here in New Zealand and Australia, is set to replace Mark Petch as the leading executive at the beginning of November.

For the past three years Radisich has been based in the United Kingdom, providing race teams throughout the continent with pit wall equipment, but has been enticed back to the motor racing scene in New Zealand and the new series due to start at Hampton Downs in February.

"It's not rocket science, running an attractive, commercially successful race series, but the challenge of balancing the needs of the public, commercial partners and competing teams is not easy," says Radisich. "I have been fortunate to have experienced the worst and the best around the world, and I have a very clear view of what needs to be done back home in New Zealand.

"The whole proposition - of a new series, a purpose-built race car and a fantastic line-up of driving talent - makes this role with V8SuperTourers truly exciting."

Petch will continue as the company's managing director while Radisich will concentrate on the day-to-day responsibilities of the new series. He will be working more closely with V8SuperTourers chairman Chris Abbott in an effort to ensure the series gets off the ground and has full grids for each round.

"Our board is 100 per cent united in the decision that Paul is the perfect person to take V8SuperTourers into the future," says Petch.

"We knew that as we moved forward we needed to find the right person to help take the company forward and, in our collective opinion, Paul is more than capable of establishing V8SuperTourers as the pre-eminent V8 touring car category in New Zealand.

"Without doubt Paul is New Zealand's most successful and accomplished touring car driver of all time. He has also been a great ambassador for New Zealand and motor racing generally all around the world.

"The directors have charged Paul with the overall role of running and promoting the company's programme of race events, and [he] will also be part of the on-screen television coverage on TV3."

Radisich has had an exemplary career in motor racing in open wheels and tin tops. He first came to notice in 1983 when he finished second in the Formula Atlantic series, earning him the Driver To Europe award.

He soon showed he had the goods and was racing in the British Formula Three championship alongside future Formula One world champion Damon Hill in 1985 and 1986 before moving on to Indy Lights and Super Vee.

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He made his mark in V8 Supercars in 1990, finishing second in the Bathurst 1000 driving with Jeff Allam in a Dick Johnson Ford Sierra. That performance earned him a gig in Europe driving in the British Touring Car Championship in the early 1990s. During the same period, 1993 and 1994, Radisich won the Touring Car World Cup at Donington and Monza. Along with those titles, the Kiwi also finished third in the BTTC both years.

The Ford Mondeo he was campaigning in fell off the pace in later years so after a year with Peugeot he headed back Downunder and entered the V8 Supercars series in 1999.

During the early 2000s Radisich raced for Dick Johnson and then Briggs Motor Sport which would later become Triple Eight Race Engineering. He attained three race wins and eight podium finishes.

During this time Radisich raced in the New Zealand V8 series and with Team Kiwi Racing. His V8 career was beginning to decline. It wasn't helped by a big off at Bathurst in 2006 after he was punted off the track leaving him with a fractured sternum and ankle.

Two years later, and again at Bathurst, he was teamed with Rick Kelly when his car's throttles jammed wide open going through McPhillamy Park during practice.

The resulting shunt ended his racing career. He suffered broken ankles, a reopening of his fractured sternum, fractured lumbar and thoracic vertebrae, cracked ribs and bruising to his lungs.

After a long and arduous recovery he decided it was time to hang up his helmet and gloves.

Radisich certainly has the pedigree to steer the new series in the right direction. The only issue of concern is that the warring V8 factions may end up driving the sport into the ground - let's hope not.