My life in sport: Tony Cochrane

Tony Cochrane hopes to be involved for at least another five years. Photo / Getty Images

Most fans of the V8 Supercars would say the face of their sport is the bellowing V8 monsters that hurl around the tracks.

That may be the case, but the driving force behind this hugely popular class of motor racing is Tony Cochrane. The chairman of V8 Supercars has, over the past 14-odd years, hauled the sport from around a million-dollar industry to a $183 million generator.

Cochrane's legendary drive and hands-on approach to get the sport where he thinks it should be, and increase its overseas exposure, has shades of Bernie Ecclestone. And despite what folk think of either of them, you'd have to admit both men have motor racing at heart and want the best for their respective categories.

With the appointment of Martin Whitaker last year as the new chief executive of V8 Supercars, Cochrane has stepped back a little from the limelight and wants to play a less prominent role from the one he's played since 1997.

Part of Cochrane's success may have come from his background in music promotion, which is all about entertainment. The V8 Supercars have always been entertaining on the track but Cochrane has brought the wow factor off track as well, as witnessed by the very successful Rock and Race format in Sydney last year.

If that wasn't enough to keep him busy, Cochrane is also one of the engines behind the Car of the Future project that will see the introduction of a formulaic race car to reduce costs and encourage other manufacturers to the sport.

Super Sport caught up with him on the eve of round two of the championship, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide this weekend.

Why did you get involved in motorsport?
"Wow, that's a question I haven't been asked in quite a few years. First of all, I've always been a fan. I first got involved in the business side of the sport because I was asked to help out by the NSW government in Sydney when they had the 500cc world motorcycle grand prix and it went into bankruptcy. They needed someone to step in at the last moment to run it back in 1995.

"I was involved with Barry Sheene in those days and he and I got it up and running and did a good job. The Queensland government then got into trouble with the Indy on the Gold Coast and asked me to get involved in that back in my IMG days."

It seems you got involved in the series way back and realised it had an entertainment value that no one else really saw. What did you spot in it that made it what it is now?
"I'm an entertainment promoter by background, really. I'd be lying if I said back in the mid-90s I'd have thought it would be as big as it is now. Back then the real reason I really got motivated - it was called Group A Touring Cars then and I came up with the V8 Supercars name - was I could see all these guys, the team owners like Larry Perkins, Dick Johnson and Peter Brock had a terrific product. But all I could see was these guys getting absolutely raped and pillaged, to be honest.

"I threw my hat in the ring because I wanted to help them and get them to control their own destiny a bit more and get some of their rights back a bit. When I saw the deals these guys were forced into it was a disgrace. I came from an industry where the star attraction took the lion's share and rightly so."

Bar Formula One and maybe one or two others, motor racing appears to be about the last entertainment sport where the drivers aren't all stars.
"I think that's probably true. One of the issues is, if you speak to purists, that they think I'm some sort of anti-Christ. The truth of the matter is what I saw was an opportunity for these guys to grow and put on entertainment.

"Some thought I wouldn't hang around long when I saw there was no money in motor sport but I saw there was a lot of potential and I don't do things half-cocked and refused to give up."

I think you've been called just about everything under the sun as you've dragged a fractional, local category into the sunlight. How does it feel now that V8 Supercars are getting a global reputation?
"We're really starting to hit our straps internationally now, which is great, but there have been moments when it's been hard. I'm a tenacious little s*** and I don't like giving up. Once I got wind it could actually be something special, I was happy to take on anyone, anywhere, at any time to make sure the series kept growing.

"We've gone from being a strictly blue-collar males 45-plus sport to a 50/50 split blue/white-collar, 36 per cent female fan base and family entertainment. Adelaide is just around the corner and the event will pull in 280,000 to 290,000 people, so we've got a lot of support under our belt now."

The New Zealand connection seems to be getting bigger?
"We've got very professional teams now and high up there is the Stone Brothers Racing team, which has a hell of a business now with about 60-odd staff. There are a lot of Kiwis employed in our great championship and a lot of synergy between our two great countries. New Zealand fights way above its weight in motorsport terms right back to the Bruce McLaren days.

"There's an enormous influence of Kiwis in the championship."

You must sit back sometimes with a nice red wine and a wry smile thinking that at one stage half, if not more, of the category hated you but they're all making a living out of it now.
"Yeah, I do reflect sometimes on the tough times we went through and I do love a great red. Most people who don't know me think I'm turned on by the dollars of it all, but when I sit back and reflect on things I'm proud there are nearly 1600 people who work fulltime in the championship now. These people don't have to worry about having a job or the thing collapsing next month."

What's happening with Hamilton?
"It was unfortunate that the promoters who were running Hamilton got it so wrong and there were associated problems between the promoters and Hamilton City Council. I can't comment about that period, as we weren't involved in those decisions. What I can tell you, though, is when we found out the promoters were in trouble we stepped up to the plate.

"We're not fair-weather friends and we've had a tough year of it in Hamilton. We've tried to make sure there are the best support categories there this year and have organised the Rock and Race entertainment element. We're trying to give people in Hamilton a real value for money exercise and give them a great weekend.

"You poor buggers need a great weekend, you've been pelted.

"New Zealand is an important market to use for myriad reasons and we want to keep a presence going in New Zealand for many years to come. We're going to do it a bit tough this year but we'll be around for a while. We just want the fans to come and have a look to see that we've jumped on the problems of before."

How much longer can you see yourself involved with V8 Supercars?
"I'm on the record as saying I still want to ride at least another five years if I can. I'm still energised by it all and I'm still very much motivated and I'm sticking around a bit longer."