The President of the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, Mr. Colin Osborne, announced today that the Category Management rights forproduction-based motor racing in Australia had been repatriated fromPROCAR to CAMS. PROCAR Pty. Ltd., part of the Palmer Group ofCompanies, has been responsible as the Category Manager for Nations Cup,V8 Brutes, GT Performance and Australian Production Cars for much of thepast decade.
The arrangement will see PROCAR Pty. Ltd. return all Category Managementrights to CAMS, and also transfer trademarks and intellectual propertyfor the relevant categories, and also for the Bathurst 24 hour event.
"Whilst it is unfortunate that the previous arrangements have developedto a point where they are not sustainable, this most recent developmentis a positive outcome and will enable the categories to move forwardunder a revised structure," said Osborne.
"Repatriation of the Category Management Agreements will enablenegotiations to commence with prospective management organisations tosustain future activity for the relevant categories. In addition, thegranting of the intellectual property and trademarks to CAMS by PROCARwill enable the heritage of the categories to be maintained, and thecontribution of PROCAR to be recognised in the future," he continued.
Osborne paid tribute to the tireless work of PROCAR Chairman and ChiefExecutive, Ross Palmer, during the past ten years.
"Australian motor sport will forever be indebted to Ross Palmer'scommitment and passion. His vision and contribution in developing andmaintaining the categories will not be forgotten," Osborne said.
He also paid tribute to the contribution of Peter Boylan during the lastseveral months in his role as interim Category Manager under a licenceagreement with PROCAR.
CAMS also announced its intention to seek expressions of interest forfuture management rights of the categories and the Bathurst 24 hourrace. Further details of this process will be released in the nearfuture.
"The objective will be to have a new management structure in place forthe categories no later than January 2005. CAMS will undertake animmediate assessment of the potential for conduct of the 2004 Bathurst24 hour race," Osborne said.
The expression of interest process will be managed on CAMS' behalf bythe Australian Motor Sports Commission. Osborne indicated that at thispoint, CAMS had a preference in identifying a single organisation whichcould manage all four categories; however the process would not precludebids being considered on an individual category basis.
Osborne continued, "The expression of interest process and the resultantagreements will be such that the requirements of all stakeholders areunderstood, respected and protected, thereby allowing a more stableenvironment to support activity for the categories in the future."
Osborne was encouraged by the cohesiveness of the individual categorycompetitor groups during the recent period of uncertainty, and clearlyoutlined CAMS understanding of the competitors need for a more stableenvironment in which they can compete. He advised that a specificbriefing session for the current category representatives would bearranged for the early part of next week to keep them apprised ofdevelopments.
The next round of the 2004 PROCAR Champ Series will continue asscheduled at Wakefield Park on 8 August, 2004.
