Super Black Racing’s manager Greg Hahn will quit at the end of the season as New Zealand’s only Supercars team loses the last significant person who was involved in its foundation in 2014.
The concept of running a Kiwi team in Australia’s biggest motor racing category was devised by Tony Lentino who died in July. Their racing entitlement contract has been sold to Australian Rusty French and the team’s first full time driver Andre Heimgartner was released towards the end last season.
It has been far from plain sailing for the team, which has struggled for consistent results with either Heimgartner, or his successor Chris Pither behind the wheel.
Its future is also under a cloud as Supercars want assurances they can be financially viable next year.
Peter Martin, who runs a number of motorsport categories in New Zealand has moved into a management role at the team and despite saying to Fairfax Media at the Gold Coast round last month that he wanted to stay on, Hahn announced on Thursday he was leaving.
“It’s been an amazing journey and I can’t thank Tony and Emily Lentino enough for the vision and opportunity that has given so many people and New Zealand drivers something to be part of,” Hahn said in a statement.
“Over the past few years we’ve had good support as the only New Zealand team in Supercars. We always knew it would be a tough journey and we have stubbed our toes a few times and had to learn the hard way from time to time, but in the end we formed a team with huge fan support and something to be proud of.
“Things certainly haven’t been smooth sailing. I’ve always said it feels like a like a room full of friendly pirates trying to steal each other’s gold, but the Supercars community are a great bunch of people who always keen to give advice along the way, and it is period of my career I will remember proudly and fondly.
“On top of that, of course, being away for twenty odd weeks a year takes its toll when you are flying the ditch every other week.”
Hahn said he will explore opportunities in New Zealand. “I’m looking forward to working in motorsport back in NZ and getting behind a local team or category.
“From the position I have had for the past two years it has been obvious that there is still much work to do on having a high quality and viable top level premier touring car category back in NZ again.
“Up until a couple of years ago it was our feeder class to Supercars but unfortunately many factors conspired to compromise that position. It would be nice to see a renaissance.”
Hahn’s last significant involvement with the team will be at the final round of the season, at the Sydney 500 in the first weekend of December.
Bugger — I just love the way these guys are from WELLSFORD and drive FORDS.
Such a shame — But was always up against it running cars and technology that was, at best, other teams third choice left overs.
Really — They should be financially viable… They claim “NZ’s only Supercar franchise” but look at all the teams managed and run by expats. You only have to look at the results this season to see that trying to gain sponsorship, or a fan base, from claiming “only NZ team” is not going to work either.
But from the point of view of a small town, getting together and putting a car in… That should have had more impact.
Anyway, love these guys and what they stood for.
Just wish we, as a motorsport superpower in our own right, could have supported them just half as much as we did with the likes of Dixon, Bamber etc.
As a country we punch FAR ABOVE our weight in the motorsport world.
Hulme and a bunch of others in Formula One. Even some of the teams nowadays would be NO WHERE without New Zealanders getting them to be household names… Long before the rather stupid term “putting NZ on the map” was a media favourite. These guys were world names in motorsport, yet they left NZ without fanfare to do it.
We need more racetracks, more burnout pads, more support for our boy racer communities.
What we get is policing, a government that tries to ban anything even slightly modified or fast, and millions spent on a toilet in France (artwork), billions on some rich boys in carbon fibre “boats” (that actually don’t even touch the water 99% of their race) and a third rate Supercar team manager hitting his head against a brick wall every weekend.
Sad.