{"id":15418,"date":"2025-07-23T07:31:15","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15418\/"},"modified":"2025-07-23T07:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T07:31:15","slug":"supercars-news-seven-jobs-on-james-warburtons-2025-to-do-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/15418\/","title":{"rendered":"Supercars news: Seven jobs on James Warburton’s 2025 to-do list"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SevenSupercars action in Townsville. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n

In May the high-profile executive signed on to return to the job he\u2019d previously held from 2013-17.<\/p>\n

While he wasted little time reintroducing himself to staff, stakeholders and media, pre-existing mid-year commitments in the UK meant his official start date was set for July 23.<\/p>\n

Now that date has arrived, here are seven items that will be sitting at the top of a long to-do list.<\/p>\n

Announce the TV deal<\/p>\n

Warburton teased during his visit to the Perth Super440 that the new broadcast deal is effectively done<\/a> and it\u2019s widely thought an announcement has been awaiting his return.<\/p>\n

There should be few surprises with the Fox Sports and Seven associations set to continue \u2013 and the free-to-air component remaining very much the poor cousin in terms of content.<\/a><\/p>\n

The big decisions will come on the talent front and could take time to work through, as the prospect of a shake-up looms amid a push to bring different and younger voices to the fore.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Warburton, left, with Supercars\u2019 communications boss Paul Glover at the Perth Super440. Image: InSyde Media<\/p>\n

Secure 2026 expansion<\/p>\n

Negotiations between Supercars and its teams over payments to allow a 14th event to be added to the calendar next year<\/a> were also paused awaiting Warburton\u2019s official start date.<\/p>\n

Christchurch\u2019s Ruapuna Raceway will join the calendar regardless<\/a>, but whether an Aussie venue \u2013 likely Ipswich \u2013 loses out hangs on deal-maker Warburton working his magic.<\/p>\n

There are other calendar kinks to iron out too following complaints that this year\u2019s structure blew out costs by forcing teams to keep staff on the road longer.<\/a><\/p>\n

Put Perth on pole<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Perth circuit will be located in Burswood Park. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n

The legwork is already done for Perth to open the 2027 Supercars season with a street race at a rejuvenated Burswood Park.<\/p>\n

But Warburton\u2019s ability to navigate the largely political hurdles that accompany such a project will be key in delivering it in a smooth and timely manner.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s of huge importance to Supercars that it regains a marquee season-opener sooner rather than later, and a perfect Perth could well show the way for another street race in NSW\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Structure Supercars<\/p>\n

Staff turnover is inevitable with any new CEO appointment, especially one renowned for implementing flat structures to avoid the kind of silos and internal roadblocks that can hinder progress.<\/p>\n

Erstwhile leader Shane Howard is staying within the business through a new role with RACE, but there are no replacements confirmed for COO Tim Watsford or CFO Cam Price.<\/p>\n

Warburton has committed to keeping the current twin office setup across Sydney and the Gold Coast, but what changes are in store within?<\/p>\n

Supercars aiming for separate Asian series by 2027<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Set an Asia strategy<\/p>\n

Declaration of a goal to achieve international expansion through setting up a separate Asian championship<\/a> was the biggest of several headlines during Warburton\u2019s visit to the Perth event.<\/p>\n

That included a vow to deliver a detailed plan to teams in September around just how this concept will work. It\u2019s fair to say that a sceptical audience awaits<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sell the Finals<\/p>\n

The platform for Supercars\u2019 bold new Finals Series has already been set. It has the potential to bring a whole new level of interest to the sport, but also alienate rusted-on fans.<\/p>\n

How it\u2019s communicated to the public is therefore vital and it could prove deft timing that one of Supercars\u2019 greatest-ever salesmen is walking back in ahead of its rollout.<\/p>\n

Balance Toyota<\/p>\n

\"Toyota<\/p>\n

The Supra mock-up revealed at Bathurst in 2024. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n

This is arguably the agenda item that Warburton will have the least direct control over and yet is the most important of all.<\/p>\n

Toyota\u2019s arrival is the single biggest win for Supercars in decades, but botching the parity \u2013 either over- or under-shooting the incumbents \u2013 would also bring its biggest headache.<\/p>\n

While the motorsport department oversees the parity challenge, smoothing the political machinations relating to the Supra\u2019s arrival will be firmly in Warburton\u2019s domain.<\/p>\n

And a bonus eighth\u2026<\/p>\n

It may not be as time-critical as the items above, but increasing the profile of the drivers \u2013 and therefore creating a new generation of stars \u2013 is too important to leave off this list entirely.<\/p>\n

Last time Warburton walked into the role the Supercars sky was already illuminated with stars like Lowndes, Whincup, Winterbottom, Tander, Courtney, an emerging McLaughlin and more.<\/p>\n

Achieving mainstream cut-through with the current crop is crucial if Warburton is to deliver on his overall vision of making Supercars a genuine top three Australian sport.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Supercars action in Townsville. Image: Supplied In May the high-profile executive signed on to return to the job…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,16965,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-15418","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-james-warburton","11":"tag-motor","12":"tag-motor-sports","13":"tag-motosport","14":"tag-motosports","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}