{"id":612393,"date":"2026-04-17T06:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/612393\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T06:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T06:54:13","slug":"barclay-nettlefold-breaks-silence-on-james-warburton-ceo-exit-perth-street-circuit-set-to-open-2028-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/612393\/","title":{"rendered":"Barclay Nettlefold breaks silence on James Warburton CEO exit, Perth street circuit set to open 2028 season"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Warburton\u2019s departure as Supercars chief executive came down to a \u201cline in the sand\u201d difference of opinion with the sport\u2019s board, interim CEO Barclay Nettlefold says.<\/p>\n

The surprising exit news emerged on April 2 when Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd (RACE) confirmed that Warburton had stepped down from the role, saying it was a mutual agreement and considered in the best interests of the organisation.<\/p>\n

Watch round of the Supercars Season LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Warburton oversaw significant changes in his second stint in the head position at Supercars, the most notable being a change in broadcast voices which saw long-time commentators Neil Crompton and Mark Skaife removed from the permanent coverage.<\/p>\n

He was also in charge as the category embarked on its ambitious inaugural finals series in 2025, where Chaz Mostert claimed his first Supercars championship in Adelaide.<\/p>\n

Former Supercars CEO James Warburton. Picture Glenn Hampson.Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n

Now, interim CEO and RACE chair Nettlefold has addressed the departure for the first time, saying RACE and Warburton couldn\u2019t come to a compromise on a few things.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a line in the sand that appeared where James wanted to go in one direction, and the board was looking at a different route, and we agreed to an amicable parting,\u201d Nettlefold told FOX Sports Supercars host Jess Yates.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all good, he left on good terms and the sport moves on … and we thank him for what he did in his short period of time with the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warburton only spent the past year in the current role, but it wasn\u2019t the first time he has been the main man leading Supercars.<\/p>\n

He led the category from 2013-2017, and took on a non-executive director role with the Australian Racing group in 2019.<\/p>\n

In his absence, Nettlefold is now taking charge of the series as they look for a new leader, and he\u2019s backed himself to be the man to push the category forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve invested heavily into (Supercars) heavily with a group of people, and I\u2019m committed to help lead it until we find the right leader,\u201d Nettlefold said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got lots of strong relationships with all team owners, drivers and sponsors, so I\u2019ll just keep helping until we find the right person.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proposed Perth street circuit. Source: Supercars.comSource: Supplied<\/p>\n

Addressing Warburton\u2019s departure wasn\u2019t the only big topic discussed, with a big hint at the new Perth street circuit becoming the season-opening event in 2028.<\/p>\n

Up until COVID-19 cancellations in 2020, Adelaide was the traditional season-opener, but since then it has been held in New South Wales. <\/p>\n

Circuits which have hosted the first race of the season over the past six years include the now-extinct Newcastle street circuit, Mount Panorama and Sydney Motorsport Park.<\/p>\n

Last year, the Western Australian state government revealed plans for a 3.4 km, 12-turn race circuit as part of a new multi-purpose precinct named Perth Park.<\/p>\n

The new circuit plans are promising night racing under lights, with permanent infrastructure including grandstands, a function centre and a 20,000 capacity outdoor music amphitheatre.<\/p>\n

If what the current CEO says is anything to go by, it could find a permanent slot at the beginning of the Supercars calendar in just a few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWestern Australia, we\u2019re earmarking as a future one come 2028,\u201d Nettlefold said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking with the government there now in regards to a new entertainment complex they\u2019re building in the harbour city, that\u2019s going to be exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Supercars interim CEO Barclay Nettlefold.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n

The news comes as Supercars race at the Ruapuna Raceway for the first Christchurch Super440 event.<\/p>\n

Racing this weekend will complete a first of its kind New Zealand double header, after the Taupo Super 440 last weekend.<\/p>\n

An extra race has been scheduled this weekend following the cancellation of Sunday racing last week due to cyclonic weather.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"James Warburton\u2019s departure as Supercars chief executive came down to a \u201cline in the sand\u201d difference of opinion…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":612394,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[297432,64,63,689,297427,297423,297431,99543,297419,212801,139529,84592,297428,16965,262360,297430,127332,806,805,803,804,86310,54853,673,1736,297429,677,297421,297425,297420,297422,261084,297426,33195,172762,85,100051,297424,189917,3439],"class_list":{"0":"post-612393","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-ambitious-inaugural-finals","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","12":"tag-australian-state-government","13":"tag-cancellations-inn","14":"tag-ceo-james","15":"tag-chaz-mostert","16":"tag-circuit-plans","17":"tag-function-centre","18":"tag-glenn-hampson","19":"tag-harbour-city","20":"tag-inaugural-finals-series","21":"tag-james-warburton","22":"tag-jarrod-pollard","23":"tag-leadership-clash","24":"tag-mark-skaife","25":"tag-motor","26":"tag-motor-sports","27":"tag-motosport","28":"tag-motosports","29":"tag-mount-panorama","30":"tag-neil-crompton","31":"tag-new-south-wales","32":"tag-new-zealand","33":"tag-non-executive-director-role","34":"tag-oceania","35":"tag-outdoor-music-amphitheatre","36":"tag-permanent-coverage","37":"tag-permanent-infrastructure","38":"tag-permanent-slot","39":"tag-picture-glenn","40":"tag-race-circuit","41":"tag-season-opener","42":"tag-season-opening","43":"tag-sports","44":"tag-street-circuit","45":"tag-street-circuit-set","46":"tag-team-owners","47":"tag-western-australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612393","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=612393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/612393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/612394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=612393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=612393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=612393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}