2019

November 2019

Everyone now knows that there will soon be a Supercar team based at Sydney MotorSport Park! ARDC has been working closely with several parties for some time to make this ambition a reality. We are delighted that Australia’s largest city will again have a resident team in Australia’s most popular motor racing category. I know that the team is very pleased to be based not just at SMSP but in the heart of Western Sydney, amongst the fastest growing and most exciting locations in the country. There is a lot of work to be done finalising details and planning permanent facilities, but this is a major step toward developing SMSP as a key location for engineering innovation and education, as well as expanding the motor sport industry in NSW.

Last month I gave some information about the locations on the Sydney MotorSport Park circuit where serious injuries occur most frequently. I described a ‘serious injury’ as one requiring ambulance transport; this could have been more precisely defined as a ‘requiring ambulance transport to hospital’ i.e. away from SMSP. Any injury to a rider or driver is undesirable, but I hope it’s not surprising that the data we follow most closely is for the more serious injuries. ARDC will continue to develop that data and I will keep members informed. The more data points we collect, the better the information we have, but unfortunately every one of those data points mean someone has gone to hospital! It’s a bit of a conflict – we want to give you the best information, but it comes at a price. Warren Buffett says ‘price is what you pay, value is what you get’; we hope that proper use of this information will ultimately mean the value is greater than the price.

Two members wrote expressing their views about other parts of the circuit and we will be looking into the questions they have raised.

ARDC Director Denis Cribbin recently announced his decision to retire from the Board after lengthy service. I know that Denis will continue to keenly support our Club, but he believes it is important that we should continue to renew the talent on our Board and that it is time for him to step down. I have always enjoyed Denis’s contribution to our discussions and thank him for his service and thoughtful participation in the governance of ARDC.
Denis’s retirement created a casual vacancy for an Elected Director position and I am very pleased to announce that at its October meeting the ARDC Board appointed Rachelle Stirling to fill the casual vacancy. Members may not recognise this name, but Rachelle Wilson has been a Board Appointed Director since September 2017 and has made a considerable contribution to Board discussions and overall governance. Rachelle Wilson recently married Jeremy Stirling and has chosen to change her name, so Rachelle Wilson and Rachelle Stirling are the same person. Rachelle is particularly passionate about attracting and supporting women into motorsport. She has been a key initiator and Program Director of the Women’s Motorsport Development Program (http://www.wmdp.com.au/), which is supported by ARDC and NSWRRC, among others. Rachelle will serve the remainder of Denis’s term as an Elected Director and will stand for re-election in May 2021. She has been an ARDC Member since 2016.

This means there are now two Board Appointed Director vacancies, as Natalie Turmine and Rachelle have both been asked to fill casual Elected Director vacancies that have arisen this year. The Board has recently conducted a skills audit, to identify those areas where we would benefit from additional knowledge and expertise. The selection of new Board Appointed directors is a perfect opportunity for us to seek out people who can bring those desired skills to the Board.
So, if you have skills and experience in digital/social media, property development and construction, IT/cyber/privacy/data security or venue/facility management and you are interested in contributing to the governance of ARDC, please contact me at president@ardc.com.au . A passion for motorsport is obviously a mandatory requirement! Please do keep in mind that the Board’s role is not to manage the club but to take responsibility for oversight and governance of ARDC.

See you at SMSP,

Cheers,

Andrew

This morning I attended the Australian Institute of Company Directors annual Essential Directors’ Update. [I hear thousands of responses already…….”BORING!”]

Well, it may not seem immediately relevant or interesting with respect to motorsport, but high standards of governance are an essential requirement for ARDC’s ongoing occupation and management of Sydney Motorsport Park.  As I have said in this column before, we are responsible for a premium tax-payer asset, and we need to deliver excellence in our operations.  A key area of focus in the 2019 Directors’ Update was on non-financial risk.  All competently-run organisations have a high level of sensitivity to financial risk, but in recent years there has been increased focus on non-financial risk areas, such as conduct risk or operational risk.

ARDC is the same: while we are very sensitive to correct financial management, we spend plenty of time focusing on areas of risk that are not primarily financial in nature but can ultimately impact on our financial position and potentially reputation.

A key example is the ‘serious incident heat-map’ that we have been developing this year to provide a better understanding of the high-risk points at Sydney Motorsport Park.  Generally, we are confident that our management of on-track risks is as strong as possible, allowing of course that motorsport is dangerous. But serious injuries (i.e. requiring ambulance transport) still do occur and anything we can do to improve our risk mitigation, while not impinging on the nature and enjoyment of motorsport, must be considered.

So, at this point here is some information for our competitors:

1. Four wheels are safer than two. [doh!] Our heat-map for 2019 shows 8 serious incidents involving cars (to the end of August) and 21 involving motorbikes. That’s just the raw data and isn’t adjusted for the fact that there are many more events for cars than for bikes.
2. For cars, so far this year, the most likely place for a serious incident is at the start.
3. For bikes, entry to Turn 1 is most likely, closely followed by entry to Turn 15 and exit from Turn 2.
4. Turns 4 and 6 have not seen a serious incident at all this year, on two or four wheels.

I know we are all diligent in our preparation (of car/bike and driver/rider) and no-one goes on to the track anticipating an incident, but every little bit of information helps.  And, before anyone suggests I am disparaging bike riders: not so – they are far more heroic than me in my steel cage –  but the statistics say what they say!  We will continue to collate this data and I’ll provide another update in a year or so.

World Time Attack is just around the corner on 18/19 October featuring the new Brabham BT-62 to add to the enormously competitive and exciting entry list. See you there!

Andrew Leithhead
President
president@ardc.com.au

What a BLAST!

The 2019 Paynter Dixon ARDC MasterBlast on Father’s Day weekend was a fantastic celebration of motorsport.  We were blessed with great weather on race weekend (even if it was a bit dodgy for private practice on the Friday) and plenty of people gathered up family and friends to come along.

There were over 280 entries and all categories enjoyed great racing with relatively few on-track dramas. I wonder when was the last time that a race meeting included both car and motorcycle racing, 4 different starting procedures – standing, handicap, rolling and ‘Le Mans’ – plus two different circuit configurations, plus night racing? On top of that was the usual open and friendly nature of the paddock area with many competitors chatting with spectators and visitors about their cars and the racing. It really was a great weekend all around, so mark your diaries for Father’s Day next year!

It is always useful to receive constructive feedback after a race weekend to help us continue to improve events at Sydney MotorSport Park.  Competitors will receive the usual invitation to respond to an online survey and I encourage Members who came along to provide comments in the short SPECTATOR SURVEY.

We are optimistic that by this time next year the permanent circuit lighting will be fully operational and some of the challenges posed by temporary lighting will therefore be resolved. A number of categories have already confirmed their interest in participating again in next year, so we will be working to firm up the program as the 2020 calendar develops over the next few months.

The next high profile event at SMSP will be World Time Attack on 18/19 October, but in the meantime don’t forget usual activities such as the monthly ‘Night Drive’ for Learners (soon to be more twilight than night when daylight saving starts again), plus driver training with Driving Solutions, V8 experiences with Fastrack, rider training with MotoDNA, ride days, track days, icu=ycle racing – surely there is something for everyone!

See you at SMSP,

Andrew Leithhead
President
president@ardc.com.au