17/03/2023
I have been deliberating whether to comment on certain incidents from Newcastle last weekend. My time in Supercars is well and truly done and I’m comfortable with that.
However, I’ve seen the explosion on social media about Shane Van Gisbergen. In my opinion, the statement he put on his social media quite clearly explained why he shut down the press conference on Sunday. But I wanted to talk about a couple of things that I don’t believe have been addressed properly.
Number 1 – Is SVG a good Ambassador for Supercars?
To suggest that Shane is not a worthy Ambassador for Motorsport really blew my circuit breaker. The first thing you have to remember here is we are talking about someone’s career and livelihood and not just a weekend job. Shane himself admitted that his so called criticism of the new car was his attempt at trying to make the cars better for all the drivers in the category and therefore better for the sport as a whole – it was intended in a constructive way.
Allegedly some drivers were being advised to “toe the line” about Gen 3, so for the Media to then expect SVG to say the “world is a beautiful place” in a press conference when in his opinion it’s not, is misleading and not what the public or the fans want to hear.
As with all top athletes I find it’s what they do off the field, away from the cameras that represents the Sport better than anything. I have personally seen what Shane does away from the public eye. To give an example, over the years he has been a regular at Paul Morris’ Norwell Drive Centre giving driver coaching for up and coming junior racers. I have seen the enthusiasm and professionalism that he has on these days and imagine what those kids walk away with - all the valuable lessons, taught by arguably one of the greats.
There is no financial gain. Shane is not seeking media attention or a pat on the back, he is just doing this because he enjoys it as well as giving back to motorsport – as do the likes of Brodie and Broc etc. They don’t make a big noise about it. This is not to mention what Shane and the likes of Scott McLaughlin have done for NZ Motorsport.
So to give a character assessment like he was, over the telecast on Sunday at Newcastle in my personal opinion was seriously out of order. Everyone has varying opinions about whether they agree or disagree as to how he conducted himself with the media over the weekend. However being an ambassador of the sport goes a lot further than just one press conference and shouldn’t tar someone who has done an excellent job of promoting the sport.
If certain Media truly had issues, for the good of the sport, they should have pulled SVG aside, and have a behind closed doors chat and avoid creating the circus that has ensued – with no real benefit to anyone!
Every driver has different personalities and this creates fans who either love or hate you – we all know Shane isn’t the most outspoken, but he shouldn’t be judged on that. It is what a driver does ON the track that they are employed for and things like that mentioned above that truly represent their character.
Number 2 – Media Boundaries
There was a comment made about “Duty” being an Ambassador for the sport. Surely there must be a Duty for the Media not to give personal assessments – stick to racing? I just can’t get it in my head what was trying to be achieved by chastising Shane on National TV – it served no purpose at all except maybe sensationalised headlines at the expense of an individual.
Remember that Media controls the narrative of the Sport. The first information that the public get is from the commentary team, how they perceive an incident etc. In my personal opinion the media have a responsibility to make sure what they report is both factual and impartial.
The Commentary Team is there to talk about the racing or related. Belittling a current Champion on national TV is not racing related and does nothing to help the Sport. The media should be impartial, as well as give the full and honest story and not just a version that fulfils an agenda. It is then up to the motorsport public to create their own opinions.
Anyway, all of the above is my own personal opinion and I’m sure you will have yours. I just hope that Australian Motorsport doesn’t lose another Champion because of politics.
Cheers
