Despite their popularity in the region, the Stadium Super Trucks have had a turbulent history when it comes to racing in Australia. A report on Wednesday by Speedcafe.com did little to change that, and in fact may have dealt a death blow to the series’ Oceanian presence: the series’ Australian counterpart, the Boost Mobile Super Trucks, is preparing to send its twelve trucks back to America on 19 January. The news comes following a breakdown in negotiations between series officials and the Repco Supercars Championship, which was mainly spurred by unhappiness from the former party regarding Supercars’ new owners providing a lack of support.
According to Speedcafe, the trucks usually receive a fee from Supercars that would assist in paying for expenses like travel. However, such aid would not materialise in 2022 as both sides could not reach a deal to continue.
“They have been very good to Australia and people love them and I think people will miss them,” stated series manager Nathan Cayzer. “It will just be interesting to see what they are going to replace them with. You hear them start up and it reminds you how great they are and why people love them.
“It’s really disappointing that they’re not going to be here but there’s not much we can do about that. You have just got to roll with the punches.”
The American-based SST has supported the Supercars since 2015, becoming a fan favourite for the unique idea of placing off-road trucks on pavement circuits. However, the trucks have had a contentious relationship behind the scenes, which included a pair of bans from sanctioning body Motorsport Australia in 2017 and 2018 respectively for SST head Robby Gordon hooning outside a Darwin nightclub and safety reasons after a wheel from a wrecked Matt Nolan hit a pedestrian bridge at Perth. After over a year, the second exile ended in late 2019, and Boost Mobile invested heavily into promoting SST by forming an Australian division with the help of 2017 champion Paul Morris. Paul Morris Motorsport oversaw series operations and Morris’ Norwell Motorplex in Queensland served as its headquarters.