V8 Supercars Australia will work towards a reduced grid of just 28 cars in future but don’t be concerned it will negatively impact on the racing.

That’s the message from Jack Daniel’s Racing team boss and category board member Larry Perkins who believed a reduced field would not diminish the amount of racing action.

"Not one in the slightest," said Perkins. "You name to me the last four cars on the grid! You may be able to for all the wrong reasons but they’re not here anymore.

"We’ve never entered into a contract with racetracks that required more than 28 so (until now) we’ve kept bringing too many cars."

Perkins also believed that the decision to officially slash V8 Supercar entries from 32 to an impending 28 was also particularly beneficial for the team businesses running in pitlane.

"The (financial) pie’s only so big, and cutting the pie into 28 slices is better than 32 where you all go away a bit hungry. Whereas 28 of a better-quality pie just makes more sense," said Perkins.

Part of a long-term V8SA plan, the new target will be aimed ensuring a sustainable future for the sport but slashing franchises in the shot-term is not on the agenda, according to V8 boss Tony Cochrane.

"We’re not going to force anybody to sell," said Cochrane. "If somebody wants to put a licence on the market in the future, (V8SA) will buy it back until we get down to 28. It might take five years.

"We’ll just sit on those (licences). I doubt they’ll ever see the light of day again but who’s to say in 10 or 15 years time if the championship’s bigger than Ben Hur and we’ve got people all over the world wanting to race teams that they won’t go back on the market. That will be a board decision at that point in time."

Meanwhile, Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series entries will also be given preference to ‘pad out’ grid numbers to a maximum of 38 total for both the L&H 500 at Phillip Island and the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, and support is growing to fast-track the process for this year’s enduros.

How that will be decided and whether special inclusions would be considered for those entries are still being finalised. However, Fujitsu series leader Steve Owen, who has spoken in support of the initiative, cautioned that implementation needed to be carefully thought over.

"I think it’s a fantastic idea," said Owen. "It gives guys in this category an ability to attract a bigger sponsor, and if you’re running competitively, take that sponsor to a bigger audience. I‘ve got no problem racing at (Phillip Island) and Bathurst against half a dozen of the best Fujitsu Series drivers because they’re certainly capable.

"The only one concern I’d have is they tried this a few years ago and the selection criteria wasn’t really concrete so by the time those first three or four cars ended up having co-drivers, they got (other) younger guys who were probably not quite at the level to be doing it competitively and there were some incidents."

– Filippa Guarna