Klimenko committed to Erebus
Passionate team owner Betty Klimenko has reaffirmed her commitment to V8 Supercars and having Erebus Motorsport on the grid in 2015.
The sponsorship issues at Erebus have gained high profile media attention in recent months as the team's two Mercedes-Benz E63 AMGs driven by Will Davison and Lee Holdsworth have run with different backing meeting-by-meeting and sometimes without significant signage on their flanks.
Klimenko has invested tens of millions of dollars in Erebus, which competes in both V8 Supercars and GT racing as an AMG Customers Sports team.
However, she has always made it clear that she regards Erebus as a business investment and eventually expects a return.
At the Winton 400 in April, where Holdsworth broke through for the V8 Supercars team's first win, she warned her personal funding could not be maintained endlessly.
But Erebus Motorsport CEO Ryan Maddison revealed he and Klimenko had in-depth discussions about the future of the operation between the New Zealand and Western Australian V8 Supercars events.
"She is absolutely one of the most passionate motorsport individuals in the country and Erebus is a massive part of her life," Maddison told v8supercars.com.au.
"The last thing she wants to see for something that has been created over the last three years and 17 months here (in V8 Supercars) is drastic adverse changes to that."
Maddison said his discussion with Klimenko along with meetings of the Erebus management team to assess finance and budgeting had been positive.
"We have spent a lot of time discussing it internally and I think through those discussions we have a more robust and cohesive management group... there's no doubt we have now focussed on prioritisation of what needs to be spent, or where any inefficiencies may lie within our entire organisation.
"We now know what the next six months look like," he said. "I am not in a position to confirm we are locked away for the next 18 months as to what that structure looks like, but at least that is where our horizon is, it's at the end of 2015 at the moment."
Maddison made it clear that he had yet to enter discussions with Klimenko about any possible financial investment in the team for 2015. That is very much dependant on the success or failure of significant sponsorship negotiations currently underway.
He said he was hopeful that there could be a positive resolution early in the new financial year, which commences July 1.
"Our desire is to have an 18-month (sponsorship) scenario starting now and going through to the end of 2015," Maddison confirmed.
"Because of who we are talking to it's definitely an interest for them to base it on the financial year and factor in the remainder of calendar year 2015. Obviously that brings more stability to us knowing we have it locked in for that period of time," Maddison said.
Erebus is continuing to work to lock in a new deal with AMG for factory status. While that is the preferred path, there is also the possibility it will race without a factory relationship or even potentially swap to another brand.
"We have spoken and had approaches from multiple other manufacturers," Maddison confirmed. "I have said it is a compliment to the team, to Stone Brothers and the team they put together and to Erebus and the way we have pushed through a really trying year last year.
"I will take that as a compliment and it would be remiss of me not to have long term plans in place that are going to benefit the business.
"(But) I think I personally would take a fairly large, deep breath if there was a change away from the (Mercedes-Benz) brand."
