Supercars’ push to join the support bill for the Formula 1 Singapore Grand Prix has support from many in the Supercars pit lane, but why has it left the category managers in an awkward position?

The delayed arrival of the 2023 Repco Supercars Championship calendar was a symptom of prolonged negotiations between Supercars and potential venues both locally and overseas.

When the schedule was officially confirmed in late November, many traditional circuits – such as Winton Motor Raceway in rural Victoria, and the recently upgraded Queensland Raceway in Ipswich, west of Brisbane – were absent.

With a New Zealand-born champion in 2022 in Shane van Gisbergen – and with both he and fellow Kiwi Scott McLaughlin taking the last five championships between them – the lack of an event across the Tasman seemed a grave omission.

“I’m pretty baffled,” van Gisbergen told Speedcafe.com ahead of the final round at Adelaide, after citing the Pukekohe event in his home country as the highlight of his dominant season.

With an all-Australian calendar for next season, New Zealand’s absence made Supercars’ Singapore pitch seem frivolous, misguided, and perhaps negligible to the sport’s fanbase. What’s more, it simply won’t work.

It was New Zealand that held the first Supercars event outside Australia in 2001, before races in Shanghai (2005), Bahrain (2006-08) and Abu Dhabi (2010-12) which in its final event in 2012…