First came controversy surrounding which drivers in V8 Supercars had paid their way into the Series and who had earned their drive on merit. Now the spotlight surrounds a barrage of pitlane banter concerning the exact worth of driver salaries after a newspaper exposé listed the top-10 earners in the sport.

What has previously been covered in a veil of commercial secrecy, the article last weekend in Sydney's Sunday Telegraph suggested V8 drivers earn vastly more than even Australia's elite footballers or cricketers and citied specific amounts that have been questioned by key industry figures.

TeamVodafone's Craig Lowndes was listed as the sport's highest paid driver on a reported $2.55 million per year, of which an estimated 70 percent was calculated to be from non-salary endorsements.

While other drivers listed among the top-10 earners included Sprint Gas Racing's Greg Murphy ($2.35m), Toll HRT's chief Mark Skaife ($2.25m), SBR's James Courtney ($1.65m), reigning champion Garth Tander ($1.45m) and his former teammate, HSV's Rick Kelly ($1.3m)

While the article's method of calculation is unclear, 2006 champ Kelly dismissed the reported income amount to Fairfax Media, asking if only it were the case.

"If I was really making that much I'd be spending the next week searching for it because it's not where it should be - in my bank account," he said.

Murphy also commented: "All I could ever wish for is that I was doing that well and I know in this game I never will be. Ever," he concluded. "Even with everything I do outside of the sport, it's so far, far, far from the truth. [The figures are] completely and utterly made up."

While BigPond Sport's sources suggest the reported figures were inflated to varying extents, one V8 Supercar steerer not named on the 'list' did point out that limited life-span as a driver could be one reason why some steerers negotiate higher wages and commercial endorsements.

“A lot of people don't understand that with motor racing you're only involved for so many years,” he said. “Most people who work in 'normal' jobs can work for around 30-40 years, even longer, where we've only got about half that time to make the same sort of money.”

It is understood that the majority of drivers in the Championship earn income from not only their race team but supplemental income from other business ventures, plus the value of 'perks' of the job such as clothing, travel and products relating to their team/personal sponsors could also have been factored into the amounts.

However, drivers at the lower end of the salary scale are believed to be working on their respective team workshop floor on a wage while still contracted to participate in numerous promotional and sponsor obligations and appearances throughout the season - “most drivers don't sit around during the week doing nothing, they earn their keep” said one team source.

Management for Lowndes - a Ford-contracted driver - would not be drawn on the matter. However, Ford motorsport boss Ray Price questioned the validity of the article's salary estimates and how the confidential nature of contracts could be known to outside sources.

“I'm sure they'd like to be on that sort of money!” Price quipped.

“Even I'm not aware of the broader commercial arrangements that any team or driver has with a sponsor so I'm not sure how the media could decipher commercial arrangements and put that into dollar terms,” he added.

Author:Filippa Guarna
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright