Warburton will end his tenure after five years in the job, having taken over the reins of what was then known as V8 Supercars from long time chief Tony Cochrane in 2013.

 

Warburton came to the role at a time of transition, as the sport made the switch to the so-called ‘Car of the Future’ chassis platform that also saw the introduction of additional manufacturers in Nissan and Volvo.

 

It was Warburton who also orchestrated the controversial TV deal with Foxsports. The switch to a mix of pay TV and free-to-air broadcasts received widespread criticism from a Supercars audience which previously had only known free-to-air coverage, but the Foxsports deal is widely credited with providing the category with much needed financial stability.

 

He also oversaw the category name change from V8 Supercars to Supercars as part of a move to rebrand the sport as Supercars is opened up to non-V8 powered cars.

 

In a statement announcing his decision, Warburton said it was an honour and a privilege to lead a sport of which he had been a fan since childhood.

“I am truly in awe of the passion and commitment across the entire industry and the dedication to entertain our fans and am blessed to have made a host of lifelong friends from the experience,” the statement read.

“On day one, 14th May 2013, I penned an open letter which focused on my clear priorities for the business:

1. Return financial performance of the business to historical levels and increase distributions to the teams as quickly as possible.


2. Return entrepreneurial thinking and deal-making to the business and forge a growth strategy for our future.


3. Return united purpose and clarity to all stakeholders with common goals.

“It is fair to say the sport is in great health, we have achieved so much with unity and, more importantly, the path is set to raise the sport to even greater heights…

“I am proud to have led a management team which has executed a very strong growth strategy, with the administration finalising a record number of agreements for the sport in the past four and a half years….

“In 2018, your number 1 fan will be sitting opposite pit lane, finally in shorts and a t-shirt with his family, cold beer in the hand cheering you all.”

 

Warburton’s successor has yet to be announced.