'Save Larko' petition nearing 20,000 signatures
An online petition calling for Supercars to reinstate Mark Larkham to its broadcast team is nearing 20,000 signatures.
Fan Mark Doust set up the Save Larko 2020 campaign on change.org in the wake of the Larkham axing, with more than 18,000 people having since signed the petition.
Meanwhile, the Save Mark Larkham 2020 Facebook page has almost four thousands likes.
According to Doust, who works in emergency services, the campaign is about Supercars fans who pay for both tickets and the Fox Sports coverage having their say.
"I've got nothing to do with the industry at all, except for 30 years of watching the series," he told Motorsport.com.
"When Supercars was on free TV it was different, but now there's a transaction involved. Now I'm a customer. Now I've got a say in this.
"If Supercars doesn't start listening to its customers, and we are customers in the truest sense as we're paying for the product, there won't be a support base. And then you don't have a product. It's business 101.
"I think that it's a little late to start listening to customers once they are angry. You know you have got your business model wrong if you can't measure what the fan base wants along the way.
"There isn't a bottomless pit of fans. We're not a population of 300 million. You only get so many cracks before people jump off.
"It's a mind-bogglingly stupid business decision, and it shows the people pulling the strings aren't motor racing people.
"The last thing you want is to upset the best part of 20,000 fans. Because some of them are going to take their money and spend it elsewhere."
Doust urged fans to continue the movement by using hashtags such as #SaveLarko and #yoursportyourpassion on Supercars social media posts, and even taking banners to the track next season.
"We want to take the air out of anything Supercars does," he said. "It's important we make the point that we aren't just fans, we are customers."
Larkham penned an open letter to fans earlier today admitting he's been "gobsmacked" by the support.
He also asked fans not to boycott Supercars-related sponsors as a response to his exit from the broadcast.
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| Series | Supercars |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
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