Betty Klimenko will remain the owner of Supercars team Erebus Motorsport for the foreseeable future.
Rumours emerged in May that Klimenko was close to selling the Melbourne-based team to South Australian businessman Aaron Hickmann of Vailo.
Chatter out of the Supercars paddock indicated a sale could be swift and completed between the Perth and Darwin events.
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However, those events came and went without the sale going to the Supercars commission and teams for approval, who were aware of the potential deal.
It’s understood the two parties could not reach an agreement and Hickmann walked away.
WWOS sought comment from Hickmann who declined to speak on the matter.
Former Supercars driver Steven Johnson spoke about the scuppered deal on his SEN radio show The Driver’s Seat this week.
Further to the news that the deal had broken down, Johnson claimed Erebus Motorsport CEO Barry Ryan would no longer be part of the team.
Ryan is currently on holiday with his family. An Erebus spokesperson said they are expecting him to return to the team soon.
“Can I tell you, I did get a little bit of a heads up from someone that is well known in the industry – I’m not going to say who – but I’m hearing that Barry is overseas at the moment, over in Europe or wherever he is over in Europe in London, somewhere like that, and not really in a hurry to get home,” said the son of five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Dick Johnson.
“I believe that Erebus is possibly now not up for sale and Betty is going to keep it and it’s not going to have Barry involved. That’s what I heard.”
Erebus did not wish to comment on matters relating to a sale or the team’s future.
Before trying to acquire Erebus, Hickmann had already established Vailo as a prominent sponsor across Australia, particularly in his native state.
His company previously sponsored the Supercars team Walkinshaw Andretti United and is the current naming rights sponsor of the Adelaide 500.
The company sponsored Supercars champion Brodie Kostecki in his one-off NASCAR Cup Series drive at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023.
The company manufactures commercial-grade LED lights designed primarily for sports and also has sponsorship ties to the Adelaide Crows and Hawthorn Hawks as well as A-Leagues club Adelaide United.
Erebus enjoyed its most successful event to date this season at the Darwin Triple Crown where Brodie Kostecki scored his first podium since last year’s Gold Coast 500.
The squad sits ninth in the teams’ championship after five events. Jack Le Brocq is the team’s lead driver in 13th overall.