Statement from Les Smith - The Executive Director in regards to THE AASA
16 July 2026
At the outset, I want to publicly thank everyone who has continued to support Australian Auto-Sport Alliance Pty. Ltd. (AASA) over these last few weeks.
It has been surprising to read reports which suggest that the Committee of Benalla Auto Club Inc (BAC) claimed to have no awareness of the share sale transaction until only very recently. This is in circumstances where I was involved in discussions and exchanged documents about the transaction with certain committee members, from mid-2025 onwards.
I also ensured that all payments in connection with the transaction were made as and when required. This included payments which were made in October and December 2025.
As I am sure everyone appreciates, the sale and purchase of shares in a company requires a considerable amount of paperwork, which must be signed by all relevant parties. Whilst most of that paperwork is confidential, a copy of the Change to Company Details Form, which was lodged with ASIC in April 2026, is a publicly available document. This document not only confirms that a transfer of the shares in AASA took place in March 2026, but as has recently been reported, was also signed by the Vice President of BAC.
I remain committed to doing all that I can to support AASA and am proud to be surrounded by others who share the same mindset. This includes Stephen Whyte, who has been the CEO of AASA since mid-2024 (after stepping down from his role with BAC) and has helped take AASA from strength to strength since that time.
AASA remains first and foremost a sanctioning body, with a purpose of facilitating the provision of public liability and personal accident insurance coverage for the greater motorsport community. It continues to retain and manage one of the largest programs in the country, supported by longstanding relationships with reputable insurers which have been built over many years.
Despite some reports suggesting that legal proceedings have been commenced, I am not aware of any such proceedings. I am keen to bring closure and finality to these issues and would welcome the opportunity to do so, in an open and public forum. In the meantime, I remain focused on continuing to support the great work being done by AASA, along with the broader motorsport community.