THE man who turned the V8 Supercars from a “hell of a mess” into a global phenomenon now has equally bullish plans for the Gold Coast Suns.

Chairman elect Tony ­Cochrane plans to see the Suns become much more than just the leading sports club in the booming local area.

His ambition is for the ­Carrara-based side to rocket past the likes of mega brands Collingwood and the Brisbane Broncos to become Australia’s No.1 sporting club.

It’s a rather ambitious goal but when you’ve transformed a small touring car competition into one of Australia’s largest sporting exports and a multi-million dollar industry like Cochrane achieved with V8 Supercars you know he is not in the business of aiming low.

“We’re not here to make up the numbers,” the ex-Supercars executive chairman said.

“I’m here to tell you I will make sure we’re the No.1 sporting team – and not only on the Gold Coast, but ­hopefully in Queensland and ultimately in Australia.

“This is an aspirational business and you don’t get into this business if you don’t aim to be No.1.”

He will take over from founding chairman John Witheriff after Round 1 next season, with the latter then stepping away from the board at the end of 2016.

The succession plan has been six months in the making, with Witheriff approaching the AFL midway through last season to suggest a gradual change of leadership with Cochrane at the helm.

Witheriff was an outstanding leader for the formative years of the Suns helping ­establish their corporate governance and footprint on the Coast but now is the time for someone with Cochrane’s ambition and vision to take the club into the future.

Cochrane is confident of a bright future for the team, ­saying the platform he would aim to build on was light years ahead of where the V8 ­Supercars were when he took over in 1996.

“Everybody forgets when I took over V8 Supercars it was in a hell of a mess, it was a sport without even a marketing name,” Cochrane said. “This (the Suns) by contrast is in terrific shape.”

And he’s not afraid to take on the high-profile personalities chairing rival clubs such as Collingwood’s Eddie McGuire and Port Adelaide’s David Koch.

“We’ll have our moments but we’ll also have a lot of fun. All of those presidents of all those clubs do an amazing job,” he said.

While profitability and the ability to operate without ­financial support from the AFL isn’t viable in the short term, Cochrane is confident the ­decision to pour resources into the football department would pay dividends.

“It’s all about fan engagement and the best way to really get fan engagement is to get ­results on the scoreboard,” he said. “We’ve put a lot of time and effort into the health of our playing list and into the rehab side of the sport.”

Last season injuries to a ­series of key players including captain Gary Ablett plagued their on-field performance.

Cochrane joined the list nominating Ablett – whose leadership he said had “come on in leaps and bounds” – as the best man to continue leading from the front and drive a winning culture.

“We’ve moved on a couple of players who we thought were part of the problem rather than part of the solution and we’re very focused on making sure the environment is right,” Cochrane said.

“Gary is an outstanding footballer he’s really come on in leaps and bounds in terms of his leadership.”