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21 new race tracks planned for Australia


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#1 TerryS

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 00:46

There are always dreamers it seems that want their own track.

 

Remember the old saying: the best way to make a small fortune out of racing is to start with a large one

 

COMING SOON: 21 NEW RACE TRACKS PLANNED FOR AUSTRALIA – The Race Torque



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#2 Lee Nicolle

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 07:14

Currently motorsport of all forms is pricing itself out of existance. Stupidcars??  Lost the plot and it seems only want to race on street circuits. And support categories are treated like crap.

Circuit racing in general with ever increasing fees from Motorsport Australia and then so many nanny cars racing has lost so much attraction for competitors. Plus year in year out different standards for apparel, all costing a LOT of money. I believe bikes also have a similar problem

Speedway, struggling big time, many of the reasons above also apply. Struggling to get enough cars to hold a decent meeting.

Drag Racing?  Some parts are doing ok, streetcar style racing does ok. But fairly average for spectators.

Offroading?  Struggling with more amd more rules meaning less and less competitors. 

With interest rates as they are less and less have the money to actually go do it. Then you get all the b/s rules and people say stuff this!



#3 F1matt

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 08:24

I love this line:

 

Status: Last website update was in 2015, but it now has a memorial page on Facebook.

 
:rotfl:  :rotfl:  :rotfl: 


#4 GreenMachine

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 09:05

Blimey, BAC want to redevelop Winton, never heard that, I wonder what the source is for that mention..  After how they went about 'fixing' Wakefield Park that makes a lot of sense - not.  WP is still in the intensive care ward on life support, the only optimism around the patient being that BAC have sold out and someone else is caring for the patient.

 

I wonder just how Winton survives noise-wise given it sits in the middle of a village, and maybe they know something I don't (possible?) but doing stuff to put noise levels in the planning firing line doesn't sound like a great idea to me (hint - see WP and its Land and Environment Court decision).  Given the linked article dates from 2020, and  BAC has no doubt dropped a bundle on its exit from WP this year, I suspect that licking of wounds and not poking sleeping tigers will be more likely.


Edited by GreenMachine, 04 June 2023 - 09:13.


#5 Ray Bell

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 10:37

No mention in there about one which did happen and continues to happen...

 

Garry Willmington started his 'Pheasant Wood' circuit and sold out more recently to someone intending to develop it further.



#6 GreenMachine

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 10:56

Indeed Ray, and they are new custodians of Wakefield Park too.

 

Garry did a great job there, started modestly and built from there.  It will be interesting to see how WP and PW work given their relative proximity to each other.  Both seem to have expansion plans, on the surface there appears to be a conflict there, but perhaps the Shelleys think their proximity to Sydney can support two circuits.  The alternative would be to leave PW as a cheaper smaller scale operation, and take WP up-market.



#7 Ray Bell

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 11:47

Or the other way around...

 

Given that local resident resistance is high around Wakefield Park. Highway access to Pheasant Wood is simpler, it's a tad closer to Sydney and by no means far from Goulburn and Canberra.

 

Garry might also have foreseen the problems at Wakefield Park, though I don't think so because he allowed Craig to invest in the sheds along the pit lane.



#8 Dale Harvey

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 22:19

Circuit Italia is moving forward. If they haven't started to lay the bitumen yet it is very close. Last photos that I have seen showed it was almost ready for bitumen.

Dale.



#9 GreenMachine

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Posted 04 June 2023 - 23:24

Or the other way around...

 

Given that local resident resistance is high around Wakefield Park. Highway access to Pheasant Wood is simpler, it's a tad closer to Sydney and by no means far from Goulburn and Canberra.

 

Garry might also have foreseen the problems at Wakefield Park, though I don't think so because he allowed Craig to invest in the sheds along the pit lane.

 

That would work too Ray.  And yes, access from Sydney would make it that bit easier than WP, and the ruling DA conditions are weights in its saddlebags.  However they have bought it, and appear committed to reopening and extending it so they must believe it can be operated profitably.

 

The current character of each is different - Pheasant Wood is tighter and twistier, but whether that character would survive in the lengthened version planned (still?) is not known, by me anyway.

 

IMHO resident concerns and circuit noise measures are weights on a balance.  The more WP implements strict noise controls, the less influence the concerned residents have.  In this respect (at least) Garry seems to have been the more effective circuit manager and the Shelleys have inherited a pretty well oiled machine at PW.  I am surprised, there is a lot of expensive rural residential development out in that broad area (including a certain shadow treasurer I believe) but if there is opposition he has managed it rather than inflaming it.

 

 

Circuit Italia is moving forward. If they haven't started to lay the bitumen yet it is very close. Last photos that I have seen showed it was almost ready for bitumen.

Dale.

 

Good news.  I I just looked at it on G-maps, but that imagery is out of date and shows no sign of that level of earthworks.



#10 Catalina Park

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Posted 05 June 2023 - 10:14

The noise restrictions on Wakefield Park are the same as when the track was opened. 

Good news, the bad neighbour in the area that was causing all the problems has gone back to Benalla.



#11 Ray Bell

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Posted 05 June 2023 - 12:11

I think GreenMachine was talking about the restrictions the circuit was putting on the entrants, CP...

 

And do you think the 'bad neighbour' expects to create more trouble at Winton?



#12 Catalina Park

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 05:22

The 'bad neighbour' that was causing the problems was the Benalla Auto Club.



#13 GreenMachine

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 06:40

I think we all 'got' that CP ...

 

I guess the question is what is it about Winton and whatever restrictions are in place that that differentiates it from Wakefield?  Have a look at the circuit on G-maps, it is right in the middle of a village, with a primary school a stones throw (literally!) from the circuit gate - if ever there was a circuit that begged to be shut down, you'd think it was Winton.  The contrast with Wakefield is marked - out in the bush miles from 'anywhere' (actually, the village of Tirranaville is only a couple of Kms up the road, and it has a primary school too).

 

I don't know the answer, but my curiousity is off the scale on this one.



#14 Ray Bell

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 09:40

Actually, I didn't, my apologies CP...

 

As for the Tirranna school, my recollection is that it has as many classrooms as there are homes within a couple of kilometres. CP famously explained about the school's expansion to three classrooms several years ago.



#15 GreenMachine

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 09:44

The Bookface Wakefield page has a presser in which the Shelleys announce the acquisition of WP is complete.  I won't post it here as not really relevant, I might try and find a WP thread - bound to be one nearby ...



#16 Catalina Park

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 11:01

I think we all 'got' that CP ...

 

I guess the question is what is it about Winton and whatever restrictions are in place that that differentiates it from Wakefield?  Have a look at the circuit on G-maps, it is right in the middle of a village, with a primary school a stones throw (literally!) from the circuit gate - if ever there was a circuit that begged to be shut down, you'd think it was Winton.  The contrast with Wakefield is marked - out in the bush miles from 'anywhere' (actually, the village of Tirranaville is only a couple of Kms up the road, and it has a primary school too).

 

I don't know the answer, but my curiousity is off the scale on this one.

The difference between a track like Winton and Wakefield Park is that when Wakefield Park was built the developers submitted a development application (DA) that limited the number of days the track could operate and the amount of noise it could make.
The second group of owners asked the council if they could operate a few more days and this was approved but this was a gentleman's agreement.
The last operators were not gentlemen. After a while they simply ignored all the existing conditions. They wanted to run cars on the track up to 330 days a year. (nearly 300 days more than the DA allowed)
At the last race meeting before the track closed they seemed to set out to make as much noise as possible, including a drifting demonstration (drifting had previously been banned by the EPA due to excessive noise at neighbouring properties) 

Over recent years I have spoken several of the neighbours including the family that sold the land that Wakefield was built on, the only complaint they had was the number of days that the track was making noise. One neighbour said he would be happy with some simple soundproofing like double glazing. 
The new owner has started on the right track, he has talked about meeting with the nearby neighbours to come up with a solution. 

If the track wants to operate more days than the DA allows they have to submit a new DA and address any issues that are raised. This can be done.
Despite what the previous circuit management claimed the Goulburn council is motorsport friendly, how many councils in this country host two racing circuits, a speedway and a motocross track. But if a track operates outside the law they should be punished. 



#17 GreenMachine

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 12:14

...

 

As for the Tirranna school, my recollection is that it has as many classrooms as there are homes within a couple of kilometres. CP famously explained about the school's expansion to three classrooms several years ago.

 

Have a look on G-maps Ray, things have changed!  There is quite a lot of development there, around the village and wider.

 

Right on CP!  I totally agree, BAC shot themselves in the foot and it was totally avoidable.  Shelleys seem to be saying all the right things, hopefully some give and take will see the gates open again.  But my curiosity is not about WP, it is how come Winton seems to be free of these issues when the same people have run both.  Not necessarily the same individuals, but the same overall organisation.  :confused:

 

Press release here https://forums.autos...s-25-years-old/ , we should take this discussion over there unless there is a better thread.


Edited by GreenMachine, 06 June 2023 - 12:17.


#18 Ray Bell

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 12:24

I did look at Google Earth before I posted that...

 

There is no 'village' as such. Rural residences, probably in increasing numbers, but still pretty much all of them on acreages.

 

And, of course, any increase in the populace there has taken place while the circuit was operating. They had to know it was there before they built or moved in.



#19 Catalina Park

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 19:25

They had to know it was there before they built or moved in.

Anyone buying near Wakefield Park would be buying with the understanding that the circuit was operating under the approved DA conditions. Which it clearly wasn't. 

Winton is to operate under their approved conditions. I have no idea what they are so I can't help there.
But I do remember in the 1980s when the BAC was threatening to shut the place down and move to Hume Weir when they were negotiating with their council. 



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#20 Ian G

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Posted 06 June 2023 - 23:42

Anyone buying near Wakefield Park would be buying with the understanding that the circuit was operating under the approved DA conditions. Which it clearly wasn't. 

 

 

Shades of Creek Corner.

 

There is a proposal for a F1 suitable circuit between Surfers and Brisbane,not much Info out there since Covid but it was a development with land sales,Shopping centre etc.



#21 Ray Bell

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Posted 07 June 2023 - 04:57

I recall there was one for which the road was all formed, some of it even sealed if I recall...

 

It was near Yatala and development caught up with it before it was finished.



#22 TerryS

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Posted 07 June 2023 - 05:42

I recall there was one for which the road was all formed, some of it even sealed if I recall...

 

It was near Yatala and development caught up with it before it was finished.

Ray it was probably Darlington Park you were thinking of.

 

Attached is the full story on why it wasx never opened.

 

Darlington Park: Epic Track, Built & Never Raced On – The Race Torque