Auckland Street Race - It MUST happen!

[fordo]

Look at Queensland. We had Lakeside, got Willowbank which is getting squeezed by Cochrane, have Darlington Park(substandard) that can't get the finance needed to come up to standard because Cochrane wants more street races and unfortunately the V8 Supercars are the premier class that takes the majority of sponsorship dollars. If they(v8s) wont appear then potential sposors /backers of other classes etc are very hesitant about stepping in as they don't get any TV exposure for their money. Its a vicious circle and Cochrane holds the key.
If he has his way and gets a street race in Townsville then kiss Willowbank goodbye as a permanent venue.(I know it is used for other events but we are talking about the V8s)You can mention Indy if you like but it doesn't cater for the grass roots racing like F3, Formula Vs, Production Cars etc. No exposure - no sposorship - less prizemoney - less competitors - no new talent - class falls over - no racing.

[Evomike]

I have said it before and I will say it again. If the people who keep making promises to upgrade facilities actually deliver then they might actually get the contracts! Pukekohe has never delivered on an announced upgrade on time. How many times have we heard that the drainage would be done? How many times have we heard about the building of permanant garages? Shall I keep going?

[Warwick]

Originally posted by Just Do It!



Furthermore, whilst sitting on Gone Tree Hill pondering the event and spectacle void that the loss of the America's Cup created for the whole of New Zealand

The void the Americas cup created for the whole of NZ? I think you should take your medication now.

Originally posted by Just Do It!

Worse still, as a vehicle of promotion for New Zealand,
For Manfield Park Raceway, major capital works are necessary to bring the circuit up to a suitable level. Just attending a national motorsport meeting there is enough to make even the amateur blush when you see Formula First (Vees) being prepared in what are really dirt floor horse pens - hardly a concrete floored workshop!
Besides, all is not lost with Manfield as the venue may well end up hosting a second New Zealand round once the street race is up and running.

All the North Island circuits are sub standard as far as pit facilities go, and I would put Manfield over Pukekohe any day of the week at least it has some covered garages if you book far enough ahead and the track layout isn't as boring,the spectators get a far better veiw of the track,I suspect it may not have the crowd capacity to handle such an event though.

Ruapuna is the only track in the country that has done continous upgrades over the last few years and if the other circuits would follow the same path,we would have a awesome network of tracks all capable of handling a major event like the V8s,then we wouldn't have to bother with a
street race
.

[Slippy Diff]

I recently tried to book Pukekohe for an event that we are running next year. Midweek slot willing to pay more than $3500, could I get anyone to return my calls, faxes etc?? No way. There was no interest at all.

[Evomike]

Even the Horse Facilities are stuffed! The "flash new grandstand" leaks like a sieve.

[Slippy Diff]

Does anyone else think that Pukekohe promoters/owners/organisers etc have been a bit quiet recently? I would have thought something might have been said about wanting to keep the race at Puke !!!!!!!!!

[fordo]

Originally posted by Evomike
I have said it before and I will say it again. If the people who keep making promises to upgrade facilities actually deliver then they might actually get the contracts! Pukekohe has never delivered on an announced upgrade on time. How many times have we heard that the drainage would be done? How many times have we heard about the building of permanant garages? Shall I keep going?

You hit it right on there Evomike.
I have been in Australia for 13yrs now and I remember seeing an article in the County News in Pukekohe about how they were fixing the drainage, building the covered in pits,and doing the extensions back then. That was when they had just done the earthworks for the current pitlane.

[Tracy]

Hi All

From: http://tvnz.co.nz/view/sport_story_s...%3fformat=html

Manawatu bid pushing for V8 race


Aug 18, 2004

The Manawatu Bid to gain an individual round of the V8 Supercar series is in regular contact with series organisers AVESCO and has confirmed this week that their proposal to host a round from 2006, remains firmly on the table.

While there is speculation concerning the resource consent issues surrounding the Auckland street race, Manfeild Park is poised to proceed with their multi million dollar upgrade and provides AVESCO with a viable alternative should Auckland be unable to secure consents in the required timeframe.

AVESCO has acknowledged that the world class Manfeild bid has undertaken due diligence on the package that has been put forward. All the resource consents, public consultation and local government funding streams are confirmed.

A decision regarding the Manfeild proposal was intimated two months following the Auckland announcement but given the challenges Auckland is facing this decision has been deferred.

Palmerston North City Mayor Mark Bell-Booth said "the Australian V8 Supercar experience in motorsport proves that circuits away from major population centres, like Bathurst, are very successful.

"A package combining both street and circuit racing is the ultimate. Our belief is that the certainty of circuit racing should now be given a priority in the face of the present difficulties surrounding the street race."

Ash Cairns, joint leader of the Manawatu bid team, said "We are in regular contact with AVESCO and remain comfortable with the way discussions have been developing. We are realistic that at some stage a judgement call will need to be made on the best venue to host the five-year series from 2006. It is critical that the resource consents are all in place to do this."

Manawatu District Mayor Ian McKelvie said "With the signing of the Manfeild Park Trust agreement this week, we continue to make positive progress on the future of Manfeild as a multi purpose event facility.

"There are key aspects of the facility that need attention now, particularly from the agricultural perspective, and we continue to make progress on addressing these. These will be progressed with all potential stakeholder interests in mind."