Hampton Downs Will Provide V8 Supercars with Long-Term Venue

December 8, 2011

Hampton Downs Will Provide V8 Supercars with Long-Term Venue

Track Owners Will Put Proposition to V8 Organisers Early In New Year

Hampton Downs Raceway will table a proposal to host the 2013 New Zealand leg of the V8 Supercars with the championship organisers early next year.

“We have been working with a consortium of financial advisors, planners and investors for the past year analysing potential track operations and the future for a motor sport focused business park,” said the Managing Director of Hampton Downs, Tony Roberts.

“Based on that work we anticipate being in a position to take our proposal to the V8 Supercar organisers in the first quarter of next year.

“Hampton Downs has the potential to be the long-term future home of motorsport, and the pre-eminent motorsport park in Australasia.

“It already has a fully functioning 2.7 kilometre track with the necessary FIA category 3 standard for V8 Supercar racing, and we have resource consent to extend the track to 3.8 kilometres.

“This extension can be undertaken at any time and could be completed a full year ahead of when the track would be needed for the V8s.

“When fully completed spectators will have extensive views of the track from various vantage points.

“Our current resource consent allows us to hold events with up to 20,000 spectators and we have the land capacity to easily accommodate more than 60,000 people.

“Hampton Downs is 45 minute drive down State Highway 1 from downtown Auckland, and has a population catchment area of more than a third of New Zealand’s population within an hour’s drive, and half the population within a 3 hour drive.

“While Hampton Downs has ample room to cater for large numbers of cars and buses, we are in discussions with the local authority to develop park and ride facilities within 10 minutes of the venue, and the racetrack is located between two existing train stations within 10 minutes.

“There are 23 months between now and when the 2013 V8 event is scheduled to be held in New Zealand, which is sufficient time for Hampton Downs to be upgraded to host more than 60,000 spectators, the track extended and other infrastructure completed.

“The benefit Hampton Downs offers is that it is a dedicated, purpose built motor racing track, which means organisers are not involved in expensive set up and pack down costs that have been the downfall of one-off events.

“Our infrastructure will be used on a year-round basis and offers the V8 Supercars a long-term solution, rather than a temporary fix.

“Within what we are planning, the V8 event would form part of a total motor racing and motor sport programme, operating within a motor sport business park cluster.

“While not ready to release the details of our proposals, we are making this statement to counter the suggestion that the V8 supercar series will inevitably be lost to New Zealand.”

ENDS

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