New track development on the Central Coast

[greenMachine]

Wakefield too far from home, Wyong... I'll buy a second MX-5 and take up motorsport. Towing the car home from from Wyong is feasible, from Wakefield it would be the end of my interest in motorsport.
Ted
Newcastle

Give us a break Ted Yes, Wakefield is only 100kms or so from Canberra, but lots of us turn up at Sydney events too!!

Remember OP will be with us for this year at least, and EC hosts lots of club level events - check out the supersprint series for a start...

[mx5racing]

For quite some time we have been in consultation with people within the Newcastle MG Club who were directly linked to the failed Motorplex submission. With their vast knowledge we have been able to direct our resources in a facility that is likely to suit the requirements of driver training and motorsport - all with the support of Council. Additionally the Mayor of Wyong Shire Council, recognising the enormous benefits such a facility would bring, has approached the Lake Macquarie and Gosford Councils to make this a regional development. With the various Council's working together, and the desperate need for more driver training, the groundswell of support grows on a daily basis.

[CoffeeBoss]

Watching this with keen interest.

There has long been a need for a facility such as this north of Sydney. In my young and humble opinion

[mx5racing]

We held another committee meeting last night to discuss some of the key areas, including recent meetings with representative from planning and development within Wyong Shire Council. Definite gains have been made in the last couple of weeks with Council now having a short list of preferred sites with one leading the way. Over the next week or so we will be in touch with the various clubs, including car, bike, 4wd, off road, etc to establish a point of contact to gather feedback on the best sort of facility and how it can satisfy the requirements of the whole community.
Additionally there have been a couple of construction companies who have been in contact with council and ourselves and are very keen to be involved. One of these companies has experience in driver training/race facility development so this is encouraging.

Our next meeting will be in a couple of weeks and by then we should have made some significant progress.

Chris.

[Daz]

This would be a dream come true for me, new track and so close to home !

[mx5racing]

Hi all,

It’s been a few weeks since our last update and there have been many developments although sadly not ones we expected.

Graham Watson, a key member of our committee passed away suddenly after a brief illness. For those who knew Graham, it was always a privilege to work with him and his commitment to racing, especially open wheelers could not be questioned. Many of the well know Australian and New Zealand racers from international drivers such as Mark Webber, Scott Dixon, Will Power to current V8 stars Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup began with his Ralt Australia team.

“He was genuinely a great guy, a huge ambassador for motorsport and he will be dearly missed. There are not many people around like him.” Team Penske IndyCar driver Will Power.

Obviously with Graham’s passing we have had to re-group and look to the future. Our commitment to developing a track has not wavered, if anything we are move determined than ever to one-day name a “Graham Watson Curve” in honour of our friend.

There have been a couple of meetings in the last week or so with all the relevant representatives from the various groups and behind the scene work continues. The commitment from everyone remains and we are awaiting a decision from Council regarding land availability before we move forward.

We will keep you updated as we learn more.

Chris.
MX5 Racing.

[mx5racing]

Hi all,

The momentum of this development continues to roll on with exciting happenings almost on a daily basis.

There has been a few teasers in the local press and now Wyong Shire Council has announced the -

WYONG AUTOMOTIVE RACING PRECINCT (WARP) PROJECT.

http://www.wyongsc.nsw.gov.au/about/cou ... tices.html

In this announcement there is a questionnaire, which we would like everyone to fill out and return to Council. This is an awesome opportunity for you all to have your say - so don’t miss out.

Details are here -

http://www.wyong.nsw.gov.au/about/Motor ... onaire.pdf

Please forward this to anyone and everyone who is interested in seeing this project come to fruition.

Chris Gough.
MX5 Racing.
02 43889059.

[mx5racing]

Hi all,

Just a quick update.

Council received 168 submissions from the community and all were positive. At our last meeting with Council representatives including Deputy Mayor John McNamara and Councillor Doug Vincent, we were able to get an idea where the project goes from here. There are various thoughts as to the ownership/lease/management option of such a faciltiy and these will be discussed at length in the near future with a public announcement again asking for submissions in the next couple of months.

We had a meeting with John McNamara and Mark Skaife who, this morning, will be attended a meeting with Council to review such things as location options and facility requirements. Being a local boy with family ties still in the area Mark is very supportive and can see the huge benefits such a complex will bring to the region.

Again there are plenty of things happening in the background as we chip away at the numerous items such a project raises.

[tbro]

Hi Chris,
Seems things are looking good, just a thought, have you asked Lions to back you with this proposal.

Taree Lions had a Driver Training circuit constructed with the backing of the local council and local business. Jim Cutler was one of the
Lions members who pushed and prodded council, their main arguement was that everyone was sick of going to funerals of young perople killed in the area. All the high schools now use this facality for d/t with cars being loaned/donated by local dealers.
Its quite amazing how much Lions are respected and the pull they have with local government and businesses.

Just my 2c worth

Terry

[Wholesale Suspension]

Great work my friend,

Let us know if you lot need any thing from us!

Cheers Josh

[CoffeeBoss]

Chris, any news?

There's rumours abound that the plans have been shelved.

Also on the rumour mill - I've heard talk of a facility for cars and karts(?) being built out near Windsor?

[mx5racing]

Despite our initial input of a club based motorsport facility, the Councillors were swayed by lots of bright lights and well known people who convinced them a $250 million “mega centre” project would be the way to go….. As you can imagine when a plan gets to this size it tends to require a lot of little things like LAND, TRANSPORT, INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADS, oh and $$$$$$$$$$. Surprisingly when the Council looked into the whole thing they discovered they had none of the above……..but they did get a couple of nice photo ops and an autograph . When the report was tabled at the Council meeting held the end of last year it was voted to “shelve the idea until suitable land could be found” This decision was not unanimous and there is still great interest from several councillors to see this happen.

Without going into great detail I can assure you all we are still working behind the scenes on several options .