I can’t figure out the second track rationale
NOW that we are in the midst of council elections, I would like to raise an issue about the second Mount Panorama track known as Velocity Park.
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To date, this has not been discussed in detail by candidates.
There is much group think with this proposal and I have yet to see a detailed plan which stacks up.
What has been published to date by the Western Institute is generic and broad brush. Can it really be believed?
Show me where the 220 full-time equivalent jobs in NSW are when we don’t even know how many race meetings are possible.
Where is the $18.44 million in household income? What is the detailed business case to use public money year in, year out by local government?
We know motor sport and associated industries are very complex and costly. For example, government subsidises some races in Australia: the Melbourne Grand Prix, the Gold Coast V8s and the massive failure of the V8s at Homebush, a level track which wasted public money.
We hear about motorcycles for this track. The Phillip Island track is an iconic circuit contracted out to year 2026.
Minor bike races would not generate sufficient returns. Motorsport is a limited market compared with other sports in Australia. Television coverage is everything. Does council really believe the networks will come to Bathurst four or five times a year to cover a second track event?
Has Bathurst Regional Council consulted with many of the legends of motor racing, especially those who have raced at Mount Panorama, to obtain their opinion about the potential success or failure of this project?
What is the risk analysis carried out to our current track, which is the jewel in the crown of Australian motor racing?
The promoters of the Main Race at Mount Panorama leave little for the local people, yet it takes months for council to prepare the track for racing. The other racing at Mount Panorama attracts only a few thousand people but costs the council in terms of preparation with little return.
The second track would have to be exceptional to compete with other level tracks and this is unlikely to happen. As for attracting industry to Bathurst, how many people are prepared to cross the Blue Mountains to test their vehicles when they have tracks in the metropolitan areas to test?
What is the cost in the following years to Bathurst Regional Council to maintain this enterprise along with the Main Track?
Local government is about services. We have not had a rate pause for years. We struggle to fix cracks in footpaths and potholes in a new surface on the Vale Road. Council is unable to repair a short section of footpath on the river walk after 20 months.
Are we seriously going to get four major motorbike races a year together with three major car races a year? With realistic attendance figures?
Many car companies have their own testing tracks.
To even start work, council needs $52.4m of public money – federal, state and local.
Candidates, get your head around the business plan for this so-called circuit. Understand the risk analysis to the current track at Mount Panorama and declare your intention regarding its protection.
Funds will be spent on infrastructure for this second track – such as a pit complex, fuel storage, parking, amenities and facilities for spectators - that is already provided at the main track and has been upgraded at great cost only quite recently.
There are many ideas, both state and federal, which people are simply too reluctant to oppose, which turn out to be a waste of time and money.
Do the next crop of councillors really want to preside over a council which sees the demise of “the jewel in the crown”?
As the old saying goes, be very careful what you wish for.