Tilke Designing new track in Queensland

[ShiftingGears]

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...012789,00.html

QUEENSLAND stands to become the epicentre of motorsport in the southern hemisphere with a proposed $650 million complex set to lure the world's top racing disciplines.

The first big event, a leg of the World Rally Championship, has already been sealed with Rally Australia blasting off from the site at Norwell from September next year.

There is also a compelling case for Formula One to be lured away from Melbourne's Albert Park circuit which costs the Victorian government tens of millions of dollars each year to stage.

Project bosses say the Norwell complex has been designed so that major events do not have to be underwritten by the government like F1 and the Gold Coast Indy.

Rally Australia had been staged in Perth from the late 1980s until last year however it is believed the event cost the WA government between $8-$10million a year to underwrite.

It is understood the Queensland Government will not be burdened with a cost to have the world rally championship which has sealed a multi-year deal after winning approval from the FIA's world motor sport council last October.

There is a big push for the Australian F1 Grand Prix to be run under lights so it can be televised at a more user friendly time back to Europe and cash in on a greater television audience.

However transforming the Albert Park layout for night racing would require a substantial cost.

The Norwell circuit, which will be built by acclaimed German track designer Hermann Tilke, will be wired with the latest in flood-lighting technology from the beginning.

The company behind the motor city complex says it would welcome any major international events.

But the project has not been designed to rely on big race meetings such as grands prix for its survival.

"We are not about stealing events from people however if the grand prix people want to talk then we would welcome that," said Ron Brown, the managing director for i-METT the company established to undertake the project.

"The way the motor sport complex is being set up it doesn't have to rely on government money or big events for sustainability ... there is much more to it than just motor racing events.

"It is a business park where a lot of things will be going on seven days a week so it's much more than just a motor racing circuit."

Champ Car would be welcome however it is difficult to see the Queensland Government or the North American-based series managers wanting to shift the massively successful open wheeler formula from the streets of Surfers Paradise.

i-METT says the economic benefit of motor sport cannot be ignored.

The company cites a British Government survey that says motor racing in England accounts for $8.2billion a year that makes it that country's fifth largest export earner and which is bigger than the agricultural and steel industries combined.





I'm expecting an eyesore
Also, the business park comment doesn't put me with high hopes either. I hope its more akin to Turkey than Shanghai.
Thoughts?



PS Yes Arrows I know you closed a similar thread started by ioan about this but I thought this is worth its own thread.

[Valve Bounce]

I am not so sure this will succeed. I appreciate that Queenslanders have accepted the wheel, but they are still not sure about the internal combustion engine. :

Does anyone know where this place Norwell is? I never heard of it.

[Erki]

Oh dear.

[ShiftingGears]

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/s...012789,00.html

38 km south of Brisbane, apparently. It's in a field which is presumably flat so thats a step towards your typical Tilke track. Why the F@%$ must he design so many goddamn tracks? Let someone else design some F1 tracks Bernie, who knows, they might be better than Tilkes!

[truefan72]

oh nooooo

[Jimmy Magnusson]

Wasn't this in the news a few weeks ago? I will believe it when I see it.

[Mickey T]

Norwell already has a fairly professional advanced driver training centre, which began as a BMW centre, progressed to Mercedes-Benz and is now Holden (GM's australian operation). it was originally supposed to be a test track for the Paul Morris and BMW race teams, but it was too noisy for its neighbours, who have since been bought out, i understand.

it's owned by mega-bucks Terry Morris, who owns things like Sirromet winery (it's TE Morris, spelt backwards, though french-like, they drop the "t"), Carrara Markets, the Franklin Mint etc, and whose son drives V8 supercars a bit erratically.

Morris is involved in this project (he's also one of Chris Atkinson's financial backers).

The beauty of the Norwell site is that it's midway between Queensland's two major population centres of Brisbane (including Logan City) and the Gold Coast, and is just off an eight-lane freeway.

it's also fairly easy to get to from Brisbane Airport.

i reckon Turkey is one of tilke's better projects and it's an unfortunate state of life that F1 cars are only truly safe on tracks like his, with massive width, big run-off and tarmac safety braking zones in dangerous places. to see Rosberg repeatedly fall off in turkey and run back on was to understand the beauty of this. it allows drivers to push beyond the limits without race-ending (or life-ending) consequences. they just lose a place and pop back on undamaged. it encourages having a go in wacky places.

that said, i'd also like to see somebody else design or update a modern F1 track. Tilke has spent plenty of time in Australia (he's twice driven in the Bathurst 24 hour race).

This little corner of Queensland also hosts about half the V8 Supercar teams, including Stone Brothers and Dick Johnson racing.

i still can't see how they're going to recoup $680 million investment, though. i'm obviously missing something, though Morris doesn't get involved in duds.

[ChrisS]

650 million Australian dollars thats about 270 million British pounds or 540 million U.S. dollars

Turkey and Bahrain cost about 150 million U.S. dollars each

what are they planning to built and how to they expect to survive especially as they say without big events

[Jimmy Magnusson]

650 million Australian dollars thats about 270 million British pounds or 540 million U.S. dollars

Turkey and Bahrain cost about 150 million U.S. dollars each

what are they planning to built and how to they expect to survive especially as they say without big events

Really, really high entry fees? But as you say, that is a sh!te load of money...

[Valve Bounce]

i still can't see how they're going to recoup $680 million investment, though. i'm obviously missing something, though Morris doesn't get involved in duds.

Me too