End of the road (track?) for Oran Park ? (Merged)

[retro]

here

SYDNEY will get a new international-standard motor racing facility on the outskirts of the metropolitan area.

Oran Park Raceway near Narellan will close in late 2008 to be turned into housing. But plans are under way to trade it for a modern, state-of-the-art racing circuit.

Tony Perich, whose family company Leppington Pastoral owns Oran Park, has been speaking with the state government about zoning for three possible locations which he says are "not too far away" from Oran Park.

Unlike the two plans before the government for temporary street racing circuits at the Olympic precinct at Homebush Bay, the new track will not require any taxpayer funding. It could cost as much as $40 million to build

.

The amiable but media-shy 65-year-old said he wants the track at the new western Sydney venue to incorporate many of the characteristics of his existing circuit.

"All the good stuff that the drivers and the spectators like at Oran Park I want to recreate at the new place," Perich said.

These include replicas of the notorious flip-flop and some of the challenging Oran Park corners. He expects the roller-coaster effect to be prominent and a natural amphitheatre for spectators.

[Chatters]

Alright! Let's hope they get off their high horses and build this thing.

[mayhem]

High horses? What @#$%ing high horses?

[Chatters]

The NSW government!

[Silent Number]

Originally Posted by Chatters

Alright! Let's hope they get off their high horses and build this thing.

did you read the stuff posted chatters? The owner of oran park, not the gvmt said they were going to build the track, why does the gvmet have to get off their high horses?

[jd yort]

Geez, Tony Perich is probably the most humble person in Australia considering his wealth. There has never been a high horse in sight, only ever a grazing cow.

The man is bordering on legend status for his support of NSW motor racing pretty much out of his own pocket for 40 years. He has done it all his own way, just ask the govt when they tried to take his land for Badgerys Creek Airport all those years ago.

[Chatters]

Originally Posted by Silent Number

did you read the stuff posted chatters? The owner of oran park, not the gvmt said they were going to build the track, why does the gvmet have to get off their high horses?

Oh, so can I buy some land, and build a race track and race cars there? Tony Perich can't just decide "Hey, I'm gonna build a race track, hope the council or the government doesn't mind" can he?

[Jacal]

Somewhere I read a rumour they were looking in the Southern Highlands for some land to build a track.

Today I read that Wakefield Park is up for sale.

TP has enough money to make the track extension at Wakefield that was mooted some time ago (4-5 years ago if memory serves correctly).

The council are less likely to have objections as it's already a running track and there is a reasonable influx of income to the local community.

You can see large portions of the track from spectator points.

Could we see 2 and 2 add up to four or am I making 1 and 1 add up to wild speculation.

Let's see what happens.

[johnny yuma]

Wakefield Park is not in Western Sydney and can never have an Oran Park
feel because the spectator fences are 100 metres back from the track mostly. Its good for what it is.
The ONLY -REPEAT ONLY- way to keep an "Oran Park" is to find a way to keep the one that exists.It would be more feasible and less expensive to do noise attenuation earthworks and masonry walls,tighten up the carparking and access,get rid of 50% of the waste ground around the existing holding than it would be to try and re-invent the wheel elsewhere,--------------
and you'd have much change out of 40 mil.

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by johnny yuma

Wakefield Park is not in Western Sydney and can never have an Oran Park
feel because the spectator fences are 100 metres back from the track mostly. Its good for what it is.
The ONLY -REPEAT ONLY- way to keep an "Oran Park" is to find a way to keep the one that exists.It would be more feasible and less expensive to do noise attenuation earthworks and masonry walls,tighten up the carparking and access,get rid of 50% of the waste ground around the existing holding than it would be to try and re-invent the wheel elsewhere,--------------
and you'd have much change out of 40 mil.

Maybe, but it sounds like the deal is already done to squash it flat.

[johnny yuma]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Maybe, but it sounds like the deal is already done to squash it flat.

They said the same about Sydney's second Airport for years then suddenly there was no deal.