Has the Taupo Race Circuit been sold?

[raymond]

Originally Posted by Alan Hyndman

Hi woodart, just a few reasons (from what I understand) as to why jetsprinting ceased at Manfeild:
-Dirty water washing over the track from the jetsprint pond (as the boats did their runs) leaving the track filthy afterwards,
- The risk of cars spinning into the pond (yes, I know it's on the inside of a corner but I'm reliably informed cars do on occasion spin in there - plus when the circuit was used in the reverse direction the pond was on the outside of the exit of the previous corner),
- The cost of hiring the whole circuit to stage a jetsprint (as you can't run a motorsport event at the same time as a jetsprint) was prohibitive,
- Launching and retrieving boats from the pond resulted in more dirt/mud being dragged onto the seal as there was no paving between the launch ramp and the track.
- The pond was a fantastic breeding ground for mosquitos (possibly not an actual reason but now that the pond is gone, not having mozzies there is a good thing).

At a guess, I could imagine the rallycross track would result in more dirt being dragged onto the seal, which would not be at all appreciated by track users and presumably would accelerate wear and tear on the seal. In addition to this, rallycross is a seldom run event, with few competitors and the hiring of the entire track to run a rallycross would again be prohibitive.

Now that the track extension has been walled off, it's possible that jetsprints and rallycross could be held on the back track.

On the subject of Manfeild in general, AFAIK, the staff at Manfeild don't run any events. They rent the place out to car clubs, MotorSport New Zealand, the Feilding IA&P Association, private hirers etc. While the NZGP is a big event, it is just one event that is run by others and I'd be surprised if it really is the difference between the Manfeild Park operation surviving or teetering on the brink of financial disaster. I'd suspect that either the media have not got that quite right or someone has said that to add weight to Manfeild keeping the NZGP.
I believe that Manfeild make a good proportion of their revenue from IA&P shows and good on them if it keeps the place going. While the holding of the Royal Show in December has robbed me of a date that I used to book for motorsport, I can fully understand why Manfeild would want to rent the facility out for a big horsey event instead of an entry level car club event.

Sorry for such a long first post!

Hi Alan,
I was on the Manfield Board when the Jetsprint track was built and subsequently filled-in a few (3?) years later. You must have read the board minutes as you have summerised the reasons well; but left out the main one. It never made any money.