Having seen the facilities recently I would think that the proposed money won't go that far to doing wehat is needed. The pit buildings were an eyesore.
Having seen the facilities recently I would think that the proposed money won't go that far to doing wehat is needed. The pit buildings were an eyesore.
Im sure there's alot more happening here that we could ever imagine!! first Hampton is privately owned and although it would be nice to see Hampton have the V8's and get finished can you imagine the public outcry of rate payers and gov money been spent on a privately owned race track, sure we all know they are struggling but i reckon once the dust settles over this they'll be better of, and i'll bet as i write this that there's no way they'll improve and upgrade Pukee for the cost's bandeed about, there'll be over runs and it'll all get messy and turn into a shit fight(though some contractors will do OK, thats if they get paid)!! im am though, all for pukee been upgraded as mentioned earlier on this forum, its another track to race on but from what i've heard theres other issues at hand once the V8 Super Circus leaves town anyway, that been noise for one!!.
Watch this space i guess
Dale M
The issues that need to be addressed to get Puke to a state wher it can be raced on, with out gambling your life, can not be resolved on 10 million spent over 5 years, I wonder what MSNZ would have to say about track upgrades, they can not be seen to be any softer there, when other tracks are hammered. I rgards to them running at Hampton Downes, I would think that Tony and Chris would to a little bit hard nosed, in their dealings with T/C, and would want him to PAY THEM money, not the otherway round.
Roger
Rog, while I sympathise with your comments on the state of the track, my biggest concern as a spectator is the facilities at Pukekohe which are utterly appalling. I went to the first round of the V8s there and never went back. Wading through 30 metres of urine swamp to get to a foul, overflowing portaloo is not my idea of a good day out.
They crammed so much advertising hoarding and corporate grandstands onto the track that the sight lines were ruined - ditto for the bridge half way down the start/finish straight.
Where we do agree is that it needs way more than 10 mill spending on it and if Auckland council think they are going to get away with that they are dreaming. How much did it cost Hamilton? OK they won't have to drag concrete and wire barriers around to make the circuit but there is just as much preparation work needed in other areas.
No, the ratepayers of Auckland better bend over and enjoy what's coming...
Last edited by Shano; 07-05-2012 at 10:31 PM.
When I made my one & only visit to the V8's at Hamilton I was shocked at the amount & loudness of the backfiring that goes on. They must block it out of the TV broadcast somehow but I can't imagine that the visitors to the shopping precinct, located hard up against the track boundary, will be too pleased with 3 days of very loud bangs.
With respect Dale, I don't see a lot of difference between the taxpayers and ratepayers money going into a track owned by a private company (Hampton Downs) or a track owned by a limited membership club (Counties Racing Club who owns the Pukekohe track). Both entities are essentially private organisations, not public bodies.Originally Posted by Kiwiboss
This morning's Herald. $1million a year to sponsor the weekend event, $454,000 in interest costs, $237,000 for the Counties Racing Club and $550,000 a year for marketing, transport and OTHER costs.
Counties racing club have lived off motorsport for years, and done nothing to assist motorsport. They have let all the ammenities turn to crap and just ride along on motorsports back. Why do they get $237,000 and what will they do with it, bet they don't put one cent back into the amenities, what was once a grandstand is a bloody disgrace with the wooden slats rotten and broken or missing, steel frames rusted and shagged, covered in bird shit (if they cleaned it, it would most probably fall apart), shit house's just that. The hillstand is completly rooted with seating broken and missing, but apart from that its the same as it has been for years.
PS I am not a fan of horse's or the kind that tend to associate with them.
This post sponsored by FIDO
Last edited by Rod Grimwood; 07-18-2012 at 04:52 AM.
...not to mention a track surface through the left right onto the front straight, that was lethal the last time I drove it in the damp; (has it been improved?) plus an inadequate run off area where it is most needed - on the right hander onto the front straight.
I had a bad bang there back in 2003 that topped and tailed my car extensively as I spun and hit the concrete on the inside rather than hit a car that was on its roof and spinning towards the outside. Maybe concrete barriers so close to the track edges are the norm on a street circuit, but a permanent circuit needs run off areas and escape routes where possible and space isn't really a premium.
Pukekohe is not a good spectator circuit and particularly bad for an amateur photographer. The bridge over the front straight, whilst necessary for spectator movement, blocks out the view from the stand.
You can't easily spectate at normal meetings to get at the hairpin or the esses, as for some reason, these days, access is denied to both.
Inside the track at Hampton Downs has probably given me some of the best motorsport photographs I have ever taken, all from the public areas too.
Following on from Ray's comments, it would be a real pity if Pukekohe is altered to a configuration that only really suits the Australian V8s that race on the track two or three days a year.
What about all the locals who run on it for the other 51 weekends who don't want a chicane on the back straight and don't want street circuit concrete barriers (from Hamilton) around the track.
In fact, if there were concrete barriers and catch fencing placed around the track (in lieu of run-off areas) then the track could actually be too unsafe for most historic and classic racers who don't have the levels of inherent car safety features such as comprehensive roll cages that are found in the Australian V8s.
Yes, but the Counties Racing Club is a membership organisation benefiting the members(supposedly) which is probably many persons so the spread of funds would look to be allot more fairer were as Hampton is owned by 2 individuals or a company with shareholders(not sure how its structured) but what im really trying to say is its more HOW it would be perceived to the general public because we all know that any and all funding/$$ spent is going to be under extreme public scrutiny!!just need to read the herald this morning to know that!! and im not sure what Hampton's take is on all this as there's certainly been little or no mention in the papers or TV, in fairness its probably best they keep it that way and just carry on, business as usual(i guess)
Also, look at the Sydney Homebush street race held just down the road from Eastern Creek, you can't tell me that ain't political manoeuvring at its best!! without getting into detail, GO FIGURE?
As for me personally, i only ever went to the first and last Hamilton V8 race and that's only because i got a free invite, its not me so don't see me paying in the future, best watched on TV!! if Hampton held a Classic/Historic event on the same weekend, that's where I'd be!!
Dale M
Last edited by Kiwiboss; 07-09-2012 at 07:06 AM.
What about the Mayor of Hamiltons accpetance of a price for all the grandstands WAY below valuation, then bleating about the cost of having the cars there.
I suppose (yeah right) that the incredibly cheap price will be passed on to Pukekohe. Laughs uproariously!
V8's returning to Puke - what a joke. There is no part of the facility that would meet the required standard to host the V8s in Oz - so how come it is allowed in NZ. Forget about the upgrades to the facilities for the fans, the Cockroach (as he is known to many Aussie race fans) is not interested in them. However the Teams will not accept 5 years of the crap facilities that are laughingly called 'The Pits' (or perhaps it is a very apt description) which will mean that in year 2 or 3 at the latest they will be rquired to be bulldozed and a complete new pit/race control/media area built. How much is budgeted for that? HD's non involvement - I would agree has more to do with the non kowtowing not totally overawed by the V8 'juggernaut' attitude of Tony and Chris. And Good on them!!
Re Hamilton's too cheap sell off of the infrastucture that was due to the apparently standard Bernie Jnr (the cockroach's other nickname) tactic of only giving council 48 hours to make a decision. Wondered at the time what his rush was as there was still 18 months to find a new round when he did it to Hamilton and at least 3 more months before he will have to finalise the 2013 calendar.
As the V8 show itself, will it actually be any good? There are two cars running this year with no spobnsorship. Apparently there are 19 cars with no major sponsor announced for next year - including both FPR cars an both T8 cars (though it seems fairly certain they at least have the sponsors but are just delaying the announcement)
/rant
Lee
I think there is a lot of truth in your comments Lee. Unfortunately Mr C may have done a job on some gullible and ignorant local body bureaucrats and politicians.
I just can't understand how the bureaucrats from ATEED came up with their 50,000 visitor nights that generates the $7 million annual "benefit" to the Auckland ratepayers.
The last time the AV8s ran at Puke was in 2006 and the biggest attendance was on the Sunday when 42,400 turned up. It is generally accepted that 80% of the spectators would come from either Auckland or Hamilton (or surrounding local areas) - those people will travel back home at night and won't stay in local hotels or motels so can't qualify for generating ATEED's visitor nights projection. Of the remaining 20% (8,480 based on 2006 Sunday's peak attendance) some will stay with friends or family but even if we take an extreme position and say they all stayed in hotels and motels then that would produce 16,960 visitor nights over the weekend - a very long way from ATEED's 50,000!
The other thing is that attendance at the Aussie AV8 rounds has been dropping over the last few years and this was also evident at the Hamilton AV8 events with the first year total attendance of 172,000 and the last year falling to 105,000 - maybe its not as popular as it was?
Don't forget to add in the teams, 'officials' and 'freebies' to the attending numbers Roger.
Agree though, a lot of the figures bandied about are very questionable.
What I find puzzling is that when we used to get our "Football Post" at 5pm on a Saturday night in the UK, or, even today, the Weekly (UK) Express, the attendance figures for all 4 UK soccer divisions are always published.
I question why NZ never publishes attendance figures for all Rugby/League and cricket matches, or horse racing events. The NZ "Rugby, Racing, Beer" obsession never seems to extend to crowd figures, yet the rugby and racing (cricket in the summer) seems to take up most of the sporting section of the newspaper every day, not to mention several exclusive TV channels, yet we have no idea how many people are the remotest bit interested. I wonder why?
I am sure that the real obsession with horse racing has nothing whatever to do with the actual potential dogmeat on the turf, but every thing to do with gambling. I doubt that the average punter would know whether the horse was black, chestnut or purple with pink spots.
Meanwhile, the Monday Herald had no race report on the Aussie V8s last weekend, just a couple of column centimetres on the results. The general media can make or break any event and the Herald is only really interested in the politics, not the event or the sport.
Who is televising the V8s next season? TV3 are apparently out. TV1 is out, so if it is free to air, that also rules out Sky - unless they televise it and put it out through Prime.
Time to add my uneducated 5 cents worth to this interesting debate...
I for one, have never attended a V8 Supercar meeting, and have no intention of. The idea of spending hard earned money on overpriced tickets, and having to spend my time listening to the ramblings of some clown sitting next to me talk about how much better they could steer a car around the track than professional drivers doesnt bear consideration. The great Ford / Holden debate doesnt appeal. Joe Public has been brainwashed into the belief the cars they watch actually have a relationship with something that is sold from the showroom floor.
How Pukekohe has been selected as a suitable venue over Hampton Downs is just another demonstration of how taxpayers will be used as the pawns to justify New Zealands association with V8 Supercars. Pukekohe is a dinosaur, and the amount of money needed to be spent on it wont make a lick of difference to its layout. Anything spent will only be for the pleasure of Mr Cochrane, and a weak attempt to justify involvement in this country. Hampton Downs is a superior spectator facility, and the official statement that its non-selection is based purely on its proximity, only reinforces the brown and mushy that the V8 Supercar franchise continues to sell to its guillible partners.
Irrespective of the view of ownership of either track, Hampton Downs as a venue offers much more to Joe Public in the way of value for money from a spectators point of view, than Pukekohe will ever be capable of. As a ratepayer from "Jafa land", and despite being an avid supporter / competitor in motorsport, Im none too happy about having to "bend over" and take whats coming.
I'll wager that despite the enormous loss the Hamilton ratepayers have suffered, they will ultimately be the ones who get to laugh last at their neighbours north of the Bombays......
Good post. I think you echo the view of a lot of people in Jafa land who are still enthusiasts.
Looks like Hampton Downs has finally got it's consent for 50,000 spectators :
Media Release
28th August 2012
HAMPTON DOWNS RESOURCE CONSENT APPROVED
Resource consent enabling daily spectator numbers to be increased from 20,000 to 50,000 for major events has been approved for the Hampton Downs International motor racing circuit.
The Waikato District Council approved the Resource Consent application this week and the documentation was received by Hampton Downs management today.
“This is the start of an exciting new development phase for Hampton Downs,” said Tony Roberts, the Managing Director of the 450 acre Motorsport Park located 60km south of central Auckland.
“This is a very important day for the future of Hampton Downs as New Zealand’s premier motor racing facility” said Roberts, “This approval enables Hampton Downs to host major national and international events; and also removes the impediment that V8 Supercars said prevented it from bringing their event to New Zealand’s best race circuit.”
“Hampton Downs is just 40 minutes from the centre of Auckland City and the road is dual carriageway motorway for the entire 60kms. Already Hampton Downs has 250,000 people passing through its gates each year and 2.5 million people reside within 90 minutes of the circuit. This consent allows for the continuing development of Hampton Downs.”
Hampton Downs worked closely with the Waikato District Council and the New Zealand Transport Agency to develop practical solutions for the anticipated traffic volume at major event with up to 50,000 spectators per day.
“In particular I would like to thank Nath Pritchard and the team at Waikato District Council who provided assistance in processing this Resource Consent and the support of the New Zealand Transport Agency, who worked through the issues in a positive manner”
Parking will be available for up to 9,150 vehicles at the Motorsport Park, and to accommodate the remaining car parking demand and ensure that traffic is efficiently distributed on the roading network, park-and-ride facilities will be established at Mercer and the nearby Meremere Drag racing facility.
“This Resource Consent secures our long term future because the way is now clear for Hampton Downs to fully achieve its potential; and become a significant event centre and tourist attraction for the Auckland and Waikato regions.”
“Future development will provide significant economic benefits for both Auckland and the Waikato region.”
Construction of the Hampton Downs Motorsport Park commenced in early 2007, with the original Resource Consent authorising the establishment and operation of the Motorsport Park and the establishment of various business, industrial and rural-residential uses on and around the Motorsport Park site, including 80 apartments.
For further information please contact:
Tony Roberts
Managing Director Hampton Downs
Telephone: +64-9-280 6584
Mobile: +64-21-133 2895
Email: tony@hamptondowns.com
Website: www.hamptondowns.com/
Bloody great news!
Have sent an email to Chris, Tony and the team congratulating them on a job well done. I see that the total attendance figures for last year were 250K Bloody great job !!
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