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Motor racing to stop at Pukekohe Park
The famous Pukekohe Park circuit in New Zealand will cease all motorsport activities as of April next year.
Andrew van Leeuwen
Published: Jul 20, 2022, 12:06 AM
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Circuit owner Auckland Thoroughbred Racing confirmed today that motor racing will finish up at the venue on April 2, 2023.
After that the ATR will focus solely on horse racing with a redevelopment of the venue and its training facilities.
“We can appreciate today’s announcement will be big news for many," said ATR CEO Paul Wilcox.
"Motorsport has undoubtedly had a strong association with Pukekohe Park, becoming synonymous with our racecourse since the first time cars and bikes raced on it in 1962.
“However, our purpose is to facilitate thoroughbred racing at our Auckland venues with our vision being to provide a sustainable future for our sport in New Zealand.
“Part of that remit has seen us undertake a $40 million-plus project to deliver a world-class racing surface at Ellerslie and, during our recent merger process, we also made no secret of the fact that we hope to significantly increase average stakes money to help retain industry participants and attract growth both for our sport locally and for the long-term.
“To better support those activities and help ensure we become a financially viable, internationally recognised racing club that delivers to industry participants, we see a need to increase the training density in the region and have identified our site at Pukekohe Park as being an ideal location for that.
“As a result, we are developing plans to build additional stabling facilities at the racecourse to accommodate an increased horse population. Unfortunately, however, it is not conducive to have both motorsport activities and an increased numbers of horses stabled on site – hence our decision not to renew Pukekohe Motorsport’s lease with us from April 2023.”
Pukekohe Motorsport managing director Gary Stirling said he understood ATR's decision even it it was a blow for Kiwi motor racing.
"This will be a loss for the motorsport fraternity and also a game changer for motorsport in New Zealand," he said.
"Pukekohe has been the start of many great careers that have put New Zealand on the world stage and dominated the pinnacle of world motorsport.
“Although I am unhappy to be losing use of the park, I understand ATR’s future plans and respect their decision for them to grow their business. Hearing their plans, it was clear to see that motorsport just could not function at the park in conjunction with the club’s future plans.
“In recent years my team has worked hard to rejuvenate the motorsport facility and bring the sport at Pukekohe back to its former glory. I have enjoyed my time at Pukekohe and would like to thank all those who have attended over the years and been part of its motorsport history.
“The next nine months will be busy for us and I am sure we can all add to the history prior to the last chequered flag.”
Pukekohe has been hosting motor racing since the early 1960s and has more recently become the traditional home of Supercars in NZ.
The circuit first hosted the Australian series in a non-championship capacity in 1996 before the first full points-paying event in 2001.
Aside from the five-year stint of the Hamilton street race between 2008 and 2012, Pukekohe has regularly staged Supercars rounds with the final set to take place on September 9-11 this year.
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