Council approves new Wanneroo circuit plans
The Wanneroo Council has approved draft plans for a major revamp of the Wanneroo Raceway facility in Western Australia, including a new circuit.
The detailed plan includes acquisition of land to the north of the existing 2.41-kilometre Wanneroo Raceway layout, on which a separate FIA Grade 2 circuit would be built.
Improved and expanded infrastructure, including grandstand, pit and paddock areas, are also part of the plan.
The council approval means the process now moves to wider community consultation, with the plan set to made available for feedback from 'residents, ratepayers and motorsport enthusiasts' between March 30 and May 10.
“Since opening in 1969, Wanneroo Raceway has become the home of motorsport in Western Australia,” said Wanneroo mayor Tracey Roberts.
“I would encourage those interested in the future of this iconic WA sporting venue to have their say when the consultation period opens later this month.”
The Western Australian Sporting Car Club, which holds the lease to the venue and operates the circuit, welcomed the support of the council.
“The WASCC has been delivering motorsport to the state in events, big and small, for over 90 years, and has maintained and operated Wanneroo Raceway for over 50 years,” said president Russell Sewell.
“The history of cooperation and the excellent current relationship between the club and the City of Wanneroo can achieve synergies in the execution of the strategy.”
The existing Wanneroo Raceway circuit, known until this year as Barbagallo Raceway, underwent a full resurfacing ahead of the 2019 season.
It also staged a Supercars race under lights for the first time last year, after moving to a new shared promoter model with the series itself and the WA state government.
The second Perth SuperNight is currently scheduled to take place on the middle weekend in May.
Motorsport Games unveils 15 disciplines for 2020
Head of WTF1 joins Motorsport Network as Director of Digital Strategy
Rating the best drivers of the century so far
Autosport's Top 50 feature has been a staple of the magazine for the past two decades since its first appearance in 2002. Here are the drivers that have featured most prevalently during that time
The best motorsport moments of 2021
Motorsport produced one of its greatest years of all-time in 2021 despite a backdrop of ongoing COVID-19 challenges and an ever-changing racing landscape. Through the non-stop action Motorsport.com has collected the finest moments from the past 12 months to highlight the incredible drama and joy motorsport generates.
The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers
Making it in motorsport can be tough, and sometimes drivers move elsewhere before their best chance arrives. Here are some of those who made it back
The one-time Schumacher rival rebooting his career Down Under
Joey Mawson made waves in the middle of the last decade, beating future Haas Formula 1 driver Mick Schumacher - among other highly-rated talents - to the 2016 German F4 title. A run in F1's feeder GP3 category only caused his career to stall, but now back in Australia Mawson's S5000 title success has set that to rights
Why Todt’s FIA successor could be cut from the same cloth
Jean Todt has signalled that he will not stand for re-election as FIA president. Mark Gallagher analyses the strong credentials of one potential successor…
The lesson football’s would-be wreckers could learn from racing
OPINION: The greed-driven push for a European Super League that threatened to tear football apart is collapsing at the seams. Motor racing's equivalent, the football-themed Superleague Formula series of 2008-11, was everything that the proposed ESL never could be.
The real-life racing rogues stranger than fiction
The forthcoming Netflix film linking the world of underworld crime and motorsport plays on a theme that isn't exactly new. Over the years, several shady figures have attempted to make it in racing before their dubious dealings caught up with them.
The cherished curios kept by motorsport's professionals at home
Keeping trophies and momentos of key triumphs is par for the course for motorsport professionals, but what are the most cherished souvenirs picked up by the drivers and engineers who have seen and done it all?