Hey everyone! An earlier script for this video included a more in-depth discussion about street vs permanent circuits but I would have been talking for far too long. As hinted at the end of the video, I appreciate the importance of permanent tracks and hope they continue to get the investment and support. Sadly in the case of Wanneroo Raceway specifically, serious upgrades (including extension) seem like a distant dream. Unless Supercars reintroduce longer races or night events at Wanneroo, the fan in me is far more drawn to a street circuit to add some excitement back into the WA round. Hope that adds some context for my enthusiasm, and I respect the frustration many people have towards street circuits. Cheers! 🏁
There’s room in Perth for 2 V8 races. So my idea would be to have the preseason test at Barbagallo Tuesday to Thursday. Then 8 days later have the season opener on the street circuit. Then go back to Barbs in August. Both events will sell well.
would be interesting to see if they could make the Collie Motorplex work down south, needs big infrastructure upgrades but the foundations are already there
Can we just take this entire idea out the back and shoot it right away? Street circuits absorb massive amounts of money in setup and packdown usually out of sponsorship that would go to local motorsport clubs. Melbourne for what's it's spent on albert park could of built a Sepang or Dubai grade circuit with change that would be available the other 350odd days of the year to earn money to justify it's existence not to mention be a facility for local talent to develop. Supercars in Perth wouldn't exist in WA if it wasn't propped up by the WA taxpayer so asking for more money with little tangible benefit to the local motorsport community is pretty rich IMO for a series that is struggling for relevance. Lets not mention the NIMBY's it Perth that constantly moaned about rally Australia and the Redbull Air race in similar location yes I just did. If say the series was on board to contributing to the transition to a permanent facility within 2-3 seasons I'd be more receptive, although I suspect they will simply take the public's money and run.
Good idea I have never watched AFL cricket in Western Australia I think it's a good idea I would like to go Supercars in the future Western Australia would be exciting Will be like Adelaide500 replaced with Perth500 I am interested already I like Number3 idea
Cheers for your thoughts! Sounds like a street circuit would be more likely entice you to WA than Wanneroo - that's a big part of my justification for the idea
Glad you're feeling better mate! Really cool video, but yeah a full discussion on street vs permanent circuits could have definitely gotten a bit long haha. Perhaps an idea for another video during this break or another later in the season. I've seen that discussion as relates to a variety of series, but don't think I've seen one as pertains specifically to Supercars. I think layout 1 would probably be the best for racing overall. A few high speed sections with passing zones galore is what it looks like, though I don't really have any concept of the elevation changes and whatnot. But, if the local politics make that road harder to have closed for racing than to make permanent changes to that park, I'd say layout 3(a) is the better of the other two. Layout 2 feels like the track you'd get after proposals for 1 and 3 were made and someone decided there had to be a compromise between the two, getting rid of the best bits of each. Not sure how much passing we'd truly see on 3, a or b, but it looks like it would at the very least put on some spectacular qualifying, and when passes do manage to be made, they'd probably be pretty awesome to watch. A further proposal from my nascar-brained self: put a temporary 0.25 mile oval in that sports stadium like nascar did at the LA Coliseum, you'd get plenty of action on track with that! Lol Hope you were able to see SVG's win at Portland in the Xfinity series this weekend! Wasn't an easy one that he drove away with, had to fight through adversity a few times, had a damaged car, but still managed to get the win after being in 4th following a restart with 4 to go. Epic celebration, drifting around the whole track, then signed a rugby ball and drop kicked it into the stands lol. And in typical Shane "being a real chill dude" fashion, first thing he said in his interview was an apology to another driver he'd spun out after locking his brakes on lap 1. Great stuff to see, and I think he's doing a great job of growing his fan base in the States with performances and interviews like he had this weekend.
Cheers Stormy! It's good to be back on the mic. Haha yes the street vs permanent debate has been interesting to follow in the comments. There's heaps of permanent tracks around Aus that Supercars should make more use of, but I think a Street Circuit makes decent sense in Perth given our limited facilities that never seem to get upgraded. As someone that leaves Wanneroo Raceway underwhelmed almost every year, I'd love to see it happen. Appreciate your thoughts on my track layouts! Great win for Giz - looked like a busy race from the highlights. I'll try to catch the full Sonoma race this coming weekend.
@@FanAtTheFence Well I'll look forward to a potential video from you covering that topic on a wider scale then! It was a busy race indeed, not surprising at all with the history of that track though. Indycar has just as much trouble getting through that frontstretch chicane, if not more lol. If my understanding of the time zones is correct, I believe Sonoma is a 3:30 am Monday start for you? No shame in recording and watching at a more reasonable time with that one! Sonoma is a fun track, though with a fresh repave who knows how it'll race this weekend. Excited to see how Waters and Brown fare, I think the track should suit the skillset of Supercars drivers well, and with the new asphalt they'll get a longer practice session than has become the norm in nascar. Will definitely be keeping an eye on how they progress through the weekend!
@FanAtTheFence just saw the news and wanted to come back and say congrats on your prognostication and getting a race you wanted! Not to see which of your layouts they decide to go with (unless I missed that part somewhere lol)
3rd concept is certainly the best - but at 2.9km - a measly 500m longer than Barbs, I can’t help but feel it needs to be at least 1km longer somewhere or somehow
Yeah they are all on the short side. I think there's decent options to extend, it'll just introduce some extra planning headaches. Will be interesting to see what track they come up with if the event does get off the ground.
It wouldn't be impossible, we've seen semi-regional races like that work before 🙂 I suspect Optus is better setup for an event like this though in terms of access, etc.
Like options 3 & 3a. Short, sharp laps are better than long treks around any other circuit that Bathurst. Personally, I find Talem Bend a snooze fest with their 18 minute laps (sic)
Cheers Peter! Given the limited sight-line for fans at street circuits, I think shorter laps are generally better to ensure fans see the cars as many times as possible. Lots of options to make these concepts longer if needed as well though!
Thinking out of the box not sure if cars are capable ,and I think we need to start thinking about moving closer to NASCAR .rebuild Thunderdome and have a round track round .that would be cool
I'd love to see the Thunderdome come back in some way, not sure designing Supercars for a single track is the way to go though. Will be interesting to see how the two categories evolve over the coming years 🙂
I don't like the idea of adding extra roads in a parkland, We are already losing our native wildlife corridors, If you used Belmont park though... That would work really well, It's such a waste of space and an eyesore as it currently is.
I respect that, fortunately there are ways to race in Burswood without going through the park. Belmont's an interesting one - I suspect they'll avoid it due to the redevelopment though... construction and street circuits rarely mix well! Hopefully that area gets a facelift soon 🙂
In my opinion, I believe street circuits are overrated and overused. Often, they are narrow, tight and hard to pass which produces poor racing. The calendar is flooded with street circuits and we don't need anymore. 50% of this years calendar are street circuits. Adding street circuits is detrimental to the sustainability of potential new tracks that have a purpose larger than just hosting Supercars. Street tracks also have poor viewing areas for trackside fans and are very hard for young families to manoeuvre around to access everything the event has to offer. I much prefer watching the racing in front of me rather than having to watch it on a trackside TV screen because the cars cant be seen for the 95% of the lap because of buildings. Tracks like Phillip Island, QR, Winton and The Bend (I know its being re-added for 2025) being currently unused by Supercars should be on the calendar before anymore street circuits. Removing Waneroo also significantly impacts the local economy. More often, a Supercars produced street tracks like Sydney Olympic Park, Canberra and Newcastle have failed to capture the engagement due to poor racing, poor trackside fan experiences, and logistically, very difficult for fans. (I do not regard Gold Coast and Adelaide as Supercars produced as other categories were there before Supercars). Supercars best times are when fans are able to park cars along fence lines, put up there tents/awnings/gazebos, pull the Barbeque out of the boot and cook some snags trackside. I believe the best racing is produced on purpose built tracks. They give the best fan experience for trackside viewers, and if the racing is good with a good fan experience, fans will be more willing to travel to watch the racing at a purpose built track.
In my opinion, I don’t know what you’re on about. 4- Street circuits across 12 events this year, All of which produces better racing than: Tasmania, Darwin, Sydney, Sandown, Perth, Ipswich, Winton and worst of all THE BEND (I do like Philip Island and I’ll miss Pukekohe). Newcastle is dog shit but it can be good when there’s a battle for the championship at the end (unfortunately we haven’t had one in a while). Sydney Olympic Park produced GREAT racing! (My Opinion) V8 Supercars are at their best when they are screaming down the streets, bouncing off the curbs and are bumping up against the walls and each other making high stakes action racing. Purposely built tracks have failed to bring the excitement against circuits such as Adelaide, Surfers Paradise, Sydney Olympic Park, Hamilton NZ, Townsville’s decent and Melbourne has been good since Gen3. Though I agree that you get a better view of a purpose built track, I still wouldn’t turn up to see a race if it’s going to be boring.
Definitely feel a lot of your arguments are fair, there's good street circuits and bad ones - the former more common admittedly. Places like Townsville, Adelaide and Surfers prove the events can be sustainable (regardless of who started them), but there's no doubt impacts on the wider motorsport industry and fan experience. For me it all comes back to intensity and sense of risk in the racing, which I feel street circuits provide even if they do make passing harder. Definitely keen for a balance between street and permanent tracks, but in Perth specifically I feel a street circuit would deliver a more exciting and supported event overall. It all comes down to personal preference though - I appreciate your thoughts 🙂
id love to see wanneroo get an upgrade , i worked there for 20 years doing the towing and have great memory of local races , but the supercars is the only time the track ever gets spectators , best bet would be to extend the track from turn one and keep it going straight then a right hand turn on to a new supercars pit/start line then a right hand hairpin and curve left to rejoin turn one , biggest mistake made was building the pits on the infield and essentially destroying the viewing for the crowd , that was the one thing the track had going for it was you could see almost 85% of the track from almost any point , but before we go planing things we need to ask is it worth it ? , the supercars has gone to shit , the racing is boring , the cars are boring , the drivers are boring , sadly there is no top tier racing series for road racing anymore , im just glad we have the perth motorplex for the sprint cars and late model sedans , as for circuit racing i feel like its just gone flat , there is no excitement any more , even bathurst was boring last year , a street circuit might bring in the money but we have a track that with a little bit of work and less cost would be sufficient for then next few years until the category dies completely
I'd absolutely love to see Wanneroo get an upgrade too - hopefully a better planned one than the infield pitlane. Their master plan released a few years ago (that weirdly disappeared) proposed a completely separate second circuit to the north...I think I've given up hope on an actual extension ever since. I'd like to do a video about extension options for Wanneroo in the future
The state of permanent racing facilities in WA is dismal. Collie won’t ever host Supercars because it’s too far away and has no infrastructure so let’s write that one off for international events or Supercars (though it is exceptionally fun for track days). Wanneroo raceway would be the most likely for re development or addition of a new track as was proposed but i don’t think the state gov wants to put up the money for it. There was proposals for two private club facilities, one in Bindoon which had broken ground and the entire circuit layout is scratched out. However the developer never paid the contractor (it was all a suspicious situation) and now is just sitting there with seemingly no further progress in sight. And a second resort/club facility south in the serpentine area which since headlines broke I’ve heard no updates about. I think a street circuit is possible but I can’t see the state gov splashing the cash for this kind of event these days. I’d personally be for the new track at Wanneroo or the Perth Motorplex facilities since it would already be a part of an existing Motorsport venue, has the greatest potential for the long term and having a quality facility, and is still relatively close to major townships. Personally I’m not to keen on street circuits I find them to often be uninspiring with their layouts and the racing they produce. Saying that Supercars still race at Wanneroo don’t they? 😂
They have run Trans Am and GT Cars at collie in local racing before at collie, the tracks capable of hosting Supercars, but absolutely not capable of hosting a Supercars event if that makes sense. Nowhere near enough infrastructure. Could probably get a test day in there and that's about it
You've summed up WA's circuit situation quite nicely there, I think my preference for a street circuit is because I've lost all hope existing facilities will get the investment they deserve! Appreciate your thoughts
As I mentioned already track 3 is the best. This gives me flashbacks of Sydney olympic park with ANZ stadium next to the track and townsville with permeant track and actual roads
I agree with you assessments about enclosing the residents and the casino. I think your idea for the right hand side of track 3 version 2 is good. I would have the track follow the service road around the stadium. This provides room for a chicane and grandstands in the park. This means the entertainment venue is inside the racing precinct along with it's food and amenities. I understand this means building a lot more dedicated tarmac.
Thanks Steven! I played with the idea of the track going under that covered pedestrian path which snakes around the stadium - it would look awesome. I suspect it'll be too narrow though, so those other service roads might be a better option like you say 🙂
Third one is cool, yours are all different concepts to what I've had in mind, but, of they don't do a track to town , down the poli pipe and round the convention centre to either Elizabeth key or Langley park and the over the causeway back to Burswood, I'll be sad
It would be good if they could alternate between the two build new circuit at Wanneroo whilst running Street circuit... Wanneroo would get year round use and maybe GT long distance races and drag racing on straight...
As a local resident, I'm supportive of racing in Burswood park - namely the cycling and running marathons. There has been no consultation with us prior to this announcement about car racing. We are rather angry and most of us will be building potato guns and firing from the balconies. There's thousands of us, the government can't arrest us all. Not to mention that parkland is a very popular family picnic/childs birthday destination, and the track will be there year round. Yes there won't be official races on it all year, but we already have a hoon problem (they love that curvy bit near the stadium) and putting in a racetrack will only make it worse, we'll have hoons doing laps all day and night all the time, mowing down small children, nesting black swans ( the closest thing to royalty in WA, loads nest in those parklands and walk back and forward to the river) and anything that moves. Not to mention that many of us moved into the inner city because we wanted to get away from the bogans and hoons in the suburbs. The government has massively underestimated the locals opposition to this, especially because putting in a racetrack goes against every sensible traffic calming design and existing design and planning policy for the park which the residents have already been consulted about. I think the government has confused our support of the stadium and regular parkland events - everything from horse showjumping, marathons, large concerts etc and assumed that because we support those events that we would love to hear noisy V8's and potentially be unable to have access to our homes for long periods of time. The closest thing to motorsport in Burswood park we support is watching the trucks setting up/packing down events get bogged in the mud. (There's a reason that there's nothing built there, it's dirt and asbestos floating on the river effectively) What we do support is upgrading the Wanneroo racetrack or other permanent race track, and letting the V8 supercars blast their vvrrm vrrrmm noises to their hearts content out there. Not here at Burswood.
The announcement has said permant grandstands and use all year round. So I am guessing if they will do a cut through section in Burswood park to allow that section only to be used for non Supercars. Simular to Adelaide, although they still close of part of Wakefield street for smaller events. We are rumoured to be going after Formula E as well.
It will never happen and if you are a true fan of the v8 supercars 45min drive is fuck all who going to pay for this you your dreaming they got rid of the rally cars? Because it cost to much money no Profit
I think WA should have both the street circuit and Wanneroo. WA is definitely big enough for 2 races I guess the question is would having them one after the other might eat into both events attendance so maybe space them out one ant the start of the year and the other near the end of the
Whichever way you look at it, you’ve got to have good and GAINT grandstanding- you want us from g to he east to spend all our hard earned and travel the distance in these troubled times - not fill said grandstanding with just locals - or this whole thing is not viable. Do like the idea - don’t like the idea of precession racing. Unless there’s is overtaking and dueling into corners is is also pointless.
100% agree, this event would need to attract good numbers of tourists to work. Doing it as the season opener with concerts would give it a good shot, it's challenging times like you say though 🙂
@@FanAtTheFence Townsville is an amazing event, I lived there for many years, spent so many hours walking around that precinct. Something like that in Perth would be amazing.
Hey everyone! An earlier script for this video included a more in-depth discussion about street vs permanent circuits but I would have been talking for far too long.
As hinted at the end of the video, I appreciate the importance of permanent tracks and hope they continue to get the investment and support. Sadly in the case of Wanneroo Raceway specifically, serious upgrades (including extension) seem like a distant dream.
Unless Supercars reintroduce longer races or night events at Wanneroo, the fan in me is far more drawn to a street circuit to add some excitement back into the WA round.
Hope that adds some context for my enthusiasm, and I respect the frustration many people have towards street circuits.
Cheers! 🏁
There’s room in Perth for 2 V8 races. So my idea would be to have the preseason test at Barbagallo Tuesday to Thursday. Then 8 days later have the season opener on the street circuit. Then go back to Barbs in August. Both events will sell well.
would be interesting to see if they could make the Collie Motorplex work down south, needs big infrastructure upgrades but the foundations are already there
Can we just take this entire idea out the back and shoot it right away? Street circuits absorb massive amounts of money in setup and packdown usually out of sponsorship that would go to local motorsport clubs. Melbourne for what's it's spent on albert park could of built a Sepang or Dubai grade circuit with change that would be available the other 350odd days of the year to earn money to justify it's existence not to mention be a facility for local talent to develop.
Supercars in Perth wouldn't exist in WA if it wasn't propped up by the WA taxpayer so asking for more money with little tangible benefit to the local motorsport community is pretty rich IMO for a series that is struggling for relevance.
Lets not mention the NIMBY's it Perth that constantly moaned about rally Australia and the Redbull Air race in similar location yes I just did.
If say the series was on board to contributing to the transition to a permanent facility within 2-3 seasons I'd be more receptive, although I suspect they will simply take the public's money and run.
All very fair points - there's no doubt serious downsides to street circuits too.
Good idea I have never watched AFL cricket in Western Australia I think it's a good idea I would like to go Supercars in the future Western Australia would be exciting Will be like Adelaide500 replaced with Perth500 I am interested already I like Number3 idea
Cheers for your thoughts! Sounds like a street circuit would be more likely entice you to WA than Wanneroo - that's a big part of my justification for the idea
Wonder how Mr.Adderton would react with the giant OPTUS stadium in the background and especially if mozzie or Feeney gets the Boost mobile pole award
I hadn't thought about that haha 😛
I agree. I think the races should be held near the city instead of Wanneroo.
Maybe we should have 2 WA rounds of the Supercars, 1 at the Perth street track and the other at Barbagallo Raceway!
I have an idea for a layout as well, how can I send it to you to see what you think?
Glad you're feeling better mate!
Really cool video, but yeah a full discussion on street vs permanent circuits could have definitely gotten a bit long haha. Perhaps an idea for another video during this break or another later in the season. I've seen that discussion as relates to a variety of series, but don't think I've seen one as pertains specifically to Supercars.
I think layout 1 would probably be the best for racing overall. A few high speed sections with passing zones galore is what it looks like, though I don't really have any concept of the elevation changes and whatnot. But, if the local politics make that road harder to have closed for racing than to make permanent changes to that park, I'd say layout 3(a) is the better of the other two. Layout 2 feels like the track you'd get after proposals for 1 and 3 were made and someone decided there had to be a compromise between the two, getting rid of the best bits of each. Not sure how much passing we'd truly see on 3, a or b, but it looks like it would at the very least put on some spectacular qualifying, and when passes do manage to be made, they'd probably be pretty awesome to watch.
A further proposal from my nascar-brained self: put a temporary 0.25 mile oval in that sports stadium like nascar did at the LA Coliseum, you'd get plenty of action on track with that! Lol
Hope you were able to see SVG's win at Portland in the Xfinity series this weekend! Wasn't an easy one that he drove away with, had to fight through adversity a few times, had a damaged car, but still managed to get the win after being in 4th following a restart with 4 to go. Epic celebration, drifting around the whole track, then signed a rugby ball and drop kicked it into the stands lol. And in typical Shane "being a real chill dude" fashion, first thing he said in his interview was an apology to another driver he'd spun out after locking his brakes on lap 1. Great stuff to see, and I think he's doing a great job of growing his fan base in the States with performances and interviews like he had this weekend.
Cheers Stormy! It's good to be back on the mic.
Haha yes the street vs permanent debate has been interesting to follow in the comments. There's heaps of permanent tracks around Aus that Supercars should make more use of, but I think a Street Circuit makes decent sense in Perth given our limited facilities that never seem to get upgraded.
As someone that leaves Wanneroo Raceway underwhelmed almost every year, I'd love to see it happen. Appreciate your thoughts on my track layouts!
Great win for Giz - looked like a busy race from the highlights. I'll try to catch the full Sonoma race this coming weekend.
@@FanAtTheFence Well I'll look forward to a potential video from you covering that topic on a wider scale then!
It was a busy race indeed, not surprising at all with the history of that track though. Indycar has just as much trouble getting through that frontstretch chicane, if not more lol. If my understanding of the time zones is correct, I believe Sonoma is a 3:30 am Monday start for you? No shame in recording and watching at a more reasonable time with that one! Sonoma is a fun track, though with a fresh repave who knows how it'll race this weekend. Excited to see how Waters and Brown fare, I think the track should suit the skillset of Supercars drivers well, and with the new asphalt they'll get a longer practice session than has become the norm in nascar. Will definitely be keeping an eye on how they progress through the weekend!
@FanAtTheFence just saw the news and wanted to come back and say congrats on your prognostication and getting a race you wanted! Not to see which of your layouts they decide to go with (unless I missed that part somewhere lol)
3rd concept is certainly the best - but at 2.9km - a measly 500m longer than Barbs, I can’t help but feel it needs to be at least 1km longer somewhere or somehow
Yeah they are all on the short side. I think there's decent options to extend, it'll just introduce some extra planning headaches.
Will be interesting to see what track they come up with if the event does get off the ground.
Bunbury track?
It wouldn't be impossible, we've seen semi-regional races like that work before 🙂 I suspect Optus is better setup for an event like this though in terms of access, etc.
Like options 3 & 3a. Short, sharp laps are better than long treks around any other circuit that Bathurst. Personally, I find Talem Bend a snooze fest with their 18 minute laps (sic)
Cheers Peter! Given the limited sight-line for fans at street circuits, I think shorter laps are generally better to ensure fans see the cars as many times as possible. Lots of options to make these concepts longer if needed as well though!
Is NSW deal to host the first race over?
I understand it is over from 2025 🙂
Newcastle rejected 5 year deal so Bathurst 500 was one off gap filler...
They talked about developing a street circuit in Muswellbrook or somewhere in the upper Hunter Region as the opening event. Has that been killed off?
Thinking out of the box not sure if cars are capable ,and I think we need to start thinking about moving closer to NASCAR .rebuild Thunderdome and have a round track round .that would be cool
I'd love to see the Thunderdome come back in some way, not sure designing Supercars for a single track is the way to go though. Will be interesting to see how the two categories evolve over the coming years 🙂
I don't like the idea of adding extra roads in a parkland,
We are already losing our native wildlife corridors,
If you used Belmont park though... That would work really well,
It's such a waste of space and an eyesore as it currently is.
I respect that, fortunately there are ways to race in Burswood without going through the park.
Belmont's an interesting one - I suspect they'll avoid it due to the redevelopment though... construction and street circuits rarely mix well! Hopefully that area gets a facelift soon 🙂
Optus stadium surround could limit city access via the causeway.
Just do it
I hope they do!
Well well well…
In my opinion, I believe street circuits are overrated and overused. Often, they are narrow, tight and hard to pass which produces poor racing. The calendar is flooded with street circuits and we don't need anymore. 50% of this years calendar are street circuits. Adding street circuits is detrimental to the sustainability of potential new tracks that have a purpose larger than just hosting Supercars. Street tracks also have poor viewing areas for trackside fans and are very hard for young families to manoeuvre around to access everything the event has to offer. I much prefer watching the racing in front of me rather than having to watch it on a trackside TV screen because the cars cant be seen for the 95% of the lap because of buildings.
Tracks like Phillip Island, QR, Winton and The Bend (I know its being re-added for 2025) being currently unused by Supercars should be on the calendar before anymore street circuits. Removing Waneroo also significantly impacts the local economy. More often, a Supercars produced street tracks like Sydney Olympic Park, Canberra and Newcastle have failed to capture the engagement due to poor racing, poor trackside fan experiences, and logistically, very difficult for fans. (I do not regard Gold Coast and Adelaide as Supercars produced as other categories were there before Supercars).
Supercars best times are when fans are able to park cars along fence lines, put up there tents/awnings/gazebos, pull the Barbeque out of the boot and cook some snags trackside.
I believe the best racing is produced on purpose built tracks. They give the best fan experience for trackside viewers, and if the racing is good with a good fan experience, fans will be more willing to travel to watch the racing at a purpose built track.
In my opinion, I don’t know what you’re on about.
4- Street circuits across 12 events this year, All of which produces better racing than:
Tasmania, Darwin, Sydney, Sandown, Perth, Ipswich, Winton and worst of all THE BEND (I do like Philip Island and I’ll miss Pukekohe). Newcastle is dog shit but it can be good when there’s a battle for the championship at the end (unfortunately we haven’t had one in a while). Sydney Olympic Park produced GREAT racing! (My Opinion) V8 Supercars are at their best when they are screaming down the streets, bouncing off the curbs and are bumping up against the walls and each other making high stakes action racing. Purposely built tracks have failed to bring the excitement against circuits such as Adelaide, Surfers Paradise, Sydney Olympic Park, Hamilton NZ, Townsville’s decent and Melbourne has been good since Gen3.
Though I agree that you get a better view of a purpose built track, I still wouldn’t turn up to see a race if it’s going to be boring.
Definitely feel a lot of your arguments are fair, there's good street circuits and bad ones - the former more common admittedly. Places like Townsville, Adelaide and Surfers prove the events can be sustainable (regardless of who started them), but there's no doubt impacts on the wider motorsport industry and fan experience.
For me it all comes back to intensity and sense of risk in the racing, which I feel street circuits provide even if they do make passing harder.
Definitely keen for a balance between street and permanent tracks, but in Perth specifically I feel a street circuit would deliver a more exciting and supported event overall.
It all comes down to personal preference though - I appreciate your thoughts 🙂
id love to see wanneroo get an upgrade , i worked there for 20 years doing the towing and have great memory of local races , but the supercars is the only time the track ever gets spectators , best bet would be to extend the track from turn one and keep it going straight then a right hand turn on to a new supercars pit/start line then a right hand hairpin and curve left to rejoin turn one , biggest mistake made was building the pits on the infield and essentially destroying the viewing for the crowd , that was the one thing the track had going for it was you could see almost 85% of the track from almost any point , but before we go planing things we need to ask is it worth it ? , the supercars has gone to shit , the racing is boring , the cars are boring , the drivers are boring , sadly there is no top tier racing series for road racing anymore , im just glad we have the perth motorplex for the sprint cars and late model sedans , as for circuit racing i feel like its just gone flat , there is no excitement any more , even bathurst was boring last year , a street circuit might bring in the money but we have a track that with a little bit of work and less cost would be sufficient for then next few years until the category dies completely
I'd absolutely love to see Wanneroo get an upgrade too - hopefully a better planned one than the infield pitlane.
Their master plan released a few years ago (that weirdly disappeared) proposed a completely separate second circuit to the north...I think I've given up hope on an actual extension ever since.
I'd like to do a video about extension options for Wanneroo in the future
Wanneroo breaks the rules, sub 60 second laps.
It never got the expansions it was supposed to have.
The state of permanent racing facilities in WA is dismal. Collie won’t ever host Supercars because it’s too far away and has no infrastructure so let’s write that one off for international events or Supercars (though it is exceptionally fun for track days). Wanneroo raceway would be the most likely for re development or addition of a new track as was proposed but i don’t think the state gov wants to put up the money for it. There was proposals for two private club facilities, one in Bindoon which had broken ground and the entire circuit layout is scratched out. However the developer never paid the contractor (it was all a suspicious situation) and now is just sitting there with seemingly no further progress in sight. And a second resort/club facility south in the serpentine area which since headlines broke I’ve heard no updates about. I think a street circuit is possible but I can’t see the state gov splashing the cash for this kind of event these days. I’d personally be for the new track at Wanneroo or the Perth Motorplex facilities since it would already be a part of an existing Motorsport venue, has the greatest potential for the long term and having a quality facility, and is still relatively close to major townships. Personally I’m not to keen on street circuits I find them to often be uninspiring with their layouts and the racing they produce. Saying that Supercars still race at Wanneroo don’t they? 😂
They have run Trans Am and GT Cars at collie in local racing before at collie, the tracks capable of hosting Supercars, but absolutely not capable of hosting a Supercars event if that makes sense. Nowhere near enough infrastructure. Could probably get a test day in there and that's about it
You've summed up WA's circuit situation quite nicely there, I think my preference for a street circuit is because I've lost all hope existing facilities will get the investment they deserve! Appreciate your thoughts
As I mentioned already track 3 is the best. This gives me flashbacks of Sydney olympic park with ANZ stadium next to the track and townsville with permeant track and actual roads
Cheers Ryno, I definitely took inspo from Townsville. Those hybrid circuits tend to work well in Supercars
I agree with you assessments about enclosing the residents and the casino. I think your idea for the right hand side of track 3 version 2 is good. I would have the track follow the service road around the stadium. This provides room for a chicane and grandstands in the park. This means the entertainment venue is inside the racing precinct along with it's food and amenities.
I understand this means building a lot more dedicated tarmac.
Thanks Steven! I played with the idea of the track going under that covered pedestrian path which snakes around the stadium - it would look awesome. I suspect it'll be too narrow though, so those other service roads might be a better option like you say 🙂
Third one is cool, yours are all different concepts to what I've had in mind, but, of they don't do a track to town , down the poli pipe and round the convention centre to either Elizabeth key or Langley park and the over the causeway back to Burswood, I'll be sad
Thanks Adam! It seems ripe for a track to town if the track is built in Burswood
Perfect! I would travel from Tassie for that! A couple of pre-season AFL games at Optus would almost guarantee an influx of tourists.
It would be good if they could alternate between the two build new circuit at Wanneroo whilst running Street circuit... Wanneroo would get year round use and maybe GT long distance races and drag racing on straight...
That would be the ideal situation, the best of both worlds!
They could use Wanneroo as a proper sprint round with 4-5 Albert Park style all-out sprints over a weekend.
track 1
Appreciate your thoughts!
As a local resident, I'm supportive of racing in Burswood park - namely the cycling and running marathons. There has been no consultation with us prior to this announcement about car racing. We are rather angry and most of us will be building potato guns and firing from the balconies. There's thousands of us, the government can't arrest us all. Not to mention that parkland is a very popular family picnic/childs birthday destination, and the track will be there year round. Yes there won't be official races on it all year, but we already have a hoon problem (they love that curvy bit near the stadium) and putting in a racetrack will only make it worse, we'll have hoons doing laps all day and night all the time, mowing down small children, nesting black swans ( the closest thing to royalty in WA, loads nest in those parklands and walk back and forward to the river) and anything that moves. Not to mention that many of us moved into the inner city because we wanted to get away from the bogans and hoons in the suburbs. The government has massively underestimated the locals opposition to this, especially because putting in a racetrack goes against every sensible traffic calming design and existing design and planning policy for the park which the residents have already been consulted about. I think the government has confused our support of the stadium and regular parkland events - everything from horse showjumping, marathons, large concerts etc and assumed that because we support those events that we would love to hear noisy V8's and potentially be unable to have access to our homes for long periods of time.
The closest thing to motorsport in Burswood park we support is watching the trucks setting up/packing down events get bogged in the mud. (There's a reason that there's nothing built there, it's dirt and asbestos floating on the river effectively)
What we do support is upgrading the Wanneroo racetrack or other permanent race track, and letting the V8 supercars blast their vvrrm vrrrmm noises to their hearts content out there. Not here at Burswood.
The announcement has said permant grandstands and use all year round. So I am guessing if they will do a cut through section in Burswood park to allow that section only to be used for non Supercars. Simular to Adelaide, although they still close of part of Wakefield street for smaller events. We are rumoured to be going after Formula E as well.
It will never happen and if you are a true fan of the v8 supercars 45min drive is fuck all who going to pay for this you your dreaming they got rid of the rally cars? Because it cost to much money no Profit
I think WA should have both the street circuit and Wanneroo. WA is definitely big enough for 2 races I guess the question is would having them one after the other might eat into both events attendance so maybe space them out one ant the start of the year and the other near the end of the
All 3 ideas don't work
But with the third track where it goes under the bridge I don’t think it would be wide enough
I was probably on the optimistic side there haha, fortunately it's quite easy to chop out 🙂
Whichever way you look at it, you’ve got to have good and GAINT grandstanding- you want us from g to he east to spend all our hard earned and travel the distance in these troubled times - not fill said grandstanding with just locals - or this whole thing is not viable.
Do like the idea - don’t like the idea of precession racing. Unless there’s is overtaking and dueling into corners is is also pointless.
100% agree, this event would need to attract good numbers of tourists to work. Doing it as the season opener with concerts would give it a good shot, it's challenging times like you say though 🙂
Could be good, have it could have a similar experience to Townsville's Reid Park set up.
Townsville was the first thing I thought of when I heard the rumours of the track location, it certainly inspired design 3
@@FanAtTheFence Townsville is an amazing event, I lived there for many years, spent so many hours walking around that precinct. Something like that in Perth would be amazing.