They came truckload by truckload, a seemingly endless stream of rubber until they were all there, 37 000 tyres. The finishing touches are being laid to the Gosforth Park Raceway. The tyres were just the beginning of the finishing touches, with the Armco guard rails being put in place around the various tracks while the pit areas as well as the pedestrian subway are set to be completed by the end of April. –
– Managing Director Peter Lindenberg is very excited by the speed at which the project is moving saying, “we are well on course for the grand opening on the 26 and 27 of July”. –
– The laying of the tarmac on the drag strip, constructed to A grade specifications, was completed at the beginning of March. –
– Also completed in early March was the state-of-the-art skid pan, which has been tested by the Yokohama Driving Dynamics team with multiple South African Champ Grant McCleery who said that the skid pan was the best he has ever used. The skid pan design is such that a driver can perform the same maneuvers at lesser speeds than on other skid pans. The skid pan has a training room and offices right at the pan to make teaching and learning an interactive experience. –
– The directors of Gosforth Park Raceway are hands-on and none less then the track designer, Jimmy Price. The softly spoken major shareholder of Gosforth Park Raceway is also the builder of the SASCAR’s being raced in South Africa and exporter of Cobra’s world-wide. Price fully utilized the 200 acre site in the epicenter of Gauteng to accommodate a multi-faceted motorsport facility by designing a full range of tracks, including a world-class 1.1km drag strip, a 2.6 km road circuit, the first NASCAR-style tri-oval in SA, a 400m sprint oval with 28 degree parabolic banking to the dirt tracks for motocross, xumbugs and quad bikes. –
– “The road circuit has the longest main straight in the country, and we have the most challenging corners – all with banking”, said Price. –
– The state of-the-art timing system which is to cover all the racing except the drags at Gosforth Park has left the Netherlands and will be installed at the raceway by the end of April. The Chronit timing system is of the highest international standard and will set the benchmark for all other Motorsport venues around SA. The drag strip timing system is being imported from Portatree in the USA, and will give drivers print-outs on the return road to the pits. –
– The retail showroom space under the stadium, which is almost completely sold out with only 140 square metres of shop space still available, is going up at record pace with the shop fronts being constructed from glass and aluminum. Along with all the things happening on the track, the non-racing facilities are set to thrill and entertain one and all. –
– The design for the outdoor music stage as well as catwalk has been completed and construction will begin in early May, along with the music stage construction comes the news that the brand new sound systems for both the music stage and small oval will be installed by the middle of June. –
– Gosforth Park Raceway is equipped with up-market suites, lounges and facilities thanks to the horse racing heyday in the Eighties that are set to enable a broader sector of spectators to enjoy motorsport stadium-style. Spectators will never have to leave their seat to enjoy the spectacle. –
– The family-orientated facilities will include not just the music stage for fashion shows and the occasional live music show and to showcase local talent but also a large craft market area utilising 175 converted horse stables, a crèche and a grassy central arena that will become a tea garden. Inside, the world-class, luxurious VIP facilities are air conditioned, carpeted, and wood-paneled with their own kitchens, toilets and private viewing areas on the grandstands. The VIP facilities which have all been promptly snapped up for race weekends will be hired to corporates looking for a different and new place to host conferences and team-building efforts during the week. –
– The teenagers will be pleased and excited to hear that Gosforth Park has not forgotten them. Thunder Alley, the arcade games venue, will be coming to Gosforth Park Raceway, with all sorts of games ranging from head to head F1 motor racing to motorbike racing in the Isle of Mann TT. A 6 lane scalectrix track will enable anyone to come along and race to their hearts content. –
– The speed at which the developments at Gosforth Park Raceway are taking place is sure to convince even the most hardened cynics that Lindenberg is right when he says, “Gosforth Park Raceway will introduce the South African public to the thrilling phenomenon that is stadium racing, it will blow their minds”.-
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