NSW promises $33m for motorsport

Motorsport fans in NSW have been given 33 million reasons to return the sitting Liberal-National government of premier Gladys Berejiklian on March 23.

The incentive comes in the form of a $33 million commitment to upgrade the facilities at Sydney Motorsport Park with everything from a CAMS Centre of Excellence to lighting for a Supercars night race from 2020 and added infrastructure for Sydney Dragway.

It could even provide the incentive for a Supercars team to set up shop in the harbourside city for the first time since the Lansvale Racing Team shut down at the end of 2003, as well as creating high-tech training and engineering jobs.

The bulk of the funding, announced by the state’s sports minister Stuart Ayres, will go on the 150 permanent lighting towers necessary to fully flood SMP for an annual night race.

“Motorsport is the fourth most watched sport in the country and thousands of people in Western Sydney love it,” says Ayres.

“Adding lights to Sydney Motorsport Park will make is more attractive for major events and allow motor enthusiasts to enjoy a lot more track time.

“This will make Sydney Motorsport Park the Silverstone of the Southern Hemisphere.”

The CAMS slice of the pie is $6.4 million, which will pay for the creation of a Centre of Excellence to provide a permanent home for a number of community and grass-roots motorsport programs.

“We have spent many years planning for this Centre of Excellence and we are very grateful to the Berejiklian Government for their support,” said CAMS president, Andrew Papadopoulos.

“CAMS can also confirm the Centre of Excellence will also be able to be utilised to host training for those involved in motorsport in the Asia-Pacific region, which will bring with it significant economic activity for NSW.

“The innovative Dare To Be Different (D2BD) program will also utilise this space. D2BD is a global initiative that aims to encourage young females to consider a career in motorsport, not just as a driver but also as mechanics, engineers as well as working in the motor sport media.

“There is strong international interest in this Centre of Excellence, and we have no doubt it will be used as a template for other motor sport governing bodies around the world.”

Sydney Dragway opened in 2004 and one of its founders, champion Top Fuel racer Jim Read, has welcomed the promised funding boost.

“Sydney Dragway is the heart of drag racing in NSW. Much-needed upgrades will ensure it has a successful future,” he says.

But it is the lighting program, after a successful test run with partial temporary lighting for last year’s Supercars SuperNight event at SMP, which has drawn the greatest interest.

“This is a great step forward in our plans for Sydney,” said Supercars CEO, Sean Seamer.

“The 2018 night race was a fantastic proof of concept. We look forward to the SuperNight format returning in 2020 and moving on to the second phase of our partnership with the ARDC and NSW government, which is to establish a Supercars team in Sydney, based at SMSP.”