May 20, 2004

Bid Starts “Hard Work” Phase For Race Organisers

Winning the bid to host the 2006 Supercar round is the start of a lot of hard work that will include an intensive consultation campaign with people living and working near the proposed track and detailed planning to minimise traffic congestion.

IMG general manager Dean Calvert said the race was a long way from being a “done deal” and it would require Aucklanders to recognise the enormous potential for the region and work together to solve the challenges.

Mr Calvert said 6000 information brochures with feedback forms will go in the mail tonight to residents and businesses in the lower Auckland CBD and Victoria Park area.

“We want people to tell us what their issues are so that we can turn our minds to solving them. We’ve got two years to come up with solutions and we want to include answers to problems in our detailed planning,” Mr Calvert said.

“We have set up a call centre 0800V8RACE and web site WWW.V8RACE.CO.NZ where people can get information about the impacts and give us their thoughts on electronic feedback forms.

“We are extremely confident that we can come up with creative solutions that will reasonably and practically minimise the impacts and enable us to run a world-class event on the international motor sports stage.

“Auckland has the potential to become recognised as one of the world’s great race tracks and sit alongside Montreal, Long Beach, Adelaide, Vancouver and Monaco with an event that potentially will attract the super yachts back to New Zealand.”

Mr Calvert said the track was being planned by a specialist race-track engineering and construction company, who built the Gold Coast and Canberra street circuits with the same constraints and challenges that Auckland would face.

“Weathered Howe will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to New Zealand and there will be an interchange of experts. Our people will watch the Australian tracks being built in 2005 and they will be here to help us in 2006.”

Auckland City Council traffic engineers and external consultants were working on a comprehensive traffic management plan. This will include a significant communications plan on alternatives, which have worked in Auckland for major events like the Commonwealth Heads of Government and APEC conferences.

“We’ve done it before and with the right plans we can do it again,” Mr Calvert said.

ENDS

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