V8 drivers give "thumbs up" for Auckland street race
1/5/2004 5:53 (Press Release) -
Holden drivers Jason Richards and Jason Bright have given a proposed
Auckland street circuit the thumbs-up after meeting in the Auckland CBD
this morning to discuss the proposal, one of two options to replace
Pukekohe Park Raceway as the New Zealand round of the V8 Supercar
Championship Series from 2006 onwards.
Richards, who grew in Auckland, and Bright, who has had many successes
on street circuits in Australia including at the Australian Grand Prix
meeting this year where he won two of three V8 Supercar races held
there, praised the foresight of organizers for looking at new ways to
bring fans to motorsport.
Richards, who joined Sydney-based Tasman Motorsport this year but
retains strong links with his "home" town of Auckland, was also quick to
praise the Pukekohe race and New Zealand crowds but said the time was
approaching for the sport to evolve in New Zealand.
"Pukekohe is one of the best races we come to, in terms of circuits we
drive at, it's probably livelier than any other purpose-built circuit in
Australia. So we (New Zealand) already have that mentality at Pukekohe,"
Richards said.
PWR Racing driver Bright agreed. "We don't have any problems with
Pukekohe, it's one of the best circuits we race on all year, but I think
we'll get a lot more people coming to a street race in Auckland," he
said.
"There's no doubt that the street races we have in Australia are the
best "atmosphere" races we go to all year, it's far more intense than
most of the circuits we go to."
Richards said the potential of a street circuit based around the
Auckland CBD and its trendy Viaduct café precinct - once the home of the
America's Cup - was "awesome".
"It's so accessible that you'll get beyond the mainstream fans to a
whole new audience. Imagine waking up in the morning to wander on to the
balcony to watch some fantastic racing and a great atmosphere, then
wandering down to the Viaduct afterwards for a drink or a meal.
"It wouldn't be unreasonable to expect a crowd of 200,000-plus - the
facility we have here is good enough to support that sort of volume over
the course of three days.
"I'm all for it because the benefits and the interest in the sport will
filter back to the national championship as well and make the sport
stronger in this country, as well as putting Auckland back on the world
sporting map after we lost the America's Cup. V8s are broadcast into
40-50 countries with an audience of millions and Auckland can really
reap some good spin-offs from this."
Release Date: 28/04/2004
Holden Motorsport
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