New V8 bid holds hope for Perth
28/5/2000 13:59 (Jason Whittaker) - Perth’s hopes of retaining a Shell Series round have received a major boast, with a new Perth street race proposal set to gain approval from for the Perth City Council.
Saturday’s West Australian newspaper has reported plans for a Supercar event on a new 3km inner-city street circuit could gain approval from the Council where previous proposals have failed.
WA’s Ministry of Sport and Recreation, together with the Council, are considering a proposal put forward by Perth company Marlin Sports and Recreation which would ensure the V8 Supercars continue to visit the west coast in future years.
Earlier this year, the council rejected a proposal for a Perth “Grand Prix style” event for the V8 Supercars, encompassing the Langley Park complex. The Council cited environmental concerns for the rejection.
It is believed this new proposal doesn’t carry the same concerns, and has the support of many in government.
“The track that we have put forward has been designed by the engineers Weathered Howe and doesn’t require major changes to any of the roads,” proposal Chairman, Michael Rasheed, told the West Australian yesterday.
“We are reasonably happy with the way things are progressing at the moment and we are very keen to retain the race in WA,” he said.
It is believed the event could cost up to $10 million, however the proposal consortium say tens of millions of dollars could be brought to the state through the event.
The proposal currently before the Council is for a 3km street circuit to be constructed ion the streets of Perth, incorporating Riverside Drive and St George’s Terrace.
V8 governing body, AVESCO support the event, and will work in partnership with the Marlin group to lobby the Perth Council.
Two representatives from the Perth City Council will travel to Canberra in a fortnights time to witness Canberra’s street circuit event experiment first-hand.
The Marlin Group bid is one of two proposals currently in planning.
The annual WA Supercar foray appeared in doubt earlier in the year after AVESCO Chairman, Tony Cochrane, declared Barbagallo Raceway unfit to host future rounds of the Shell Championship Series.
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