Rockhampton Regional Council has released concept plans for a proposed motorsport facility, with public consultation now underway.
The plan includes a 3.1km car racing circuit with provision for rallycross, drifting and one-eighth mile drag strip; a driver training area including kick plate; a 1.3km kart circuit; a gymkhana area; speedways, mudsports facilities; and BMX tracks.
Referred to currently as the ‘Motorsport Precinct’, it would be located on the Burnett Highway in Bouldercombe, around 15km south of the town of Rockhampton itself, in Central Queensland.
Plans are open for public consultation until August 24, while technical investigations of the site, referred to as the ‘JRT Quarry’, are ongoing.
According to Rockhampton Mayor Margaret Strelow, the concept has been designed by industry experts in consultation with local motorsport clubs.
“These plans combine years of experience by professional experts with detailed local knowledge and insights from our local motorsport and racing groups,” said Mayor Strelow.
“This design incorporates tracks for a range of sports including a 3.1km circuit, incorporating rallycross, drifting and one-eighth mile drag strip, road safety driving area, 1.3km kart circuit, a Gymkhana area, dual Mudsports figure 8 tracks and BMX tracks just to name a few along with grandstands, clubhouses, storage and pit buildings.
“I want to thank all the clubs that have taken part in this early design process and given us their feedback to help shape this first draft of what could be possible.
“While there’s still a large body of work to be done to ensure this site is the right location, this is an excellent first step and shows the potential facility our region could have in the coming years.”
Deputy Mayor Neil Fisher added, “It’s really important that we get the community feedback now so that we can take that through to the next stage and do a more detailed design which will feed into a Masterplan to be revealed in September and October.
“The consultation period is open from today until August 24th so I’d encourage everyone to hop on to Council’s engagement website Engage Rockhampton Region, view the plans and give us your feedback.
“While this consultation is going on, we will continue to carry out the technical assessments needed to deliver that Masterplan and I look forward to the community giving us more feedback at the next stage as well.”
The site is under conditional contract and is said to have been chosen due to size of available land area, minimal geographical hazards (flood, bushfire, etc), ease of access via the Burnett Highway, and distance from residential areas.
Rockhampton has previously sought to attract a Virgin Australia Supercars Championship event as recently as 2018, with racing to have potentially taken place on an Albert Park-style street circuit just across the Fitzroy River from the Central Business District.
According to a flowchart provided by council, the master planning process for the Motorsport Precinct is as follows:
- Site acquisition
- Key stakeholder engagement
- Preliminary concept plan
- Early public release and consultation
- Review community feedback
- Revised master plan
- Public consultation
- Review feedback
- Finalisation of master plan and supporting documents
Rockhampton is located approximately 600km to the north of Brisbane by road, and just inland from the Queensland coast.
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