Wheels of Progress
Start line action at the Sydney Motorsport Park.
John Moore and Peter Larum chart the transformation of the Sydney Motorsport Park
I
n what has been more than a difficult year for the sport and entertainment industry, there has been refreshing good news for the world of Australian motorsport in 2020. The impacts of COVID-19 have certainly been felt across the motorsport community, but Glenn Matthews, Chief Executive of the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club (ARDC) notes that his team at Sydney Motorsport Park (SMSP) have never been busier. Asked about the effect of the pandemic on other track activity such as track and ride days, Matthews noted that “we’ve had an excellent SMSP COVIDSafe plan in place and continue to see very strong demand across all our activities. “We were also delighted to have played a critical partnership role as the NSW “bubble” for the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship and successfully hold two rounds at SMSP in 2020. We really put the pedal down with our great partner Musco Lighting to accelerate our major track lighting construction and installation project.” The track lights represent the latest stage of an ambitious transformation program of Sydney Motorsport Park by the board and management of the ARDC which began in earnest just under a decade ago. In 2010, with the arrival of Matthews (formerly Group Chief Executive of the Panthers Group), the Club set about shaping and delivering a new vision for the 93 hectare Eastern Creek site. After an intense period of consultation with the NSW Government, industry stakeholders, promoters, motorsport experience providers, club members, and spectators, several key themes emerged that needed to be addressed as part of any new vision. As a result, they set out to improve the experience, provide more opportunities for racing and track-based experiences, attract new motorsport and entertainment/tourism events, 18 Australasian Leisure Management Issue 142
ARDC Chief Executive Glenn Matthews.
invest in the presentation of the venue on all levels, improve the reputation of the Club and the venue, and become far more customer-focussed. To their credit, Matthews and the ARDC Board (a not-for-profit organisation established in 1952) took up the challenge. With help from Excalibre Insights, a specialist marketing, branding, and commercial agency, Matthews revised and prioritised key recommendations from a 2008 Master Plan and actioned a series of bold moves that would prove to be the underpinnings of the success the track is enjoying today. New Signature Look, New Track In 2012, a major new 830 metre Brabham Circuit track extension and Amaroo South Circuit pit lane and race garages facility were delivered allowing two racetracks to run simultaneously and offer new configurations. The immediate
