Wheels of Progress

Start line action at the Sydney Motorsport Park.

John Moore and Peter Larum chart the transformation of the Sydney Motorsport Park

In 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, 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

ARDC Chief Executive Glenn Matthews.

Global lighting experts Musco delivered the venue’s Track Lighting project.

30% capacity expansion changed the face of the venue and was coupled with significant investments in renaming and rebranding the venue as Sydney Motorsport Park to project a new contemporary image and identity. Off track too the sound of tradesmen and the smell of paint was ever present, including the creation of the signature yellow and black chevron track design, and a ‘cool’ ARDC Garage Cafe’ for members and guests in a prime position right above Pit Lane. The Club also embarked on a new ARDC membership proposition and has more than quadrupled its member base since 2012.

New Experiences, Jeremy Clarkson and ‘Top Gear Live’ Coup At the same time a series of new events and experience providers were attracted to SMSP, and with support from NSW Government agency Destination NSW, the ARDC competed with other Australian cities and Asia Pacific markets to successfully negotiate, in 2012, a three-year exclusive deal with the phenomenally popular UK ‘Top Gear Live’ festival. Ferrari Racing Days and Porsche Rennsport also came to Sydney, and importantly Supercars were back in full force after a long hiatus. The response to the new look, facility upgrades and new major events was overwhelmingly positive.

Sold Out Track - More Capacity Needed By 2012, ironically, this success lead to the track once again running at full capacity on more than 360 days a year and with over 600 individual events annually. This was limiting growth for all levels of motorsport from professional to grass roots.

The ARDC identified that broadcast quality track lighting at SMSP would further enhance capacity and act as a catalyst for new major events, tourism experiences and the opportunity to establish a night-time economy at the venue. Circuit lighting would also act as an all-important enabler for emerging participation at SMSP from the education, transport, automotive innovation and start-up sectors.

Moving on to 2017 and an even more ambitious strategy was underway inspired by a UK visit to the Silverstone racetrack, the British Racing Drivers’ Club and the adjoining Silverstone Innovation and Technology Precinct and motorsport industryled Silverstone University Technical College.

These high-level discussions on how to develop an integrated motorsport precinct offering Innovation, Education, High Performance Race Teams, and new Technology and Start-Ups at SMSP shaped the new long-term strategy for SMSP.

One of the early green shoots from the strategy emerged when the technology start-up motoDNA Technology (an offshoot of the successful SMSP-based motoDNA Riders Academy) partnered with global powerhouse Yamaha to develop innovative new rider-safety technology at SMSP. The winning concept put forward by the management in attracting motoDNA and Yamaha was ‘speed to market’. The ARDC was able to guarantee that the partnership could write code one day at SMSP, and road test the technology on track the next - a timeline that often expanded into weeks and months in existing test markets like Japan and the United States.

In conjunction with Blacktown City Council, the ARDC also hosted 180 delegates at an Advanced Manufacturing Symposium in November 2019, with many attendees from industry given a preview as to what SMSP might be able to offer as a future precision engineering location.

Enhanced Lighting Once again, the ARDC and NSW Government stepped up to accelerate the transformation program in 2019 to underwrite a $16 million Track Lighting project.

At the media announcement, NSW Government Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Stuart Ayres stated that “adding lights to Sydney Motorsport Park will make it more attractive for major events and allow motor enthusiasts to enjoy a lot more track time. This will make Sydney Motorsport Park the Silverstone of the Southern Hemisphere.”

And what a light show! Supplied and installed by global lighting experts Musco, the almost 120 thirty-metre light towers hold 864 lights across all circuit configurations, beaming up to 800 Lux along the main circuit. Bright enough to meet and exceed even the demanding standard requirements of Supercars TV, while adding ancillary theatrical features such as strobing, circuit chasing and full RGBW colour lights capability along the main straight. Supercars is now committing to a longterm Supernight event from 2021.

These significant investments also caught the attention

SMART social-distancing

Clockwise from top left: Supercar fi reworks, the Silverstone Innovation Centre and Superbikes at the Sydney Motorsport Park. Credit: Sydney Motorsport Park.

of a highly successful technology advisory and investment organisation, PMY Group, an Australian and global leader in the deployment of technology in over 100 major sporting and entertainment venues around the world.

PMY Group Managing Director, Paul Yeomans noted “our first stage $4 million investment in partnership with the ARDC will develop a world class technology solution focused on dramatically enhancing the event day experience through high impact fan engagement concepts, best-in-class wi-fi capability and features, dynamic brand, content and sponsor integrations, and a Smart Operating Platform to maximise operational efficiencies and capture venue visitation, real-time customer data and business intelligence.”

An investment in the future takes shape - The Australian Motorsport Centre of Excellence As they move into a very busy 2021, the ARDC is now at the design stage of a new $9 million plus Australian Motorsport Centre of Excellence and Innovation Hub. The project is again in close collaboration with the NSW Government (which is contributing over $6 million) together with Motorsport Australia, Motorcycling Australia, Motorcycling NSW, top tier racing categories, Ambulance Services Australia, major universities and industry.

The Centre of Excellence will be the anchor development of an expanded Racing, Innovation & Technology, Research, Education & Training and Precision Engineering precinct, with construction slated to begin in early 2021 for a 2022 opening.

World Class Motorsport Precinct By 2022 over $55 million will have been invested in Sydney Motorsport Park (60% NSW State Government, 40% ARDC). With further NSW Government investments in upgrading the Sydney Dragway and the start of construction on the new Sydney Speedway at Eastern Creek, there can be no doubt that motorsport is entering an exciting new era in Sydney.

For the ARDC and SMSP the wheels of progress will continue to roll on. From the Club’s humble beginnings in 1952 (with world motorsport and engineering legend Sir Jack Brabham as member # 4), or its management of the great Bathurst race for over 30-years, the Club can now genuinely claim to be a leader in motorsport in Australia both on and off the track, and Sydney Motorsport Park as the true home of Australian Motorsport.