STADIUM OFF-ROAD RACING WILL PUT MANUKAU ON THE MAP
T he fastest off-road race cars and trucks going wheel-to-wheel on a custom-designed stadium race track in New Zealand’s biggest city – what’s not to like?
The Counties-Manukau International Stadium Race Track at Colin Dale Park in Manukau will host the inaugural Mickey Thompson Stadium Offroad Race Championship over two weekends in early 2021. Racing will take place on 13 February and 6 March.
With grids of ten or more in every class and a speedway-style rapidfire race format, the events will turn on some spectacular action in a family-friendly format, according to organiser Tony McCall. He reckons off-road racing is probably the most spectacular loose surface motorsport in the world, but like rallying has been hidden from view.
The new championship puts racing on show in a region of 1.5 million people. Formatting the racing over a short period delivers maximum excitement for spectators and gives drivers maximum ‘seat time’ by building from in-class heats to B-main and A-main semi-finals and then a final.
The track is wide, fast and spectacular. Designed and built by a small but dedicated team of Counties Manukau Offroad Racing club members led by Kevin Hall, the 1.2 km lap brings together corners, jumps and berms from some of the most famous tracks in the USA.
Together with son Nick, Kevin plotted American ‘short course’ track features, then overlaid the result on land designated for the sport at Colin Dale Park. It has been a process of a decade or more, and the track is underpinned by a massive stormwater drainage system that helps keep the surface in prime condition. The result is the first true stadium race track in New Zealand.
Tony McCall’s part in all this is as organiser and promoter of the inaugural series. The venue has sealed parking for up to 800 cars along with dedicated space for the pits and for trade displays.
The series has also finalised free to air television coverage: two one hour programmes on TV3’s CRC Motorsport programme, each running a week after the February and March race weekends.