The prospect of visiting American drivers being able to compete at Sydney’s new Eastern Creek Speedway this summer season appear to have improved following comments by the NSW Minister for Planning today.
The future of the $U.S. 65 million speedway in Australia’s most populous city, which opened last year, has been the subject of considerable speculation and confusion following news that the promoters of the venture had walked away from their lease agreement.
The Australian motorsports fraternity has been left in limbo following the move.
Some sprint car team owners who were planning to bring U.S. drivers to Australia for the summer season have had to put their plans on hold. As many as a dozen teams and drivers are involved.
Last year’s American visitors to Australia included Carson Macedo, Sheldon Haudenschild, Aaron Reutzel, Chase Randall, Justin Sanders, Brad Sweet and Tyler Courtney.
Speaking to this reporter, the NSW Minister for Planning, the Hon. Paul Scully, confirmed that “the previous promoter walked away from negotiations a couple of weeks ago.”
It is believed that these negotiations with the agency responsible for the venue, Greater Sydney Parklands, included discussions about defects at the venue. Complaints about water drainage and other issues have abounded for some time. Last season, a number of meetings were cancelled.
“The previous government stuffed up Sydney’s new speedway,” said Scully. “I understand the cost almost doubled to $U.S. 65 million for a venue with defects.”
Scully inherited the mess when he was appointed the minister responsible following the March 2023 state election.
Speaking of the decision by the previous promoter to end negotiations, Scully said that “while that was a disappointing decision on their part, the NSW government continues to work with other interested parties to do all it can to have speedway racing again soon.”
A speedway fan himself, Scully added that “I remain confident that we will see the green light for racing soon.”
For probity reasons, the negotiations are undertaken by the agency rather than the minister.
This is promising news for owners, drivers and fans who had been left confused by a media statement from Speedway Australia, later withdrawn, and a subsequent statement that failed to convey any real information.
With the closure of Brisbane’s Archerfield Speedway at the end of last season and the cancellation of the World Series Sprintcars by Speedway Australia, there appeared little opportunity for first-class racing on the east coast.
Of the race tracks that featured international competition last season, only the Hi-Tec Oils Speedway at Toowoomba, Queensland is operating.
NSW Sprint Car authorities had placed all their eggs in the Eastern Creek Speedway basket. No other major speedway in the state had been scheduled to run the cars.
Apart from the drivers competing on the West Coast, the closure meant that visiting and local car owners were restricted to fewer feature meetings, mostly the races in Victoria and South Australia in late December and January.
Scully’s comments are the most positive news since the previous promoters cancelled the season.