Pukekohe to cease racing activities in 2023

[erwin greven]

Very sad day for motorsport in New Zealand.

[Everso Biggyballies]

It seems Pukekohe will be missed by more than the reality crowd that have memories of the races and history..... it also seems that the iRacing fans are looking for it to be 'virtually' preserved.

iRacing urged to scan Pukekohe Park before closure

A petition has been lodged urging iRacing to scan Pukekohe Park Raceway, before it ceases motorsport activities in 2023.

The petition was launched yesterday, after circuit owners Auckland Thoroughbred Racing announced that motorsport operations at the venue will end in April next year.

Since it was posted online, the petition has already attracted several thousand signatures.

Petitioner James Anderson believes a move to upload the iconic circuit to the online racing platform, would be well received.

“Generations of motorsport fans have flocked to the circuit to watch motorsport at its best and we’re now more than ever at risk of losing the legacy of this race track forever,” Anderson said.

“We’re putting a call out to iRacing, the world’s premier motorsports racing game to scan, capture and protect the legacy of this circuit by getting a virtual version of Pukekohe Park Raceway done for its platform.

“By doing so, Pukekohe Park Raceway will live on in the virtual world and be enjoyed for generations of motorsport fans via simulation racing and more importantly, keep an iconic piece of New Zealand motorsport history.”

If scanned, Pukekohe Park Raceway would become the first New Zealand circuit to feature on the platform.

iRacing currently features Australian racing circuits including Mount Panorama, Oran Park, Phillip Island, Sandown, and Winton.

https://www.speedcafe.com/2022/07/21/ir ... e-closure/

[Everso Biggyballies]

As an aside it seems that the news, which came somewhat out of the blue, surprised a few NZ Motorsport icons, including Greg Murphy and Scotty Mac. Greg still has a high level of involvement in NZ Motorsport and admitted to being blindsided by the news.
Greg and Scott of course have memories of competing at Pukekohe long before they made their names in Supercars.

In fact Scott, who watched on in the crowd as a kid at the time, said Murphy’s 2001 success at Pukekohe “lit a fire in me that’s still burning today to be the best racing driver I can be.” Scott went on to win his first Supercar race ever at Pukekohe.

Of course we have SVG Heimgartner and Pither are all Kiwis now in Supercars. They will all have strong memories of early days there.

The timing of the news came at an odd time when you think of it, given it coincided with the media launch of this years Pukekohe SC event the day before. Murphy had that in his mind.

“It’s quite a surprise,” Murphy confessed

“I suppose in the deep, dark, depths of my mind I assumed that at some stage maybe something would happen with the facility.

“But there hasn’t been any kind of comms around that or suggestion of it, that I know of.

“So to come out, especially after [Tuesday]’s media call around the official launch of this year’s Supercars event there, it’s sort of caught everyone a little bit off guard and by surprise.”


“It’s really going to hit home; all those special moments and memories, they’re gonna mean a lot more,” he said.

“It makes you reflect, I suppose, but I think it makes us realise what an important part of history this place really is.

“Thinking that we’re running out of time to actually enjoy it, it’s just sad.

“It really, really is quite sad that we’re not going to be able to just roll out there on occasion, and actually enjoy and explore all the amazing attributes that the circuit actually has.”

“It’s really going to hit home; all those special moments and memories, they’re gonna mean a lot more,” he said.

“It makes you reflect, I suppose, but I think it makes us realise what an important part of history this place really is.

“Thinking that we’re running out of time to actually enjoy it, it’s just sad.

“It really, really is quite sad that we’re not going to be able to just roll out there on occasion, and actually enjoy and explore all the amazing attributes that the circuit actually has.”
.

[PTRACER]

That is such a shame

[Everso Biggyballies]

Pukekohe’s addition to iRacing a step closer

Pukekohe Park Raceway is a step closer to being scanned and added to iRacing with an official proposal in the hands of circuit owners.

A petition was launched in July urging iRacing to scan the New Zealand race track before it closes to motorsport operations in April next year.

That petition, launched by James Anderson, has now gained over 6300 signatures since it was posted online.

In a Twitter post, Executive Vice President at iRacing, Steve Myers, revealed an official proposal has been sent to the owners of Pukekohe.

“I sent them a proposal,” he wrote.

“Ball is in the owners hands.”

Anderson described the news as “a massive step in the right direction.”

If scanned, Pukekohe Park Raceway would become the first New Zealand circuit to feature on iRacing.

The sim racing platform already features a number of Australian circuits, including Oran Park, which closed over a decade ago, as well as Mount Panorama, Phillip Island, Sandown, and Winton.

As it happens we are just one week from the final Supercars Championship event at Pukekohe...... the ITM Auckland SuperSprint is next weekend (September 9-11).

[Everso Biggyballies]

I mentioned in the race thread for the last major meeting to be held at Pukekohe last weekend of some.of the history of Pukekohe clips used as fillers in the broadcast. Here is a good one reflecting back to the early days of the Tasman Championship for Tasman spec F1 cars right through to memorable Supercars moments.