The follwing is a long email, the basics of story is this. D1NZ had a competition last year at Taupo before the A1GP which caused damage to the track, it was fixed but the bill was sent to D1NZ who have now asked the drivers to pay the cost, the drivers won't pay and so no drifters are allowed at Taupo until the bill is settled.
Good afternoon Reuben,
I left a message on your phone today, was trying to get hold of Nathan but
lost his number.
I'm sorry to advise you that we have needed to postpone your day that has
been booked on the 5th February, due to non-payment of damages caused at the
last drift meeting here by another party.
I thought it was appropriate to put down a few points from our perspective.
I have found it very interesting reading the comments on the forum on
d1nz.com but don't particularly want to get into the battle of words in
public. If you cop any flack for postponing your day, feel free to refer
them to me or refer to my comments below.
I have attached a photograph of some of the damage caused. I am happy for
you to put this on the website, it would be good for all to see that
burnouts do damage the track.
__________________________________________________ _________
I would like to make a few comments about the damage and future
implications.
1/ There are four damage areas, each consisting of two damaged patches where
each wheel was positioned when the damage was done, so in total 8 points of
damage.
2/ All areas of damage are on the back straight/drag strip. Two are on the
first half of the 1/4 mile the other two are on the entry into Turn 15.
3/ The two on the 1/4 mile are of real concern from a safety perspective. We
get drag cars delivering up to 2500 bhp running on the drag strip and any
imperfection in the track surface could cause single-wheel wheelspin and
cause a car to cross the centre line of go the other way into the wall.
4/ One of the two on the entry inot Turn 15 are right on the racing line, an
area where cars are subject to heavy braking. Over time, the area that has
been broken up on the surface will continue to break up and cause a pot
hole. Where potholes are repaired, the track surface will never be the same
and will be subject to continual repair.
__________________________________________________ _________
Contrary to some thoughts/comments, damage does get caused by Super 6's as
well as stationary burnouts. A Super 6, when performed does include a moment
of stationary wheel spin. Due to the fact that the tyres are already heated
during the manouver, when the vehicle reaches a stationary point and keeps
wheel spinning, it scores the track surface.
We have a number of issues surrounding the damage caused at Taupo last year:
1/ The drivers concerned were told by me personally not to perform
stationary burnouts. As property owners, we have the right to over-rule a
promoter based on damage or safety. Regardless of the promoter telling the
competitors to 'go and put on a show', we made it clear 'no stationary
burnouts' but they were welcome to perform victory donuts and we don't have
an issue with this because it creates crowd enjoyment and is good for the
growth of the sport when a good spectacle is put on. So long as a manouver
does not damage our property, we are supportive.
2/ Any damage caused to the track or venue, is the responsibility of the
track hirer. If it was a test day that we were running, damage caused is the
responsibility of the driver (as is noted in the waiver forms that get
signed). In the case in question, there was a track hirer, so therefore the
responsibility lies with them.
3/ We, and other circuits, have a constant battle with getting drifters to
act responsibily. I need to point out that we are talking about the minority
and we have seen improvement over time. But every group of drifters we have
here, there is always one or two that choose to ignore the rules and
requests and quite frankly, they have been running close to ruining it for
everybody. They are all decent and reasonable people, but as soon as the
helmet goes on the brains go out the window.
4/ Drifters cause more damage and more problems than all other track hirers.
Common problems we encounter with drifters are smoking in pit areas (other
groups of motorsport seem to know that this is an absolute no go), oil
dropping on the track from damaged caused to engines due to over reving,
used tyres being discarded that costs us to dispose of, massive amounts of
rubbish and alcohol cans, car parts being left behind (mostly bumpers and
broken lights), competitors not wearing the correct safety gear, edges being
ripped up and of course track damage. There are also safety concerns that
will eventually be stamped on by Motorsport NZ, number one being limbs
outside of the vehicle during competition.
5/ At every drifting event in the past 12 months, we have request that there
are no stationary burnouts performed. At every drifting event that we have
asked that, there has been burnouts performed. It appears that the message
was not getting from the event promoters to the competitors, so we decided
to step in.
We will allow drifting on the track in the future (once the account has been
settled) and we understand that it is a hard line punishing all involved in
the sport for the actions of others, however it has been of our opinion that
the promoters and competitors don't listen when we enforce a rule. There
will be changes to how the drifting is done at Taupo. We have spent millions
of dollars on this facility and will not have it damaged unnecsessarily. We
understand that the sport is growing and we would like to be part of this
growth.
As a point aside, the amount owed to Taupo Motorsport Park is between us and
the hirer. I would like to clarify though that the figure of $43,000.00 that
has been referred to on the forum is what it cost us the prepare and
hydroseed all the track edges in preparation for the A1GP. We have been
enforcing no drifting since the damage was done at the D1NZ round, but prior
to that had decided that there would be no further drifting until after the
A1GP so that we had a chance for the grass edges to strike. There has never
been mention that the $43,000 was the amount that needed to be paid, I was
simply pointing out to a group the cost of preparation of a facility such as
this, therefore we don't want the edges damaged.
I will advise you once we have opened the track up to drifting again and we
can then work on a suitable date for your group. Thank you for your
understanding and patience.
Kind regards
Paul Fallon I Marketing Manager
TAUPO MOTORSPORT PARK
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Originally Posted by postie
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