163 replies to this topic

[rjag]

When is the 4x4 track expected to open?

not sure will ask next time I see my guy.

[rjag]

ustream it?

 

I'm sure theres video out there but it was a closed course for Audi Canada and their dealerships. All the R8's as far as I know have xxxx vins which means they will be crushed anyway as they are test mules.

[HB]

There is no man-made 4x4 track that would come close to 4x4ing in the natural element such as the many logging roads on Vancouver Island Paying 48k to 4x4 in a controlled environment where people are scared that a piece of dust will fall on their Range Rovers paint cant compare to the real thing. But to each their own I prefer it Langford/Sooke Style

http://youtu.be/KvUZYdw0pD4

[LJ]

On the Vancouver CTV news last night there was an item about Jaques Villeneuve and partners working on a race track in Osoyoos. They stated it will be the first race track in western Canada. I guess it will be more of a formula one type track? 

[Mike K.]

not sure will ask next time I see my guy.

 

Great, thank you.

[VicHockeyFan]

On the Vancouver CTV news last night there was an item about Jaques Villeneuve and partners working on a race track in Osoyoos. They stated it will be the first race track in western Canada. I guess it will be more of a formula one type track?

Looks like it's happening.

http://www.area27.ca

[LJ]

^How does this differ from the one in Duncan? Do they do races at Duncan or just single car at a time.

[VicHockeyFan]

I think neither track will do races. Definitely no races in Cowichan. You can do time trial competitions though.

This spells out Osoyoos real well.

http://www.castanet....oser-to-reality

[rjag]

I've been invited to drive the track next week so will have 1st hand info on the layout, phase 2 expansion and the 4x4 for Mike.

 

 

We had a very intense program scheduled and their 36 hours on Vancouver Island started at the Villa Eyrie and finished there again. We partnered up with Pieter Baljet, Max Papis, Brody Goble and an all time favorite Rudi & Company to show case what Vancouver Island has to offer.

Here are some of the stories of the first few journalists. The last ones just left and their articles will make it in to print and online in the coming weeks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtw80IJhExE

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/vancouver-island-motorsport-circuit-goes-hot-june

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/culture/accessories/confessions-of-a-racetrack-rookie/article29975199/

http://www.6speedonline.com/articles/vancouver-island-motorsport-circuit-looks-like-the-perfect-vacation-spot-for-car-lovers/

http://driving.ca/auto-news/news/its-motoring-mayhem-at-vancouver-islands-circuit-for-the-rich

It is time to start the training phase for our staff and the test phase for the equipment guaranteeing the proper function for the June 6, 2016 opening. That will also be a star studded event with David Foster, Kevin Schwantz, Max Papis and a few other surprise guests from entertainment and racing alike.

[VicHockeyFan]

A community on the mid-island is in an uproar after finding out a new off-road test track was built without a permit.

 

The Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit has transformed an old logging road in the Cowichan Valley into an 800-metre off-road track.

 

According to a nearby community, the expansion was done without permission.

 

 

http://vancouverisla...ermit-1.3325338

[shoeflack]

Kind of a pot calling the kettle black situation. I know for a fact that many Sahtlam residents (and other CVRD residents in general) rip around those old logging roads in their jeeps, on their quads and dirt bikes...really anything they don't mind getting dirty. I have to assume they are doing that without permits or permission from Timber West or whomever.

[HB]

Ya way up in the hills where no one can hear them or see them. and its not only Sahtlam residents or CVRD its people from all over. Different issue all together but nice try. the issue is the track being built without permits..you know/ kinda of like pot shops opening up in Victoria with out permits...hey but everyone in Victoria smokes it ...right?

[jonny]

Vancouver Island residents complaining about something fun? No way...

[rjag]

all they did was clear the scrub from the old logging trail behind the track and grade it so that they could do some slow speed 4x4 demos, there are roads in the CRD in worse shape than this

[HB]

I love the comment the rep said when they suggested water in ditches may become contaminated form vehicles...he said that logging trucks on actually logging roads drop more oil and contaminates on the ground than a brand new SUV and a slow off road test track.

Classic

[jonny]

This to me is like when the Fernwood crowd complains about golf courses for "the rich" or new shopping malls that "promote consumerism". Just because you don't golf doesn't mean you have to have a hate on for those who do.

 

Does the track run 24/7? It sounds like they are being pretty reasonable and shutting down cars that are excessively loud.

[Mike K.]

As a total outsider with no skin in the game here whatsoever, I think folks who live within about 1,000 meters of the new track were dealt a blow.

 

Noise from fast moving supercars and sportier road cars can be intense at high revs, even with 100% street legal components. A buddy with an M3 can startle bystanders when he opens it up and that's within the confines of the city where he doesn't floor it like he would on a track.

 

If you go to Prior Lake or Thetis Lake Park on a summer night when there's racing going on at Western Speedway you can hear the vehicles non-stop. It's a constant drone in the background with varying levels of pitch depending on what's going on, and the pier on the lake is exactly 2.5km from the track.

 

There are hundreds of homes within a 2.5km radius of the Cowichan track, and some people live literally across the highway from the property.

[VicHockeyFan]

In response to concerns from residents, GAIN Dealer Group’s CEO Peter Trzewik sent CHEK News an email, which included the following:

 

“… there is no noise bylaw in the district. So we could do what ever we want too (sic). However, we… have adopted the noise by law (sic) of… CVRD… and are far below allowable limits… The people there don’t realize that the property was zoned industrial and they want to live in a Forrest (sic).”

 

Rimmer says the company’s responses have been frustrating so far.

 

http://www.cheknews....t-track-291355/

[Cassidy]

I always check the zoning around property I'm interested in, not just for the property itself (in a rural environment, folks should check their properties mineral rights as well - but that's another story).

 

These protestors should have checked the zoning before they purchased their homes and property, obviously thinking that they were buying in an area of forest and farms - they were actually buying in an area of heavy industry.

 

A quick Google Maps check will show the racetracks immediate neighbors are Dogwood Lumber, Bings Creek Solid Waste Management, Surespan Ready Mix, Stone Pacific Contracting, Apex Soil and Landscaping Supply, Duncan Paving Company, and a few others.

 

All this to say that the racetrack is located in an area zoned for heavy industry, with no noise bylaws in place, and apparently completely within their rights to do exactly what they're doing.

 

I understand the neighbors dislike of noise ... but those folks probably should have expected noise when purchasing a home or property located right next to one of Cowichan's heaviest industry locations.

[VicHockeyFan]

I think for them a aggravating factor is rich guys making noise while having fun.  Rubs 'em the wrong way.