Gauteng's WesBank Raceway, until four years ago a grass horse-racing track called Gosforth Park, will close by the end of 2007 and new owner Pangbourne will turn it into Raceway Industrial Park.
Pangbourne bought the site for an undisclosed sum and the previous owners said money was the only motivating factor; there was no debt or lack of support, they said, though the latter has been of concern allong with general fears for the popularity of motorsport.
Circuit spokesperson Jan Johnson said the venue had been firmly in the black for 18 months despite huge overheads in relation to its size.
The four-year-old raceway was the creation of 15-times SA Formula 1 powerboat champion Peter Lindenberg. It was one of the biggest of its kind in the world with a drag strip, skid pan, short oval, advanced driving school, several dirt-bike tracks and a Sascar tri-oval as well as entertainment complexes and restaurants.
Lindenberg and a team of investors bought the site for its land value (an investment then estimated at around R70-million). As most of the existing structures were already in place the raceway was relatively quick and inexpensive to build and its gates opened on July 26, 2003.
The main sponsor, finance house WesBank, had enjoyed strong brand exposure and remains supportive of motorsport.
December 7 will probably be the last race date for the facility as we know it but there is a possibility that another, substantially smaller, Gauteng venue for short oval and drag racing will be developed.
Watch this space for details. Star Motoring