NEAR OLIVER – Dozens of people got a glimpse into what Canadian racing legend, Jacques Villeneuve and his partners hope will become the first motorsport country club in Canada.
“Motorsports in Western Canada kind of decimated in the last few decades so this is a big deal for all of Western Canada,” says co-founder of the club, Trevor Seibert.
With the track slated to be completed by September, an open house was held on Saturday to give members of the club an idea of how construction is going and what the plans are for the facility.
“There’s a multitude of phases that go along with it, there’s all the buildings, clubhouses, and different spaces for working on cars, maybe some residential stuff at some point, go-karts and things like that,” says Seibert.
READ MORE: Shovels in the ground for Oliver Motorsports complex
More than 100 race and driving enthusiasts from all over the province and the country were at the track near Oliver for Saturday’s tour.
“My interest is motorcycles and the track will accommodate both, so currently if I want to go to a track, it’s to the states; California, Oregon, Washington, so now it’s in my backyard,” says Kelowna resident Scott Hope.
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The new racetrack facility, called Area 27, is being built on reserve land near Oliver.
“We are on Osoyoos Indian Band land; they were instrumental in making this thing happen,” says Seibert.
Villeneuve is designing the circuit.
“I’ve always had an artistic streak. Since I was a kid, I was designing tracks on paper or whatever so it’s always something that I found interesting,” he says.
The price for membership is a one-time $35,000 fee and $3,000 per year.
Area 27 has more than 120 members and the goal is to have 200 by the time the track opens in September.
~ With files from Kimberly Davidson
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