Building your own race track??

[Insane253]

very random and dreamy i know ;) but is it possible at all to just buy a huge cheap piece of regional land and build your own mini track? what are the restrictions? the land u could probably get for 1-200thou but im guessing laying the bitumen or whatever used would be expensive? just wondering :)

[jerrel]

to make it safe and bitumen and all that will cost in excess of a few mill. i am only guessing.

[macca_779]

fvck it just make a speedway. That would keep the costs down and be bags more fun with more than just left hand turns.

[seedyrom]

great timing.

driving back from the bush yesterday i was thinking the same thing as i passed all the farms for sale.

I don't think its as simple as just spending every weekend for 5 years with a bobcat and soil compactor building it.
I reckon you'd need road base rather than dirt already on the land, as you need structure and stability. so there's more cost.
Then, as you say ... the cost of bitumen.

I think you'd need some corporate backing.
But if you had land, and shaped ann initial design into the land, then had some 3D renderings done, you could go looking.

MacQuarie bank seem to have money burning a hole in their pockets at the moment, and like their fingers in everyone's pies, so there's a tip ;)

[NickS]

We are currently involved with a resonable sized subdivision ... building the road (a small residential road) cost in excess of $1 million. To build a racetrack of a decent lenth with appropriate walls, curbs, sand traps etc you would be looking at several million AT LEAST !!!

If that isn't an issue ... then cool idea :thumbsup:

[brentonsav]

yes, but my civil eng background tells me it is possible to add cement and restabilise SOME soils in the outback, rather than import new material.

it is a very expensive exercise and has too many variables to put a price on an idea. its $3m+ i would think tho to have a long lasting surface with appropriate safety standards and pits etc...

[OPPYLOCK]

If you build it they will come!

[zorro]

public liability would be a killer. come up to QLD with a few millions and persuade Pine Rivers council to sell you Lakeside.

[FLI355]

Bank off these figures and you will be close to the mark.

Doing the earthworks you could bank on $3k / day to prepare for the track on 1.5k long track 5m wide probably allow 15 working days to be pully prepped sub-grade ready for sub-base - $45k

sub-base (use recycled DGB20 road base @ say 200-300mm layer) @ $20 / Tonne. Work out the width of track multiply by aforementioned depth and times the cubic metres by 2.4 to get the required tonnage then you can get how much it will cost you just for the materials in your sub-base.

So for a track 1.5km in length and 5m wide you need ~ 110k in sub base materials before you even think about placing it etc, putting down AC and preparing it.

Allowing 50mm AC you would be looking at close to ~ $200k to supply and place.

You then need drainage systems etc.

So just for construction of track at cost price we could bank on about $500k plus land do get somewhere close to complete and thats just for the track alone, no pit area, amenities, safety run offs etc etc

So at any rate once it's complete it would be well over a mill any which way you look at it.

[korrupt]

There is a bloke in NSW with his own private track. You can see it from Google Earth. Will have to search through the Ferrari Chat website to find link.

[German Statesman]

I remember that the Thunderdome set Bob Jane back $15m way back in '89.

With inflation, $40m would be a good guess to do it all over again...

[Insane253]

Bank off these figures and you will be close to the mark.

Doing the earthworks you could bank on $3k / day to prepare for the track on 1.5k long track 5m wide probably allow 15 working days to be pully prepped sub-grade ready for sub-base - $45k

sub-base (use recycled DGB20 road base @ say 200-300mm layer) @ $20 / Tonne. Work out the width of track multiply by aforementioned depth and times the cubic metres by 2.4 to get the required tonnage then you can get how much it will cost you just for the materials in your sub-base.

So for a track 1.5km in length and 5m wide you need ~ 110k in sub base materials before you even think about placing it etc, putting down AC and preparing it.

Allowing 50mm AC you would be looking at close to ~ $200k to supply and place.

You then need drainage systems etc.

So just for construction of track at cost price we could bank on about $500k plus land do get somewhere close to complete and thats just for the track alone, no pit area, amenities, safety run offs etc etc

So at any rate once it's complete it would be well over a mill any which way you look at it.

great info...
i was talking more private use tho, no need for much of a pit area or any insurance worries or anything like that. Would a drainage system really be necessary ?

[CV860L]

This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember.

I watched an episode of 5th Gear a while back and seen a guy who took it a step further........This bloke bought his own island and then built a race track around it.
The track is made up of the best sections of race tracks from all over the world, the corners and road cambers were designed to be exact copies of these famous tracks, I can't remember all the tracks they mentioned but it did include the Laguna Seca corkscrew and a section of Bathurst!!!

He then built a resort in the centre as well as pits which were filled with race cars of every era.......Including Formula 1 cars, supercars and well known tarmac rally cars.
The membership to this exclusive club was phenomenal, a couple of million pounds per year from memory.

[Insane253]

yeah there really aint enough of them around, especially considering how popular the hobbie is.
I mean in western suburbs we got calder but that aint exactly close to me nor is much of a race track besides the quarter strip, neither are any of the eastern tracks such as sandown e.t.c for this (fantasy) i wouldnt even consider a quarter strip... drag racing is seriously boring compared to track, besides u want a flat strip which would cost a lot to prepare compared to a race track that can go up and down hills

[Stevotski]

snip



I usually estimate for budgeting 2 lane rural road pavement rehabiliation and reseal at around $150,000/km, so I am guessing $250,000/km for construction of a race track width formation (and that price will vary wildly depending on haul distance to your gravel source)

...but the hardest thing will be getting a DA approved as anyone living anywhere near it will object to it, then you will need to pay for a noise study (say $20K) to feed into your review of environmental factors, and that is if you dont need a full blown EIS which are very expensive - I have spent over $500K on an EIS before

[CarlFST60L]

I know some people who know some people, and you can get a bit of 'road' that will last about $10K for 100m or so, you sould have to prep the surface though

[German Statesman]

I got a dirt driveway done for free when the Boral Bitumen blokes working on a project outside my house offered to put down the dregs of their bitumen :idea: - rang up the landlord, he was out within hours with crusher dust which they rolled down and laid the bitumen on top - looked great.

Landlord gave me discounted rent for a year :yahoo:

[dadem0n]

I say all the QLD LS1 boys should throw in $50k each and build a Heathcoate style drag strip between Brisbane and the Sunshine coast. The land costs nothing and no resident complaints :yahoo:

Anyone know where to buy 2nd hand Timing boards and a Christmas tree? :p

[BossV8]

great info...
i was talking more private use tho, no need for much of a pit area or any insurance worries or anything like that. Would a drainage system really be necessary ?

Drainage is often an overlooked item in paving, not in major road constructions as they have criteria's and aust standards to abide by, but the quality of the sub-base and the drainage will determine the longevity oif the surface.

Not sure what the road guys charge for asphalting, the guys I have used for small domestic work charge around $80 per tonne, or around $35/m2, not sure if that would go higher or lower for using the bigger machines that will do the job quicker

You would need to make the surrounding runoff areas safe too, obviously being a sealed surface you will get high speeds and if you have an off you wouldnt want bumps and uneven grounds being dangerous in terms of rollovers. Being the western suburbs there will be rocks everywhere too, so excavation costs may be higher

[Shmacky]

There is a bloke in NSW with his own private track. You can see it from Google Earth. Will have to search through the Ferrari Chat website to find link.

My mate's friend inherited an old Ferrari GTO - a very rare collectors item, in mint condition, and sold it. The guy who came to buy is asked why he was selling it - to which he replied he had no 'use' for it. The guy, instead of buying it off him at a very good price said 'drive down to my place in X and we'll have another chat'. Ends up he's a ferrari collector and has his own race track. Spent the weekend racing his GTO and the guys ferraris around the track. Awesome! Needless to say, he ended up keeping the car I think.

I believe this must be the same guy.

Shmacky

[FLI355]

Drainage is often an overlooked item in paving, not in major road constructions as they have criteria's and aust standards to abide by, but the quality of the sub-base and the drainage will determine the longevity oif the surface.

Not sure what the road guys charge for asphalting, the guys I have used for small domestic work charge around $80 per tonne, or around $35/m2, not sure if that would go higher or lower for using the bigger machines that will do the job quicker



Around double that for a proper AC crew with approriate machinery laying a mix that will cope with high lateral loads so that rutting doesn't occur.

As BossV8 said drainage is very important although water will drain somewhat through the AC and sub-base you have to send the water somewhere.

[VooDoo]

I say all the QLD LS1 boys should throw in $50k each and build a Heathcoate style drag strip between Brisbane and the Sunshine coast. The land costs nothing and no resident complaints :yahoo:

Anyone know where to buy 2nd hand Timing boards and a Christmas tree? :p


hmm, with 3-4 of us we could buy a huge 600sqm block up there (if we were lucky)

Land is far from cheap up there. Nice idea though.

[andrewslr]

Also consider that you'll likely need an Environmental Imapct Study, Planning Permits, likely to meet resistance from local community. A similar project in Bacchus Marsh in Victoria has been on and off for years now. It seems to always be caught up in red tape!

[zorro]

great info...
i was talking more private use tho, no need for much of a pit area or any insurance worries or anything like that. Would a drainage system really be necessary ?


insurance would still be an issue, unless when you had your mates over they signed a liability form releasing you of any responsibility if they were to injure or cause death to themselves or others. keep in mind all those cases where someone who is robbing a house/property gets injured and sues the house/property owner and wins.

remember accidents do happen, if you were to go through with it I'd look at legals to see where you stand.

I work for boral (not in asphalt division), may be able to pull some strings on prices.

[korrupt]

Here is a link to the thread on Ferrari Chat with the Google Earth image...

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112436

I'm not sure if you need to be registered to view this tho. If you do need to be, let me know and I will copy the picture to somewhere else.

[SSBarney]

very random and dreamy i know ;) but is it possible at all to just buy a huge cheap piece of regional land and build your own mini track? what are the restrictions? the land u could probably get for 1-200thou but im guessing laying the bitumen or whatever used would be expensive? just wondering :)

Heres a private one i attend each year
http://www.mikesdriveway.com/bendigo/

Its not a drag strip but i think i've had more fun here than any quarter mile run.

[michaels1v8]

Here is a link to the thread on Ferrari Chat with the Google Earth image...

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112436

I'm not sure if you need to be registered to view this tho. If you do need to be, let me know and I will copy the picture to somewhere else.


Sorry mate could not see them... could you please copy the images??