Officials behind a new $10 million motorsport precinct situated alongside the main straight at Sydney Motorsport Park believe they have laid the foundations for Australia’s very own Silverstone.
The new Australian Motorsport Innovation Precinct (AMIP) in Western Sydney officially opened its doors to the public during a lavish ceremony yesterday.
Said to be inspired by the mammoth innovation precinct at the UK’s historic Silverstone circuit, which is currently home to more than 70 businesses specialising in advanced engineering, electronics and software development – AMIP has been developed by the Australian Racing Drivers Club (ARDC) with investment from the NSW government.
The precinct has been announced as the new home for breakthrough helmet manufacturer Forcite Helmets, as well as a base for professional racing team AGI Sport, which currently specialises in Formula 4 and is developing a Formula 1 academy for women.
It is hoped the new Sydney motorsport and technology precinct will grow from its current footprint midway down Brabham Straight, all the way back to the exit of Turn 12.
“What’s unique about AMIP is its trackside location within SMSP – undoubtedly Australia’s busiest and most diverse permanent race facility,” said ARDC chief Glenn Matthews.
“The attraction of working alongside a smorgasbord of different car and bike events and experiences, race categories, teams and engineers creates a real honey-pot effect.
“This isn’t just a launch, this is also an invitation – we want to attract the brightest minds to join us here at Sydney Motorsport Park to collaborate with the leaders in the automotive industry to create the jobs and technology of the future.”
Formula 1 Chief Operations Officer Richard Hopkins has been announced as an inaugural ambassador for AMIP. He hopes the facility can attract investment from Australian and international businesses, and potentially spur on Australia’s automotive manufacturing industry.
“This is an opportunity to nurture the talent of tomorrow, with enormous potential to create a competitive motoring ecosystem that will put Australia alongside the industry’s best,” Hopkins said.
“This precinct is a vital step in creating a globally competitive motorsport collaboration for high-performance technology, cleaner energy-efficient products and sustainable solutions that we can take into mainstream manufacturing.”
The AMIP opening is part of a larger $34 million investment in Sydney Motorsport Park, which now has a full lighting system around the circuit, which hosted the last round of the Australian Supercars series and previously hosted Australia’s round of the world MotoGP championship.
Those plans were originally supposed to include provisions for a Sydney-based team in the Supercars category. However, talk of that program has now fallen silent after the team was sold off in 2021.
Disclaimer
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
Become a carsales member and get the latest news, reviews and advice straight to your inbox.
Recent Comments