Supercars’ CEO Sean Seamer says the series will not be played into the blame game over the surprising shift in venue from Pukekohe Park to Hampton Downs.
The series was stunned to discover that a change in the Auckland Unitary Plan dictated that there is to be no motor racing held at the Pukekohe venue on Anzac Day unless given consent 180 days prior.
Supercars failed to comply with these conditions were left with no alternative other than a change in venue.
However, Seamer is refusing to both take the blame nor dish it upon both the Supercars Commission New Zealand council officials.
“We were taken aback at the end of last year around the challenges for the resource consent,”
Seamer told ‘Motorsport.com’.
“We weren’t aware of it, obviously.
“We haven’t got into a finger-pointing thing about whose fault it was, because we’ve been flat out getting the event up this year. We’re not going to go back and do the blame game, because it’s not going to change anything.
“We’ve got to focus on making sure Hampton Downs is a great event. The race track is fantastic, and it’s going to kick up some great racing.
“So we have to make sure that what we can control, which is the event around it, that it’s world-class as delivers the fans an experience equal to, or better than, Pukekohe.”
Since the announcement of the venue change, Supercars have already begun descending upon Hampton Downs to quickly extinguish issues such as public viewing, parking and traffic management.
However, it was quickly learnt after the announcement that Hampton Downs is currently limited to a mere 20,000 spectators a day.
Considering that 2019’s rendition of the New Zealand round drew in roughly 120,000 over the three days, this poses a serious issue for Supercars.
“My understanding is that the resource consent – when they initially tried to get Supercars there – was for 60,000,”
Seamer told media earlier this month.
“It’s been updated to 20,000 but we’re working through an increase of that with Waikato District Council at the moment.”
As of the date, there has been no official announcement concerning any changes to spectator limits.
Though it is understood that existing ticket holders of a Pukekohe ticket will be granted entry with their current purchase or offered a full refund if desired.
The ITM Auckland SuperSprint will be held over Anzac Weekend on the 24-26 April at Hampton Downs International Motorsport Park.
