Wakefield Park sold

Following its closure to all motorsport-related activity in September last year, there’s hope for racing to return to Wakefield Park under new ownership.

On 14 March, it was revealed that Steve Shelley, who owns and operates the Pheasant Wood Circuit (a smaller track located around 30km to the east of Goulburn) had purchased Wakefield Park from the Benalla Auto Club (BAC).

As previously reported, the NSW Land and Environment Court (NSW LEC) imposed a ruling in mid-July last year relating to noise restrictions at the circuit. This reduced operations to just 30 days per year, making it unfeasible to continue, so the BAC closed the circuit on 1 September, 2022.

As well as its impact on club-level motorsport, track days and driver training events, Wakefield Park’s closure also removed a venue used regularly by the mi-bike Australian Superbike Championship since 2016, leaving Sydney Motorsport Park as the sole permanent circuit in NSW that the series could compete at.

Shelley’s ownership doesn’t remove the NSW LEC conditions, so how he plans to work around them remains to be seen. However, a statement issued by Pheasant Wood Circuit says they will “breathe new life into the raceway and provide a sustainable and commercially viable solution to the noise concerns that led to its closure.”

BAC President Stephen Whyte is similarly confident about what will come with the change in ownership, but stopped short of predicting when motorsport would return.

“With Steve and his team having significant experience in motorsport facility management and event management, I couldn’t think of anyone better to be the custodian of Wakefield Park Raceway,” Whyte said.

“It is significant that Steve already knows the area and the current situation with Wakefield Park, and I have no doubt he will continue to work with the residents, council and government to secure the future of the facility.

“We also look forward to continuing to work with Steve and his team in the future as they put plans together to re-open the circuit.”

Wendy Tuckerman, Liberal Member for Goulburn and NSW Minister for Local Government, was described as pivotal in brokering the sale and may be a voice of support for future dealings between Shelley, the NSW LEC and Goulburn Mulwaree Council.