It's Auckland or no V8 races

By BERNARD ORSMAN

New Zealand will lose the V8 Supercar motor race for two years if Auckland cannot get resource consent to hold the event.

The chairman of the Australian motorsports organisation Avesco, Tony Cochrane, yesterday said the other bid to host the race at an upgraded Manfeild circuit in Manawatu could not happen before 2008.

Without resource consent in Auckland, there would be nowhere in New Zealand to hold the event in 2006 and 2007 once the V8s finish at Pukekohe next year, he said.

Mr Cochrane yesterday confirmed a Herald story that Auckland City would host one of the world's "greatest street races" for seven years from 2006.

The 2.6km inner-city race circuit round Victoria Park is expected to attract 170,000 people and be watched by a global television audience of more than 100 million.

Mr Cochrane, Auckland City Mayor John Banks and Dean Culvert, head of event promoter IMG, went into overdrive yesterday about the benefits of holding the event, and gave themselves a strong chance of obtaining resource consent.

They face a battle convincing residents and businesses, other local authorities and a sceptical Transit NZ that they can avoid traffic chaos.

Mr Banks said he was not interested in the "grizzle-guts" who opposed the event but he promised extensive consultation and action to help affected residents, businesses and transport companies.

"The Auckland City Council under my leadership will not permit such an event if we cannot overcome all the obstacles, perceived and real."

The council is sending a brochure and questionnaire to 6000 residents, businesses and affected groups.

A joint application for resource consent is expected to be filed in two weeks by the council's recreation and services group and IMG. It will include a traffic management plan and details about noise levels of up to 95 decibels when the supercars race twice each day for about 50 minutes.

The council will appoint an independent commissioner to hear the resource consent. The decision can be appealed to the Environment Court.

Until the council can convince Transit and other local authorities that it can keep the city moving, Transit will oppose the event.

The New World supermarket at Victoria Park, which has 35,000 customers a week and turnover of more than $1 million, says it will lose business if the Fanshawe St motorway offramp is closed.

"A lot of our customers come from the North Shore," manager Rob McGregor told One News. "If their traffic flow is past a different route, they'll get into the habit of shopping somewhere else."

A phone-in poll on Holmes last night recorded solid opposition to the race. Of 9002 callers, 5355, or nearly 60 per cent, did not agree with the central Auckland venue.