Transit backing spurs Hamilton V8s

Hamilton has taken a major step towards getting resource consent to host the V8 Supercar races - before the process has even started.

Early this afternoon, Transit confirmed it would support the council in its bid to stage the street race from 2008.

The roading authority's endorsement overcomes a major barrier to the city's hopes of hosting the event, which is expected to draw crowds of up to 200,000 and bring in as much as $175 million in to the city.

The council is yet to lodge its resource consent application, which the Herald understands will be advertised in local papers later this week.

But Transit operations manager Kaye Clark said Transit had signed a special agreement for the event. The agreement would enable it to identify state highway traffic management issues and ways to address them should the council be successful in obtaining resource consent.

Council spokeswoman Sarah Bettle described the letter has a "huge" coup for the city, as Transit's opposition was a major hurdle in Auckland and Wellington's failed attempts to host the race.

Hamilton mayor Michael Redman said he was delighted that a formalised agreement had been secured.

"I would like to congratulate Transit on their willingness and commitment to work closely with Hamilton City Council on the transport issues relating to the proposed V8 event," he said.

"The community should take comfort in Transit's position, which reflects that they have considered the major transportation issues and believe that they can be managed by working closely with council."