Update
This day forms part of a 12 to 18 month process to transform Blyton from what it was into a quality motorsport venue. The lease is now in hands of professional management and so anyone driving on this day will be in the vanguard of developing the track.
For anyone who has been to Blyton before or is looking at Google maps, it is not as it was, the whole site has been cleared, tyres, soil, debris and the Stock Car oval, so the runway is back to the full width.
The route of the track is not final, but the basic layout that is currently planned will be that the hanger, which is the white building on the left, is the garage, service, pit area. The track will run up the perimeter road, across the top of the runway, down the far side perimeter track turning left at the bottom and then left again through what was the Stock Car track then up the runway, turning right just after the hanger and then back round. "Features" will be added to this and a good base reference would be Snetterton meets Bedford.
Currently already in place is a Race Control building and briefing room, which was a custom made Twickenham ticket office, temporarily there are a couple of containers for putting stuff in under cover that you don't want rolling around in your car and the hanger acts as an under cover service area. Hot food will be available on site and naturally there will be medical cover etc.
The majority of the track is tarmac, there are some rough areas, but obviously the track will be routed to miss them, and is 10 times better than Finmere. Once the layout is proved then new tarmac will be going down, a local Navvy has already said he has 800 tons of tarmac he over ordered for a job up the road. Safety wise there is one piece of Armco but other than that, if you leave the back stuff the only danger is a couple of carrots.
As an indication of what the plans are, the owner has been working two and a half years on the planning permission which is now in place. I think this is very exciting, a motorsport venue that is bucking the current trend to have more and more restrictions imposed, build eco towns on them or complain that they are not "green" and to be able to influence at an early stage how this develops is fantastic. Who knows, it could end up with "Phoenix Corner!, or even Davie's Off!"
The noise limit is 105dB and if you email me at
nick.dougill@mazdaontrack.co.uk I can send you a £10 discount code.