It was always a dream for Jacques Villeneuve to design a race track.
He got his chance when long-time friend Bill Drossos called. Villeneuve chatted to media about his conversation with Drossos, who came up with the idea, which he jokingly called crazy.
鈥淎re you dreaming, what are you on?鈥� said Villeneuve. 鈥淚 was wanting to believe what Bill was saying. Every time I came, it was more and more real. It was amazing to see a dream coming to reality, which doesn鈥檛 happen often.鈥�
That dream is , which held its grand opening on June 3 with 600 in attendance at the Manuel鈥檚 Flats location just east of Oliver.
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When Villeneuve saw the land, he said it was perfect. The location provides what he said is probably the best weather in Canada, which is useful for a race track. Villeneuve also realized how many people were actually interested in driving cars around the race track.
鈥淭here was no outlet. You can鈥檛 do that on the road, so you needed an outlet,鈥� said Villeneuve.
The former Formula 1 driver said designing the track was easy.
鈥淲e still needed someone to make it come alive,鈥� said Villeneuve, adding that is when Trevor Seibert entered the mix.
Villeneuve said Seibert shared the same passion.
鈥淚 drove it for the first time yesterday (Friday),鈥� said Villeneuve. 鈥淚t鈥檚 even better than I expected. I鈥檓 very, very happy about that. From what I hear from people driving it, they are having fun. That was the goal. The goal was to get a track where you actually do a few laps and you have fun. You just have fun.鈥�
Vernon鈥檚 Vincent Schmolke is among the 250 members Area27 has and said it has been a life-long dream for him to be a part of. He grew up playing racing video games as there wasn鈥檛 anything like this in the Okanagan. Area27 is first class to Schmolke.
鈥淓verything is amazing. The layout is perfect. Its a lot of fun,鈥� said Schmolke. 鈥淭he scenery is beautiful. The people running it are amazing.鈥�
Schmolke takes his Honda S2000 out on the track and said Academy 27, the driving school, is incredible.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of fun. It鈥檚 safe, it鈥檚 not that fast,鈥� he said of his car. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 get into trouble. It doesn鈥檛 matter what car you have, it鈥檚 pretty exhilirating.鈥�
Villeneuve, Drossos and former NASCAR driver Trevor Seibert of Lake Excavating, built the largest circuit west of Ontario and the only private motorsport club in the west with a circuit of its size.
Oliver mayor Ron Hovanes called Area27 鈥済ame changing鈥� for the South Okanagan.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable to have this in our backyard,鈥� said Hovanes, who congratulated OIB chief Clarence Louis and his band for their work on this.
Louie called Saturday a good day, while he thanked countless people, including those that made Area27 a reality. He also thanked Seibert for putting money in band member pockets by employing them during construction. With an emphasis on local opportunity during the build, the crew was 70 per cent OIB members.
鈥淚t鈥檚 like Jack Nicklaus designing your golf course,鈥� he said to the crowd. 鈥淪mall town Oliver, we don鈥檛 get to have people like Jacques in our back yards.鈥�
鈥淭his is a big deal. This is a very big deal for our region.鈥�
Racing has always been a part of Oliver鈥檚 history and the OIB brought a piece of that to the ceremony. Band members Richard Baptiste and Paul Louis George were drag racres in the 1970s. The pair brought a framed light blue jacket with pictures from their racing days. The frame will hang in the OIB office.
鈥淭hey were our racers back in the early 70s. They set records and they participated in races in southern B.C.and northern Washington State,鈥� said Louie. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so neat how Indian magic works sometimes. The colours they had are the same colours as Area27.鈥�
In the 70s, the OIB allowed drag racing on Black Sage Road.
There are 50 memberships left as Area27 expects to reach their cap of 300 by the end of October. Membership costs $45,000 with yearly dues of $3,000 (Phase 1) to $4,000 (Phase 2). There is no non-member fee as the club is membership only (and their guests). Members can bring up to 15 guests per month based on membership level (charter, regular, or corporate membership) and conditions apply (guests must have certified performance driving instruction from a recognized driving academy). The members鈥� guest daily use fee is $100 per day per guest.
Academy 27, the driving school, is open to the public and registration is $2,600 plus GST for non-members (members pay $2,100 plus GST).
Seibert has launched and they offer track experiences including 鈥済rassroots鈥� track days (conditions apply). David King is the other co-founder, while founding members include Penticton鈥檚 Daryl Carter and Gord Lindsay. Other Okanagan founding members are 琉璃神社鈥檚 Robert Sinneave and Paul Neider.
sports@pentictonwesternnews.com
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