The sad announcement today that motorsport at Pukekohe Park Raceway will be no more after the Auckland Thoroughbred Racing (ATR) confirmed that motorsport activities at Pukekohe Park will cease early in 2023 (2 April 2023) as the Club seek to develop the site for their own purposes. It is no surprise given the fact that unless a motorsport person, club or association owns the bricks and mortar, they will always be at the whim and mercy of the actual land owners.
It’s ironic that we can stop buildings from being dismantled because they have a historical significance, but a race track, that would be a first. While we know its history from first operating in 1963, it would be hard to define its historical value in recognising its social, cultural, environmental and economic benefits to New Zealand, and its importance to our national identity.
Like Bay Park, Levin and the Wigram Aerodrome, Pukekohe will become a distant memory and all the history that goes with it. It will now leave Teretonga Park in Invercargill as the last remaining circuit which can boost hosting race meetings since 1957 and is the southernmost FIA-recognised race track in the world.
September 2022 will now host the final Repco Supercars Championship round at Pukekohe and from then on we will now see a move most probably to Hampton Downs Motorsport Park.
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