Karting Australia tables plans for national development centre on Gold Coast
Karting Australia has unveiled plans to transform a former Gold Coast track into a ‘world-class’ national development centre that could discover the next Oscar Piastri.
The former home of a Gold Coast karting track will be transformed into a “world-class” motorsports training and development precinct under plans before the state government.
Karting Australia and the Gold Coast Kart Club are backing the project, which is earmarked for a site on Pimpama’s Litchfield Lane.
It has been put forward for the former Xtreme Karting track to become a national karting development centre which would feature “upgraded karting tracks, education facilities and have the ability to host local, state, national and international events”.
It will be submitted to Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie for approval.
Karting Australia chief operating officer Lee Hanatschek said the development centre, if built, would become an important hub for motorsports and would be used to find “the next Oscar Piastri”.
Mr Hanatschek said the Formula 1 star and title contender had come up through Australia’s karting system and had won a race at a one-off event on the Gold Coast in 2015.
“Karting Australia, in conjunction with the landowners and the Coast karting club, are supporting this concept to become a national development centre,” he said.
“We are in the initial stages of the process and there is a long way to go but, since the Coast karting club’s site was resumed 20 years ago we have not had a permanent home here.
“Karting Australia has 7000 licence holders across the country and want to help develop that talent and provide them with opportunities in Australia or internationally like Oscar (Piastri) or (Gold Coast F1 driver) Jack Doohan that would allow them to follow the path to the pinnacle of motorsports.”
Mr Hanatschek said more than 5000 responses had already been recieved from local residents responding to an online survey.
Xterme Karting was shut down in 2021 after operating there for seven years without permission.
Council refused to give it retroactive approval and the business took its fight to the Planning and Environment Court but lost there too.
Area councillor and city planning boss Cr Mark Hammel said he was aware of the proposal and wrote to Mr Bleijie to request “he consider a state-led approach”.
“It is important to note this is a new and different proposal compared to those that have come to Council previously, and it will need to be assessed on its own merits,” he said.
“My understanding is this proposal is broader and more complex than those that have come to Council in the past.
“Should the Minister agree to proceed, Council would continue to engage constructively through the state-led process while ensuring the community’s interests and local planning considerations are front-of-mind.
“In my opinion, this is an appropriate location for this type of motorsport use, provided the proposal demonstrates it can meet strict conditions and mitigation measures, particularly around noise and hydraulics (and), should the Minister agree to consider the proposal, the Council will also be formally engaged as part of that process to provide advice on matters such as water and sewer network capacity and infrastructure delivery.
“Council acknowledges that, under a State-led pathway, the ultimate decision to accept and assess the proposal rests solely with the Minister, and we look forward to receiving his response.”
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