Organisers of the forthcoming Festival of Speed inside Thoroughbred Park have sought to distance themselves from the recent Summernats poor behaviour controversy, declaring their inaugural event would be "a very different one, and appeal to a very different audience".
Co-director for the festival, Martin Tanti, said their event would bring out "the most amazing, high-end, high-quality, high performance cars Canberra has ever seen and put them on a demonstration track where people can hear them, and see them".
The event, scheduled for the weekend of March 2-3, dovetails well with Thoroughbred Park's need to diversify its functions beyond horse racing events as part of its ongoing funding agreement with the ACT government.
Under a memorandum of understanding between the ACT government and the racing clubs, additional income streams are needed "to ensure the ongoing viability of the industry".
Canberra Racing Club chief executive Darren Pearce said "racing is our core business but we have to broaden our entertainment capability".
He said the site for the festival would use much of the existing infrastructure, with multiple vehicle displays set up and a short demonstration course. He said the area had a capacity for around 14,000 people.
The festival is the brainchild of two Canberra entrepreneurs and self-confessed prestige performance car "nutters", Martin Tanti and Peter Batavgas, who started a modest little impromptu car show in the back streets of Fyshwick which grew and grew every year.
So they decided to "get serious".
The Canberra Festival is modelled on the Goodwood Festival of Speed, which is held every northern summer in the UK's West Sussex. The Goodwood event, like the Pebble Beach concours d'elegance, is now one of the must-see events on the international prestige car calendar and last year attracted 210,000 people.
Over 130 exotic, prestige and performance cars are already signed on for the Canberra event, with a Cosworth V8-powered Formula One car being trucked across from Adelaide, and Canberra V8 Supercar driver Cameron Hill pledging his race car. There will be an "adults only" event under lights on Saturday and a family day on Sunday.
