tHE TRACKS

 Development of the 170  acre site began in earnest in 2009. Asphalt for the road course was laid  in November 2011. 2012 was the first full season of operations, with a  fully booked calendar of events including car club lapping days, driver  training schools and sanctioned auto and motorcycle races along with  other bookings. 

The road circuit was penned by Steve  Crawford, designer of Thunderhill Raceway Park and is 40 feet wide, 2.47  miles in length, with 16 turns, and has over 300 feet of elevation gain  and loss per lap, including the 50 foot plunge down the Ridge Complex.

Each lap of The Ridge Motorsports Park  road circuit thrills with high speed straights and sweeper turns, huge  compression’s and blind weightless crests, challenging esses, a long  carousel turn where you walk the tightrope between speed and grip, a  double apex turn leading to another valley and cresting turn leading  into a heavy braking zone, a short sprint between tight turns and  finally a breathtaking plunge down the ridge into a technically  difficult sequence of turns, before going hammer down on the front  straight again! All of this in a park-like forest setting, with stunning  territorial and mountain views.

Great care was taken during planning  and development of the facility to maximize the natural attributes of  the site’s geography and topography in a way that promotes a safe  experience for all users. The circuit is 40 feet wide, providing ample  room for users to enjoy the track safely, with excellent sight lines for  users and corner stations alike. Runoff areas are wide and flat.  Barriers and tire bundles are situated at a distance from the surface in  such a way as to protect users when necessary. We run both Chicane and Straight configurations.

More than just a place to ride fast, the Vancouver Island Motorsport Circuit is a motorsports playground where motorcycle enthusiasts, friends and businesses come together to enjoy a place where they can socialize, meet and dine among like-minded aficionados. Situated in beautiful Cowichan Valley, BC, with 19 corners and 11.5% in elevation changes, 2.3km circuit is one you must ride to fully comprehend just how technical a track can be.

The  Area 27 Circuit has the unique distinction of being envisioned,  designed, engineered, and constructed by professional racecar drivers.  Designed to take advantage of the natural terrain, Area 27’s sixteen  turns flow through elevation changes like a favorite country road.

Straightaways  are long enough to generate speed and to allow the driver time to  assimilate the previous corner’s challenge. Great corners are defined by  what comes before and what happens after them – Area 27 was built with  this in mind.

Construction  began on February 2nd, 2016 for a seven-month build schedule that would  culminate with the first laps taking place on August 30th, 2016.

“My passion for racing started when I was 5. The only thing I wanted  to do everyday, as a little boy, was to play with little cars around the  tracks I had designed on the carpets or with books. It later evolved  into slot-car racing where the fun and passion of designing tracks was  as strong as playing with the cars themselves.

I have been lucky to race all over the globe on a diversity of tracks  over the years. Some tracks were amazing for that single qually lap  excitement of driving on the edge and pushing the limit. Other tracks  provided for great races with incredible overtaking opportunities. With  all these options for rushes of adrenalin, there were also the tracks  that seemed to lack soul or excitement.

I have always relished the challenge of designing an exciting track,  taking into account the single lap excitement, combined with  wheel-to-wheel racing opportunities, all while avoiding the pitfalls of  the uninteresting tracks. The goal is to design a track I would be proud  of getting pole position on, where the fans would also enjoy watching  an exciting race.”