Goulburn Motor Cycle Club 'bloody excited' by state government grant

On Monday, February 24, the state government announced $1,378,713 in funding for projects in and around Goulburn in round three of the Building Stronger Country Communities fund, of which $491,284 went towards the completion of the GMCC's long-awaited home track.

"It's bloody exciting for the club," club president Richard Toparis said.

"In 1911 we started, and it's 2020 now, so we're 109 years old and finally we've got a track."

After an arduous process which spanned nearly a decade, construction began in 2018, but the club did not have the required funds to install the major infrastructure such as a clubhouse and dust suppression facilities.

The clubhouse, Toparis said, will be a two-story building with a observatory on the top floor for the lap-scorers which will have a canteen and disabled toilets inside.

Construction will soon begin on the final aspects of the track, which Toparis hopes to begin using as early as mid-2020.

"I'm hoping we might have some recreational riding in say July," he said.

"It's way too hot to ride dirtbikes now anyway, so the announcement has been very timely.

"So by the time winter comes around and the riding season's on, hopefully we can have some recreational riding mid-winter, and we can be fully operational in the spring. That's the plan."

Up until now, the club has been operating with only a juniors track, and Toparis looks forward to seeing the whole club use the new track on a more regular basis.

"For the last 12 months, we've only been operating with the junior track, and this'll enable us to finish the senior track now," he said.

"We've only had people under 16 use the facility every fortnight at the minute, now everyone can use it."

Toparis thanked all aspects of government involved in the application of the grant, along with the club's committee members who worked tirelessly towards the track's completion.

"The government's been very supportive, all levels of government including the council. The council's been supportive all along," he said.

"I just want to give a shout out to the current committee members, a special mention to Andrew Rowlands and Sam White for getting it across the gate ... also to all the members for their patience."

Toparis was also grateful for the support of Member for Goulburn, Wendy Tuckerman.

"The Goulburn Motor Cycle Club has been diligently working on the construction of a moto park for the past two years," Ms Tuckerman said in a statement.

"This grant will allow the club to open their facility to the public for recreational riding, as well as extending opportunities to the wider racing community to bring training, coaching and competitions to Goulburn."

The GMCC hopes to work in conjunction with the other motorsport facilities in the region, such as the Goulburn Speedway and Wakefield Park, to coordinate their events and maximise tourism opportunities.

"It's good for the town, all the businesses are going to do well," Toparis said.

"People are going to travel from everywhere, our location ... it's so central. We're going to have people from Sydney and Canberra and from the Riverina all coming here, so it'll be good for the town."

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