- Willow Springs International Motorsports Park has been sold to a partnership between a private equity firm and Singer.
- Plans are afoot to develop trackside amenities and improve safety.
- This investment may change the pared-down feel of Willow but should ensure the track’s long-term survival.
Constructed in the early 1950s, Willow Springs International Motorsports Park is a shining gem of Californian racing history. It’s only eighty miles outside of Los Angeles, and has been the site of many a race, movie shoot, or prototype shakedown over the years. Thus, when it went up for sale last year, many a track enthusiast was filled with foreboding. Could the property’s 600 acres become the site of new development, the racing consigned to the past?Happily, it now looks like that’s not going to be the case. The track’s new owner, CrossHarbor Capital Partners, has teamed up with none other than California’s own Singer to ensure that Big Willow, Horse Thief Mile, and the Streets of Willow will all remain open to enthusiasts of every stripe. If you’ve ever nailed the transition from Turn Five over Monroe Ridge, whether in real life or in Gran Turismo, it’s good news all round.Having said that, it’s likely that the days of cheap speed are over at Willow Springs. The track’s ancillary facilities were pretty basic cinder-block buildings that hadn’t fundamentally changed over the past half-century. The site was all about on-track action, not luxury, and that’s likely to change.MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images|Getty ImagesWillow Springs in 2012.New plans from CrossHarbor and Singer include the construction of a tech hub for race team and manufacturer development, car storage and restoration facilities, a museum, and a private members’ club hosted by Singer. Willow Springs is already a popular site for new-car model launches, and enhanced facilities will likely draw in more traffic. Instead of a basic outbuilding where you can get a burger and fries, think of something like the Thermal Club raceway, located to the southeast of LA.
Singer’s reimagined Porsche 911 restomods are, of course, aimed at the very wealthy, with seven-figure price tags. However, the new ownership states they intend to maintain regular public access to the track, and keep Willow Springs accessible for every automotive enthusiast.Willow Springs RacewayAlong with enhancing the trackside amenities, there’ll be a focus on improving track safety. Alex Wurz, a former F1 driver and Le Mans winner, has been brought on as a consultant with a view to creating runoff areas with additional tarmac and gravel. If you mess up Big Willow’s high-speed sweeper in Gran Turismo, it’s easy enough to press the reset button. Not so much if you’re on the track for real.As Willow Springs has been basically preserved in amber for decades, any changes are going to come with some grumbling from longtime fans of the track. But this development is good news overall. The partnership with Singer brings deep pockets and genuine enthusiasm to the table, and there’s hope that improving the trackside experience will increase revenue and keep the books in the black. It means that after 70 years, Willow Springs isn’t going anywhere. California’s gem of speed gets to glitter for decades yet to come. From the C/D ArchiveBrendan McAleer is a freelance writer and photographer based in North Vancouver, B.C., Canada. He grew up splitting his knuckles on British automobiles, came of age in the golden era of Japanese sport-compact performance, and began writing about cars and people in 2008. His particular interest is the intersection between humanity and machinery, whether it is the racing career of Walter Cronkite or Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki’s half-century obsession with the Citroën 2CV. He has taught both of his young daughters how to shift a manual transmission and is grateful for the excuse they provide to be perpetually buying Hot Wheels.
Source: caranddriver.com
