One of the key elements to a successful track is the team working the circuit to communicate information to our drivers.
As we head into another season, we are offering a FREE flagger training for a few enthusiastic and responsible fans to help drivers stay safe on track.
This entry level course is taught by Chief Marshal Linda Dorval, who has experience on racetracks in Canada and the US. Course attendees learn the meaning of each flag, the correct way to flag, proper radio communication and how to correctly respond to situations on track. Our introductory course prepares students for flagging at corners on our FIA-level professional circuit for Member Lapping days, Academy 27, and Private or Corporate events.
When: Saturday, March 17th
Time: 10:00am – 12:00pm (noon)
Where: Penticton Community Center, Meeting Room: 7
Capacity: 25 people
How to Register: Email Linda at linda@area27.ca – Pre-registration is required. No drop-ins.
Flag Positions at Area 27: Flag workers are given the unique opportunity to assist in ensuring track events run safely and smoothly. Flag workers must be a minimum 18 years of age and we ask people commit to 4 or more days per month. Our track schedule is available online at www.area27.ca/calendar.
Space is limited and we will establish a wait list. If you register and cannot attend due to unforeseen circumstances, please respect our time – advise us as soon as possible so we can bump someone up from the wait list.
We look forward to seeing you with us on the track this summer.
Oliver BC – Initially breaking ground in December of 2015, Area 27 Motorsports Park has now sold out of all 300 family memberships following the track’s inaugural season.
Area 27 is located in Oliver BC, the heart of Canada’s wine country, featuring 16 turns, and over 350 feet of elevation change per 4.83km lap. The project began when South Okanagan Motorsports Corporation co-founder, Bill Drossos, initiated a conversation with Chief Clarence Louie of the Osoyoos Indian Band. With a mutual understanding of the economic growth opportunity the track would bring to the local community, the project was soon given the green light. The eleven founding members of SOMC, including Jacques Villeneuve, set themselves upon the task of developing the motorsports facility.
The Area 27 team now plans to expand member offerings, and focus their efforts on
developing corporate entertainment, media, and videography opportunities. During the inaugural season, the circuit played host to Chevrolet, McLaren Cars, and Subaru Canada. They all found Area 27 and the surrounding amenities to provide the perfect venue for their desired programs. Ron Kiino, Chevrolet Communications – Performance Cars, stated, “Area 27 proved to be the perfect track to host the Camaro ZL1 1LE media program. From the challenging circuit to the scenic Okanagan backdrop, we couldn’t have asked for a better venue.”
For the 2018 season a new partnership with Porsche Centre Kelowna will bring expanded public offerings, including the new Academy 27 Pro Ride Experience. Area 27 is very excited to announce that construction of the first building at the facility will begin early in the 2018 season. This multipurpose building will feature over 9,500 sq.ft. of space overlooking the circuit, on-site food and beverage services, and Academy 27 classroom facilities.
Although membership applications are now closed, the Motorsports Park has begun accepting wait list inquiries to accommodate the overwhelming demand. For more information, please visit Area27.ca.
Beginning November 1st, Area 27 will be closed for the 2017 season. We’d like to thank our members,
spectators, and the Oliver community for a great inaugural season filled with tremendous support.
Next season’s calendar has officially been released on the events page for those of you looking to see what we have in store for 2018. Please note that our calendar is tentative and may be subject to change.
Registration for Academy 27 courses has begun for next season: Academy 27 offers a 2.5-Day course and 1-Day Advanced Lapping course to the public. Please note that in order to enroll for an Advanced Lapping course participants must have completed the 2.5-Day course prior.
We look forward to seeing you in March!
We’ve got big news coming to the track next month! Area 27 is happy to announce the return of Academy 27’s Guest Instructor, Patrick Carpentier, for the remaining 2017 season’s schools this October.
Patrick is a renowned Canadian professional driver who’s best known for his career in the Champ Car World Series, the IndyCar Series, and racing in NASCAR.
There are still a few seats remaining for the final schools of the 2017 season, but they’re going fast! October 2017 school dates are as follows:
-
October 13 – 15
-
October 15 – 17
-
October 18 – 20
This 2.5-day course offers car enthusiast’s a taste of the track, and an opportunity to hone in on their driving skills with feedback from the pros. Bring your own car on-track or rent one from one of our partners.
With this course driver’s will have one-on-one time with industry professionals who, when they’re not spending time at Area 27, are actively racing all over the world.
For more information on course pricing, and what will be covered during the 2.5-days check out our Academy 27 webpage here. If you’d like to book your seat, contact our Academy 27 Administrator & Instructor, Stefan Rzadzinski – click here to send him your reservation!
We look forward to welcoming you on track.
An automotive manufacturer spends serious time and resources on developing the new evolution of an iconic badge, so they do all they can to make sure everything goes as planned. Until their new wheels are directly in the hands of their consumers it can be challenging to know if the brand hit the mark. When the Camaro team decided to do a media launch to introduce the new ZL1 1LE to their market, they chose Area 27. And what an introduction it was.
“It was outstanding”, says Al Oppenheiser, Camaro Chief Engineer. Oppenheiser leads the Camaro product line, from engineering and manufacturing to marketing and sales. It’s a large responsibility to hold in your hands the legacy of a vehicle with such a pedigree. “We’re the gatekeepers for this period of time with Camaro.” He carries the weight of future promise and relies on his team to help him deliver. So they test their ideas. They do a lot of testing.
The Chevrolet proving grounds is a private test circuit that those in the know lovingly call “MRC” (it’s a secret we promised to keep). Part road course and part torture track, its only purpose is to put new cars through their paces out of the public eye. “We don’t have media there”, says Oppenheiser. “As it is we’re constantly battling drones. It’s not easy.” Then someone made the Area 27 connection. “We weren’t sure what to expect, as it’s a new track. So we sent someone to check it out.”
Enter Ron Kiino with Chevrolet Communications – Performance Cars division. Kiino made the trek from head office in Detroit to Oliver, British Columbia, and saw something that reminded him of MRC. “What was in front of him looked pretty familiar”, says Oppenheiser. “A track that’s almost three miles with significant elevation changes, challenging corners, a long straight. It felt so much like our MRC. We couldn’t have asked for a better fit.”
Most manufacturer product launches happen at a recognized and well-known public track with plenty of national media who are already well aware of the circuit. Bringing national media to parts unknown was a bit of a gamble for the Camaro team. “We didn’t know if media would want to come this far”, says Oppenheiser. “Turns out it was the best secret hook. When they arrived at Area 27 they were all wide-eyed. We had to act like we weren’t impressed with the track.” Oppenheiser laughs. “That was the hardest part. We were all excited to be there but had to play it cool in front of the press.”
The fit went beyond the similarities between the Chevrolet testing grounds and our track. Here, the 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE proved its mettle for both the production team and media. “We wanted a course with challenging corners to push the suspension, hairpin turns to highlight braking capabilities, a straightaway to open the engine, and somewhere that could show off downforce and aerodynamics.” Oppenheiser pauses. “I realized Area 27 does it all in one track.”
Academy 27 instructors helped Camaro’s team familiarize themselves with the circuit before introducing media. “We got some good speed on that straight”, says Oppenheiser. “Up to 135 – 140 mph (217 – 225 km/hr). And I absolutely love the turn 6-7 area.” He goes into technical detail about compression on the suspension as the ZL1 1LE climbs through turn 6 up into 7 before turning down into 8 and up through 9 into a blind apex. “The aerodymanics on the rear wing, really, the technical pieces of this track really shows what our Camaro is capable of. The team of Academy 27 instructors is great.”
Oppenheiser has the chance to be on some of the world’s best circuits in some of the highest performing cars. “We’ve been to the top tracks in the world. They all have strengths and weaknesses. Except Nürburgring. We call that the Final Exam.” Of course the ZL1 1LE performed true to form there, too. After spending almost a week at our track Oppenheiser has added it to his Best Of list. “It rates up there with the best”, he says. “Reminds me a bit of Virginia International Raceway in that it’s technical with high speed areas. Really, Area 27 is one of the best tracks we’ve ever seen in North America.”
It’s one thing to have proof that the newest iteration of Camaro hits all the right marks on the track, and another to know it resonates with your target market. “We designed and built the ZL1 1LE with a certain customer in mind”, explains Oppenheiser. “Our target was a motorsport enthusiast with some track time under their belt, or interest in track days. Someone who was a member of a private track with a moderate amount of experience.”
When a few Area 27 members came by to see what all the fuss was about, the Chief Engineer had his proudest moment. “I felt bad taking track days away from the members”, he says. “So when I heard we could invite some to check out the car, I thought it would be great to give them a taste of it. I spent some time with them.” Oppenheiser laughs again. “Yeah, we definitely hit the target with the ZL1 1LE. We traded a vision for a car that delivers. Their smiles said it all.”
We’re pretty proud over here too, Al. Thanks to you and the Chevrolet team for trusting our track to show off the new 2018 Camaro ZL1 1LE. Looks like the media lapped it up. As gatekeepers, you did good.
“It loves sure, strong inputs and surprises with its ability to hang tough around a full lap of the tricky, testing and absorbing Area 27 private track in Canada.” BBC Top Gear
“Carved into a hilly wine valley in rural British Columbia, it’s a highly technical track filled with blind corners, double apexes, tight hairpins, and fast sweepers at the end of even faster straights.” Motor1
“Chevrolet let us chase as many laps as we needed to get up to speed in the 1LE.” Road & Track
“There are fast, medium, and slow corners, a wicked blind 100-mph chicane, and great elevation changes. It’s an excellent circuit.” Automobile Magazine
“It’s long – 3.1 miles – and technical enough to load up the 1LE and toss it around a bit.” Autoblog
“Through Area 27’s variety of challenging corners, other aspects of the ZL1 1LE come into focus.” CNET
“After every undulation on this topographical wonderland of a race track…” Petrolicious
One of the key elements to a successful track is the team working the circuit to communicate information to our drivers. As we head into another season of hot laps, we’re offering FREE flag worker / corner worker training for a few enthusiastic and responsible fans to help drivers stay safe.
SATURDAY MAY 27 from 10am – 12pm (noon)
Penticton Community Centre, Meeting Room 3
Capacity: 25 people max (it’s free)
Pre-registration is required. No drop-ins.
How To Register: contact us
This entry level course is taught by Chief Marshal Linda Dorval, who has experience on racetracks in Canada and the US. Course attendees learn the meaning of each flag, the correct way to flag, and how to respond to a spin or other situation. Our introductory course prepares students for flag work at corners on our FIA-level professional circuit for member lapping days and private or corporate events.
Safety on the track is paramount – whether it’s for member track days, at our performance driving academy, or during private events.
Flag workers are predominantly volunteer positions with the exception of Corporate Event days. All shifts are eligible for reward incentives. Flag workers must be a minimum 18 years of age. We ask people commit to 4 or more days per month. Our track schedule is online.
Interested? Email linda@area27.ca. All participants must have valid ID and be 18 years of age or older. Space is limited and we will establish a wait list. If you register and cannot attend due to unforeseen circumstances, please respect our time – advise us as soon as possible so we can bump someone up from the wait list.
We look forward to seeing you with us on the track this summer.
Dedicated fans won’t need an introduction for this man, who for 40 years worked at Lamborghini and was known as the company’s chief test driver and brand ambassador. On Monday May 7, Valentino Balboni will be at the track for an Area 27 members’ event.
Starting as an apprentice mechanic in 1968, Balboni worked his way up through the factory until company founder Ferrucio Lamborghini himself personally asked Balboni to test drive all the new cars. Balboni is rumoured to have test driven 80% of all Lamborghinis built, before he retired in 2008.
Balboni joins us at Area 27 at the end of the 2017 Hublot Diamond Rally tour at a corporate member event exclusively for club members. We’ll see what we can do about capturing a photo (or two) of the icon on our track, because this kind of thing just doesn’t happen every day.
Happy motoring.
People in advertising will say that good press is worth its weight (or advertising value) in gold. Over the past three years we’ve been fortunate to have received good coverage from all over the world. It turns out we’re not the only ones who like to talk track. From local and national news outlets bringing updates to their readers / listeners / viewers to hitting the NBC Sports blog (!), we’re grateful for every mention.
The latest ink on our track is courtesy of BC Business Magazine. We’re thrilled to see an article about our club and track get a full page feature in their April issue, and it’s a nice surprise that it’s timed with this month’s season opening. Pick up a copy at your closest magazine retailer, because we like to encourage support of local publishers. And we’re on page 19.
Thanks for the support, all of you.
In partnership with three special race car manufacturers, we’re thrilled to announce a special multi-car Track Demo Day onSaturday April 8. This sneak preview test drive track day is exclusively for Area 27 members.
Avion Motorsports RS1 Track Car
Avion Motorsports is a Canadian NASCAR team based in Ottawa that’s owned by Trevor Seibert. The RS1 was designed by Trevor as the first Area 27 track-specific car in a series. Built in the spring of 2016, the RS1 was track tested by Trevor and Ryley Seibert and currently holds the overall track record.
Contact: speed@avionmotorsports.com
National Auto Sport Association and Spitfire Racing will have the NASA Elan NP01purpose-built race car. Designed from the ground up to be quick and attractive on the track with a focus on safety, reliability, and affordable maintenance.
Contact: jen@spitfireracing.ca
Radical is a track-day and race car manufacturer based in England with a dealer network in North America. Each car is handcrafted and many of the engine parts are machined in house. Customization and packages are available to order.
Contact: dave@radicalcanadawest.ca
Space is limited and advance booking is required. To reserve your 20 minute track test session, contact the listed representative directly.