No mention in the article where Flatrock is, had to look it up to see that it's near Knoxville.
Photography by J.A. Ackley unless otherwise credited
It’s here. Well, almost. Flatrock Motorsports Park, now wearing its first layer of asphalt, welcomed VIPs and member members for rides on Tuesday.
How big of a deal is that? It was enough to bring out a Daytona 500 winner. Trevor Bayne was among seasoned drivers giving ride-alongs at the facilty located an hour west of Knoxville, Tennessee.
“Motorsports is really important to me,” Bayne said. “Having more venues for people to come to–whether it’s a karting track or a skidpad–the community that’s going to come from that is awesome.”
Yes, the 3.5-mile Motorclub track is reserved for club members. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg for Flatrock’s plans for the 800-acre facility.
As Bayne alluded, a kart track, a skidpad and other areas for motorsport activities are planned. Among those includes a 2.6-mile Grand Prix course. That will be open to the public. While Flatrock has yet to break ground on that course, track execs offered an ETA of 2025. In theory, it shouldn’t take as long as the Motorclub track because it requires much less excavation to build it.
Image Courtesy Flatrock Motorsports Park
What can you expect until then? Track execs hinted that the Motorclub course may not be only for club members. Those members get promised 200 days of track time. That leaves 165 days for other activities. What might those activities consist of? It won’t be for the amateur racing, but other ranks of motorsport weren’t ruled out.
Flatrock still has to finish things on its Motorclub course, such as drainage, curbing, fencing and construction of buildings. And yes, there’s still two layers of asphalt to add. The ETA on the Motorclub track is spring 2024.
“It was a definite milestone,” Flatrock founding partner Rusty Bittle said of the completion of the first layer of paving for the track. “This was a 28-year vision. It made it real. A lot of people were skeptical that we would build this track. Getting that asphalt down made it real for other people, too.”
No mention in the article where Flatrock is, had to look it up to see that it's near Knoxville.
In reply to dbgrubbs :
Same
The overall layout of the track looks really good and I love that it is as long as it is--about 3.5 miles long. The longer the better IMO. The photos show mile elevation changes and beautifully laid out sweeping curves. PLUS, the curves appear slightly banked, an added bonus too. Kudos to them building a track...so how much to join the club, eh?
In reply to DavyZ :
I had a friend talk to them, we do the driving club with NCM. One of the questions on the application was if you had private airplane access or not. The initiation fees and the rest were 6figures from the tiers I saw.
In reply to accordionfolder :
So to the lay-person, this track doesn't exist. Shame.
In reply to Puddy46 :
I **hope they'll work with regional organizations for events - they claimed they would. But you'll see on their website they also claim 200 club days a year for members, which is kinda insane. I assume it might be like COTA, where you can do DE but it's expensive? Who knows.
In reply to accordionfolder :
I hope you're right about letting DE organizations hold some events there. Seems like it would be a real fun track.
They are saying that they're working with track days guys like Chin and racing organizations like NASA about doing events there.
In reply to dbgrubbs :
You're right. Its location has been inserted into the piece. Thank you
To save some time here: It's less than an hour west of Knoxville, Tennessee, right off I-40. Another point of reference is that it's right after the time zone change into Central along the interstate.
For more information on the Motorclub, check this out at our sister publication: https://classicmotorsports.com/news/progress-flatrock-motorclubs-track-takes-shape/
While the focus now is on the club track, the people behind the facility remain adamant that they want the place to be for everyone. The old cliche is Rome wasn't built in a day, nor is an 800-acre facility.
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