Seasonal Operations
With at least one hundred and sixty-eight major road courses in North America, there are many very successful facilities in the Northern United States and Canada that have a climate that is comparable to that of Badlands Motorsports Resort. Utah Motorsports Campus in Salt Lake City, Autobahn Country Club in Chicago, Road America in Wisconsin, Calabogie Motorsports Park near Ottawa and Mont Tremblant in Quebec are just a few examples that manage seasonal adjustments which can affect motorsports activities.
On the positive side, a northern latitude allows for significantly longer periods of daylight during summer months, creating the ability to run two sessions per day where many facilities only manage one. The specific location of Badlands Motorsports Resort, on the west end of the Canadian Badlands, is also blessed with a high average of annual sunshine hours, and a very minimal amount of annual precipitation that gives it an advantage over some facilities in more southern locations.
Our motorsports facility has been designed with features that allow it flexibility to handle usage in all seasons. In doing so, we have proposed a plan to run the facility seven days a week for the entire year with only a two week break during Christmas and New Year’s holidays.
Beyond the natural climate of the site, the facility has some planned features that will lend it even greater advantage over other northern latitude facilities.
Indoor Paddock
An indoor paddock area will be built into the ground level of the Car Condo building. Serving as a launch point for driving activities, the area is large enough to hold multiple groups of drivers and vehicles, facilitating setting adjustments, socialization, or simply relaxation between stints, all in a space insulated from the outdoor elements. Given that the Car Condo building is also a main vehicle storage facility it will be possible for someone to drive to the site, prepare their track vehicle for use, then drive on course, without ever spending time outside.
Track Monitoring Systems
A state of the art timing and scoring system using digital flags and closed circuit television monitoring instead of on-course Marshalls will make it easy for our staff to run the facility in all temperatures, as well as provide an added element of safety. Large LED flag panels, which can be mounted in easily viewable locations, even overhead the track or on a dash mounted receiver are controlled from a central race operations room.
Track Sweeping
During the winter season, the North Track and Skidpad will be cleaned with a street sweeper for snow coverage and will operate all year long. Depending on the temperature and snow/slush conditions, there will be specific tire requirements such as all-season or snow tires required. This will allow for daily lapping and driver education sessions or possibly even time trial competitions. A winter time trial series is currently done at Utah Motorsports Campus (Miller Motorsports Park) in Salt Lake Utah and it has been very successful.
Outside of the car, a variety of activities will be possible on site in winter months. For the Valley Track, where varying terrain complicates snow removal, it is proposed that snow making machines will be placed alongside the track, or snow removed from the plateau area will be placed on the Valley Track to create a dedicated snowmobile course. With a built in timing system, and nearby resort amenities, this would be a one-of-a-kind facility.
Once fully built, hiking and cycling trails could be groomed for cross country skiing in winter months. Summer swimming areas could be used for ice skating. The beautiful views and landscape of the area, would take a different tone, but still remain a key attraction that drives visitors to the area.