Exclusive: Group Planning New “Circuit Of The Northwest” In Bremerton, Washington Has Permitted Land Use Approval In Place

Exclusive: Group Planning New “Circuit Of The Northwest” In Bremerton, Washington Has Permitted Land Use Approval In Place

© 2013, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

A group has obtained permitted land use approval to build a new, 2.8-mile road course on 234 acres of industrial land owned by the Port of Bremerton in Bremerton, Washington. The site is about 30 miles north of Tacoma and about 65 miles west of Seattle. The project is being called “Circuit Of The Northwest” and is being billed as “The PREMIER racing experience in the Pacific Northwest.” The group includes partners Aaron Capps (who owns a Nissan car dealership in Bremerton) and Brian Nilsen (a co-owner of The Brothers Powersports motorcycle dealership in Bremerton), as well as Mike Burdick (a local building contractor). The proposed track location is across the street from Bremerton National Airport, where the same group–using the name Bremerton Motorsports Park–has been operating on a defunct runway. The group was motivated to build a new facility because a planned road construction project will make it impossible to continue to use the runway course, Nilsen told Roadracingworld.com in an exclusive phone interview. According to Nilsen, the group plans to build the 40-foot-wide road course on natural terrain with 100 feet of elevation gain. The 2600-foot front straightway will be 50 feet wide and Turn One will be 60 feet wide. A motocross track, kart track and autocross pad are also planned, in addition to a large pit area and garages. Nilsen says that the group has secured a 50-year lease of the land (with a 50-year option) from the Port of Bremerton, and has spent over $200,000 gaining permitted land use approval, including studies covering noise, traffic, storm-water drainage and salmon fishery impacts. The reports produced for the project covered about 45 pounds of paperwork and took about three years to complete, Nilsen said. The project is actively seeking investors, who can contact John Gasper by phone at (509) 630-1955 or via e-mail at [email protected]; or Gene Becker by phone at (206) 295-3657 or via e-mail at [email protected]. Nilsen can be contacted by phone at (360) 620-9970 or via e-mail at [email protected]. The project office mailing address is 5205 1st St., Bremerton, WA 98312. A website is under construction at CircuitOfTheNW.com. Former racer and noted tuner Mike Velasco works for The Brothers Powersports and has consulted on the project, including providing input on the track design drawn by Nilsen. Nilsen said that the group has already been in contact with AMA Pro racer Larry Pegram and hopes to get input on the project from other AMA Pro racers; Nilsen said he has also discussed the project with David McGrath, AMA Pro Racing Director Of Road Racing. “We will be working with some AMA Pro riders on track flow, transitions, apexes and run-off,” said Nilsen. “I tried to put in as many right and left turns as I could so the track wouldn’t be lopsided or have rider going into corners with cold tires. I wanted to make it flowing; my goal is to get it to flow. “Once the funding piece is complete all we need to do is basically design and build,” Nilsen added. “It will go very quickly from there.”

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