Bill Drossos, the founder and president of the Area 27 racetrack facility, was on hand in late September as the facility officially opened and members, who paid $35,000 each to join, ran test laps at the facility near Oliver. More than 200 members have already purchased memberships and Drossos and his business partners are hoping to limit membership to about 300. The plan is to build a driver training facility and large clubhouse over the next couple of years. (Dan Walton Photo).
With the bulk of construction of Area 27 complete, adrenaline-seekers have finally begun pushing the limits of their high performance vehicles in Oliver.
After turning his vision into reality, “It felt pretty good,” Area 27 president Bill Drossos said about being able to cruise along his new 4.83 kilometre race track, which became suitable for use on Sept. 13.
“It’s not every day that these things happen. You work for a long time and something finally comes together,” he said.
His idea to build a track in Oliver began to build momentum in 2012, but the notion has been in Drossos’ mind since childhood.
“I originally thought it was a possibility to have a track in the Okanagan when I was as young as 11-12,” he said.
During a trip to Mount Baldy in 2012, Drossos learned about a suitable patch of land in Oliver – that’s when his idea gained serious traction.
“I started to think about it then; how it would work, how to make a track in this day and age.”
Drossos connected with Osoyoos Indian Band Chief Clarence Louie and was given a tour of the location that eventually became Area 27. From there, he began searching for partners who would be willing to back the idea.
His business plan is similar to the model used by country clubs, which requires members to pay a significant initiation fee as well as annual dues.
Memberships cost $35,000 and Drossos said there is a limit of 300 and about 200 have been sold already.
Before ripping around the track, members have to book a time – the same way they would book a tee time at a golf course.
And if they ever lose their sense of adventure, drivers are allowed to sell their memberships after five years.
The track allows automobiles to travel up to 280 kilometres per hour, Drossos said, while high performance motorcycles can use the track to travel as fast as 300 kilometres per hour.
Despite having his own racetrack, Drossos doesn’t yet have his own race car.
He plans on shopping around during the offseason, in time for when the track opens for the 2017 season.
Unlike public roads, Area 27 was designed for vehicles that handle very well, he said.
“You want something that takes corners really well and has decent brakes. It’s really a handling track – it gets more challenging with more horsepower,” he said. “So if you add power you need the skill set to manage that around the track.”
When asked what his favourite section of the track is, Drossos couldn’t narrow it down to one.
“There are so many parts – just the whole track in its entirety. All the signature corners; just the way it flows from one section to the next.”
The track was only open for about seven weeks before closing recently for the winter. Although the track was drivable toward the end of the season, there is still a bit of outstanding construction that will be completed before the spring.
To complete the project, vegetation needs to be replaced to keep dust levels down, and proper irrigation and drainage systems need to be installed.
“Building a race track is not the same as building a highway,” he said.
Comprehensive safety features require vehicles travelling at high speeds to have enough run-off space in the event of an accident.
“Everything on either side has to be as level and smooth,” he said. “There’s a lot of science and considerations that make it substantially more expensive than building a road.”
Drossos said many racetracks are located out in the middle of nowhere, whereas Area 27 is just a few minutes drive from downtown Oliver.
On top of its world-class engineering and design, it embodies the character of the South Okanagan, situated on a shelf of the Monashee Mountains, surrounded by vineyards. Even wild horses will occasionally show up.
“We offer a great climate and a track that’s unique – the design isn’t like any other circuit.”
Once things are underway, Drossos said he would like to see Area 27 hosting vintage races and he believes there’s a big market for it in the Okanagan.
Ryley Seibert, a racer who also helped to build the track, said Area 27 was designed to be “a driver’s course.”
“It’s very tricky and very technical,” he said, adding that it takes a lot of laps before a driver can get comfortable. The way our dad (co-founder Trevor Seibert) had designed it, that’s what he wanted to do. You can’t take a breath – you really have to focus on the entire lap.”
Bill Drossos, the founder and president of the Area 27 racetrack facility, was on hand in late September as the facility officially opened and members, who paid $35,000 each to join, ran test laps at the facility near Oliver.
More than 200 members have already purchased memberships and Drossos and his business partners are hoping to limit membership to about 300. The plan is to build a driver training facility and large clubhouse over the next couple of years. (Dan Walton Photo).
