NOLA Motorsports Park is a full service motorsports facility in
Avondale, Louisiana approximately twenty minutes from downtown
. NOLA Motorsports Park includes an
FIA Grade 2 road course, one of the largest (fully-lit) outdoor karting tracks in the country, and a 300,000 square ft. soft-grade asphalt
skid pad
A skidpad is a circular area of flat pavement used for various tests of a car's handling. The most common skidpad use is testing lateral acceleration, measured in meters per second squared (m/s2) or the scaled unit ''g''-force. This usage has ...
, perfect for
drifting and
autocross
Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition ...
.
The
kart
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ful ...
circuit and North Track opened in Q4 2011.
Future plans include completion of an
off-roading
Off-roading is the activity of driving or riding in a vehicle on unpaved surfaces such as sand, gravel, riverbeds, mud, snow, rocks, and other natural terrain. Types of off-roading range in intensity, from leisure drives with unmodified vehicl ...
area, a supercar driving experience, and more.
Design
NOLA Motorsports Park was designed by
Alan Wilson, whose other designs include
Utah Motorsports Campus
Utah Motorsports Campus is a race track facility located in Grantsville near Tooele, Utah, United States. It operated under the name of Miller Motorsports Park from 2006 until October 2015. The course has hosted auto, motorcycle, bicycle and kar ...
and
Barber Motorsports Park
Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabam ...
. In addition to the two international standard race tracks, the facility also features three karting tracks, full service seven acre kart center, paddock, on-site speed shop, clubhouse, eight acre autocross pad, and a state-of-the-art event center, perfect for business conferences, weddings, and other large events.
The park was designed with forward thinking electronic systems including over 100 miles of fiber optics and the latest timing and scoring equipment to allow for accurate timing on both the main and karting tracks.
Activities
East of the main track is a short and thin track. Usually being divided up in the center, it serves its north side as the rental go-kart track. The south can be rented out and holds smaller events such as motorcycle races. Behind the track is a gift shop with
racing memorabilia and a plethora of other items. The two-story building also houses two private balconies and an upstairs lobby with a small kitchen, which can be rented out for parties.
There is
motorcycle safety training
Motorcycle training teaches motorcycle riders the skills for riding on public roads. It is the equivalent of driver's education for car drivers. Training beyond basic qualification and licensing is available to those whose duty includes motorcyc ...
and on-track exotic car rentals provided by Xtreme Xperience.
Housed at Nola Motorsports Park for rental are the
Huracán LP610-4, the
Ferrari 458 Italia
The Ferrari 458 Italia (Type F142) is a mid-engine sports car produced by Ferrari. The F458 is the successor of the F430, and was first officially unveiled at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. It was succeeded by the 488 GTB (Gran Turismo Berl ...
, the
Porsche 911 GT3
The Porsche 911 GT3 is a high-performance homologation model of the Porsche 911 sports car. It is a line of high-performance models, which began with the 1973 911 Carrera RS.
The GT3 has had a successful racing career in the one-make national ...
, and the
Slingshot SLR.
Competitive racing is also hosted at the park, with a Go-Kart League racing for 2 seasons a year.
Autocross
Autocross (also called "Solo", "Auto-x" or "Autoslalom") is a timed competition in which drivers navigate one at a time through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface. It is a form of motorsports that emphasizes safe competition ...
, hosted on the skidpad, and
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
racing as well.
Accidents
In chronological order
On April 15, 2017, Jesus Martinez was
riding an unspecified motorcycle on the east track about 8:30 p.m. when he inadvertently
hit
Hit means to strike someone or something.
Hit or HIT may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities
* Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super''
* Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...
another rider and suffered life-threatening injuries.
He later died of injuries shortly after getting an ambulance to
University Medical Center. The accident was found to be a manual mistake and no outside debris on the track was found.
On September 22, 2018, Jeff Hagaman was topping out his 2000
hp heavily modified
2010 Nissan GTR during a wannagofast event. He was at speeds of more than 200 miles per hour down the track parking-
drag section of the park when he lost control of the vehicle. He flipped upwards landing on the front right side of the bumper; this was the collision that was assumed killed him. "It was surprising" friends and family said. Jeff was 52 years old and has been racing most of his life, from
Granite Falls, North Carolina
Granite Falls is a town in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 4,722 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
The name Granite Falls comes f ...
, he was experienced.
Lap Records
The official fastest race lap records on the NOLA Motorsports Park are listed as:
Maps
Image:NOLA Motorsports Park - North C.jpg, North Course C
References
External links
*
{{MotoAmerica circuits
Motorsport venues in Louisiana
Motorsport in New Orleans
IndyCar Series tracks
Buildings and structures in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana
2011 establishments in Louisiana
Sports venues completed in 2011