Race Headquarters – Baskerville Raceway
Like all structures, the control tower at Baskerville Raceway has a unique story to tell! Early history tells that the first control tower structure in the late 1960’s at the circuit was an the old tram used at the Longford Grand Prix circuit.
This was replaced in the early 1970’s by an ex Hobart City Council Trolley Bus. The old bus proved quite adequate until the current control tower was built by the Hobart Sporting Car Club and placed into service in 1973.
With the circuit attracting some major events during the 70’s and 80’s, the Hobart Sporting Car Club decided that a briefing room was required and this room was constructed and commissioned in March 1984. It was named the Kelly Room after Mr Terrance Kelly, the Tasmanian Director of Road Safety who was instrumental in gaining a government grant to seal the pit area in 1972.
The construction of the Kelly Room was the last major works completed on the Tower other than a change of colour and a minor spruce up following the end of the cigarette advertising era. The facility operated pretty much unchanged until the Baskerville Foundation commenced a complete rebuild of the structure late 2014.
The existing structure of the Kelly Room and the ground level of the tower remained in place, but the upper level and commentators box have been completely reconstructed. Just under $150,000 in value of work was invested into the refurbishment by the Baskerville Foundation as the first major project following the sealing of the entry road in January 2014.
The Baskerville Foundation wish to recognise the work of the Hobart Sporting Car Club and individuals in constructing the original control tower along with the businesses and individuals that contributed to the latest refurbishment. These include
-
Mr David Button, Mr Bill Wedd, Mr Neil Johnson
-
Fairbrother Pty Ltd
-
Access Hardware
-
Degree C
-
Kemp and Denning Limited
-
WD Bryan Joinery
-
Brock Plaster
-
Bruce Banks Electrical
-
Webb Bros Paving
-
Tasmanian HiTech Painting Service
-
Hobart Glass and Aluminium
-
Steeline Roofing
-
Hayes Flooring
-
eHome AV
-
Elite Concrete designs
-
Tascaf