Bucket racers rally Auckland Council: "We don't have anywhere else to race"

Last week, Panuku Development Auckland's portfolio management director, Ian Wheeler, said KartSport Mt Wellington entered into a formal ground lease with Auckland Council in 2009.

"This was initially on a three-year term and was never a long-term arrangement.

"Since the lease expired in 2012, Auckland Council has been in ongoing conversations with KartSport Mt Wellington about their relocation to Colin Dale Park, with the club indicating it would move out by the end of 2017," he said.

Venter said it was likely Bucket Racing would cease to exist without a track to race on and the move to Colin Dale Park wasn't a certainty.

The biggest issue was that there was only one other track in Auckland but they couldn't use it because of resource consent issues, he said.

"If a swimming pool got shut down, members would just go to a different pool but if it was the last pool there would be an uproar - that's what's happening to us."

The Bucket Racers weren't the only club affected - the University of Auckland Formula SAE Team used the facility regularly, along with the Mt Wellington Roller Club.

Venter said the track was an iconic breeding ground for top New Zealand racers such as Scott Dixon, Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy