The months long rumors and debate regarding the sale of Toronto Motorsports Parkwere apparently true as BangShift has learned that closed bids were handed in for the purchase of the 375 acre Canadian facility yesterday afternoon. Since roughly October, track president Uli Bieri has denied that the facility was for sale, despite the fact that newspaper ads from the Canadian real estate firm of DTZ Barnicke have been adversiting the property.
TMP has both a quarter mile drag strip and a road course. The drag strip was under IHRA sanction for several years until issues with the quality of the pit area of the track came up and IHRA essentially refused to return until they were fixed. The track left the IHRA sanction and is currently sanctioned by the NHRA. The racing surface itself is very good and is fully capable of handling the heaviest drag racing hitters in the world.The inside of the tower is one of the most ornate drag racing control buildings we have ever been in with marble counters and other touches that blew us away the first time we worked inside of it.
Reportedly, the reason for the sale stems from investor frustration. While Bieri is the track’s president, he is not the sole owner. With the loss of the large IHRA national event, revenue must be down for the facility and apparently Bieri’s business partners have had enough and want to divest themselves from the property.
We do not know the specifics of the asking price, who was bidding, and if any of the bids were accepted. As soon as we get this information, we will report it, but as of now it appears that TMP will be under new ownership in the coming days and weeks. How that changes the way the place is run, who sanctions it, and who is steering the ship is anyone’s guess.
Stay tuned, this is going to get interesting!
Here’s the link for the real estate listing of the track
Just imagaine how good the starting line would be if mike had the proper equipment and product. If they attempted to have a big race with the equipment they have now they would get laughed at. And I dont want to hear..”ohh they have big races all the time” because racers like myself try and keep our mouths shut because really we have nowhere else to race. The track is good for 2 hours and then its garbage. I have lost 2 races this year due to track prep. Maybe a raise would help him care a little bit more too. Seems like the moral of the TMP staff had been in a downward spiral the last few years. Maybe if they can get a new owner who cares about the drag strip being a sucsess they can get a National Event back or even a NHRA or IHRA points race. The track and their employees have so much more potential.
I love going to TMP. watching the races there is great! The real problem I’ve experienced many times is the unbelievable rudeness of the track employees.Concessions workers ,gateworkers act like the customer is the least important aspect of their business.
TMP is a joke. The staff are the rudest people I’ve ever seen in that field. A change could only improve that place. The Owner Uli is a scum bag that pockets all the cash money that place brings in. If he would re invest some of it into TMP it could be a top notch facility!!
The track is OK at best, Both Grand Bend and St. Thomas are better tracks right now. Track prep is spotty at best,.
The tower lane still has a bad dip in it at the culvert at 3/4 track. That is why none of the big boys wants to go there.
Love the people I’ve met there and I love racing there. I’m on board with the improvement to customer service and I’ve seen some nastiness and even experienced a bit. I would like to say, however that I think it’s unfair to paint all staff there with the same brush. There are some good people who work hard, are polite and care.