New ownership at Willow Springs aims to host major events

It’s a few years away from being a possibility, but the new owners of Willow Springs Raceway are hoping to attract some of the bigger racing series like IndyCar and IMSA to hold events at the challenging Southern California road course.

Purchased by the Sam Byrne-led CrossHarbor Capital Partners group which includes support from Singer Vehicle Design, the investment and asset management firm and real estate development company has a multi-year plan to bring Willow Springs up to modern standards that would meet FIA approval while adding the infrastructure and comforts found at other permanent racing facilities which host professional championship events.

Having enlisted Speedway Motorsports Inc. to manage the track and ex-Formula 1 driver-turned-track designer Alex Wurz to handle the circuit improvements, Willow Springs could become a new option for headlining racing series to consider.

“It is our ambition,” Byrne told RACER. “The discussion with Alex is we have to build a track that's capable of hosting something really special. Do I ever think we're ever going to have Formula 1 racing out here? No, but we’re working on the FIA safety levels we want to achieve so we can host Indy or possibly IMSA and have something with that sort of gravitas. A race or two like that down the road is of interest.”

Byrne watched the recent IndyCar race at The Thermal Club, which sits three hours south of Willow Springs, and imagined what it would look like for his track to welcome a large volume of fans into their facility later in the decade.

With the same warm weather to offer during the early months of the year, Byrne sees Willow Springs as a solution for pre-season testing and racing while most of the country is dealing with cold or snowy conditions. Creating the region’s version of Monterey Car Week is another concept in the works.

Long a mecca for car clubs, Byrne would like to see Willow Springs staging a SoCal version of Monterey Car Week.

“I hated seeing empty stands,” he said. “We have to create the infrastructure to make it possible to bring things like that here. And create a week on the calendar in a January or February, be it with the Peterson Museum [in Los Angeles], or with the Goodwood folks, or whoever it might be, to give Southern California its car week, because there’s nothing like that down here. It doesn't exist in Southern California. A couple of very cool events a year would be part of building Willow Springs’ reputation and culture, and I think it's important.”

The full measure of CrossHarbor Capital Partners’ plans for the facility will be revealed later this year.

“We hope to roll out all of the improvements and designs in late September,” Byrne said. “We want to get through the summer with the master plan we have, and we have new track layouts that Alex Wurz has completed. We feel he's one of the very best and most creative guys in the space, and he's passionately keen to put his put his mark on this. Alex is amazing. And then to have an operator like Speedway with (CEO) Marcus Smith, they've just taught us a ton coming into this and have been extraordinary partners in this effort.”