French Quarter Fast Track

 

French Quarter Fast Track

Take a moment and think of your favorite race track in the world…names like Silverstone, Nϋrburgring, De La Sarthe, Suzuka and Bathurst may come to mind for you, but for me it’s NOLA Motorsports Park. Surprised?! Rightfully so. This brand new New Orleans-based track is in its infancy, meaning you probably haven’t heard one lick about it or its facilities, unless you’ve seen coverage of one of the drift days there, NODRFT-New Orleans Drifters hosted drift days there.

As a resident of South Louisiana I know when I first heard the rumors spreading that a racetrack was being built in Avondale, which is just outside the city, I was skeptical as to how good it could be. Only having No Problem Raceway/Circuit Grand Bayou in Donaldsonville, LA to compare it to, I didn’t have much reference on what an actual motorsports facility should be. With the grand opening in summer 2012, I soon realized what $60 million dollars of well invested and structured money from owner Laney Chouest could create.

In late June I was given an all-access tour of the facilities at NOLA Motorsports. As I approached the security gate on Torque Lane it was reminiscent to entering Jazzland (Six Flags New Orleans) as a kid; the gate way to excitement, thrills, and smiles. I have been frequenting the park for since October of 2011, so I was really familiar with most of what the track had to offer. After meeting up with the track director, Wes Ratcliff, and my tour guide for the day, we made our way over to the paddock area where several race teams from the Porsche Club of Americawere stationed for the Intercontinental Trophy Cup

When it comes to professional road racing, I’m not anymore knowledgeable than kids watching Grand Am racing on TV because they think the cars look cool. You can about imagine the excitement I experienced when walking up to the trailers and racecars of several teams.

In walking around the pits of these teams I noticed the build quality on each car, from the Forgeline Wheels to the OMP seats and safety equipment.

Each cars livery is a work of art, much like the joining of the North Track and planned South Track will be. The North Track at NOLA Motorsports offers three different configurations: 1.9 miles, 2.4 miles, and 2.75 miles. The South Track, which is in development and planning still, will add another 2.5-3.0 miles, when these two tracks are combined it will claim the title of largest road course in the US, capturing the prestige from Miller Motorsports Park in Utah.

After watching the cars tear down the front stretch of the North Track for some time, we made our way over to the covered paddock where the Johnstone Supply BMW was cooling down from some hot lap qualifying.

Also under the awning was one of NOLA Motorsports’ own FR500 Mustang Racecars. They had a total of 7 different liveries out there that day, each one representing a different Louisiana sports team. These FR500’s offer a unique experience, for roughly a $500 fee and three hours of your time, you can go from watching to racing on the North Track in one courtesy of the Mustang Experience. Not a fan of American Muscle? Well there is also the Exotic Driving Experience that allows you to take supercars like the Aston Martin Virage or the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera for a spin.   

Now don’t go wrecking one of these machines though, because it’ll put a sizeable dent in your pocket book and the car will be sent to Robbie Poupart in the NOLA Speed shop for repairs.

The NOLA Speed shop is a spotless, multi-level garage, equipped with tire mounting machines, lifts, and a dyno; it’s the go to place for going fast at NOLA Motorsports. The bay area was also infused with some of the best looking cars on the property. Like the Riley Technologies MkXXII Track Day Car.

This impressive machine packs a healthy GM LS3 making above 500 horsepower, 14” front disc brakes, sequential paddle shifters, a radio, and even air conditioning, a must in South Louisiana even for racecars.

The shop also housed the NOLA Motorsports Ferrari 458 Italia racecar, a special car since you have to own a race team or motorsports complex to have one of these. Alongside the Ferrari were other notable rides like the pristine Mustang fastback, gorgeous Pontiac GTO, and off-road ready Jeep Wrangler.

The track even offers their own refueling station. Offering pump gas and three different octane levels of race gas.

The in-house dyno was on overload during my visit. Resident tuning expert, Mike Lavigne was strapping down 15 or so Porsche Cayman R’s throughout the day to measure what kind of power these racecars could muster. He also carried out multiple dyno runs of this incredible Shelby GT500.

After my fill of visual pleasure in the dyno bay, David and I headed over to The Transportation Revolution New Orleans’s (TTRNO)garage to get a quick glimpse at their setup. Inside the single car wide garage were bikes ranging from Ducati to Triumph’s. Leather gear and spare tires lined the rafters with a really chill lounge above the work area. I’ve watched some of the bikes that the TTRNO guys pump out take to the track before and everyone associated with this group knows what they are doing, mechanics and riders alike. For all things Ducati and Triumph, this is the place to be.

After closing up the shop, we found ourselves strapping in for bumper to bumper racing at the most familiar part of NOLA Motorsports for myself, the Arrive and Drive Geaux Karts. Having participated in one of the Kart-a-palooza events held at the track, I consider myself a bit more knowledgeable in this realm than the road racing I had watched earlier in the day. The experience I had racing in the Kart-a-palooza was by far the best bang for the buck at the facility. For a mere $65 you enjoy practice, qualifying and racing on three different track configurations; Arrive and Drive rental kart track, an oval ring, and the Sprint track. With two different levels of karting available, adults and their children can enjoy the adrenaline rush that racing is. The Kids Karts run roughly 25-30 mph and the higher horsepower Adult Karts pushing closer to 50 mph. NOLA Motorsports even offers group discounts and parties for that next birthday or business party.

This aerial photo shows just how many different configurations are possible. It will be interesting to see just which direction the karts will be racing in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals later on this year.  

The Karting Building is home to a full-service kart building and repair shop with in house mechanics. Whether just starting out in sport or a long time veteran you will find the skills in this area of great value in helping shave off those last tenths of a second per lap.

Once we had eaten up the twisties, we did what any other Louisianian would do. Eat. Being known for our cuisine, it should come as no surprise that the food here is delectable. When you visit the premises definitely sink your teeth into their Apex Burger. NOLA offers two dining locations, one in the Karting Building and one in the North Track Building, both known as Stanley at the Track.

The North Track Building also houses Formula 1 and Le Mans viewing areas, private classrooms, and presentation materials. There you’ll find the NOLA Motorsports Park Chrysler 300C as well, with its graphically wrapped exterior and one-off custom wheels, and the NMP Nissan Skyline GT-R R35.  

Besides offering eye candy for the automotive enthusiast, it also offers a place to kick back and relax while enjoying a front row seat to the action happening out on the North Track.

One of the last places we went on our journey was where the road ends and the trails begin. NOLA Motorsports caters to the off-road crowd just like their asphalt brethren. That’s right, Red Creek NOLA Off Road Park helps the enjoyment of motorsports continue once the road has ended. With over 25 miles of trails that snake through the woods and RV sites to keep the mud-slinging going all weekend, Red Creek helps offer something for everyone at NOLA Motorsports.

NOLA Motorsports Park with its prime location just minutes from the historic French Quarter in New Orleans and its hours of action packed adventure; whether on two wheels or four, on-road or off makes perfect sense to be your home away from home if you live in and around the Gulf Coast region. With lots for sale to build personal villas with garages it can also be your little wintery escape too. NOLA Motorsports Park has been the best possible implant into the long list of sites and sounds around New Orleans. It is sure to flourish and grow in the future and continue to serve the local community, nation, and world with redline racing and automotive entertainment.

Southrnfresh and myself would like to thank Wes Ratcliff, David Fisher, Robbie Poupart, Mike Lavigne and the rest of the team at NOLA Motorsports Park for allowing us to showcase this fine motorsports complex and for not kicking us out for getting in the way most of the day.

If you would like to book an event at the track, contact NOLA Motorsports for more information at info@nolamotor.com or a ring at (504) 302-4875.

NOLA MOTORSPORTS PARK
11075 Nicolle Boulevard
Avondale, LA 70094
www.nolamotor.com

*All non-watermarked photos are property of NOLA Motorsports and have been posted with permission from Wes Ratcliff.

-Derek Matherne, Southrnfresh photographer