A groundbreaking ceremony on August 20 2020 kicked off construction of a 500,000-square-foot Canadian industrial facility that will combine a business park with a motorsport road course and testing facilities. The Automotive Innovation Park Oro Station project — expected to bring 700 full-time jobs upon completion — will be home to automotive engineering, education, service, supply and manufacturing businesses. It’s also expected to provide 1,800 construction jobs.
Oro Station will be home to a 4.1-kilometer motor circuit — planned for completion in 2022 — for performance testing, training, research and commercial use. In partnership with Georgian College, Oro Station will provide opportunities for students to engage with the automotive industry as it functions as a center for new auto technologies being developed in Ontario.
Construction of commercial and industrial buildings is slated to begin in 2021.
“We make some of the best cars anywhere in the world here in Ontario, there’s no reason why we can’t make our province the top destination for auto innovation and this project will help us maintain our position as leaders in the sector across North America.”
Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario.
Geoffrey Campbell, Managing Partner of Oro Station, said the Automotive Innovation Park began as a concept that was born from a passion to preserve the automotive past while looking to an innovative future with education at its core.
The 4.1 km circuit layout and masterplan was conceived by Driven International through a series of site walks, drives and hand sketches with the designers pin pointing interesting sections of the property.
These plans have since been digitized, engineered, and simulated, culminating in a track layout that utilizes the rolling topography of the site, and winds its way through the natural landscape.
Oro Station Motor Circuit will be a signature track for Canada, distinctly recognizable with the hallmarks of a traditional European circuit, designed specifically for modern GT and vintage racing. The circuit will be a venue that both amateurs and enthusiasts can enjoy, and professional drivers will continue to try and master.
FULL CIRCUIT
4.1 km | 16 corner
The full Oro Station Motor Circuit is the layout to be homologated by the FIA, with run-off areas and barriers designed in line with FIA grade 3 guidelines.
SPLIT CIRCUIT OPTION 1
North Circuit | 1.5 km | 8 corners
South Circuit | 2.3 km | 10 corners
Link sections connecting the two parallel straights enable two shorter configurations to be driven simultaneously. This creates a North Circuit and South Circuit. The longer version of the South Circuit uses the north link, and the long sweeping variation of T10.
SPLIT CIRCUIT OPTION 2
North Circuit | 1.7 km | 8 corners
South Circuit | 1.9 km | 10 corners
The shorter version of the South Circuit uses the south link which re-joins at the hairpin variation of Turn 10, feeding back into the main circuit shortly afterwards. The North Circuit becomes slightly longer in this format.
Excellent track design topography. Blair