A YEAR ago doubts surrounded the future of Matchams Leisure Park near Hurn after the gates were sealed by its owners and site operators locked out.

Twelve months on and there is a more positive attitude, with existing and new operators confident about the future of the site as a long-term leisure complex for the region.

The man charged with overseeing Matchams today is Craig Robinson, who also runs Ringwood Raceway through his business Trojan International, which was first established four years ago as an exhibition, driver management and sponsorship company.

Craig was brought in last October to take over the running of the well known short circuit oval race track but has since been given the role overseeing everything else that happens on the protected site operated by Matchams South Coast.

While Matchams is probably best known for its Saturday evening stock car (and more especially banger) racing, Craig says there is a lot more going on at the site.

"We don't just want people to think of it simply for Ringwood Raceway, we want it to become a leisure facility for all the family whether they are local people or visitors - Matchams has so much more to offer."

To this end they have established regular Wednesday evening Meet and Greet events where members of the public can take their own road cars out onto the track and participate in events such as drifting competitions.

This complements the formal race meetings which feature seven formulas with rounds of both the home track series as well as Southern, Western and British championships.

"Now that we have had a year of relative stability people are starting to return to Ringwood Raceway in large numbers. Because of this we can now re-invest in the track and we have plans to upgrade the barriers and the safety fencing," he said.

The longest established operator on the site is Ray Lovell, who has been running the kart track in association with his son George (himself a former karting champion) for the last three years.

Previously the track hosted rounds of national championships but now it concentrates on public arrive and drive events (six days a week) and corporate days with monthly race meetings for Senior Open and Senior Prokart categories. Competition racers can also use the facility on practice days and a recent innovation has been Mini Moto and Pit Bike racing.

This has been established with the backing of the local police as a response to the growing problem of people riding their scaled-down bikes illegally on public roads.

"This has become very popular recently and we have been able to develop some of their riding skills which has helped them to go on and competed in proper race meetings," said Ray.

In addition to the oval track and karting, Matchams is best known outside the region for its Motocross track which continues to host major British championships. On October 27 it is the venue for the UK Supercross Challenge.

The challenging 1,500 metre gravel track has been managed for the last year by Keith Newman and his family. Through Matchams Trax he is able to offer practice days for competition riders on a regular basis and runs 22 event days on the Grand Prix circuit as well as regular Motocross and Minibike arrive and ride sessions.

Despite its Site of Special Scientific Interest status, Matchams is also home to a four-wheel driving school, but it is partly because of this that it exists.

Bullfrog 4x4 is run by Martin Andrews who says that their primary aim is to educate four by four owners on how they can enjoy their vehicles off-road, without damaging the environment.

As well as regular open days (normally on a Sunday), during which the public can drive their own or Bullfrogs vehicles, Martin also runs training courses for local companies and utilities who need their drivers to go off-road.

Fun is also the name of the game for Splat - the paintball and quad bike operation run by Serious Action Sports, who have been on site since February and run regular group and corporate events.

With Matchams seeking to broaden its activities and appeal, the site is shortly to become home to a new motorcycle training school.

Headed by Paul Fee, Phoenix Motorcycle Training will be offering novice riders aged from 16 upwards the opportunity to take up riding in a safe environment.

Using the hard standing that on Wednesdays is also home to the regular car boot sales, Paul will be providing the full range of two-wheel tuition from Compulsory Basic Training to Direct Access and Advanced Riding.

Also opening up is a business that might not instantly seem at home at Matchams - a graphic design company.

But once again the link is more obvious than might be expected because a large part of the work undertaken by owner of Post it Graphics, John Cutts, comes from competitors at Ringwood Raceway as he is regularly employed providing the graphics for their competition cars.

  • For more details about all the activities at Matchams Leisure Park can be obtained from Tel: 01425 473305.