RESOLUTE MOTORSPORTS CLUB NEWS
By Owen Milnes – Staff reporter , Columbus Business First
Jimmy Peters has always had a passion for motorsports.
Now he wants to share that love of all things fast and loud with the rest of Central Ohio.
Peters founded Resolute Motorsports and is raising funds to build a $160 million "motorsports country club." He said the funding will come from a "combination of investor equity, institutional debt and likely governmental incentives.”
He has yet to find a permanent home for the club, but is targeting approximately 500 acres near West Jefferson.
Peters said his Resolute Motorsports Club will offer memberships to two full-length road courses, a kart track, an autocross course, a skid pad, an off-road rally-cross area as well as a clubhouse with a bar and restaurant.
“We want to make this a big family experience,” Peters said. “We want to get everyone involved.”
The personal trainer at the Arena District Athletic Club said the facility will feature more than 250 two-story garage condo units, each with an area for vehicles and a space for entertaining.
“It’s a place to bond with your family, network with business associates,” Peters said. “You’ll get to enjoy the camaraderie of the automotive community.”
The facility would provide Central Ohio its third automobile condominium community.
In May 2020, a Detroit-based developer announced plans to build The Motor Enclave, a $30 million community, in New Albany.
A few months later, Powell car dealer Chip Vance broke ground on Horsepower Farms just west of Liberty High School. Phase one of construction is finished and phase two is set to begin in the next two weeks, Vance told Columbus Business First.
Peters said getting involved in motorsports can be difficult because of having to travel to events.
“I recognize some of the pain points for participating for the average person,” Peters said. “A lot of facilities don’t have great amenities or offer driving programs or track time when it’s convenient for people to go.
The club "will allow them to come on their time through membership to have open track access when they see fit," he said.
The club will offer four membership tiers. The top level will offer clients 244 days of unlimited track privileges. The mid-level membership will offer 50 days of track privileges, and the social membership will offer 30 consecutive days of unlimited track privileges. More information on memberships can be found on the website.
Peters said price packages are still being finalized.
He said the club will be built in three phases, with phase one focusing on the private-side members track and condos as well as public access to the kart course. The later phases will place emphasis on the public race track and corporate entertainment amenities.
The club’s kart course will be about 1.1 miles long and the karts will have a top speed of 55 mph, Peters said. The members’ road course race track will be about 2 miles long and the public road course will be 3.5 miles long.
Technical Track Design, a professional motorsport track design and consultancy with a global portfolio, will design the facility, Peters said.
Bryce Engelhart, owner and lead designer of Technical Track Design, said he’s excited to help grow the motorsports community in Central Ohio.
“It’s going to be a center for everything automotive in the area,” Engelhart said.
Peters said the location will draw people from all around the state and the Midwest.
Brian Ross, president and CEO of Experience Columbus, said the club will provide a unique experience.
“(The club) ties in great to a lot of the mobility community that we’re known for with the Honda plant out in Marysville, with Smart Columbus and just the overall manufacturing of different automotive devices and parts and things," Ross said. "I think this is something that just highlights a part of Columbus that we’re proud of and really has helped our community move forward.”
The club plans to hold social events such as new vehicle releases, wine and bourbon testing events and wristwatch releases.
Peters said he aims to open the facility in 2023.