A club-funded 1.2km autocross track at the heart of the TECT All Terrain Park is nearing fruition with design and construction expected to start as soon as next month.

The area where the 1.2km autocross track will be constructed in the TECT All Terrain Park.

The $70,000 track is being made available with the removal of 11 hectares of 20-year-old pine trees at the northern end of the park's motorsport hub.

Driven and funded by Bay of Plenty Motorsport and the Rotorua Car Club, the limestone or clay-based autocross track will give the Bay's motorsport community a permanent loose surface track.

The project was proposed to Western Bay of Plenty District Council in April, with ideas the development may later be upgraded to accommodate other motorsport disciplines.

'The club has run autocross meets at ASB Arena on the hard surface, but it's very difficult to find areas for loose surface autocross,” says Te Matai Motorsport Incorporated president David Loughlin, who is associated with BOP Motorsport.

'The track is about 1.2km long and will have various features like corners, elevation, jumps and stuff. Essentially, it's a forerunner to a rallycross track.”

Autocross is a timed competition in which drivers navigate, one at a time, through a defined course on either a sealed or an unsealed surface.

The TECT All Terrain Park track is expected to be modelled on similar European Autocross but an actual track layout cannot be finalised until inspecting what terrain is left after the trees are removed.

Drivers competing on an autocross track in Quebec, Canada.

It's understood about five European tracks are being considered, but due to financial constraints organisers will ensure the track fits the terrain as opposed to moving cubic metres of soil for a certain layout.

'Essentially it should be right to use late-summer but it's obviously weather-dependant,” says David.

'They [the two clubs] are waiting in the wings to start when the trees are off and the land is dry.”

David says it's hard to confirm a set amount of events the clubs will host until the track is completed, but at least half a dozen during summer is favourable.