A disappointed sprintcar truck driver who has been told to park at Warrnambool's saleyards instead of outside his motel says the move by the city council could deter him away from ever returning for speedway's biggest race.
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Steve Stathy, who has travelled from Bunbury in Western Australia for this weekend's South West Conveyancing Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic, said that after arriving in town at 2.30am from a race in Avalon he was approached about 8.30am on Thursday by council staff about illegally parking on the Raglan Parade median strip.
"I'm just a bit sour on it to be honest," Mr Stathy said.
The truck driver said he had been coming to Warrnambool for 10 years and had stayed at the Downtown Motel on Raglan Parade for the past seven years where he has parked on the median strip without issue.
But on Thursday Mr Stathy was told the council preferred that he park sprintcar driver Cory Eliason's truck full of racing gear, which is worth at least $500,000, at the saleyards where there is no security.
"Park it at the saleyards at 2.30am with cow sh** everywhere and walk home in the rain," he said.
"I've got motors in there that are worth $80,000 each."
Mr Stathy said he parked it on the median strip when he arrived instead of on the road outside the motel because there was another truck parked there in what is only a one-hour zone.
He said the truck was his only transport to get around town, and he stayed at the Down Town Motel so he could walk into the CBD.
"I'm not hurting anyone. It's safe. It's off the street," he said.
"The council, they're prepared to reap the rewards of 100 teams in town but they're not prepared to have a little bit of leniency for one weekend.
"That's my beef. Come on.
"We come back for the race. It's the biggest race in the country. Everyone wants to win it."
Mr Stathy said he would spend about $10,000 in Warrnambool over the week in diesel, fuel, accommodation, food and sourcing parts for the sprintcar locally.
"It's a lot of money," he said.
He said he was also told he could park the truck further up the road away from where he was staying, or out at Premier Speedway but it would be in the way because he is not racing on Friday night.
Mr Stathy said that parking on the side of the highway to work on the car where large trucks fly past was not as safe as on the median strip.
"It's just disappointing. They're deterring me from returning," he said.
"I think they should open the rules up for the weekend. I'm all for rules but sometimes they've got to have a little bit of leniency."
Mr Stathy said his council back in WA was more accommodating of sprintcar trucks.
He said that someone from Warrnambool council contacted him last year about parking on the median strip but they never did anything about it.
"They came up with the excuse that I'm damaging the sprinklers. There's no sprinklers in here," he said.
He also parked in the same spot during Speedweek, between December 28 and January 2 this year, without issue.
Downtown Motel owner Anthony Purcell said he was "dumbfounded" that council staff had told him to tell drivers not to park and work on their cars in the median strip because it was illegal.
"It's an insult to these good, hard working people bringing their business to town," Mr Purcell said.
He said that in the 15 years they had run the motel they had never had problems with sprintcar trucks being parked on the median strip, until last year.
Mr Purcell said truck drivers earlier this month were asked to move their vehicles from the median strip so they could water it, even though it had rained all night.
Cr Peter Hulin said it was an issue that had been going on for some time but had "ramped up big time" in the past few years.
"It seems certain people in the council don't seem to understand the huge economic benefit that the speedway is to our city and seem to almost go out of their way to harass the people that are here," he said.
"When you consider that this event is looked on throughout the world as one of the best, if not the best speedway in the world, and to think that we don't embrace it as a council and work with the organisers to improve it and capitalise on it."
Cr Hulin said it was "just laughable" the council couldn't work to make their visit to Warrnambool as pleasant as possible so they all raved about the city.
He said there were a lot of things that were "technically not allowed" that the council "works with" such as people illegally parking at busy Lake Pertobe when markets were on.
"If we want to drive everyone out of our city, then this is the way to go about it," Cr Hulin said.
The council said that parking on the Raglan Parade median strip was in breach of state road rules and was enforceable by either council officers or the police.
"It is not a Local Law governed by the Warrnambool City Council," a council statement said.
"The parking of heavy vehicles on median strips has the potential to damage underground infrastructure and irrigation.
"Council is working collaboratively with speedway management and the drivers to find legal alternative arrangements. This is not a new stance, and has been in place for several years.
"No infringements have been issued to speedway trucks previously as they have always complied with requests to move when asked.
"The Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic is one of the city's biggest events, and the Warrnambool City Council is a proud partner."
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