Racing enthusiasts have reacted with extreme scepticism over claims that the new Motorsport Park will be open within eight weeks.

Sports Minister Dale Butler claimed earlier this week that the facility at Southside was well on its way and the two-year project would finally come to fruition by early December.

But Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club president David Jones is not so confident after weeks of wrangling with the Sports Ministry and an unceremonious premature end to their racing season at Morgan?s Point.

Jones and his increasingly-popular club were kicked off the Southampton Naval Annex earlier in the summer in a dispute over whether permission had been granted and whether there was enough liability coverage to use the facility for motorsport.

This left Jones furious at the wasted time and man hours put into the site ? and the lack of a replacement facility.

But even though the Government are promising to bring the Motorsport Park online in the coming weeks, Jones is still not getting too excited ? yet.

?It is one thing saying something, it is another thing doing it,? said Jones, who rated the chance of racing coming to Southside in the next eight weeks as ?50-50?.

?After all the dealings I have had with the Ministry this summer, I can?t say I am getting too enthusiastic just now. We will have to wait and see.

?Don?t get me wrong, I hope they can do it, but I am just saying it is a bit strange that they have come out and said this when there didn?t look there had been any progress on the park in the past weeks.

?We have been having meetings all summer about this and suddenly you read in the papers that it will be up and running in eight weeks ? I hope the Minister is right this time.?

Even if the sounds of motor vehicles speeding around a safe track at Southside will be heard by mid-December, it is still too late to resurrect the decimated BMRC?s season.

The club plan to hold the trophy race from July sponsored by Cycle Care & Spares by the end of the year if the track does open, but that will be all until next May.

?We have had the trophies flown in, but nowhere to race for them,? continued Jones.

?We will probably hold that event and then wait until May to start again. The Go-kart people can have their six months on it, although our guys will still want to practice up there and I will be able to hold my race school through the winters which should give some of the club?s 300 members something to do ahead of the season next year.

?This could be good news, but it still doesn?t bring back the wasted half-a-season from this year.?

Jones added that although the main race track could be ready, he said a Canadian specialist was due in this week to start working on the track?s safety necessary improvements on Saturday, he didn?t think motocross would come to Southside for a lot longer.

Butler claimed yesterday that a safety assessment of the park was completed this year by an overseas consultancy group that deals with airport security and the park passed with flying colours.

Cabinet had given approval and a building permit is the next thing that needs to be obtained as well as planning permission for a pre-fab building to house equipment.

?It should be smooth sailing from now on,? he said.