Area 27 Motorsports Park
Our Story
Area 27 began with a dream and a simple belief: if we build it, they will come. Bill Drossos believed the Okanagan's wine country was the perfect setting for a world-class racetrack and asked his longtime friend and racing partner, Jacques Villeneuve, to design it.
The beginning
A racing dream rooted in the Okanagan
The story reaches back to 1978, when 11-year-old Bill Drossos watched Gilles Villeneuve win the Canadian Grand Prix. The speed mattered, but so did Villeneuve's commitment, discipline and integrity. That moment helped set Drossos on a path through racing school, professional competition and, eventually, the creation of a circuit near home.
In 1986, Drossos travelled from British Columbia to attend the Spenard-David Racing School at Mosport. He returned in 1987 to work with the Formula 2000 program at Shannonville, where Jacques Villeneuve arrived to train under Richard Spenard and where Drossos also met David King. Those relationships would become central to Area 27; Drossos later raced alongside Trevor Seibert.
By 2012, the idea had become specific. Drossos saw potential land near Oliver and began assembling people whose racing knowledge, construction experience, business judgement and shared commitment could turn an ambitious sketch into a working motorsports club.
Why the name Area 27?
A place, a number and a Canadian racing legacy
The name has two layers. The secluded site covers 227 acres in the hills above the South Okanagan, a setting that suggested the mystery of a hidden "Area." The number 27 was chosen in tribute to Canadian racing legend Gilles Villeneuve and the Ferrari number that became inseparable from his name.
The connection continued through Gilles's son, Jacques Villeneuve, who won the 1995 Indianapolis 500 and CART championship in a number 27 car before becoming the 1997 Formula 1 World Champion. Jacques then brought a lifetime of international racing experience to the design of Area 27.
Area 27 is both a location and a tribute: a South Okanagan circuit carrying one of Canada's most meaningful racing numbers.
A South Okanagan home
Built through partnership
All eight founding members — Bill Drossos, Les Cool, Daryl Carter, Gord Lindsay, Robert Sinneave, Robbie Dickson, Paul Neider and Brett Knelson — supplied the seed capital that helped get Area 27 underway and financed the first phase: construction of the road circuit.
The founding investment made the work that followed possible. Drossos carried the original vision, Villeneuve shaped the circuit as its designer, Seibert helped translate the design into engineering and construction, and King contributed business and development experience.
The selected property is on land of the Osoyoos Indian Band. Area 27's history records how conversations led from local introductions to Chief Clarence Louie, who showed the project team a site south of the first parcel they had considered.
That land offered the space, natural elevation and privacy the circuit required. It also placed the project in a destination known for dry weather, vineyards, lakes and mountain scenery — an environment where a day at the track could become part of a wider Okanagan experience.
Designed by a champion
A circuit made to reward the driver
Villeneuve designed Area 27 as a driver's circuit: a lap where corners connect, elevation changes sight lines and braking references, and progress comes from learning how one decision affects the next. Seibert translated those ideas into the engineering and construction realities of the site.
The result is a 4.83 km, 16-turn road circuit that opened on September 14, 2016. Its official grand opening followed on June 4, 2017. In June 2019, the members' clubhouse was unveiled, giving the growing community a dedicated place to gather, learn and watch the circuit.
Explore the circuit in detail on the Area 27 facility page, or read more about Jacques Villeneuve's career and design work.
Milestones
From an idea to Area 27
The facility grew in deliberate stages: first the seed investment, then the road circuit, the club community and a wider range of motorsport experiences.
The inspiration
Bill Drossos watches Gilles Villeneuve win the Canadian Grand Prix and begins imagining a life in motorsport.
The site and team
A possible site near Oliver turns the long-held circuit idea into an active development project.
The founding investment
All eight founding members supply the seed money to launch Area 27 and fund Phase One: construction of the road circuit.
The circuit opens
The 4.83 km road circuit opens on September 14 after construction on Osoyoos Indian Band land.
The clubhouse
The members' clubhouse is unveiled, completing a major part of the private club vision.
Area 27 today
The next chapter
Area 27 has grown beyond the original road circuit into a motorsports destination that includes member lapping, driver education through Academy 27, public experiences, karting, off-road programs, corporate events and organized racing.
The leadership has evolved, but the central idea remains: create meaningful time on track, keep the circuit challenging, and build a community around a shared respect for driving.