Willowbank Raceway receives multimillion upgrade ahead of Festival of Horsepower

A month of high octane fun kicks off this weekend in Ipswich, including one of the biggest raceway events outside the US, with help from a multimillion-dollar upgrade. ALL EVENTS LISTED

Jonathan O'Neill

3 min read

May 31, 2024 - 5:00PM

Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway at Ipswich. Picture: Peta McEachern

Ipswich

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Ipswich’s Festival of Horsepower roars into town this weekend, kicking off a month-long program of racing and events.

It comes after completion of a multimillion-dollar upgrade of the drag strip at Willowbank Raceway, the biggest in its history.

The Festival of Horsepower features a number of the country’s signature racing and motorsport events from horse racing to the largest drag racing event outside of the US.

This weekend the Winternationals Warm Up officially kicks the festival into gear, ahead of the Gulf Western Oil Winternationals the following week.

But due to forecast weekend rain the Winternationals Warm Up has been moved to Sunday and Monday.

The biggest drag racing event of the year in Queensland, it was expected to attract more than 30,000 visitors.

The Winternationals, from Thursday June 6 until Sunday June 9, is the largest championship drag racing event held outside the United States and is the final round of the Professional NDRC Championships and the NDRC Eastern Conference Final.

Willowbank Raceway Manager Harry Rowsell said the upgrade was the biggest in the raceway’s history.

“After nine months of construction and with an $11 million spend, this upgrade will guarantee our viability and ensure that the Willowbank Raceway remains the leading drag strip destination in Australia for future generations to enjoy,” Mr Rowsell said.

“We have resurfaced the racing surface, with over 4000 tonnes of new concrete and asphalt being laid.

“We have also upgraded the lighting, the existing facilities and installed new toilet and shower areas, ensuring we are inclusive of people with disabilities.

The Winternational Warm Up isn’t the only event on the festival calendar this weekend.

Revheads will get the chance to find out firsthand what it is like to drive under lights at the Queensland Raceway.

While the Warm Up drag event has been changed, at time of writing, the Cruise the Night event will still take place on Saturday evening.

Queensland Raceway said any decision on postponing the event would be made closer to the event.

Ticket holders would be notified and an announcement posted on their social media pages.

Regal Lion wins the Ipswich Cup for jockey Ben Thompson and trainer Annabel Neasham. Picture: Grant Peters

The annual festival also includes a V8 drift experience, burnouts, the Queensland Kart Championships, 2 Days of Thunder, harness racing and the Ipswich Cup.

Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said a significant investment had been made on the Willowbank Raceway’s track which was ready just in time for the festival.

“Ipswich City Council values the economic injection major events bring to our city,’’ she said.

“Overall, we are expecting more than 60,000 people to attend Festival of Horsepower events throughout the month.

“The Gulf Western Oil Winternationals alone attracts about 30,000 attendees and is the largest drag racing event outside of America, injecting around $3 million into the Ipswich economy.

“Council injects $35,000 of funding into supporting the Winternationals, with 90 per cent of visitors to the weekend event being from outside the region.

That is an incredible opportunity for us to showcase our region to visitors from near and far.

“Over a full year the new strip will host more than 70 drag race events.

“That means a boost of $17 million into our local economy, which helps support local business and generates jobs.

“Ipswich is known for its love of motorsport.

“I am pleased this upgrade has now been completed providing a further vote of confidence from the private sector in the whole Ipswich Motorsport Precinct as Australian motorsport’s holy land”.