Queensland Raceway in Ipswich loses Supercars series as calendar is changed due to Covid-19

It was announced less than two weeks ago that Supercars would return to Ipswich after a two-year hiatus, but now in a blow for local motorsport fans and the city, the event has been called off.

Cam Waters won the WD-40 Townsville SuperSprint this month.

Queensland Raceway has been axed from the Supercars calendar less a fortnight after it was announced it would make its grand return to the Ipswich venue after two years away due to another Covid-19 enforced reshuffle.

Supercars, Queensland Raceway and Ipswich City Council held urgent talks when it became clear the eighth round of the championship in Sydney in August would need to be postponed due to the rising number of cases south of the border.

Supercars chief Sean Seamer said it had been agreed between teams and broadcasters that a revised calendar was in the “best interests” of stakeholders as a result of the escalating situation.

Supercars CEO Sean Seamer said the revised calendar was in the “best interests” of stakeholders.

The eighth round of the 2021 Repco Supercars Championship was set to be held at Queensland Raceway at Willowbank on August 21-22.

Now, after another backflip, it has been scrapped completely with the championship pushed back.

It was announced in 2019 that the ‘paperclip’ circuit would be axed from the Supercars schedule from the following year; the first time it wouldn’t race there since it opened in 1999.

Plans for Supercars to return last year at the height of the pandemic were also scuppered.

“There are contingencies in place should this revised schedule hit unforeseen Covid complications, including double-headers and Queensland Raceway as a back-up event,” a Supercars spokesman said.

“We are still in discussions with QR circuit owner John Tetley and his team about options and maintain an ongoing dialogue.

“So if there are any other changes to the calendar, we have that optionality there.”

Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic talked up the economic boost Supercars would bring to the city and the event injected about $8 million into the local economy pre-Covid.

“This is an important and significant event for tourism and for bringing people to the city, further investment, spending, and jobs for locals,” she said earlier this month.

“Motorsport fans have been pleading for the race to return to the region and this will bring joy, adrenaline and the petrol fumes back for them all.”

The last round was held in Townsville this month.

A huge crowd at the 2019 Supercars event at Queensland Raceway.

The season will resume at Winton Motor Raceway in October and finish on the Gold Coast in December.

A venue has yet to be announced for the October 23-24 leg.

Events in Western Australian and New Zealand were moved to the 2022 calendar.

The marquee Repco Bathurst 1000 has been pushed back and will now be held November 4-7.

The 2021 Brisbane Jamboree drag racing event had been locked in to run at Willowbank Raceway on the same weekend for the past 12 months.

There were major concerns behind the scenes how the venue and surrounding roads would cope with the deluge of extra traffic Supercars would have brought in.

There is no indication this is why the event was ditched.

“With the ever-changing Covid landscape, our teams and broadcast partners have agreed it is in all our stakeholders’ best interests commercially and competitively to move our premier event to a later date,” Mr Seamer said.

Motorsport legend Dick johnson meets with fans at the 2019 Supercars event at Queensland Raceway.

“These are challenging times for all sporting codes, which is why we have had to remain flexible with our calendar arrangements and make significant changes where required.

“For now, our goal is to make sure we deliver some amazing racing over the rest of the 2021 championship.”

Queensland Raceways CEO John Tetley said the latest lockdowns and reshuffle had put the “kibosh” on extensive preparations to get the circuit ready.

“We are now looking to regroup with Supercars for a date later in the year when, hopefully, we will be able to reschedule the event,” he said.

“Be assured QR and the Supercars delivery team are working together to provide the fans in southeast Queensland with a memorable event.

“The actual date is dependent on matching the available QR dates and the Supercars calendar series dates in the coming months.

“Supercars have a Herculean task ahead of them with this latest round of travel restrictions and deserve all the support that we at QR can give them.

Shane van Gisbergen celebrates on the podium during race three of the Townsville SuperSprint earlier this month.

“We are still looking forward to seeing Supercars at the paperclip in the near future – Covid or no Covid.”

Mr Tetley said earlier this month the QR crew were working long hours to get it ready for a Supercars return.

“To meet the end August date is a major logistics exercise,” he said.

“Hundreds of tyres, tanker loads of fuel, and all the rest of the paraphernalia that it takes to run these events, along with the buildings, equipment, collateral, not to mention the huge catering component.

“As Australia’s busiest track, we also have to find time for the teams to shake down and test their cars and pit skills before the big weekend.

“Unfortunately this means some of our regular and loyal customers will be inconvenienced.

“We apologise in advance for any and all disruption to their plans and arrangements and trust us that we will attempt to make that up during the next few months.”

Mayor Teresa Harding said the council was informed of the latest changes on Thursday.

“Naturally, we are disappointed Queensland Raceway at Willowbank is no longer included but we understand the challenges of trying to

organise major events during a pandemic,” she said.

“While council had embraced the opportunity to host a race in Ipswich on 21-22 August, the Covid situations down south have significantly

impacted the Supercars ability to mobilise teams to move to Queensland Raceway.

“This is not about Ipswich, rather the changing pandemic environment.

“We are still keen for Supercars to return to Willowbank in 2022 and will be talking to championship organisers and the operators of Queensland Raceway at Willowbank about proposals for races next year.

“Ipswich motorsport fans love their weekend at Willowbank and Supercars brings much investment and tourism to our city.”

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.

Originally published as Queensland Raceway in Ipswich loses Supercars series as calendar is changed due to Covid-19