Queensland Raceway nicknamed "the paperclip" is a motor racing circuit located at
Willowbank in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...
,
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia. The circuit did host
Supercars Championship
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
until 2019,
drifting as well as club level racing and ride days.
![QRturn1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/QRturn1.jpg)
Queensland Raceway is long and wide, running
clockwise
Two-dimensional rotation can occur in two possible directions. Clockwise motion (abbreviated CW) proceeds in the same direction as a clock's hands: from the top to the right, then down and then to the left, and back up to the top. The opposite ...
. There are six corners. The circuit was designed by Tony Slattery with input from
car
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods.
The year 1886 is regarded as ...
and
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
racing authorities including
CAMS circuit expert Professor Rod Troutbeck.
Queensland Raceway is a FIA Grade 3 circuit.
However, the track uses RACERS sanctioning for a majority of its events including race meetings, drifting, motorbike ride days and roll racing.
Spectator viewing at the facility is excellent with the flat layout of the circuit and spectator mounds. However the flat layout makes racing less exciting for the competitors than undulating circuits like
Phillip Island
Phillip Island (Boonwurrung: ''Corriong'', ''Worne'' or ''Millowl'') is an Australian island about south-southeast of Melbourne, Victoria. The island is named after Governor Arthur Phillip, the first Governor of New South Wales, by explorer ...
. The track became infamous for its bumps, although it was resurfaced in late 2011.
Queensland Raceway is located with the bounds of the
Ipswich Motorsport Precinct
Ipswich Motorsport Precinct is a government-owned facility, a co-operation between the Ipswich City Council and Queensland Government, which concentrates several branches of motorsport within one area.
Located near to RAAF Base Amberley and a coa ...
, which is also home to the
Willowbank Raceway
Willowbank Raceway is a drag racing facility located off the Cunningham Highway, Willowbank, City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It is located approximately 30 – 45 minutes drive west of Brisbane. It is part of the Ipswich Motorsport Preci ...
dragstrip
A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile (1320 feet, 402 m) is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile (201&n ...
, a
kart
Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on ful ...
track, a short dirt circuit and a junior (under-16)
motorcycle speedway
Motorcycle speedway, usually referred to simply as speedway, is a motorcycle sport involving four and sometimes up to six riders competing over four anti-clockwise laps of an oval circuit. The motorcycles are specialist machines that use only ...
. The track is also located near
RAAF Base Amberley
RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and southwest of Brisbane CBD. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), N ...
and shares the base's noise exclusion zone.
Configurations
There are three Short Circuit variations of the track in addition to the full circuit:
* Sportsman
* Clubman
* Sprint
File:Queensland Raceway (Australia) track map -- Clubman Circuit.svg, “Clubman Circuit”
File:Queensland Raceway (Australia) track map -- National Circuit.svg, “National Circuit”
File:Queensland Raceway (Australia) track map -- Sportsman.svg, “Sportsman Circuit”
File:Queensland Raceway (Australia) track map -- Sprint Circuit.svg, “Sprint Circuit”
The National circuit gets the most use for testing purposes and for major motorsport events. The Clubman circuit is also utilised regularly at state and club level racing. The Sprint circuit also in semi-regular use. The Sportsman circuit, originally optimised for truck racing, is now rarely used.
Dick Johnson Straight
Dick Johnson was honoured on 16 August 2001, when the front straight of the Queensland Raceway was officially named "Dick Johnson Straight".
Johnson, a five-time national champion and three-time Bathurst winner, proudly unveiled a piece of pit-lane wall, which now bears his name and a plaque commemorating the ceremony and Johnson's motor racing achievements. The unveiling was part of the pre-race build-up to the 2001 VIP Petfoods Queensland 500. Johnson was joined by his son Steve during the ceremony as well as a host of V8 Supercar drivers and teams during what was a serious day of testing at the circuit.
Johnson was one of the driving forces behind the development of the Queensland Raceway and made his last competitive drive in a V8 Supercar in 2000's Queensland 500 with son Steve.
Lap records
As of August 2022, the official race lap records at Queensland Raceway are listed as:
Future development
A huge accident on 1 May 2010 in a Mini Challenge support race to the
2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series sparked discussion about the safety of the circuit. However, circuit owner at the time, John Tetley insisted that the track was still safe.
TeamVodafone driver
Craig Lowndes
Craig Andrew Lowndes (born 21 June 1974) is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator.
Lowndes is a three-time V8 Sup ...
suggested that Queensland Raceway was long overdue for upgrades including a resurfacing. Tetley stated that resurfacing would be done in late 2010, although major flooding in the south-east Queensland region early in 2011, and the subsequent lack of availability of necessary equipment as devastated roads are repaired has seen that resurfacing delayed for twelve months. In October 2011 the resurfacing was commenced and completed before Christmas.
During July 2016, the Ipswich council announced plans to invest $220 million upgrading Queensland Raceway. The first phase of the project is to extend the length of current circuit. The proposed plans by the council were never followed through with after massive upheaval and controversy. The company responsible (Ipswich Motorsport Park PTY LTD) for the redevelopment was wound up in 2017 and de-registered.
In October 2021 former owner John Tetley and Tony Quinn signed a pact under which the Quinn took the lease, management and operations of Queensland Raceway.
Willowbank 300
The Willowbank 300 is held annually at Queensland Raceway as part of the Queensland Endurance Championship.
The Endurance Championship consists of the Ipswich event and the Lakeside Park 300 which is traditionally held in the latter part of the year at the historic circuit north of Brisbane. The Willowbank 300 has been a landmark event on the Queensland Raceway calendar since 2014.
Fatalities at the circuit
There have been four fatalities at the venue since it opened in 1999. Porsche Supercup driver
Sean Edwards in 2013 during testing, as well as club-racer Dennis Smith at a sprint event in 2016. Two further deaths occurred when a 32-year-old driver and 41-year-old passenger were killed in August 2017.
Notes
References
External links
Queensland RacewayRide / Race your motorbike at QLD raceway
{{Australian Superbike Championship circuits
Motorsport venues in Queensland
Supercars Championship circuits
Sport in Ipswich, Queensland