A question for Queenslanders.....

[nz_tourer]

Howdy, I am gracing Queensland with my presence in a week or so, will be living somewhere between Charters Towers and Townsville for a while. An Aussie I dont think I will become, I plan on returning home soon, but hey with more supercar coverage on tv who knows!

Can any of you nice folk give me any info about motorsport in the area? Any local tracks? etc
V8 supercars is on 10 right? thats free to air isnt it? Are the pay TV channels any good for motorsport?

Any info would be appreciated

Cheers

[DAVID PATERSON]

G'day NZ, sad to say but it's about 1800km from Townsville to the nearest circuit. Nearly all the motorsport is on channel 10 (free to air) on Sunday afternoon.

[Crash Test]

You're kidding aren't you?

Well I believe there are drag tracks and dirst speedways up in the Townsville and Cairns areas, but there wouldn't be too much happening there this time of the year.

But I do believe there is a tractor/mud pulling pit just south of Townsville, that's great fun!

[Ray Bell]

Townsville and Charters Towers? That's not exactly nailing down the neighbourhood... you're going have a new experience in distance travel.

Save yourself for a big trip to Bathurst, I would say, be a shame if you missed that in the flesh while you're in the area... well, only an easy 2500km away..

[nz_tourer]

Cheers guys. I'll have to hang out until either Q500 or Bathurst eh. No racing until then, dam. Oh well, better V8 coverage on TV i spose.

Hopefully I shall be back in time for Puke.

[Ray Bell]

The choice is no contest... forget Queensland Raceway and its second-rate 500, go for Bathurst, it'll blow your Pukekohe/Manfeild/etc trained mind!

[DAVID PATERSON]

Ray is right, the Qld 500 is a big yawn. I know people who live 30 minutes away and still won't go, even with free tickets!

[RaceTime]

Originally posted by DAVID PATERSON
Ray is right, the Qld 500 is a big yawn. I know people who live 30 minutes away and still won't go, even with free tickets!

Interesting that you mention free tickets - Calder park tried them out at the last two Thunderdome meetings they ran - virtually all houses around the immediate vicinity of the track were house dropped free tickets to the race (didn't really help though ).
Wonder if the other tracks are also trying this now?

[Crash Test]

Yeah, local tracks keep giving goofs like me an Elelphino tickets because they think we are media...bwahahahaah

I know last year, when given the option of going to the 500, or the Trucks down at OP and sleeping in the back of a truck, i know i made the right descision going south

[nz_tourer]

I probably will go to Bathurst, went last year and enjoyed it thoroughly. What a few days that was, but hopefully it will be sunny this time.

[V8crazy]

I don't know what you guys are on about, have you actually been to a V8 round at Queensland Raceway. I live 20 minutes away and havn't missed any of the V8 action there yet. Alot of people were turned off during the first round when there were traffic problems, but even before the Qld 500 that year road work had been and there was no problems at all. Queensland Raceway is a really great track for viewing, there's not too many areas where the whole track cannot be viewed. And there is always a huge crowd. Unlike other states the Queensland 500 is the only round Qld has left, so why not promote it instead of putting **** on it, I know for sure one of you guys live right here in Brisbane.

[Crash Test]

Yeah you're right, there have been some decent V8 races there. R3 in 1999 was great (thank you both HRT cars for spearing off) and R1 last year was certainly exciting.

The problem for the sprint round was one of the cars turning into Champions Way had to give way to the northbound traffic on the highway, and when they finally got in they had a few boy scouts running the car park...

Crowd wise- it has been on the delcine since that first meeting where 38542 apparently turned up...well, umm, ever since then the car park has been full, even at the sprint round last year when 23010 turned up....you can draw your own conclusions from that, but I'm pretty sure 20,000 people didn't walk to the track in 99.

Certainly I hope the crowd turns up this year, and I hope the V8s put on a decent crowd for them..

[DAVID PATERSON]

I've been to every V8 round at QR and I assure you, the crowd at the first meeting was much bigger than any since. I don't know why so many people haven't come back, either they were put off by the parking fiasco and queues or they refuse to leave their eskies at home and buy the ordinary catering or maybe they are like me and just think that endurance racing is a bit hard to follow trackside. Or are they just put off by the fact that it is the most boring race circuit seen in this country for 50 years.

P.S. I know for sure 3 of us live right here in Brisbane.

[Ray Bell]

For most people the issue of the eskies and tucker would be important. In fact, most important. People were ringing Lakeside the day following that first meeting saying it didn't matter what Lakeside charged, they would always go there rather than face the problems they struck at QR again.

Okay, time heals wounds and many have no doubt been back, but as David says, it's almost as boring as Calder (which is only 40 years old, David...) and now I'll take issue with something you have said, V8crazy:

...there's not too many areas where the whole track cannot be viewed

What gives you the idea that this matters? I will debate this forever, and I've seen a few circuits, a few races and a few places in my day.

The loss of vision of part of the circuit is an enhancement to the excitement. It is relevant to say that the obstruction of visibility that has taken place at Lakeside is too great, but the most exciting circuits are those where you can't see it all.

To achieve the length they have in the room they had available, the designers of QR have mortgaged the spirit of the place. It's dead... but won't lie down (though it's trying to!)

Certainly it's a good thing that Qld has a second circuit, and it's good that it's on the opposite end of town, but there are issues about the place that limit its usefulness.

[Crash Test]

Re: seeing only a part of the track- I agree in many cases the suspense is a great part of going to the track. But in other's it might not be quite so good.

I know down at Oran Park, sitting in the top of the grandstand you can see most of the track, and it's fantastic. You can watch the cars/trucks/bikes battle their way around the circuit- and it is quite a decent circuit at that.

One thing you must pay credit to QR, they have identified their problems and they are either fixed or in the process of being fixed. Problems with access, parking, taking stuff in, number of loos, have been fixed, and they also stuck a massive scoring board on the side of the tower so everyone on the hill can see who is in what position during the race.

[DAVID PATERSON]

Ray, how could Calder possibly be more boring than QR, the straights are generally shorter, it has more variation in the corners and it has 3 dimensions, not 2!

[Ray Bell]

Seen a map of Calder as it was from 1961 to 1980, David?

Seen photos of it when the hill wasn't there? It was dead flat, had two straights, a hairpin and the esses. That was it. They changed the esses first, then about ten or twelve years ago added the hill - not sure exactly when - and those extra bends that changed the face of the joint.