Supercars, Quinn proud of triumphant Queensland Raceway return

The triumphant return to Queensland Raceway has buoyed both Supercars and circuit owner Tony Quinn.

This weekend’s Century Batteries Ipswich Super 440 is the first Supercars event at the Willowbank venue since 2019. In the six years since, Quinn purchased the venue, which has undergone a significant facelift.

Notably, new pit facilities, garages and corporate hospitality suites have been built, and safety upgrades made to the circuit.

Some challenges remain, such as addressing the traffic into the venue off Cunningham Highway into Champions Way. However, the new-look venue has stood up through heavy rainfall, and has delivered at its biggest test in years. Thousands of fans packed the hill at Turns 1 and 2 on Saturday through the weather, and are piling in on Sunday.

“It’s a fantastic venue. Tony and his team have done a lot of work,” Supercars CEO James Warburton told Supercars.com.

“It is important to get back to heartland and Supercars fans here. It’s something we consider as we move to put the calendar together.

"Tony and I will get together and compare notes post-event in terms of things that we can do better, especially coming back after six years. That includes the natural challenges of one road in and one road out, and one road fitting onto the highway. That’s one thing we can better address in the future.

"It's not an event where we've had any funding support from government at all, through local council or government. That will certainly help cement its place on the calendar. This weekend has been a real breath of fresh air.

"I think with what we've shown this weekend and what we've delivered, through the whole community, it's something we’d like to discuss with them."

Quinn, who also owns Taupō, Highlands and Hampton Downs in New Zealand, was pleased by the immediate impact at QR’s return, and singled out the efforts of General Manager Josh McFarlane.

Representatives from the New Zealand circuits are also on fact-finding mission on the ground at Queensland Raceway, with Taupō to host its third round in 2025 as part of a double-header with Christchurch.

“I’m extremely proud of the team. The team that we've got here, Josh and the boys have done a great job,” Quinn told Supercars.com.

“They've worked well with Supercars because Supercars haven't been here for a while. With new facilities, they didn't really know where to plug things in.

"So there's been a lot of cooperation between the two teams, and look at the result. I think it's just been a great tick. So when I arrive at heaven, I'm gonna say, ‘We got back to QR’.

“Josh has been up at 4:30am every morning, making sure the car park's feeding in properly. That's been a big job with the traffic, I think he got two hours of sleep the other night.

“Josie [Spillane] from New Zealand has come over to see what we do here to see if there's anything we should be doing in New Zealand too. I encourage that because you find little things that we take for granted.

"You've got to connect with heartland. The fans are everything. The sport is supported by the diehard fans, we should still be listening to them."