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PIT STOP
QUEENSLAND’S NEW RACEWAY
By Rob Watson.
Queensland Raceway, the newest Queensland motor racing circuit which will host premier events, opened it's gates to the public for the first time on the 19th of June '99. The line up for the weekend was the local teams of V8 Supercars, Historic cars, HQ's, GT & Production cars and some open wheelers. The crowd numbered around 5000. Certainly the biggest crowd for a Queensland titles round, due no doubt to the local V8's being there for familiarity testing.
The track was fresh, the day was indeed sunny. Wave to the marshals on Champions Way as we were directed to the car park, and head straight for the pit garages to get a close look at the cars. Pay attention to look for some Minis. James was amazed to see the race cars as large as life. Look dad I've spotted a Mini before you (our family game, beats I spy).
The mound to the south of the control tower was covered with turf, as was the entire track perimeter. The infield was grass seeded and growth was evident. But when a car did go off, you waited for the dust to settle. When the sun passed into the afternoon sky, I quickly realised the best vantage spot was to the north or west of the circuit at turn 6 or turn 3. This puts the sun behind you.
The track starting from the pits passes in front of the mound and wraps around a very long corner with a straight bit in the middle (turns 1 & 2). Then north along the back straight to turn 3. This takes you 180 deg in the opposite direction to turn 4, and 5 sending you along to the north and turn 6. And up pit straight again and 3.12kM done. The track is depicted in the logo as the drivers body.
The racing was superb. Yes the Monaro and Falcon hammered each other, and there were some Toranas there too. But to entertain us was Ken Nelson's Group Nc and John Stratton's Group Nb. These two cars are Cooper S types at 1330cc and 1300cc respectively. Ken hounded at the Lotus Cortina for some time till eventually showing how good a Mini is at out braking and racing around corners quickly. Whilst John was with a couple of Toranas working on decreasing his lap times on the new bitumen.
Did we have a good weekend? To right we did. Enough to feel the need for speed. Now I've seen how much fun these two chaps have and after all, how better to put to use all the tinkering under the bonnet, than to get up to illegal speeds and the only cameras around don't have radar.
Rob Watson.
Racing at Queensland Raceway - A Drivers View.
With Ken Nelson.
Historic Touring Cars (CAMS Group N) were invited to compete at the inaugural race meeting on 19th and 20th June 1999.
I entered my Cooper S with some trepidation as I had this impression that the circuit was a horsepower track - all straights with some slow corners. We decided to run the car the same as at Lakeside and see what happened. Even having been to the track for a sneak preview a few days beforehand we were amazed at the levels of comforts for spectators and competitors (maybe after all these years someone appreciates that the people who compete are part of the show!)
The first practice session was on a green and dusty track with no grip but we were able to see that the corners were fast and interesting. The straights weren't as long as they seemed due to the slower entry speed than Lakeside. Qualifying showed that the track had bedded in considerably as the lap times were much quicker. One race was scheduled for Saturday afternoon and we gridded up in 7th alongside Lionel Ayres in his Lotus Cortina. I managed a better than normal start (for me) and kept in front of the Lotus through turns 1 and 2. Down the back straight I held the outside line leading into turn 3 and started to brake. The Lotus went straight past and I thought - he's not going to make the turn but he did - no problem at all. We had a good race ending up in 8th place 0.3 secs behind the Lotus at the chequered flag after 5 laps.
Sunday was another great day and we lined up for our second race. This time I managed to end up in front of the Lotus at the end of 6 laps after a couple of changes of place with the Lotus and Graeme Smiths XU1.
Race 3 was a 10 lapper and I wondered how we would go as by now I had been able to come onto the back straight a lot quicker and was reaching max. revs about half way down the straight. This time I was relegated 2 spots off the start by the Lotus and XU1 so had to work hard to keep in touch. I managed to get past the Lotus by slip-streaming him through turn 2 and passing as he changed up into top gear. I then found out how much deeper I could go into turn 3 under brakes and managed to keep in front. Next lap around we out-braked the XU1 into turn 3 and held on to be in 5th place at the end.
My best lap time was 1:30.8 compared with Garry Jackson (HQ Monaro 350) 1:25.4, Guy Gibbons (XU1) 1:26.8 and Lionel Ayres (Lotus Cortina) 1:30.8
The whole weekend was a great introduction to racing at a track run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts and we enjoyed the TEN minute trip home
Ken Nelson
Group Nc Morris Cooper S (18)
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