Queensland V8 event in doubt

V8 Supercars has issued a statement saying that next year's event is subject to requested upgrades, while track lessee John Tetley said yesterday he had not yet received a list of upgrades.  Crowd figures of 37,926 over the three days of the event last weekend are the second lowest on record in the past 11 years.

The track's future as a V8 Supercars event may also be subject to a Confederation of Australian Motorsport safety investigation after a Mini crashed into the crowd last Saturday.  CAMS communications and marketing manager Jonathan Cooper said the investigation was "still ongoing".  "It will take as long as needs to complete and decide any outcomes," he said.

V8 Supercars operations manager Shane Howard said Queensland Raceway would have "12 months' breathing space to get the circuit up to meet all the (requested upgrades) and if that won't be achieved we won't be returning".  However, he said there was no question about the track's safety.

"It meets all the safety standards and it's licensed by CAMS; it's CAMS responsibility to control circuit safety," he said.  Tetley said he had received no feedback from V8 Supercars on the future of the event since last weekend and the main issues of disagreement had not been resolved.

He said the main issue was that they needed a five-year agreement, rather than an annual arrangement before they could commit to major track upgrades.  "We are only a tennant and can't commit funding for upgrades to an event with an annual tenure," he said.

However, he said the track would be re-surfaced later this year.  While Queensland Raceway management had organised previous V8 rounds, V8 Supercars Events took over the running of this year's event in a one-off deal.

Tetley said V8 Supercars was much better to work with as a customer than as a supplier.  "Tony (V8 Chairman Tony Cochrane) probably won't like that one but honestly, they couldn't have been better," he said.

"We would be more than happy to work with them again, no question at all."  Tetley said another of the sticking points had been V8 Supercars accepting the cost of any damage to the circuit by the super-sticky soft tyres used during the round.  "But we had a look at it on Sunday after the race and there is no damage at all," he said.