IPSWICH City Council has backed a return for the Supercars to Queensland Raceway, adopting a motion to negotiate sponsorship support for the event.
Deputy Mayor Nicole Jonic and Division 4 Councillor David Martin put forward a motion at last week’s meeting for Council to note the value of major sporting events to Ipswich, particularly in terms of economic benefit, community pride and national profile.
The motion also singled out support for the Supercars event, proposing the Council would negotiate with Queensland Raceway on what support Council could offer to secure and support Ipswich as a venue in the 2026 Supercars Championship calendar.
The move comes as Supercars legend Craig Lowndes called for more support from local government to ensure Ipswich did not lose the event from its calendar.
The owners of Toowoomba’s Wellcamp Airport have been pushing for government funding to develop a $175 million entertainment precinct, including a V8 Supercar track near the airport.
The Ipswich Super 440 attracted a crowd of 51,723 motorsports fans to Queensland Raceway, the biggest crowd in 14 years.
Pre-Covid reports put the event’s economic benefit to Ipswich at about $8 million and generating more than 20,000 visitor nights.
Cr Jonic told Council the economic opportunities for the city had to be recognised and fostered.
“We are a city built on racing and car enthusiasts,” Cr Jonic said.
“The Supercars coming to Ipswich again in 2026 and having someone like Tony Quinn at the helm of Queensland Raceway is a great opportunity for economic stimulus for our city and to highlight us on a national scale.
“Whenever I saw the Supercars advertisements from previous rounds at Queensland Raceway, Ipswich was right there, televised everywhere.”
Cr Martin said Mr Quinn, the new owner of Queensland Raceway, had invested millions upgrading the site and it was appropriate for the Council to support the destination.
“The event is not locked in for next year at the moment so (we need to do) whatever we could do to support that to happen,” he said.
He said Champions Way should also be upgraded to support the Raceway.
“I’d love to see the Willowbank precinct, the Ipswich Motorsports Precinct, become the premiere racing precinct in Australia and I’d like to see it worthy of that title.”
Mayor Teresa Harding supported the motion and said she had been passionate about upgrading Champions Way.
The motion was adopted in a unanimous vote.
