Queensland Raceway planning major expansion

In a report by Nine News Brisbane, Pisasale outlined plans to expand the Queensland Raceway facility and turn it into “the capital of motorsport in not only Ipswich, but Australia”.

The QR circuit is based just outside of Ipswich, 40 kilometres west of Brisbane, and is part of a motorsport precinct which includes both dirt and bitumen kart tracks, and the Willowbank drag strip.

According to Pisasale, the plan is to incorporate the entire facility, and upgrade and expand it to being an industry-leader in Australia.

“We’re looking for a CEO, and the most important thing about the company is to link all the industries together,” Pisasale told Nine News.

“What people think is that it’s about cars going around. I see economic value, I see tourism, I see restaurants, hotels, all those things filling up.

“The most important thing is to work with the organisers [and] the drivers to make sure we’ve got the track of choice.”

The project will need state government funding, something Pisasale says will be a formality once it starts to come together.

“Once you create the environment, the state government has no choice but to come on board,” he added in the report. “Because their investment of a couple of million dollars will create jobs, it will be an economic boost that will not only attract people from South East Queensland, but all over the world.

Lowndes backs ambitious project

In the same news report, V8 Supercars veteran Craig Lowndes threw his support behind changes to the facility.

Lowndes’s Triple Eight squad uses QR as its test track, which means he is more than familiar with the current straightforward layout.

“An extension or change to the Queensland Raceway would be obviously a great thing,” he told Nine News.

“It is our test track, we do love going there, but to see it expand or change slightly would be a breath of fresh air.”