V8s pull out of Queensland Raceway round

V8 Supercars Australia will not race at the Queensland Raceway this year after negotiations with the track's management broke down. V8 Supercars say the administrators of the facility at Ipswich just south of Brisbane had made "unfeasible demands" for the hire of the track. Among the issues relating to the breakdown in talks was an apparent "near record" hire fee for the venue and the track management wanting V8 Supercars to obtain the costly CAMS license to host an event.

"This is extremely disappointing for all our fans but we had given QR a very reasonable offer and we have to be responsible to our teams when we hire venues and conduct events," acting V8 Supercars chief executive Shane Howard said on Thursday.

"The unrealistic hire fees and un-commercial terms demanded by QR, when compared with other permanent venues, are absurd given the standard of the QR infrastructure for fans and teams alike.

"QR's reluctance to be a CAMS sanctioned venue further compounds a very difficult position for us as we are a fully fledged FIA Championship.

"Almost no money has been spent on fan facilities at QR in the last eight years despite our ongoing requests and it is now looking very tired from a fan and corporate point of view."

A statement on the Queensland Raceway website from chief executive John Tetley said the deal broke down despite his association agreeing to accept V8 Supercars' price.

"For three months we have tried to find common ground with the management of V8 Supercars to no avail," Tetley said in the statement.

"We had agreed to accept their price but it was their inability to accept the rights of the Queensland Raceways Passholders and to accept responsibility for damage to our track whilst they are running the event, which became the deal breakers."

V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane raised the possibility of creating a new race circuit, expressing frustration at dealings with Tetley over several years.

"Maybe the time has come for us to work with the Queensland Government and jointly build our own permanent facility to ensure the nearly 1,000 jobs in our great industry are keep here in south-east Queensland," said Cochrane.

The Queensland Raceway event, which was scheduled to be held April 30 to May 2, has now been removed from this year's V8 Supercar championship calendar.