Queensland 500

Last updated

Flag of Queensland.svg Queensland 500
Queensland Raceway (Australia) track map -- National Circuit.svg
Race Information
Venue Queensland Raceway
Number of times held7
First held1999
Last held2008
Race Format
Race 1
Laps161
Distance500 km
Last Event (2008)
Overall Winner
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grant Sherrin
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Russell 		Howard Racing
Race Winners
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grant Sherrin
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Russell 		Howard Racing

The Queensland 500 was a motorsport endurance race held at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. It was best known as a V8 Supercars race held from 1999 to 2002. It was also very famous for The Ford AU Falcon taking two of its most famous victories in 2001 and 2002.

Contents

History

Background

The Queensland 500 was launched by the V8 Supercars category in 1999 to replace the Sandown 500 as the two-driver endurance event in the build-up to the Bathurst 1000. Supported by the Queensland Government, it was held at the newly built Queensland Raceway. The Queensland 500 also counted for championship points, with both the 500 kilometre race and the Bathurst 1000 added to the championship in 1999 for the first time. In 1999 and 2000, Queensland Raceway hosted both the endurance event and a sprint round of the championship.

V8 Supercars

The first event in 1999 was won by Larry Perkins and Russell Ingall, who were defending champions of the 500 km event, having won the 1998 Tickford 500 at Sandown. [1] The race proved crucial in the 1999 championship. Rather than pairing them together, the Holden Racing Team decided to split their two full-time drivers, Mark Skaife and Craig Lowndes, in the two-driver endurance races as they were both in championship contention. After Skaife suffered accident damage in an incident with Jason Bright, he could only finish 22nd, giving team-mate and eventual champion Lowndes a large points advantage with a third-place finish. [2] In 2000, Holden Racing Team team-mates Skaife and Lowndes combined to win, this time helping Skaife in his successful championship campaign. [1]

2001 saw a dramatic finish to the race due to a torrential rain shower. As the rain increased in the final five laps, Paul Radisich spun into a gravel trap out of the lead, giving the lead to the Perkins and Ingall entry. However, soon after, a red flag was waved, and as per the regulations the results were finalised as the standings on the second to last completed lap, meaning Radisich, driving with Steven Johnson, was still credited with the race win despite being beached in the gravel trap. [1] 2002 saw a surprise victory in the form of David Besnard and Simon Wills, the only round win of both of their championship careers. The pair had only taken the lead on the penultimate lap when Greg Murphy ran low on fuel. [3] The win was Ford's first round win since the Queensland 500 twelve months prior, while eventual seven-times champion Jamie Whincup also made his debut in the race. [4]

Demise

After the collapse of original circuit owners, Motorsport Queensland took control. Their interest in the race waned and the race reverted to the status of a standard V8 Supercar sprint round from 2003. This sprint event continues to this day. The 500 km race returned to Sandown Raceway for 2003.

Revival

The race was revived from 2006 to 2008 as a GT, sportscar and touring car relay race. The Queensland 500 was run for the final time in 2008.

Winners

YearEvent titleWinnersTeamCar
1999 Queensland 500 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Russell Ingall
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Larry Perkins 		Perkins Engineering Holden VT Commodore
2000 Ozemail Queensland 500 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Lowndes
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife 		Holden Racing Team Holden VT Commodore
2001 1 V.I.P Petfoods Queensland 500 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steven Johnson
Flag of New Zealand.svg Paul Radisich 		Dick Johnson Racing Ford AU Falcon
2002 V.I.P Petfoods Queensland 500 Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Besnard
Flag of New Zealand.svg Simon Wills 		Stone Brothers Racing Ford AU Falcon
2003
-
2005		not held
2006 [5] Queensland 500 Club Enduro Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Rob Sherrard
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wayne Park 		Wayne Park Motorsport Services Porsche 962C
Holden Monaro 427C
2007 [6] Queensland 500 Club Enduro Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Tony Quinn
Flag of New Zealand.svg Craig Baird 		VIP Petfoods P/L Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
2008 [7] Porsche Centre Gold Coast 500 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Grant Sherrin
Flag of Australia (converted).svg David Russell 		Howard Racing Ford AU Falcon
Notes

Sponsors

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Skaife</span> Australian racing driver

Mark SkaifeOAM is a retired Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five-time champion of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor, the Australian Touring Car Championship, as well as a six-time Bathurst 1000 winner. On 29 October 2008, he announced his retirement from full-time touring car racing. Since retiring from driving, Skaife has worked as a commentator and presenter for the series for both the Seven Network and Fox Sports Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Craig Lowndes</span> Australian racing driver

Craig Andrew LowndesOAM is an Australian racing driver in the Repco Supercars Championship competing in the Holden ZB Commodore for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He is also a TV commentator.

Walkinshaw Andretti United Australian motor racing team

Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team currently fields two Holden ZB Commodores in the Supercars Championship for Nick Percat and Chaz Mostert, along with a Porsche 911 GT3-R in the Australian GT Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Ingall</span> Australian racing driver

Russell Ingall is a former full-time Australian V8 Supercar driver. He won his V8 Supercars title in 2005, and finished second in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2004. Ingall has also won the Bathurst 1000, in 1995 and 1997. His particular driving style earned him the nickname "Enforcer".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Whincup</span> Australian racing driver

Jamie Whincup is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden ZB Commodore, won a record seven Supercars championship titles, four Bathurst 1000 victories, and a Bathurst 12 Hour victory. Whincup is the all-time record holder in the Supercars Championship for race wins, at 124 career wins. He is also the first driver to win the Jason Richards Memorial Trophy twice at Pukekohe Park Raceway in Auckland, New Zealand.

Triple Eight Race Engineering, is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating out of the former Briggs Motor Sport workshop in Bowen Hills before moving to Banyo in 2009. Since taking over the former Briggs Motor Sport team during the 2003 season the team has won the Supercars driver's championship nine times, the team's championship ten times and the Bathurst 1000 eight times.

Sandown 500

The Sandown 500 was an annual endurance motor race which was staged at the Sandown Raceway, near Melbourne, Victoria, Australia from 1964 to 2019. The event's name, distance – and the category of cars competing in it – has varied widely throughout its history. Most recently, the event was held as a championship event for Supercars from 2003 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2019.

The 2001 Shell Championship Series was an auto racing series for V8 Supercars. The championship, which was the third Shell Championship Series, began on 25 March 2001 at Phillip Island and ended on 2 December at Sandown after 13 rounds. The same events also determined the winner of the 2001 Australian Touring Car Championship as awarded by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport.

Anthony Lawrence Longhurst is an Australian racing driver and former Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series. Longhurst is a two-time winner of the Bathurst 1000, winning the event in 1988 with Tomas Mezera and in 2001 with Mark Skaife, and is one of only five drivers to win Bathurst in both a Ford and a Holden.

Grand Finale (V8 Supercars)

The Grand Finale, also known as the V8 Ultimate and as The Main Event, was the auto race held as the final round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series from 2001 to 2008. In those years, it was held at Sandown Raceway, Eastern Creek Raceway, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit and Oran Park Raceway.

Phillip Island 500

The Phillip Island 500 was an annual motor racing event, last held for Supercars at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The race had three distinct eras; from 1971 to 1977 as an endurance production and later Australian Touring Car Championship race, from 2008 to 2011 as an endurance race as part of V8 Supercars and from 2017 to 2018 as a Supercars Championship event consisting of two 250 km races.

The 2003 V8 Supercar season was the 44th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500.

2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series

The 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series was an Australian based motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It began on 15 March 2002 at the Adelaide Street Circuit and ended on 1 December at Sandown International Raceway after 13 rounds. It was the fourth V8 Supercar Championship Series but the first to carry that name, previous championships having been contested as the "Shell Championship Series". The winner of the Drivers Championship, Mark Skaife, was also awarded the 43rd Australian Touring Car Championship.

2008 Midas 400

The 2008 Midas 400 was the fifth round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 7 to 9 June Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria. With most states of Australia celebrating a public holiday on the Monday celebrating the Queen's birthday, the meeting took the unusual format of Saturday-Monday instead of Friday-Sunday.

Ipswich SuperSprint

The Ipswich SuperSprint was an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at Queensland Raceway near Ipswich, Queensland. The event was a regular part of the Supercars Championship—and its previous incarnations, the Shell Championship Series and V8 Supercars Championship—from 1999 to 2019.

Phillip Island SuperSprint

The Phillip Island SuperSprint was an annual motor racing event for Supercars, held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Phillip Island, Victoria. The event was a semi-regular part of the Supercars Championship, and its previous incarnations, the Australian Touring Car Championship, Shell Championship Series and V8 Supercars Championship, between 1990 and 2019.

2014 International V8 Supercars Championship

The 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the sixteenth running of the V8 Supercars Championship and the eighteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.

2015 International V8 Supercars Championship

The 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international auto racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the seventeenth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the nineteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.

The Enduro Cup, was an award given out to the highest points scorers over the three endurance events in Supercars; the Sandown 500, Bathurst 1000 and the Gold Coast 600.

2021 Supercars Championship Racing season

The 2021 Supercars Championship was a motor racing series for Supercars. It was the twenty-third running of the Supercars Championship and the twenty-fifth series in which Supercars have contested the Australian Touring Car Championship, the premier title in Australian motorsport. Repco replaced Virgin Australia as naming rights sponsor under a five-year partnership.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Greenhalgh, David; Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (2011). The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years. St Leonards, New South Wales: Chevron Publishing Group. ISBN   978-0-9805912-2-4.
  2. ↑ "TIMELINE: Mark Skaife's career highlights". Speedcafe . 18 October 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ↑ "Saturday Sleuthing: Last Gasp Queensland Winner". Supercars. 26 July 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  4. ↑ Noonan, Aaron (25 July 2017). "MEMORY LANE: 2002 Queensland 500". Speedcafe. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  5. ↑ "Queensland Raceway Ipswich 28/05/2006 Queensland 500 Club Enduro". National Software. 28 May 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  6. ↑ "Queensland Raceway Ipswich 02/06/2007 Queensland 500 Club Enduro". National Software. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
  7. ↑ "Queensland Raceway Ipswich 15/11/2008 Queensland 500 Club Enduro". National Software. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  8. ↑ 2001 VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 race report from www.autoweb.com.au Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.