Queensland 500

Queensland 500

Race Information
Venue	Queensland Raceway
Number of times held	7
First held	1999
Last held	2008
Race Format
Race 1
Laps	161
Distance	500 km
Last Event (2008)
Overall Winner
Grant Sherrin David Russell	Howard Racing
Race Winners
Grant Sherrin 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.

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] 2001 saw a dramatic finish to the race due to a torrential rain shower. As the rain increased, 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 such the results are 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 most significant wins of both of their racing careers.

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

Year	Event Title	Winners	Team	Car
1999	Queensland 500	Russell Ingall Larry Perkins	Perkins Engineering	Holden VT Commodore
2000	Ozemail Queensland 500	Craig Lowndes Mark Skaife	Holden Racing Team	Holden VT Commodore
2001^1	V.I.P Petfoods Queensland 500	Steven Johnson Paul Radisich	Dick Johnson Racing	Ford AU Falcon
2002	V.I.P Petfoods Queensland 500	David Besnard Simon Wills	Stone Brothers Racing	Ford AU Falcon
2003 - 2005	not held
2006[2]	Queensland 500 Club Enduro	Rob Sherrard Wayne Park	Wayne Park Motorsport Services	Porsche 962C Holden Monaro 427C
2007[3]	Queensland 500 Club Enduro	Tony Quinn Craig Baird	VIP Petfoods P/L	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup
2008[4]	Porsche Centre Gold Coast 500	Grant Sherrin David Russell	Howard Racing	Ford AU Falcon

Notes

• ^1 – Race was red flagged due to bad weather; results were declared as of lap 156.^[5]

Sponsors

• 2000: OzEmail
• 2001–02: VIP Petfoods
• 2008: Porsche Centre Gold Coast

See also

• Ipswich Super Sprint
• Sandown 500
• Phillip Island 500
• List of Australian Touring Car Championship races

References

1. 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. "Queensland Raceway Ipswich 28/05/2006 Queensland 500 Club Enduro". National Software. 28 May 2006. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
3. "Queensland Raceway Ipswich 02/06/2007 Queensland 500 Club Enduro". National Software. 2 June 2007. Retrieved 2008-10-01.
4. "Queensland Raceway Ipswich 15/11/2008 Queensland 500 Club Enduro". National Software. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-15.
5. 2001 VIP Petfoods Queensland 500 race report from www.autoweb.com.au