Lakeside Changes Effecting QTCC in 2019
The cancellation of Lakeside Park’s annual Lakeside Tribute has forced a change to the 2019 QTCC Calendar. The season will now start two weeks later than previously scheduled, at Round 1 of the Queensland Racing Drivers Championship, at Queensland Raceway.
For this, and any further rounds that are moved from Lakeside to Queensland Raceway this season, the championship will compete on the shorter track configurations (Clubman, Sprint or Sportsman circuit) across the weekend – and, as is the case at Lakeside Park, the four-race program will be split, with Class B running separate to A1 and A2.
The opening round date change has also resulted in changes to the championship regulations for 2019. While the championship will still consist of 24 races, only 20 will count in the final points standings. As the first two rounds of the season now take places on consecutive weekends, the QTCC committee has recognised that some competitors may be disadvantaged by this, be it because of the date change, budget restraints, or missing the second weekend due to running into problems on the first.
While all competitors retain the option of competing in both rounds, for the benefits of those who can’t, only ONE of those two events will count towards the overall points score at the end of the season. Of those two rounds, competitors who’ve competed in both will simply drop their worst round.
All remaining rounds of the championship remain as they are, however the Lakeside Classic and Lakeside 300 events are still subject to change, pending Queensland Raceways ongoing battle to have noise restrictions lifted at the Kurwongbah venue.
Should racing be able to resume at Lakeside later this season, Queensland Raceways has stated that rescheduling the Lakeside Tribute remains an option, in which case, the QTCC round would be reinstated, and the championship points pursuit would become a 24-race affair once more.
2019 Racer Industries Queensland Touring Car Championship Calendar
Round |
Date |
Venue |
Event |
1 |
March 29-31 |
Queensland Raceway |
QRDC |
2 |
April 5-7 |
Morgan Park, Warwick |
Australian Motor Racing Series |
3 |
June 21-23 |
Queensland Raceway |
2 Days of Thunder |
4 |
July 19-21* |
Lakeside Park |
Lakeside Classic |
5 |
September 27-29* |
Lakeside Park |
Lakeside 300 |
6 |
November 1-3 |
Queensland Raceway |
Ipswich Classic |