Queensland Raceway will host round seven the half way point in the V8 Supercar championship this weekend on the circuit affectionately known as the 'twisted paper clip' referring to the fact most of the corners turn right, with just two turns facing the other direction.
Spectators certainly get their moneys worth at the 3.12klm Ipswich circuit with views of the entire complex at any one time in an amphitheatre setting, not unlike another famous sunshine state venue, the old Lang Park in Brisbane, used by Queensland for rugby league state of origin clashes, which the league boys found a little intimidating and the Supercar drivers, south of the border, find the Queensland race track venue equally unnerving.
Most of the leading Ford teams including Stone Brothers Racing, Triple 888 and Dick Johnson Racing call Willowbank Raceway home and that equates to a huge advantage over their southern state rivals.
The flat nature of the track is extremely hard on left hand side tyres, although lap times between the leading teams are very close, with long straights, where V8 Supercars can achieve around 270 klm per hour and sweeping curves, braking points vary with the courage of the driver.
The controversial venue has been re-surfaced since 2007, but has not lost all of its bumps. Teams that are well prepared from the moment the race car rolls off the transporter usually gain the upper hand at Ipswich as dialling the car in to suit the circuit and the ever changing weather conditions can become difficult.
Ford holds the upper hand at Ipswich winning five out of the last seven clashes and have the form on the board at the moment and the weekend's three 120klm races could be a turning point in more ways than one. Ford Performance Racing arrive at Queensland Raceway in sizzling form after a breakthrough 1-2 result in the latest round in Darwin.
Mark "Frosty" Winterbottom strengthened his series lead with a race win and second-in-round, while his elder team mate Steven Richards wrapped up the Top End weekend with a win and two second placings.
Holden will be pinning their hopes in the Toll Holden Racing Team's defending V8 Supercar champion Garth Tander who won all three races on the 'Paper Clip' in 2007 and the HSV Dealer team's Rick Kelly, to turn the tide for the 'General' in the championship at Queensland Raceway.
Team Vodafone's Craig Lowndes is another with a mission in Queensland he has some ground to recover after a rare engine failure sidelined his 888 Falcon on the last lap of the last race of the Darwin weekend.
Championship pointscore - Mark Winterbottom 1402, Garth Tander 1332, Jamie Whincup 1276, Rick Kelly 1208, Steven Richards 1123.
YOUR OWN BOWSER
Owning your own petrol bowser may seem like a good investment with soaring fuel prices the value of classic bowsers is also rising and often out-pacing the petrol they used to pump. In an interesting twist in the tale, these former forecourt fillers are now finding pride of place in cafes, showrooms, rumpus rooms and collections where nary a drop will pass their nozzles.
Shannon's achieved record Australian prices for some Australian and American bowsers at auction, with the top price of $25,000 shared by two early American manual pumps from the 1930s. Three more classic pumps, a manual model from the 1930s and two electric pumps from the 1950s and 1960s are being sold with expected prices up to $5,000, and perhaps beyond.
The rising pump prices are being driven by a combination of demand from collectors, the shrinking availability of good original pumps and the increasingly high quality of restorations.
Most pumps offered for sale at Shannons auctions, like the rare circa 1950s Double Gilbarco Electric in Golden Fleece livery and the circa 1960s Wayne AS70 in BP livery being sold are cosmetically restored, but the 1930s Gilbert & Barker six gallon manual pump is unrestored. In Australia, Golden Fleece and Shell are generally the most popular liveries, followed closely by Mobilgas and Texaco.
Serious collectors are always on the lookout for rarer early manual models and are prepared to pay $15,000-$20,000 for something really different.
SUPERCAR SUPERSAFE PROGRAM
Queensland Minister for Sport Judy Spence will this Wednesday (July 16) formally launch V8 Supercars Australian wide road and driver safety program - to be called V8 Supersafe at Marsden State High School in Brisbane.
Minister Spence will be joined by V8 Supercars Chairman Tony Cochrane, CEO Wayne Cattach along with V8 Supersafe patron Dick Johnson and V8 Supersafe ambassador Shane van Gisbergen. The V8 Supersafe program is part of V8 Supercars social responsibility to educate students on the importance of safe driving practices, reasoned risk taking and positive choices.
It is estimated that during a full year the program will visit more than 200 schools and Motor Shows/Royal Shows nationally and reach in excess of 50,000 youth.