Queensland could have a new circuit thanks to V8SA.

V8 Supercars Australia has announced that it has axed the Queensland Raceway round of the series for 2010, with chairman Tony Cochrane stating that the company is considering building its own permanent racing facility.

The round was set for May and was originally featured as part of the Australian Superbike Championship’s provisional calendar, but has been cancelled altogether after V8SA has “been unable to reach satisfactory hire and commercial terms with the operator of Queensland Raceway”.

Cochrane revealed in a press release issued by V8SA that it is looking toward the future, which could include a new circuit in South East Queensland.

“We do question how a venue which was built with significant State Government funds and is leased on Ipswich Council land can manipulate groups such as ours with ridiculous hire figures and non compliance with the Government recognised sanctioning body is surely got to be questioned?” Cochrane said.

“Every year dealing with John Tetley [Queensland Raceway owner] turns into a greater nightmare for all of us in the championship and I totally understand V8SA getting to this very frustrating point. With so many V8 Supercar teams headquartered in SE Queensland we now need to focus on what we can do for the future.

“Maybe the time has come for us to work with the Queensland Government and jointly build our own permanent facility to ensure the nearly 1000 jobs in our great industry are kept here in SE Queensland.”

The press release from V8SA stated that the company was “prepared to become the promoter of the Ipswich event in May to keep the event alive, but unfortunately this is not possible due to a long list of unrealistic demands set by the Queensland Raceway operator”.

At a circuit where the ASBK will visit twice in 2010, V8SA slammed Queensland Raceway’s facilities in the release.

“QR demanded a near record hire fee for the hire of the venue despite its ageing facilities,” the statement continued. “This, coupled with the fact that fans and corporates have dropped off from attending QR because of the lack of decent facilities, means that QR at Ipswich is no longer a viable venue for Australia’s premier motorsport Championship”.

Acting V8SA CEO Shane Howard also commented on the state of the circuit, giving his reasons as to why the event will be cancelled and removed from the 15 round calendar.

“The unrealistic hire fees and uncommercial terms demanded by QR, when compared with other permanent venues, are absurd given the standard of the QR infrastructure for fans and teams alike,” Howard said.

“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.”

Queensland Raceway’s Tetley has defended the circuit after V8SA’s release, speaking to leading V8 website SpeedCafe here.

MotoOnline.com.au will expand on the news of V8SA’s plans to develop a new permanent racing facility when more is revealed.