Motorsport returns to Morgan Park for the first time since March on Saturday with hosts Porsche Club Queensland expecting big things from its special dual Supersprint round this weekend.

 

With a full capacity grid of 80 drivers confirmed for Saturday’s round and 50 locked in for Sunday’s round, event organisers have pulled out all the stops for the club’s grand return.

 

Adding to the spectacle of one of Queensland’s first major Supersprints since Government restrictions were eased is that Saturday’s meeting will be also be doubling up as the second round of the Inter Club Challenge (ICC), which sees a vast range of branded clubs battle it out for bragging rights.

 

Event organiser Kevin Vedelago was looking forward to the club returning to Morgan Park.

 

“We’re really excited about this weekend. We have a lot of people who have been itching to get out there and compete again,” Vedelago said.

 

“Saturday will be a combination of Porsche Club Queensland’s second sprint round in 2020, as well as nine clubs part of the Inter Club Challenge such as Porsche, Lotus, BMW, Toyota 86/BRZ and the MX5 club. Then of course on Sunday, we have another sprint round.

 

“The ICC has been running for about five years now and has really grown in popularity. It’s got a really great reference of different clubs and I think it’s a great way to restart motorsport again for us.

 

“That won’t be the only drawcard over the weekend. Queensland hill climb champion Dean Tighe will be attempting to break the lap record in his Dallara and we also have the luxury of having a rare Ferrari Pista Especial competing on Sunday.

 

“We’re really excited this event is bringing us back. It’s the first time we have ever been sold out which just goes to show how excited people are to get back. We could have had more participants, but we wanted to play it safe, so unfortunately many people missed out.”

 

Not only has the club seen an influx of interest from competitors, but it will also welcome the highest rate of officials participation too, with up to 17 flag marshals alone wanting to come.

 

A lot has changed for the series since it ran the first round of the Supersprint series in March, with the many of the event’s popular activations like passenger rides cancelled due to restrictions put in place.

 

However whilst the club has been required to make some concessions in order to comply with restrictions and get the event running, Vedelago believes there has been no issue and everyone is happy.

 

“There are many new methods of running events that have come out of this COVID-19 period and I can safely say that we really like them and hope some of them continue when things quieten down,” Vedelago added.

 

“It’s so cool to see how excited people are. It’s great to see unity amongst our members too because everyone is buying into everything we need to do, including our stewards who are also on board.

 

“I must say, people were initially uncomfortable with returning but I feel the Motorsport Australia Return to Race document has really helped people get at ease with the whole thing.

 

“It’s such an important document and we can’t underestimate the importance of it. It gave people the confidence to know that everything has been addressed and it’s going to be safe to run and attend events if you stick to the document. 

 

“Motorsport Australia really needs to be commended on that because it’s one of the major reasons why people are excited to get back.”