Supercars last drove on the Gold Coast in 2019
Gold Coast-based supercars champions Jamie Whincup and James Courtney have made calls to make sure their hometown event isn’t permanently off the calendar.
For the second year in a row, the Gold Coast Round has been a victim of COVID-19 and its associated travel restrictions.
Surfers Paradise is home to one of the world’s longest-running annual city tour events (excluding COVID-19 interruptions) that dates back to 1991 when CART / IndyCar first visited the city.
Road courses tended to be more vulnerable in the pandemic era due to their need for government funding / return on investment and lack of flexibility compared to permanent routes.
Courtney, however, hopes to see the event again with a vengeance in 2022.
“It is very disappointing that we cannot compete this year, but understandable given the situation we are in at the moment in Australia,” the Tickford Racing driver told Speedcafe.com.
“But I think it will be bigger and better than ever when we come back here considering that pretty much all of Australia is starved of events to be able to participate, be it motorsports or any kind of sport.
“I think once the borders are open and we can all travel again and attend these events, it will be great.
“It’s known to us as the biggest party event, it’s a huge event on the coast here and it not only attracts a lot of racing fans, but also a lot of fans who are here to enjoy the festivities this weekend.
“It’s so good for the audience and just the atmosphere, it’s one of those events that we go to and the whole city is involved.
“Even if you don’t have a great day out on the track, it’s a fantastic event.
“The structure is massive; we live here while they build the track and then this week’s hype is big.
“It’s something that I think we’ve missed massively from our calendar and personally, I can’t wait to get back here.”
Supercars Commission member and Triple Eight Race Engineering driver Whincup also praised the value of the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit.
“All the teams love the Gold Coast, it’s fantastic for the fans, everyone at Supercars wants a Gold Coast 500 on their calendar if possible and I’m sure we’ll do everything we can to make it happen next year,” said he Speedcafe .com.
Whincup noted that there was a touch of sadness that he was not able to complete his full-time driving career on the Gold Coast the way it seemed.
“It’s a bit of a disappointment to me that I’m not going to end my full-time career at the Gold Coast 500,” he said.
“To be honest, it was quite fitting to finish my home race at the end of a long career.
“Gold Coast in December would have been fantastic, but the situation is that I was second best in the end, which is a mega long week at Bathurst to end my career.
“But the Gold Coast race is so unique, I was only there at the weekend and drove on the long circuit.
“The history of this place, IndyCars racing there for years through the streets of the Gold Coast, which is basically Las Vegas in Australia, is iconic. Driving on the Gold Coast is a huge championship coup.
“It’s disappointing that it can’t happen this year because that’s the way the world is right now, but we have to work 100 percent really hard to make it bigger and better next year.”
The final of the Repco Supercars Championship 2021 will instead take place on Mount Panorama as part of a historic six-day festival from November 30th to December 5th.
