A Sunshine Coast motorsport club is preparing to expand its racing facilities after securing a 10-year lease over its long-time home.
The Sunshine Coast Motorsport Club was granted a lease in January for its Fellowship Drive track at Doonan after operating from the state-owned site under permit arrangements for the past 12 years.
Club president Bo Williams said the agreement provided the certainty needed to invest in the venue, which is set to be named ‘Doonan Park’ later this year.
“We had to apply for permits every time we wanted to use the area,” Mr Williams said of the previous arrangement.
“It was very time-consuming, and it meant we weren’t in a position to invest our own money into improving the site. We also couldn’t apply for grants because we had no occupancy or ownership.”
The volunteer-run club has about 320 members from across South-East Queensland and plans to invest “hundreds of thousands of dollars” to extend its existing tarmac circuit from about 900 metres to 1.2 kilometres.
The works – already approved by Sunshine Coast Council – include widening and improving the track and constructing an internal bypass road.
“We’re going to extend the track, improve the track and build another internal road,” Mr Williams explained.
“We’ve already put up a large roofed area, which has made events much easier to run.”
The club stages eight to 10 events each year at Doonan and also runs sprint events at venues including Nambour, Gympie and Lakeside Park in Pine Rivers. Members travel from as far south as the Gold Coast and north of Gympie to compete.
Mr Williams said the club’s focus was on providing an environment for people to develop their driving skills.
“The biggest thing about our club is safety,” he said.
“We’re not about hooning. We’re actually trying to get people off the road and into a controlled environment where they can learn car control properly.
“Many people have very little experience with car control, so this gives them the opportunity to learn those skills with supervision.”
Drivers aged 12 and older can take part under supervision, with all competitors required to hold a motorsport licence. Mr Williams said the club attracted entire families, with parents, children and grandparents often involved together.
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Mr Williams said the new lease and development progress was a significant step in the right direction for local motorsport.
“(It) shows we are now supported and well recognised,” he said.
“It’s very difficult to get support for motorsport in many council areas.”
The club’s largest annual event, the Nambour Sprint, will be held at the Nambour Showgrounds on Saturday and Sunday. More than 120 competitors are expected to tackle a purpose-built course, with gates opening at 9am each day. Spectator tickets are $10.
