The seventh round of the 2010 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships on August 14-15 sees a return to Queensland’s Morgan Park Raceway, with the meeting set to be the first held on a newly extended circuit.

After much hard work the circuit’s custodians, the Warwick District Sporting Car Club (WDSCC) and a small army of volunteer workers, the Darling Downs venue has been lengthened from the previous 2.1km to a total of 3km, with the circuit’s characteristics now best described as fast and flowing.

Competitors at the Shannons Nationals will be the first to sample the new circuit under race conditions when they hit the track for Friday private practice.

Gold Coast based Terry Knight is one of the leading drivers in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Mission Foods, and he is suitably impressed by the recent changes to his home circuit.

“It’s all a bit secret squirrel at the moment as nobody has been able to do any hot laps around the new circuit, but by foot and at 60 kilometres an hour in my Cayenne, the layout looks amazing,” Knight said.

“It’s going to be a lot more demanding, a much higher average speed, and there will definitely be more overtaking.

“Last year when we raced at Morgan Park with 17 Porsches around the 2.1km long circuit, it was very difficult to overtake.

“We used to only just get into fourth gear for a couple of seconds, but now the terminal speed will be a lot higher, there are a few more clever corners in the circuit.

“Off the old circuit, there’s a huge sweeper that is reminiscent of the final corner at Phillip Island, or turn one at Eastern Creek, it bypasses all of the tight and twisty section from the old circuit.

“Coming up onto the pit straight, the cars will get a bit light, and at the end of the straight we will probably be carrying 30 or 40 kilometres an hour more speed, so turn one is going to be a real test under brakes.

“I’m very much looking forward to racing there, in years to come it will be like the Phillip Island of the Darling Downs, everyone will want to race there!”

The meeting will not only feature the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge presented by Mission Foods, but also the Australian Manufacturers Championships, and the Australian Saloon Car Series.

Completing the six-category program and making their Morgan Park debut will be the Formula 3 Australian Drivers Championship, the Kerrick Sports Sedan Series, and the Australian Superkart Championships.

For WDSCC president Bill Campbell, the opening of the circuit extensions will see the final in a long series of renovations, that have seen the circuit brought up to a National standard.

“We’ve had our track inspection, and everything has come up alright,” Campbell said.

“There’s only a few cosmetic things that need to be done like line marking, and because we’ve got weekend bookings up until the Shannons Nationals, that work will have to be done mid-week.

“That won’t be a problem; everything will be ready in time for first practice on Friday.

“Everyone in town is pretty excited, especially that we will have the National Sports Sedans and Formula 3s here for the first time.”

At a recent state championship meeting, a pair of competitors completed exploratory laps on the new configuration as a systems check.

“We’ve had to finalise the flag points, one was slightly altered after feedback we received,” Campbell said.

Morgan Park Raceway has been in existence since 1968, with the original 730 metre long dirt short circuit paved in 1997, before being extended to 1.2km the following year.

The most recent extension occurred in 2002, which saw the track lengthened to 2.1km, prior to the most recent changes which bring the total track length up to 3km.

For further information on the 2010 Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships, visit www.thenationals.com.au.