Jamboree is the second-largest drag racing meet at the Ipswich motorsport complex, hosting upwards of 13,000 spectators across two days.
This year, Supercars returned to Queensland Raceway for the first time since 2019, and reportedly drew 51,000 attendees over three days.
The clash is complicated by the ingress and egress of attendees to Queensland Raceway and Willowbank Raceway from the Cunningham Highway into Champions Way.
Jamboree organisers believe the clash will cause traffic chaos if the events remain on the same weekend, as they utilise the same parking facilities for their respective meetings.
Organisers of Jamboree said the first they knew of the clash was when the Supercars calendar for 2026 was leaked and published on Speedcafe.
A year-on-year change has moved the Supercars event from the second weekend of August to the fourth.
As it stands, Jamboree at Willowbank Raceway and Supercars at Queensland Raceway will both take place on August 22-23.
Jamboree organisers told Speedcafe they had their meeting at Willowbank booked long before Supercars announced its QR date.
It’s understood QR initially offered Supercars several dates that did not clash with Jamboree but the championship ultimately landed on the August 21-23 weekend.
Supercars moving to 14 events in 2026 has resulted in a reshuffle, putting Perth on the first weekend of August, which has shunted Ipswich back.
“They need to move. We know that you physically can’t have the two dates. They need to move, not us,” Jamboree organisers told Speedcafe.
“When you guys (Speedcafe) published the leaked calendar, that is the first we heard of it and the first that anybody at Willowbank Raceway had heard of it.
“What Willowbank Raceway has said to us is that Queensland Raceway gave Supercars the options and they came back and said this is when we’re coming.
“We’ve been there 36 years and we’ve had the dates booked in for the last three years – contractually booked in with Willowbank Raceway.”
Jamboree organisers have conerns about hosting the events on the same weekend and want Supercars to change its date.
“The car parks between the two facilities, we would both be utilising the same car park. The logistics side of it, the two events cannot run at the same time,” said the organisers.
“Our event is the second-biggest event that happens at Willowbank Raceway, and that utilises all the available carparks. When Supercars come, they use the same car parks.
“Logistically, you physically couldn’t fit all the people and traffic. As it is, for each event, for Supercars the traffic is backed up big time on the highway.
“For our event this year, we had traffic back to Yamanto. If you had both events on at the same time, traffic would be a logistical nightmare.
“It’s not even possible because of the car parking and the amount of people trying to enter the motorsport precinct.”
Jamboree organisers said there has been communication between Willowbank Raceway and the adjacent Queensland Raceway about the clash.
Speedcafe spoke with Queensland Raceway General Manager Josh McFarlane, who said there is sufficient capacity for both events to be held on the same weekend.
McFarlane believed that Jamboree should collaborate with Supercars and work with the Ipswich City Council on a traffic management plan, sharing the costs.
“I don’t have too much concern about it. It might actually help the situation with Council funding into more support for traffic management,” McFarlane told Speedcafe.
“If they know that it’s going to be that big of an issue for both parties having two events on one weekend, it’s probably not ideal for Council either, so they should want to invest more and help with the traffic management in and out of the venues.
“With Ipswich City Council, they need to invest in public transport. Supercars did a small amount of it themselves, but Council needs to do, from Springfield Lakes and Ipswich City Centre, free bus transport and help with that load. The venues can definitely do it if the traffic management is done right.”
McFarlane said it’s up to the respective promoters – Jamboree and Supercars – to work together on how they balance having the events on the same weekend, should the status quo remain.
It’s hoped a meeting between Willowbank Raceway and the Ipswich City Council will offer some solutions.
“We are fighting to keep our date. The exact process from here, we’re not sure how it’s going to go down,” said Jamboree organisers.
“Leyburn have decided they’re moving but we’re going to put up some kind of fight because it leaves us in a predicament with the dates.
“For us to move a date, there is not really any other potential dates because of clashes with other drag racing events. That’s the tricky part.
“That would impact us greatly, having to move. It would be a huge impact.”
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