The Race of Stars karting event has confirmed its 2018 date and a return to a Saturday finals format.

This year’s edition of the now traditional Gold Coast 600 lead-in event has been confirmed as being held on October 11-13.

Practice will be held on Thursday, qualifying and racing on Friday, and the culmination of action on Saturday.

The event will again be held at the Xtreme Karting Complex in the north of the Gold Coast.

“Over the past five years, the Race of Stars has cemented itself on the karting calendar, both here in Australia and around the world, and we’re aiming for an even bigger and better event in 2018,” said Event Manager Lee Hanatschek.

“Thanks to the City of Gold Coast we’ve been able to lock the date in earlier than ever before, which will provide us with three months of solid build up to attract the best drivers from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Singapore and various parts of the globe.”

On the date tweak, he added, “We pride ourselves on making the event more than just another race.

“By having Saturday as the feature day, it allows our travelling drivers and teams the opportunity to extend their stay and enjoying more of what the Gold Coast has to offer.”

Back-to-back karting world champion Paolo De Conto won the 2017 Race of Stars in the KZ2 class, and Xtreme Karting Complex owner Ian Holm is eagerly anticipating the prospect of another highly talented field at his track.

“Everyone here at Xtreme Karting excited about having the best drivers do battle on our circuit to provide a great spectacle for the Gold Coast region,” said Holm.

“To have such a high calibre of drivers competing is a real honour.  Over the past few years we’ve seen some amazing battles and this year should be no exception.”

A line-up of classes will be announced in the coming weeks before invitations are sent for drivers.

The event takes place on the weekend prior to the Vodafone Gold Coast 600, which will be run in Surfers Paradise on October 19-21.