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History of the Club.

The Miniature Race Car Club of Queensland was founded as the Model Race Car Club of Queensland in the late 1940's (unfortunately our early records do not provide more accurate data), to run gas powered model cars around a centre pole.
The original track was the concrete base of an army hut and this was followed by a purpose built track in the grounds of Hudson Engineering at West End in Brisbane.

The Club came to public notice during the 1950 'Queensland Industry Fair' staged at the RNA Complex at Bowen Hills, Brisbane. As part of this fair, Model
Engineering Clubs had displays and as well as live steam engines, locomotives trains, sailing boats, model aeroplanes etc., powered tether boats were run in a portable tank and model cars were run on a demountable portable track.

This track was built in sections with timber framing bolted together and the running surface was masonite sheet. In this way the club was introduced to the public and although speeds were not high they were most spectacular.

The Hudson track was approximately a 25ft. diameter running surface with a ball bearing centre post, the cable was an 1/8 inch diameter bowden cable (ex Air Force) with swaged end. A car battery was beside the centre pole, with the power wire for the car ignition taped to the cable. Speeds were not brilliant which was just as well (no safety fence or fuel cut off's were installed), but this track established the club.

Unfortunately Hudson Engineering (a company specialising in repetition machining) was expanding and the track area was required. At this stage a dairy farmer at Bardon wanted to utilise his paddock other than for just grazing cows and was setting up a recreation centre for motorcycle sports, a hill climb (on an almost vertical side of a hill) and a motorcycle dirt track on the banks and through the creek at the base of the hill climb, so the club approached him for a site for a 52ft. 6ins diameter track and after approval a track was established.

The club continued to operate at O'Brien's Paddock for many years but again progress (this time expanding suburbia) forced a move and the club approached Mr Sid Sakzewski (the owner of Lakeside Motor Raceway) who owned land adjacent to Hickey Park at Stafford, Brisbane, so once again a new track was
established and this time we built a track 70ft (approx 21.6 meter) in diameter.

We were happy at Stafford (within 10 km of the central business area) but again progress caught up with us and we were again trackless. By this time we decided that private property was too risky, so we drove around Brisbane Parks and then approached the Brisbane City Council for a site at Kalinga Park adjacent to the railway line which went through the park. Our submission was approved and once again a new 70ft track was built which became operational in 1962.

After thirty-nine years of racing on this track it was then upgraded in 2001 to a metric track. This upgrade was made possible by the support of the Brisbane Airport Rail Link project.

Seven more years of enjoyable racing followed until early 2008 when we were advised that the City council required our land to construct a settlement pond in association with the proposal to construct a road tunnel from adjacent to our track to Gympie Road, a distance of some 2.5 kilometres, to ease the journey to our airport.

Fortunately, the Council offered to relocate us, and now, almost 3 years later after a number of locations had been suggested and rejected, we have been allocated land in Minnippi Parklands, Tingalpa, adjacent to the Tingalpa Model Aero Club.

The first soil was turned by the back hoe on Wednesday 18th May 2011.
Brisbane's new track was finally put to the test on Saturday 6th August 2011.
All went well !! This track is one well worth seeing!!
The Official Opening Ceremony was held on Saturday 10th September 2011.

 

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