It is one month until the Lexmark Indy 300 is held on the Gold Coast (October 20 to 23). Below are some ‘story starters’ in the lead up to Queensland’s premier Event.

Ticket Sales: General Admission and Grandstand ticket sales are currently tracking at more than the same time last year. And the record four-day attendance was 309,583 set last year.

Motorsport Double Header: The main show at the Lexmark Indy 300 is the Champ Car and V8 Supercar racing. This year the Lexmark Indy 300 will host Round 13 of the ‘Bridgestone Presents The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford’ and Round 11 of the ‘V8 Supercar Championship Series’. The Champ Car race will be staged on the Sunday afternoon over 57 laps or 254.79 km. While three V8 Supercar races will captivate fans in the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge with one 140km race on Saturday and two 100km races on Sunday.

Jam Packed Motorsport Support Program: This features the Wright Patton Shakespeare Carrera Cup, The CARSguide Aussie Racing Cars and Yokohama V8 Ute Series.

Speed On Show: No other event showcases speed as much as the Lexmark Indy 300. There are Champ Cars, V8 Supercars, V8 Utes, Aussie Racing Cars, Carrera Cup Porsches, and RAAF F1-11s and Roulettes, displaying awesome speed, sound and sight.

Champ Cars: The cars have a 2.65-litre Ford-Cosworth engine, are approximately four metres in length and 700kg in weight (similar in look to F1 cars), are powered by methanol and race on Bridgestone tyres. One of the most important parts of the Champ Car is its wings which significantly impact on its handling, aerodynamics and stability.

Champ Car History On The Gold Coast: Champ Car racing made its first move outside of North America when it was staged on the Gold Coast in March 1991. John Andretti was the inaugural winner of the Gold Coast race. The Lexmark Indy 300 winner’s list now reads John Andretti (1991), Emerson Fittipaldi (1992), Nigel Mansell (1993), Michael Andretti (1994), Paul Tracy (1995), Jimmy Vasser (1996), Scott Pruett (1997), Alex Zanardi (1998), Dario Franchitti (1999), Adrian Fernandez (2000), Cristiano da Matta (2001), Mario Dominguez (2002), Ryan Hunter-Reay (2003) and Bruno Junqueira (2004).

No Repeat Champ Car Winners Yet: An amazing record is that there have been 14 different winners on the Gold Coast in 14 years, a record that Da Matta, Dominguez, Hunter-Reay, Vasser and Tracy will be aiming to break in 2005.

Aussie Aussie Aussie: A massive coup for the Lexmark Indy 300 this year is the Champ Car debut of Gold Coast driver Marcus Marshall for the first-ever Australian-owned and sponsored team called Team Australia.

Three Aussies Before Marcus: Three Australian drivers have driven a Champ Car on the Gold Coast since 1991 – Gary Brabham (1992 and 93); Jason Bright (2000); and David Besnard (2004). Besnard’s seventh placing has been the highest by an Australian.

Record Holder Returns: Former race winner Cristiano Da Matta from Brazil, who has returned to Champ Cars this year after two seasons in F1, holds the Gold Coast lap record of one minute 30.204 seconds set in qualifying in 2002.

Truly International Event: There will be 11 nations represented during the Champ Car racing at the Lexmark Indy 300 – France, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Mexico, Brazil, USA, England, Spain, Sweden and Australia.

Champ Car Team Communication: Teams can use up to 75 radios during a race. There are also eight or so transmitters on the car itself that report telemetry data like tyre pressure. Teams use only two radio channels and only one member of the team is designated to talk to the driver.

Champ Car Driver Garments: Drivers wear Undergarments, a Driving Suit, a fire resistant Balaclava, Shoes, Gloves and Helmet. Special vents on the helmet keep the driver’s head from shaking at the car’s high speed and help the driver stay cool.

V8 Supercars: The cars have a 5L fuel injected V8 engine which exerts 620 horsepower at up to 7500 rpm. With a minimum weight of 1355kg, these V8 machines have a top speed of 300 km per hour and can go from 0 to 100 km per hour in four seconds.

V8 Lap Records: Mark Skaife holds the qualifying lap record of 1 minute 50.3768 seconds set last year while Marcos Ambrose set the fastest race lap in 2002 clocking 1:51.6490.

Three V8 Winners in Three Years: Holden star Greg Murphy won the Gillette V8 Supercar Challenge last year, adding to the wins of Russell Ingall (2003) and Jason Bargwanna (2002) since it has been an official round at the Lexmark Indy 300.

Track Description: The Lexmark Indy 300 circuit is 4.47km (2.795 Mile) in length, anti-clockwise in direction, its fastest point is the Main Straight, and slowest point is Lexmark Hairpin. Each part of the racing circuit has a name - Turn 1: Lexmark Chicane; Turn 2: CARSguide Chicane; Turn 3: Intel Turn; Turn 4: Acer Exit; Turns 5 & 6: Bartercard Esses; Turn 7: VB Chicane; Turn 8: Falken Turn; Turn 9: Bigpond Turn; Turn 10: Wright Patton Shakespeare Turn; Turn 11: Lexmark Hairpin; Pits: Duracell Pit Lane.

Friday Night Spectacular: The Wright Patton Shakespeare Carrera Cup and Yokohama V8 Ute Series will race with their headlights on during the Friday Night Racing in 2005 from 6pm until 8.20pm. The inaugural ‘Friday Night Racing’ in 2004 generated some great imagery. All Four Day, Weekend GA and Friday GA tickets are accepted. A special $15 Friday Night Racing ticket will also be on sale from 5pm on the Friday at the three Ticketek booths around the circuit.

Sea FM Air Show: The Sea FM Air Show will comprise an F1-11 dump and burn on Friday night, Saturday and Sunday, and include the RAAF Roulettes and Navy Sea Sprite. The Australian Defence Force has been a major supporter of the Lexmark Indy 300 providing air shows and exhibitions since 1991.

Tour the Pits: Spectators can go on regularly scheduled Sea FM Pit Walk Tours to get up-close-and-personal with the teams. More than 2,200 people went on Sea FM Pit Walk Tours last year. These are 20-minute guided tours along Duracell Pit Lane at regular intervals, with tickets available from a booth on MacIntosh Island.

Students Day Thursday: More than 7,000 students attended Student’s Day at Lexmark Indy 300 last year which is a free educational day for primary and secondary school students in Queensland. Students are issued with a special ‘Student’ ticket that allows them free access into the track when accompanied by teachers, and they may sit in any of the 11 unreserved grandstands around the track.

Meet the Drivers: There is a number of ways to meet the drivers and get an autograph. There is the inaugural ‘V8 Supercars Licenced to Thrill Luncheon’ at Conrad Jupiters on Wednesday October 19; ‘Driver’s Street Parade’ in Surfers Paradise at 5pm on Wednesday; ‘Champ Car Driver’s Breakfast’ at Conrad Jupiters on Thursday October 20; V8 Supercar Driver’s Autograph Session at the Sea FM Stage on-track on Thursday at 11am, Friday at 1.15pm, and Saturday at 12.30pm; and a Champ Car Driver’s Autograph Session on Friday at 4pm.

40 Off Track Events: From Street Parades, Golf Days, World Boxing Bouts, Gala Balls, Motoring and Car Exhibitions, Karaoke Competitions, Drag Racing, Family Days, Motocross, Dancing, Nightclub Parties, Rallying, Themed Restaurant Activities, Cocktail Parties, Driver Breakfasts and Luncheons, Acrobats to Bartercard Miss Indy, there is something for everyone on the 2005 Lexmark Indy 300 Official Off Track Event Calendar.

National Anthem: The past three singers of the National Anthems at the Lexmark Indy 300 have been Rebekah K (2002); Anna Maria la Spina (2003); and Miranda Murphy (2004).

Brisbane Family Day: The annual ‘Lexmark Indy 300 Hits Brisbane’ will this year be held in King George Square in Brisbane’s CBD on Saturday October 1 from 10am to 1pm. ‘Lexmark Indy 300 hits Brisbane’ includes a host of motorsport and motoring displays, roving entertainment, driver appearances, autograph signings and the Bartercard Miss Indy and Bartercard Miss V8 Supercar girls.

Huge Sponsorship Support: Lexmark is the Naming Rights sponsor for the Event – a company that is a global technology leader dedicated solely to printing solutions. Lexmark has renewed its contract taking its sponsorship to a record six years.With Lexmark as Naming Rights sponsor, the other major sponsors and supporters of the Event include Acer supported by Intel, Fosters, Wright Patton Shakespeare, Conrad Jupiters, Gillette, Falken Tyres, Bartercard and Coca Cola.

Economic Impact: According to 2003 research the Lexmark Indy 300 injects more than $50 million into Queensland, generates more than 159,000 visitor nights, and creates an equivalent of 503 jobs.

Three Million Spectators: 3,360,802 people have attended the Lexmark Indy 300 since 1991.

Charities: The two official charities of the Lexmark Indy 300 are Surf Life Saving Queensland and CanTeen – the Australian Organisation for Young People Living with Cancer.

Corporate Bonanza: The Lexmark Indy 300 is one of the most popular sporting events for the corporate world with more than 6000 people expected to attend as a corporate guest each day over the four days. Hospitality packages range from single corporate tickets in a Club to private hospitality in one of the 140 Pavilions, Villas, Super Suites and Clubs located around the 4.47km circuit.

Wireless Technology: In 2003 the Lexmark Indy 300 was the first Australian motor sport event to be ‘unwired’ thanks to Acer, Australia’s third largest PC vendor and fastest growing PC brand, with the support of Intel. Acer and Intel’s partnership enables people with wireless-enabled notebooks and mobile devices to access the Internet, check emails and download files within a Lexmark Indy 300 Local Area Network.

Circuit Construction: The 4.47km circuit consists of 2515 concrete blocks which all weigh four tonnes each. They are moved to and from the circuit six at a time on the back of a line of semi-trailers. In other interesting statistics, the circuit requires 10km of debris fencing, 16km of security fencing and 10 temporary bridges. It is all constructed in a two month period, even though the inventory is three times what it was in the first year in 1991.

Volunteers: More than 1500 people from all over Australia volunteer their services to deliver the Event in roles such as track marshals, media assistants, accreditation staff, corporate hosts, gate officials, fire marshals, grandstand officials, flag marshals, information booth attendants, grid marshals and much more. In fact 43 of these 1500 have been volunteers every year since the event started in 1991. Volunteer training sessions begin at the Southport RSL (Lexmark Indy 300 Accreditation Centre) on Saturday September 24.

Corporate Catering: More than 24,000 corporate meals were provided over the four days of the 2004 Event, with more than 550 trained casual staff employed in the production and delivery of the meals. In 2004 the base of the menu included 32,000 bread rolls; 6,000kg of mixed salad; 800 bunches of fresh herbs; 600kg of cheese; 7,000 pieces of sushi; 10,000 muffins; and 3,000 gateau slices. The seafood and meat menu included 24,000 prawns; 7,000 oysters; 450kg of Tasmanian salmon steaks; 2,800kg of chicken; 200kg of prime eye fillet; 400kg of porterhouse steak; 2,800 bbq eye fillet medallions; 8,000 lamb cutlets; 1,400kg of sliced continental meats; and 160kg of smoked salmon. The fruit platters included 1,300 punnets of strawberries; 500 rockmelon; 2,000 apples; 3,000 bananas; and 150kg of grapes. To wash all this down guests were supplied with 60,000 bottles of soft drink supplied by Coca Cola; 75,000 cans of beer provided by Fosters; 5,800 bottles of Berringer Blass wines. These drinks were chilled by no less then 16 tonnes of ice cubes.

Spectator Food Consumption: Spectators consumed approximately 28,000 ice creams, 6,000 meat pies, 10,600 hamburgers, 12,750 hot dogs and 42,000 serves of hot chips at the 2004 Event.

Ticket Options: To be part of the Lexmark Indy 300 action this year, there are a variety of options to suit everyone. One day to four-day General Admission tickets, Reserved Grandstand Seating, and Corporate Hospitality packages which can be tailored to meet the needs of all corporate clients, are available. Travel packages can also be arranged through Indy Travel.

Free Public Transportation: All Lexmark Indy 300 ticket holders can ‘Ride Free To Lexmark Indy 300’ on the Queensland Rail Citytrain and Surfside Buslines network on presentation of their Lexmark Indy 300 ticket. This is the first year of this initiative.

Television Coverage: Those that can’t make the Lexmark Indy 300 can watch the coverage on Network Ten, ‘Australia’s home of motorsport’, on the Saturday and Sunday. Network Ten will telecast the 2005 Lexmark Indy 300 on Saturday from 12 noon to 5pm and Sunday from 11am to 5pm. There will also be on track coverage by Indy FMTV, exclusive to patrons who attend the track.

Radio Coverage: Sea FM will be broadcasting live on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 4pm.
Triple M will also be broadcasting live on the Friday from 1pm to 4pm, Saturday from 12 noon to 6pm and Sunday from 12 noon to 5pm.

Media: There were approximately 750 journalists, photographers, camera operators and crew from around Australia and the world who attended the 2004 Event.