Gold Coast Indy 300
The Gold Coast Indy 300 was an annual open-wheel motor race event that took place at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia from 1991 to 2008. The challenging 4.47-kilometre (2.78 mi) track, alongside a strip of beaches, had several fast sections and four chicanes. The event had various names during its history for sponsorship reasons; in its final year, it was known as the Nikon Indy 300.
| Surfers Paradise Street Circuit | |
| Race information | |
|---|---|
| Most wins (drivers) | Sébastien Bourdais (2) |
| Most wins (constructors) | Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing (6) |
| Circuit length | 4.47 km (2.79 miles) |
| Race length | 269.88 km (167.70 miles) |
| Laps | 60 |
| Last race (2008) | |
| Pole position | |
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| Podium | |
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| Fastest lap | |
The race debuted in 1991 on the CART Indy Car World Series calendar, the first race in series history held outside North America. Following the split between CART and the newly formed Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1996, CART continued to sanction the event until it folded after the 2003 season. From 2004 to 2007, the race was part of the Champ Car World Series, the successor to CART. Following the merger of the Indy Racing League and Champ Car World Series in February 2008 it was announced that the race would continue as an IndyCar Series event; however the race was omitted from the 2009 IndyCar Series season calendar, and subsequently dropped by the IndyCar Series completely.
In 2009 as part of the Q150 celebrations, the Gold Coast Indy 300 was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as an "event and festival".