Premier Speedway Club yesterday announced it would stage its prestigious The Standard Grand Annual Sprintcar Classic and the Lucas Oils Australian Sprintcar Championship on consecutive weekends in January.

The club had previously proposed to hold the Classic on January 29 and 30 and the national title on February 4 and 5.

But general manager David Mills said changes to scheduling along the east coast of Australia meant both events would be shifted forward a week and run in school holidays.

He said holding both events, the biggest two on the sport's calendar, in the holiday period would ensure tourists would flock to the city.

Mills said the club had contacted accommodation houses around the district as soon as the possibility of bringing the races forward emerged to ensure people who had already booked in anticipation of the events were not greatly impacted.

"Every motel on our website has been contacted and they have assisted us and contacted those who may have made bookings," Mills said.

"They didn't seem to think it would cause major problems. For us, every box had been ticked.

Everything was positive (about changing the dates) except the inconvenience we may have caused some people. We expect there may be a backlash but the benefits of running the two events in the school holiday period outweigh that hiccup. "

Mills said the change of dates would also have a positive impact on the Classic. Its original date would have fallen after the World of Outlaws series, the unofficial world championship, had started in America.

"If we had remained January 29 and 30, those numbers of Americans could have become six to eight (down from 11) very easily. This will help make the Classic a big event again like this year."

Holding the Classic and title on consecutive weekends means as many as 60 sprintcar teams and thousands of fans will remain in the region on holidays, pumping millions into the economy.