SUPERCARS legend Russell Ingall once clipped a wall on the streets of Surfers Paradise because he was distracted by balcony nudity.

“We were a support race to the Indy Cars,” Ingall says when asked to reflect on his favourite Gold Coast memories.

“We were parked up the back corner near the ANA Hotel (now Mantra on View) and you had to drive your car to the pits. You could do it without your helmet on.

“The sights we used to see ... that’s when the Gold Coast race was pretty loose.

“I was driving for Larry Perkins, and I never told him this, but I nearly tore a left front (panel) off the car because I was looking up at a balcony and there were all these good sorts giving me a bit of a cheer and not wearing much else.

“I looked down and there was a bloody wall there. I just scraped the wall. I nearly crashed the thing on the warm-up lap going to the grid.

“That’s the good thing about the joint. It’s a great party atmosphere and so much different to going to some of the permanent circuits where it’s all about the racing.

“You’re in the middle of party central here. It’s a pretty cool joint.”

That’s just one of the many unique stories the Gold Coast has provided throughout its motor racing history.

The Gold Coast Indy 300 kicked off in 1991, bringing world class open-wheel racing to the Glitter Strip.

The event was rarely without controversy as support from different levels of government wavered at times.

As the Indy Cars started to lose their lustre, V8 Supercars were promoted from a non-championship support race to a points event.

In 2009 the event fell to its knees after the A1GP went into liquidation and could not race at the Gold Coast, forcing Supercars to add more races to rescue the weekend.

The Indy Cars never returned, but Supercars has since flourished with the Gold Coast 600, being hosted this weekend, now attracting nearly 200,000 fans annually.

“It’s good we’re the main game now, but back in the Indy Car days they were cool,” Ingall said.

“They were out of control. They were seriously fast.

“It was good having one of the best categories in the world here as well.

“Since we took over as the main race the thing has just taken off. It’s so popular.”

Ingall, 54, is one of Supercars’ greatest drivers and biggest characters.

He first raced at Bathurst in 1994 then entered the category fulltime in 1996, the same year crowd favourite Craig Lowndes became a permanent fixture.

Ingall, the 2005 championship winner, has watched the category evolve over more than two decades and believes the current crop are missing one key element.

“What’s lost and will continue to be lost with the eras is personalities,” he said.

“The current guys are very good drivers but they don’t realise how important it is to have rivalries on and off the track like myself and Mark Skaife.

“We hated each other. It was serious, it wasn’t put on or a show.

“That’s what it was about. We both wanted to win so badly so it was game on.

“There needs to be more of that. More hip and shoulders like in the NRL.

“The young guys should look at how fierce we were as competitors and make it known.

“If you don’t like someone, tell them you don’t like them.”

Ingall and Skaife’s rivalry famously exploded at Eastern Creek in 2003.

Ingall took Skaife out of a race, ruining his championship hopes, then swerved at his rival as Skaife gave him a gobful from the side of the track.

In 2005, Skaife told Ingall he “drove like a girl” and last year vowed he would never forgive Ingall for that incident.

The duo are now commentary partners on Fox Sports, but Ingall admitted the relationship is still strained.

“It’s been three years, it’s coming good but it’s a work in progress,” he said.

“We’re working on our relationship. We’re still in the therapy stage.”