V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane says concerns over the future of the Townsville 400 event are baseless and ill-informed.

The Queensland Labor party released a statement on Saturday claiming the Townsville race, which has been on the V8s calendar since 2009, was under threat.

Opposition leader Annastacia Palaszczuk said she wanted premier Campbell Newman to commit to funding beyond 2013, when the current contract expires.

But Cochrane says such a commitment would be extraordinary with most events not entering negotiations on extensions until the final nine months of existing deals.

Cochrane also said it was unlikely another north Queensland centre such as Mackay or Cairns would be successful if they tried to take the event away from Townsville.

“They would like the event if it got moved,” Cochrane told AAP.

“But our preference is to keep the event right here, the state government’s preference is to keep the event right here and the Townsville city council’s preference is keep the event right here.

“My personal opinion, and that’s all it is at the moment, I think it’s highly unlikely that it will leave Townsville. It’s been a huge success here.”

Cochrane said while the V8s calendar is reviewed each year and a withdrawal of state funding would put events in jeopardy with other contenders waiting in the wings, it seemed highly unlikely Townsville or the Gold Coast 600 would be those in danger of dropping off the schedule.

“Both these events drop enormous economic dollars into the region for the week,” he said.

“This government’s got a huge commitment to reviving tourism in Queensland. I can’t imagine in my wildest imagination they will start that revival by getting rid of two of the three biggest events for Queensland tourism.”