V8 Supercars and motorcycles race at Queensland Raceway, run by the company Motorsports Queensland Pty Ltd, on Champions Way at Willowbank.

Motorsports Queensland has obtained a valuation of their track and buildings on the 54 hectares of land, which has been seen by Fairfax Media, showing the asset is worth $20.5 million.

Motorsports Queensland chief executive John Tetley said it has set aside a war chest to fight the council in court if they try to call in their lease.

"I have made it very clear to them that I have put a six-figure sum aside for the next four years to fight them in court if they try that," he said.

Motorsports Queensland is one of three companies that operate on land leased from the council, along with Willowbank Raceway, which runs Australian and international drag racing, and the Ipswich Karts Club, which runs national karting races.

The three motorsports organisations have run their sports at the site for 20 years.

The council believed the facilities were not up to scratch and needed modernising and sought to purchase them through a council-owned company, Ipswich Motorsport Precinct Pty Ltd.

Motorsports Queensland has a 30-year lease, which the council said was up for renewal in seven years.

Willowbank Racing has recently signed a further 57 years on its lease, while Ipswich Karts is understood to have a further four years on its lease.

Mr Tetley said the council wanted to take over the Willowbank motorsports precinct and run it through a private company.

"They want to take it over, so they can spend $200 million on some sort of grand statement which has very little relevance in the real world," he said.

"They want Bathurst of the North and that is just not the way motorsports would operate."

Mr Tetley said only one motorsports event in Australia, the Bathurst 500 at Mount Panorama, drew big crowds to the event itself.

Other events rely on television and broadcast rights, he said.

In July last year, then-Ipswich mayor Paul Pisasale announced Ipswich City Council announced plans to spend $220 million to upgrade the Queensland Raceways and the Willowbank Raceway.

Those plans were scaled back and re-announced last month as a $52.3 million expansion of the Queensland Raceway circuit, including a track expansion and new corporate facilities.

Mr Tetley, who has run Queensland Raceways since 1997, said he had "no idea" where the money would come from.

"You tell me," he said.

"They were talking about it being public money, but there is certainly no way you can think of making a motor racing venue that would make even one-tenth of that money."

Mr Tetley said the three organisations were angry because they had built up their assets with no funds from the council, however the Willowbank Raceway received some Queensland government funds to improve safety walls about a decade ago.

"By comparison, we have had nothing spent on our facility by the council," he said.

The council confirmed it intended to "redevelop the Willowbank motorsport precinct into an internationally recognised motorsport and events precinct".

"The current facilities at Queensland Raceway are not up to scratch," a council spokesman said in a statement.

"Significant expenditure is required to bring them up to current standards of safety and amenity.

"Currently, the facility benefits the operators of the lease.

"Council wants to see some of the income generated on the site reinvested in the facility to benefit current users, provide a better spectator experience and ensure long term commitments from major event providers."

The statement confirmed it had begun private commercial negotiations to acquire the Motorsports Queensland lease.

"It is disappointing Mr Tetley has broken that commercial negotiation process," the spokesman said.