German Car Zone

Monster · 07-04-2008, 03:09 AM

Quote:

Melbourne has retained the Australian Grand Prix until 2015 after defying a push by Formula One powers to stage a night race.

Victorian Premier John Brumby announced the grand prix would continue for the next seven years as a twilight event.

The deal was brokered with Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone in London on Thursday night, ending months of speculation Melbourne could lose the race after its contract expired in 2010.

Mr Ecclestone had said the race could only survive in Melbourne if it was held at night, to capitalise on European television audiences.

Mr Brumby said it took "persistence and persuasive argument" to talk him around.

"Seriously, this is a big win for the state ... this was a not-negotiable," he told reporters.

"I think there were a lot of people who said if we held firm we would lose the event.

"We held firm on that and we've retained the event and I think that's probably the biggest win, if you like, for the state.

"We've got the race, no artificial light, a twilight race ... good for us, good for the event, good for Albert Park and we still get a better starting time throughout Europe."

Under the new five-year contract, the race will start at 5pm, beginning from next year.

The timeslot means it will be televised in the UK at 7am local time.

Mr Brumby estimated the timeslot would attract hundreds of millions of extra television viewers.

The compromise was enough to win over Mr Ecclestone, who had been chasing more lucrative deals overseas.

Mr Brumby would not say how much the government paid in licence fees to keep the Grand Prix in Melbourne but he said it was a "good value for money outcome".

Last year the race suffered a loss of almost $35 million and losses were expected to top $40 million this year amid rising costs and poor ticket sales.

Mr Ecclestone said the timeslot was crucial to boosting television audiences overseas.

"I'm satisfied that the decision to move to a later start time for 2009 races is a win for television audiences in Europe and Asia, a win for Melbourne and a win for Formula One as a whole," he said in a statement.

Opponents of the event have vowed to fight on.

"It's wrong politically ... economically and environmentally," Save Albert Park president Peter Goad told AAP.

He said the decision was "irrational" and should "put the last nail in the coffin of the Brumby government".

"Financially the race, it's a disaster for the state."

Port Phillip Mayor Janet Cribbes said the council was "bitterly" disappointed with the move.

She said Albert Park represented 59 per cent of the open space available to Port Phillip residents, and the event made the park unavailable to them for a "large chunk" of the year.

"I know the government puts out that it puts Melbourne as an international destination ... but they should find something else that doesn't cost the taxpayers so much money," Ms Cribbes told AAP.

Combined losses for staging the 2008 GP in Melbourne were $40 million.

An auditor-general's report last year found the cost of the event outweighed the benefits.

Greens MP Sue Pennicuik said the government has missed a golden opportunity to consign the race to history.

"We have a crisis in our public transport system which could do with the millions of dollars that the government will spend over the next seven years to prop up this wasteful and outdated event," she said in a statement.

Chairman of the Victorian Major Events Company Sir Rod Eddington said the announcement helped secure pole position for Melbourne in the race to be the "world's ultimate sports city".

"On the world stage there are very few, if any, annual major events that deliver the global promotional muscle and local economic impact that a Formula One race provides for Melbourne," Sir Rod said in a statement.

"In concert with the Australian Open tennis, the Melbourne Winter Masterpieces series, the AFL grand final and the spring racing carnival, the Formula One Australian Grand Prix helps anchor Victoria's award-winning major events calendar," he added.

Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) spokesman Chris James said the announcement was "delightful" news for Melbourne's tourism and aligned industries.

"It will cement Melbourne's status in Australia as the events capital, and lock in television coverage of Melbourne," Mr James told AAP.

Mr James said the events industry was worth about $1.2 billion for the state, and the grand prix was an important component of that.

A spokesman for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation said chairman Ron Walker was overseas and unable to comment.

http://http://news.ninemsn.com.au/ar...aspx?id=591833

Fantastic news indeed.

PanterroR · 07-04-2008, 04:15 AM

Yep, fantastic news.

I love that circuit, it always makes me happy being the 1st race in calendar and reminds you that F1 season starts.

Family Guy · 07-05-2008, 01:16 AM

Awesome news!. But monster you have to be disapointed as sydney would of had a chance of getting the grand prix if Melbourne had not of retained it?

Monster · 07-05-2008, 05:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Family Guy

Awesome news!. But monster you have to be disapointed as sydney would of had a chance of getting the grand prix if Melbourne had not of retained it?

I think the current NSW government is absolutely hopeless, and the chances of them approving the funding required to convert the Eastern Creek raceway into a world class F1 track is almost impossible. They were talking about it, but Eastern Creek raceway is in the middle of no where and it is miles away from anything, the track layout is not very exciting as well. The Melbourne track is better.

I will indeed love to have the GP in Sydney, but as a F1 fan, I think Melbourne deserves their GP because it offers a better overall package than what Sydney has to offer.

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German Car Zone

Melbourne retains Australian GP