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[88mph]

send it to Perth

[Narcil]

Bathurst - oh yeah baby, move over Nurburgring, Bathurst would make a totally awesome F1 race

That it would be, I wonder if it would even work for F1 (if they beefed up all the run off). All the ups and downs across the top of the mountain would play havoc on the F1 Aerodynamics, I can imagine a field of 24 F1 cars coming down through the dipper on the 1st lap, and one of them puts it in the wall (mayhem)

[Robert12010]

it would be a shame if melbourne lost its f1 race, it always been on the calendar since ive been following the sport, and it would be a shame if australia lost its race, considering its meant to be a ''world championship''

Although I'd like to see Melbourne kept on the calendar; it's a false economy to make such massive losses each and every year, 14 years and the event has never turned a profit or broken even, I'm sure that the money paid out to FOM could be better served in other areas of the city, it's Bernie's greed that is killing off the traditional non-Tilke-dromes!

So he can buy his daughters 60 odd million pound houses
and such like

and sadly guys your right

[bud]

Bathurst - oh yeah baby, move over Nurburgring, Bathurst would make a totally awesome F1 race

That it would be, I wonder if it would even work for F1 (if they beefed up all the run off). All the ups and downs across the top of the mountain would play havoc on the F1 Aerodynamics, I can imagine a field of 24 F1 cars coming down through the dipper on the 1st lap, and one of them puts it in the wall (mayhem)

Im sure they would have enough downforce to keep them on track.

[RascasseRebel]

I thought it was Melbourne that always used to win the award for best circuit as voted for by the FIA. (best driver and spectator facilities, best organisation, etc). I have been lucky enough to go to Melbourne twice to see the F1 spectacle in 1996 and 1997 and the entire experience was quite stunning on both occasions. A major benefit to the city is that Albert Park has been transformed from the once rather dodgy area it was pre-F1.

[bud]

The same awards Adelaide won? Didn't stop it from losing the race. Melbourne has many events, maybe too many for their own greedy good. They poached the race away from Adelaide and now they don't want it.

A major benefit to the city is that Albert Park has been transformed from the once rather dodgy area it was pre-F1.

Dodgy area pre F1?

[Robert12010]

The same awards Adelaide won? Didn't stop it from losing the race. Melbourne has many events, maybe too many for their own greedy good. They poached the race away from Adelaide and now they don't want it.

A major benefit to the city is that Albert Park has been transformed from the once rather dodgy area it was pre-F1.

Dodgy area pre F1?

well im not sure its that they dont want it, i think theyre looking from a finance view

[RascasseRebel]

Yes, agree with you Bud, a shame Adelaide lost the race.

What I meant about the 'dodgy area' remark was I understood Albert Park was quite rundown, with many homeless and drunks hanging around there. Since the F1 circus came to town, the park has had some major re-landscaping, the lake has been cleaned up and the roads improved. Apologies if all that is incorrect!

[bud]

Im not from Melbourne but I always thought Albert Park was a pretty well off area, Not far from St Kilda.

[texasmr2]

Whatever happen's with Melbourne I hope we don't loose the Aussie GP that would be sad.

[FRAFPDD]

i hope not, but it looks more then likely, its events like this that really make me feel like bernie deserves to be violated by a gimp. Hes just such a money grabbbing whore, let melbourne have a gp for a fiver or something.......

[darwin dali]

i hope not, but it looks more then likely, its events like this that really make me feel like bernie deserves to be violated by a gimp. Hes just such a money grabbbing whore, let melbourne have a gp for a fiver or something.......

Hm, I have yet to encounter a whore who doesn't grab the money... And before you answer: no, gfs and wives don't count - that's another profession plus they grab your money as well, just a bit more emotionally

[What's Burning?]

i hope not, but it looks more then likely, its events like this that really make me feel like bernie deserves to be violated by a gimp. Hes just such a money grabbbing whore, let melbourne have a gp for a fiver or something.......

Supply and demand.. the price will only go down when there aren't two host locations willing to fight for the one slot opened by a venue that won't pay Bernie's prices.

It would be interesting to see a list of GPs that are in the black year after year... I'd guess Monaco, and perhaps Italy and the British GP, but even after last year's Spa race, they claimed they lost money!

[Four mules as one]

send it to Perth

I'd love for it to go to Perth, would give me a reason to go over there for the first time. Melbourne is okay but they have so many major sporting events I don't think they need F1 anymore. Same with Sydney, plus NSW is completely broke so no major money losses for them. I highly doubt they'll take it.

I hope either Perth or the Gold Coast on the Indy circuit at night. It would certainly put Perth on the world stage, plus its better for Bernie's European time schedule. But the way he's going I think Formula One may be dead in 10-15 years, its way too expensive to host a race. It needs to be simplfied but with all the push for green technologies I see the opposite happening.

If I was going to one race live for the year I'd go to the V8's at either Adelaide or Bathurst now cause the fans have access to the drivers, whereas in F1 the fans get very little from the drivers unless they're in the right place at the right time. And just like F1 the V8's are beautifully presented cars that are fast, colourful and loud and the atmosphere is awesome.

[Robert12010]

this is what the boss has to say about it all
Ron Walker, the boss of the Australian Grand Prix, has labelled as “sad” the suggestion by Melbourne’s lord mayor that the city should drop its Formula 1 race when its contract ends in 2015.

Robert Doyle called the future of the popular Albert Park race into question over the weekend, suggesting that while the event had served the city well since 1996, it was now proving too big a burden for the taxpayer – estimating that by the final year of its deal the event would cost the state $70 million.

His comments have sparked debate in the Australian media and prompted Walker to defend the race, as well as criticising Doyle.

“This is an annual debate now and it’s a sad thing for the mayor of a major capital city to come out so publicly against a major event like the grand prix,” Walker told Melbourne’s 3AW radio station.

“It’s still the largest sporting event on a single-day basis in Australia; it’s larger than the Grand Slam final, it’s largely than the Melbourne Cup, it’s larger than the tennis and it gets a huge overseas audience.

“It’s a free-to-air audience as opposed to a cable audience that most of the others enjoy. It is a huge promoter for Melbourne.”

Rumours over the future of the loss-making event have swirled for several years but in 2008 organisers signed a contract extension to the middle of the decade after a new later start time for the race was agreed with Bernie Ecclestone.

Last year’s event had to be underwritten to the tune of $52 million but Walker argues that the wider economic benefits associated with having the race justify that spend.

“The capital cost of taking 30,000 tonnes of equipment into Melbourne park, putting it up, pulling it down, and then repairing the park costs about $26m a year,” he said.

“Now the government is spending about a billion dollars building a new tennis centre, refurbishing the old, adding to it etc etc…

“If you take the interest on that money alone….well there’s 50 or 60 million that they subsidise for tennis, plus all the other subsides they give.

“The government is suffering a deficit of about $52m a year for the grand prix, but on the other side of the ledger there’s an economic benefit of around $160m a year [for] all of Mr Doyle’s hotels, and for all of his restaurants, to do a very good trade.

“And of course then there’s the tax that’s collected at about $18m a year. So if you add that together on one side, and then if you compare it with the deficit on the other, it’s a huge profit for Melbourne.”

Walker – who added that the organising company had managed to make $6m worth of savings in capital costs last year – would imminently be meeting Victorian state premier Ted Baillieu to review costs ahead of the 2011 event in March.

The Herald Sun today reports that in that meeting Baillieu “demanded a radical restructure”, while the newspaper also suggests that job cuts and the scrapping of the annual gala ball could be on the agenda in order to keep losses below $50m.

"We look forward to the grand prix performing financially better than it has and we will be looking to make sure that happens," Baillieu was quoted as saying by The Age.

"I am confident we can reduce costs and we look forward to that happening."