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[bud]

[


If the Aussies were really such great F1 fans, then their numbers would be better and they wouldn't have to worry as much. So, the Aussies themselves don't really care that much, thus why not give that calendar slot to a country whose people really really want to host a GP?

compare Australian numbers to Malaysia or even Turkey and come back and use that as an excuse

[texasmr2]

I agree bud and I would think Australia to be in the top three along with the UK and Europe as far as the size of the F1 fan base.

[darwin dali]

I agree bud and I would think Australia to be in the top three along with the UK and Europe as far as the size of the F1 fan base.

This is ridiculous: Australia has 21 million people. Even if we are generous and assume 10% are F1 fans, those 2 millions will dwarf against numbers in any Asian country or even in the USA. Remember, F1 is the third biggest sports event in the world, so those numbers have to come from somewhere (Japan, Malaysia, India, China, South America, etc.)

[texasmr2]

Whatever the numbers maybe I still think Aussey land is one of the more hardcore F1 fan bases.

[bud]

F1 is about TV viewers bernie couldnt give a toss about the gate figures!

Melbourne has a populous of about 3 million Australia is a big country its not right in driving distance to one another! 8 hour drive from Adelaide to Melbourne, sheesh would have passed all of Europe by that! not everyone can afford to fly and pay for accomodation nor has the time!
so dont use the Australian population as any relevance! in that case how pathetic were the US GP 300 Million people didnt even go

i rekn its stupid to use the gate figures as any relevance because like i said Australia gets more people through the gates than Turkey and Malaysia so why not declare them to lose the GP

besides do you think Australians will want to tune into a sport which says their time zone is inappropriate to the superior European peoples??

[8-ball]

This whole thing is about money. Business sense says that melbourne's time is up but if Bernie doesn't want to alienate a set of passionate fans who contribute a great deal to his fat pockets then the Aussie GP is a must

[texasmr2]

They should bring back the Adelaide circuit!

[f1ea]

I agree the whole issue is about money.
But the way I see it is that it is money that has very little to do with how many attend; because no matter how many fans go through the gates, the event has to be subsidized by local governments, and hence their tax payers... Now, the true issue is: a) do the PEOPLE of these countries wish to spend their taxes in F1 or b) would they rather have F1 to be sustainable in itself.

In countries of Europe and apparently Australia as well, where the people have more to say about how the governments invest their money... they tend to choose the second option. In less developed societies, where governments more or less get away with whatever they want for the sake of some cameras and spotlight... the governments lean towards the first. And this is exactly what Bernie is looking for: He is looking for the taxpayers in host countries to subsidise HIS enterprise.

A solution could be to reduce the load on host countries, by sharing the costs between all the parties involved. Something like introducing the budget cap for the teams, but then assigning a separate pool with resources coming from the F1 teams, sponsors, revenues from F1 merchandise, local governments etc... to sustain the events.

Within this frame of working, I don't think the governments would have much trouble holding the event at night or at whatever time, because the costs would be shared.

[bud]

well put Ea

[AKR]

well put Ea

Adelaide, the BIG country town.

[darwin dali]

Seems to be secured until 2015:

Melbourne

[f1ea]

Seems to be secured until 2015

That's nice
I like Melbourne. And they didn't have to make it an expensive night race... so i'm glad they were able to find mid-ground.

Bud, you can almost un-cross your fingers now

[McLaren Fan]

They should bring back the Adelaide circuit!

I agree. I loved Adelaide. There wasn't a hell of a lot of overtaking, but people know my views on that issue anyway, but there was something about the circuit that made it exciting. Melbourne, however, is a pretty good track as well. If what DD says turns out to be true, I'll be more than chuffed. Also, I wonder how they managed to thrash the deal out, particularly regarding the time the race starts at.

[Rivelution]

Melbourne is set to retain its Formula One Grand Prix until 2015.

A deal is expected to be signed off with Grand Prix bosses within days, extending Melbourne's contract by five years, News Limited reports.

A verbal agreement has been reached and a senior government source confirmed the race would stay in Melbourne, saying an announcement was "imminent".

"We haven't signed the deal but we're going to quite soon," the source said.

Melbourne has been in danger of losing the Grand Prix after the race racked up losses of up to $160 million in the past 12 years amid speculation organisers were seeking a more lucrative host offshore.

The new deal is expected to include a later timeslot - around 5pm - to accommodate European television audiences.

But the government has again ruled out a night race.

F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone had pushed for a night timeslot to save the Melbourne race, threatening to take the event to India, Russia or Korea if local organisers refused.

Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said the timeslot was non-negotiable.

"We have ruled out a night race and that is not negotiable," he said.

"This is a good event for the state. It's one we want to keep and we'll be working hard to ensure that it does remain here in Melbourne in the years ahead."

http://news.smh.com.au/sport/f1-to-stay-in-melbourne-until-2015-20080615-2qpz.html

[McLaren Fan]

That sounds like a good compromise to me. Europeans, who, let's face it, make up 90% of the viewers, will be able to watch the Grand Prix at a reasonable hour, people will be able to attend the Grand Prix in Australia and watch it at a decent hour, and the Australian Grand Prix stays.

Part of me thinks Ecclestone didn't really want to get rid of the Australian Grand Prix, for he was pretty adamant about having it as a night race, and didn't seem too keen on the idea of a compromise such as this, at least for a while.