Albert Park...

[gomick]

read a recent interview with alan jones who said that once the f1 contract runs out at albert park in 2010/11 then a1 should jump in - jones' reckons that f1 wont renew its contract with albert park...

[Kiwi3]

He also said A1GP should jump at Surfers Paridise when Champcar fell over, before the IRL moved to protect it. I get the feeling there isn't really any substance to the posibility of this happening.

They would need a very strong case to put to the Victorian state government and A1 Team Australia hasn't been one of the most successful outfits to date either on or off the track so they don't give me much confidence. I'd love to be proved wrong.

[Malfunction Junction]

A1 would be far better off at PI. It's a much more evocative setting and certainly different to what you get in most places. I can't for the life of me understand why Fox isn't all over this one.

[Alan52]

Fox is not "all over" anything when it comes to staging events at Phillip Island.He hires the track out to the Victorian government,V8 Supercars etc who stage the meetings themselves.As for A1 at Albert Park it is simply laughable to think that A1 can generate income to make the $20-25 million set up cost of this venue viable.After Bernie has finished screwing them over I don't think the Victorian government will ever want to hear the words car racing again.

[Kiwi3]

Philip Island would be a good idea after F1 leaves actually. Wouldn't want it in Victoria while F1 is around as being in F1's shadow doesn't help the development of the series at all.

[NewsStalker]

Considering Australia aren't on the calendar for next season, it will be even harder to get anyone to promote them back in Australia then.

[275 GTB-4]

Originally Posted by NewsStalker

Considering Australia aren't on the calendar for next season, it will be even harder to get anyone to promote them back in Australia then.

If thats true...its really sad...when is this country going to get a consistent, determined and well ordered approach to hosting world Motorsport events.

Petty state and even thugs in individual councils are dragging us back two steps for every one forward

[Kiwi3]

If I were A1GP I'd be sniffing around in Australia for a new franchise holder who can do a better job of running a competitive team and promoting the series there. There are multi-millionaires lining up to start A-League football teams including one who has large business interests in China, plus the Australian Trade Commission ran events around the Socceroos World Cup qualifier just played in Dubai. Well, the China A1GP holder is well connected and there were a lot of Chinese governments officials in the Shanghai Pangaea club. You could do a lot worse if you want to promote Australian business interests in the Asia Pacific than running the A1GP franchise.