Melbourne Grand Prix night race proposal axed
March 10, 2008 by George Skentzos
The fate of the Melbourne Grand Prix may be sealed after the Victorian government announced Australians would not be footing the bill for a night race.
F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone had insisted the race be held at night so that television viewers in Europe wouldn’t have to watch the opening race of the season during the middle of the night.
“The only way the race could stay in Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, is if it is staged during the night so that the public in Europe can watch it,” Ecclestone says.
The AGPC and the Victorian state government have already told Ecclestone that they would not fund a night race, which would require floodlighting the Albert Park circuit at their own expense.
“At the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live. That can’t carry on. The alternative is to pull the race completely from Australia,”
The aging F1 boss had said proposals for a night race were scrapped following talks with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, however a statement released by the PM’s office deny the conversation ever took place, suggesting 77-year-old Ecclestone may have been referring to talks with Victorian Premier John Brumby. (Thanks to TonyB)
“I’ve spoken to Kevin Rudd and he’s told me it would cost too much to re-stage the race, so I guess that’s it. We won’t be going to Australia for too much longer,”
The 2008 F1 Grand Prix season will kick-off in Melbourne on the 14th, 15th and 16th of March for potentially the last time.
Print it: 
watch the news boys and girls, the AGP people are announcing a compromise plan later this arvo which is believed to have ecclestones approval. The event isn’t even close to dead just yet
Thats right Bernie, because it’s ridiculous for the majority of Asia to be expected to stay up for the race…
Hmmmm…
just checked and the AGP today announced that the event will move to a twilight race starting at 5.00pm which avoids all the drama that ecclestone was on about, so the event isn’t “dead” at all… maybe caradvice should have researched this a little more before posting…
now would Bernie do that for us when the race is in europe so that we can watch it during the day on a weekend like hell!
laurie
Richo, organisers have said they will “seek a 5:00pm start for the 2009 race”, which does not have the approval of Ecclestone as yet, nor does it meet his terms for a night race.
Kevin Rudd has axed plans for a night race which is what the article concerns, CarAdvice has done its research.
I have no idea where you take your quote “dead” from as it is not mentioned in the article.
Fair enough George, i must have missunderstood the intent of the article
although, news of a compromise has been floating around all day.. its surprising car advice didn’t know about this or care enough to include it in the article…..
or if CarAdvice had bothered to check other news stories they would know that Rudd has had nothing to do with this issue – its between F1 and the Victorian government
the funny thing is, there is actually positive news about the AGP around today, yet caradvice still runs a negative article about it? hmmm
TonyB, this news comes after Kevin Rudd spoke directly with Bernie Ecclestone. This is a direct quote from Ecclestone to the Daily Mail.
“I’ve spoken to Kevin Rudd and he’s told me it would cost too much to re-stage the race, so I guess that’s it. We won’t be going to Australia for too much longer,”
Richo, the compromise is old news, and has been rejected by Ecclestone several times.
George, you are relying on what Ecclestone has said and what a newspaper has printed. The PM’s office has issed a statement earlier today saying saying Rudd has had no discussions with Ecclestone and suggesting Ecclestone was confusing Rudd with the Victorian Premier (and we all know politicans always tell the truth). I too had previously heard the 5PM compromise was previously rejected.
TonyB, any chance you could link me to that statement? I’ll admit I just presumed Bernie would’ve known who he was talking to, and took his quote for face value.
Never mind, found it, I’ll edit the article appropriately.
“At the moment, it is ridiculous that people are asked not to sleep in order to see it live”
ohhhhhh really!?
Bernie is simply using the lighting issue as an excuse to do what he really wants to do – sell the event to someone willing to pay more money then Australia is currently paying to host the event.
For shame you money hungry power freak.
the article states that the race in 2008 is its last…no that is very wrong, the contract expires in 2 years, so if the race leaves melbourne, 2010 will be the last not this year…a little more research wouldnt go astray rather than jumping the gun
Nick, that one is in there just to be dramatic.
George, quoting falsehoods “just to be dramatic” is a journalistic license to say “if there’s no news it’s OK to invent some, even if we know it’s an outright lie”
Very, very poor, in my view. Publishing a known false statement. What else does the site lie about???
Reckless1, the statement is satirical rather factual, spurred on by the fact it is only “potential” and riding on the notion that the F1 boss doesn’t even know who he is entering into agreements with.
Sorry George but this article is really quite off… You added that “just to be dramatic”? Thats pure sensationalism and completely untrue considering that its quite well known that the contract runs untill 2011!
you know you shouldn’t report based on what other people have reported right? You should always do your own research, not rely on the research of others, thats just straight up textbook journilism!
Fox Sports today has done a thorough report on the issue that lays all the facts out without any senseationalism, maybe car advice should use this article as a guide of how to properly report on an issue? I’ve usually found car advice to be a good source of information and it has increasingly become a more professional journilistic source however this particular article throws car advice straight back into amature status in my mind…
George, the only way we “know” that Ecclestone stated Rudd rather than Brumby is from yet another journalist publishing what could just as easily be inventions.
Another publication then re-publishes the invented “truth” and so on.
So every time a lie is published, it is explaind as being satirical, and only a potential truth??
Still very poor form, no matter how you try to get out of it. Like a kid with its hand in the biscuit barrel, steadfastly denying it.
George you can justify it all you like but when someone reads the article how are they supposed to know that YOUR comments are riding on the notion that the F1 boss downs’t know who he is entering into agreements with? Your stretching a pretty bloody long bow in trying to justify your article mate but i’m sorry but this really is something you should probably remove from the site all together because its all pretty amature… I mean how much research have you actually done into this? No quoting selectively out of REAL journilists articles doesn’t count… Ron Walker held a press conference today, if you wanted to report on the issue perhaps you should have attended….
Oh, I forgot. When I was doing Schools Board English, my teacher explained the dangers of plagiarism. It was expected that we would certainly research other people’s work, but if we used any of it it was to be acknowledged.
I’m sure a Journalism graduate would have had a lesson about plagiarism, but since I’m not such a person, I’m only guessing that professional standards do exist.
“The 2008 F1 Grand Prix season will kick-off in Melbourne on the 14th, 15th and 16th of March for potentially the last time.” now that reads pretty clearly to me… i dont see any satire in that what so ever? I dont think any normal person would… and your attempts George to say that it was satirical come off as nothing more then pathetic. Sorry but it does
Are you guys for real. Who gives a toss about F1 racing these days. A national Kart championship is more exciting than any current F1 joust.
F1 died when Mansell, Prost, Senna…. were not around or retired.
Let me know when F1 is as exciting as Moto GP is and I’ll give it another try.
If F1 costs the public one cent – I say scrap the skank of a race.
Bah, I would be happy to have my taxes pay for the F1 race, its the best form of motor racing known to man!
I do, however, object to the tobacco advertising.
The AKA Kart Nationals …..
The only thing exciting about them is whether those who are cheating will get pinged. Usually they don’t, or if they are, they drag the case through the courts (yes, believe it or not the cheats do exactly that) for so long no-one cares anyway.
Funny thing is, no-one cares anyway, to start with :)
Anthony mate bugger off, just cos you don’t like F1 doesn’t mean no one else can. Did you actually watch any races last year? last year was fantastic! Every bit as good as the mansel and prost days mate… by your own admission you don’t even watch it so how the hell would you know? exactly you dont…
You lot know i’m a pohm living “up-over” and i’m feeling guilty that Ecclestone is pandering to us this way. I personally wouldn’t get up the watch the race early but when they re-run it later on TV I would. Hey most have recorders anyway!
I have no time what-so-ever for Ecclestone his selfish greed is killing the sport and losing the Australian GP is pathetic. Its all about money, someone in Russia is obviously offering to pay a small fortune to run a race there. The British Grandprix is only guaranteed for a year or two then it goes. The day Ecclestone sells his stake and gets out of the management the better.
Good riddence to the F1 if it takes that pompus prick Ecclestone away with it.
I say bring on some good competitive touring car events or even better a GT500 series downunder.
Personally I love F1, and would love to see them move the european races forward about 3 hours, so that i dont have to stay up so late on a sunday night. I do need my beauty sleep.
If bernie sees part of F1s future is in china and india (2 most populous and economically growing nations), wouldn’t a race in a similar timezone (ours) to theirs be a good idea
?
Agree that George’s article shocked me probably a fraction more than it should have given what some of the other guys are saying here, and that it should still run in Oz until at least 2010.
But it doesn’t change the fact that, assuming the quotes are correct of Bernie’s to the Daily Mail, he is acting like a right F*wit.
Tom Jakovljevic said it right (above). How can Bernie hav anything OTHER than ulterior motives in mind when speaking to the press, or making any other statement. The man is a money making machine, and sadly it could come at the loss of fans of the sport itself.
Anthony if you don’t like F1 you don’t have to watch it, but plainly, other people in their millions, do. Particularly in Asia, as someone mentioned, much of which is in a near-identical time zone to us, and, in an apparent contradiction with Bernie’s own motives, would appear to be putting Asia (and those of us in Oceania) on the outer, when this is clearly the flourishing market for F1 – it is clearly not the US – just look at the results of the Indianapolis F1 in ‘05.
Sorry, Bernie’s words just reek of a self-obsessed, childish w@nker.
Rant over
Godspeed – your right their is an alterior motive, its called applying force through the media.. bernie is a master of this he has been threatening to pull out of the silverstone event for the last 10 years and guess what! He still hasn’t done it! This is a well known ecclestone tactic, make out that he will pull out of an event through the media to put pressure on the promotor to agree to his terms! The funny thing is that bernie usually caves before the promoter does because everyone is so aware of how bernie operates by now! Well, everyone except car advice clearly…
If Sadelaide GovCo had the balls, they would put there hand up and offer a night GP.
Alas, with gutless labour scum running the place, it aint going to happen.
Fancy the Euros complaining about having to watch the GP late at night, its what C9 and C10 have fed us for decades
Cheers
F-0
Bernie just wants more money. Its that bloody simple. He knows Russia, India and those sorts of places will pay much more for a race so wants to go there. But Bernie if you want more money you have to provide a better product. F1 is f***ing boring as bat s**t right now. hence why crowd numbers were down last year (plus the fact that the V8’s weren’t there)
I say get rid of F1 if Bernie isnt happy, how about have 2 Indycar races in Oz instead, 1 in Melbourne at the start of the year and also Surfers at the other end. Much more entertaining racing than F1 with more possible winners. Plus Indy has always run at a profit. Even when Champcar was in its death throws.
Or even A1 taking over, its a much better spectacle than F1 at the moment.
My only gripe is we lowly Australians have had to put up with going to bed around 2-3am every 2 weeks watching F1 events abroad.. What – is it too much to ask our European counterparts to get their arses out of bed ONE race a year?
Come on – where’s the equity? We’ve put up with it for long enough and dont complain (much :) )
It would be a shame for Australia to lose this event…I know we have Indy, V8s, Moto GP and a host of other world class races to keep our racing apetites wet, however F1 whether you love it or not is the benchmark of world racing.
how does bernie comb his hair while being able to hide the horns?
HA ha, Nick – have you seen his hair? It never sees a barber or a comb :)