Just as the V8’s return to Perth motorsport fans are faced with the possibility of not only losing the F1 event but also the MotoGP is on shaky ground.
Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle is said to have upset F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone when he questioned the value of the event. Which may be just one man’s opinion as let us not forget that it was Melbourne who whipped it out from under the feet of Adelaide to help lend weight to Victoria’s claim that it was the “sporting capitol of Australia.”
The big issue with International sporting events such as these two events that frequently gets overlooked, and shows just how insular our state governments are, is that outside of Australia they are seen as Australian events. It is the Australian Grand Prix, The Australian Open, the Australian MotoGP, yes they are held in Melbourne and on Phillip Island but that to the outside world, to whom these events are beamed to, is in the main irrelevant.
There are huge benefits hosting events such as these, and they do help showcase individual states and cities, but we should never lose sight of the fact that they are national events that we as a nation should be proud to host them and do all we can to cling onto them. There are plenty of nations who would love to host an event on the major sporting calendar. Australia is lucky that is hosts so many, and the economic benefits would soon be realised after it moved elsewhere. To win back such events is going to cost twice as much as continuing to host them, so let us hope that commonsense prevails and both parties can be placated to ensure Australia remains on the circuit.
