Australia offers later start

Organisers offer 5pm start time for next year

Last updated: 10th March 2008

ron walker australian grand prix organiser 10/3/2008

Walker: Compromise

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Australian Grand Prix organisers have offered to start next year's race later in a bid to appease Bernie Ecclestone and secure its long-term future.

Ron Walker, chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, said that the 2009 Australian Grand Prix would start at 5:00 pm in an attempt to satisfy Formula One supremo Ecclestone.

Ecclestone has said that Melbourne will lose its grand prix after the current contract expires in 2010 unless organisers agree to stage the race at night, thus boosting European television audiences.

But Walker said that the Victoria state government, which backs the race, could not meet the estimated AUS $60 million (US $38 million) cost of running it under floodlights.

Therefore, in an attempt to reach a compromise, Walker has offered to cater for a race that would start some 90 minutes later than Sunday's season-opener.

"Let's clear the air and say that compromise is the art of good business, and we have made a huge compromise in terms of what Mr Ecclestone wants," Walker told a press conference.

"I think Mr Ecclestone is a very fair person actually and probably one of the greatest sports promoters in the world today and he understands how we run the sport.

"I believe we've gone a long way to appeasing Mr Ecclestone's aims to increase the TV audiences worldwide and I believe we will achieve that by the 5:00 pm start.

"All this can be achieved without any additional infrastructure costs."

Discussion

Ecclestone is expected to discuss the issue of holding a night race with Victorian premier John Brumby over the next week.

Walker also claimed that the nature of the Albert Park venue itself made it impossible to stage the Australian GP under lights.

"We've got 300 hectares (740 acres) of land here," he continued.

"It's just not lighting of the track here, it's lighting the whole park to protect our patrons."

Ecclestone wants Australia to fall in line with Singapore, which will stage Formula One's first-ever night race on September 28th this year.

But Walker said the situation in Singapore did not compare, adding: "It's different because they are doing a night race in the city of Singapore itself."

Race organisers have already moved the start time for Sunday's race from its traditional time of 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm (0430GMT) so more European fans can watch live coverage.