So long Surfers?

It appears that after 18 years, the race that was once hailed as the Jewel in the Crown will no longer be part of the landscape or future of American Open Wheel. Premier Anna Bligh revealed in an interview with The Bulletin (an Australian publication) what many here have long suspected; that negotiations with the Indy Racing League had come to an end with neither side able to reach a suitable, compatible agreement on both funding and event dates.

"The date issue would have meant major track construction right in the middle of the January school holidays, that is peak tourist season for the Gold Coast. It was an insurmountable clash of priorities," said Blith. "The Government invests in this event because we want to foster and increase tourism. To have track construction in peak season would have defeated the purpose."

Bligh also revealed that a new five-year deal had been reached with the A1GP to fill the void in the annual festival. Not surprising as the spokesperson for A1GP was very public about the desire of the series to take over the October date should an agreement not be met with IndyCar.

"We have reached in-principle agreement with the A1GP and expect to finalize contractual arrangements within the next week," said Blith. "The A1GP is a world-class racing series with an action-packed race calendar that includes Great Britain, China, Mexico, Portugal, Malaysia, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Africa and The Netherlands. This race has an international reputation and because the cars are competing on behalf of their countries instead of on behalf of a sponsor I think it is a real opportunity to expand the fan base"

"Our motor racing carnival generates around $60 million for our economy each year and in these tough times it provides a terrific boost for the local economy and community."

There has been no official word from IndyCar nor Team Australia/KV Technology.

OpenWheelWorld.net will stay on top of this developing story.

Source: Goldencoast.com.au

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