NOW WE’RE MOTOR CITY

THIS weekend is about much more than motor racing.

Without doubt the GC600 has turned the Gold Coast into rev heads’ heaven for motorsport fans locally, across Australia and overseas.

It is a deserved reputation, but this thrilling event has not simply evolved.

It is the culmination of development of myriad aspects that make the three-day event the success it has become.

It is also the culmination of mountains of hard work, enormous vision and a fair amount of angst over the years as the racing has moved through phases of development and reinvention, from open-wheel Indycars to the Supercars that now roar through the highrise canyons of Surfers Paradise and Main Beach.

Along with the spectacle of the various motor races come all sorts of entertainment, dining and bar experiences, and a host of celebrities, characters and ordinary punters who, like race day crowds enjoying the sport of kings, rub shoulders in a shared atmosphere of excitement.

That is enough reason for the Gold Coast to host this amazing weekend.

But the benefits do not stop there. All those visitors, all those racing teams and all those hungry and thirsty fans generate at least $40 million for the local economy.

Observers suggest that all going well, Supercars Australia and a program jampacked with action and entertainment could push attendances through the 200,000 mark across the three days.

This weekend will be an important trial run for the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games too.

The light rail proved its worth last year. If fans are sensible, they will be using it and a vast fleet of buses to reach the precinct this weekend.

Games organisers, police, firies, security and paramedics will also have a chance once more to study procedures and finetune strategies to be used when massive crowds fill the streets around Games venues in April.

Gold Coasters should embrace this weekend. It’s what our tourism industry is all about and it is for locals to enjoy as much as for all the thousands who are heading here to our events city.

This is what the Gold Coast does best.