Embrace the spirit of GC600

THAT roar of high-powered motors echoing through the highrise canyons of Surfers Paradise and Main Beach this weekend stems from much more than a single event.

It is the culmination to this point of a long and important relationship the Gold Coast has had with motor racing. The city’s history of motorsport stretches back to 1954 when the Australian Grand Prix was staged on a street circuit in Southport.

Within a few years motor racing events and drag racing were held regularly at the track built on the flood plain at Carrara.

And within a few decades, street racing returned in the form of Indy.

Most of the city’s relationship with motor racing has been exciting, enjoyable and a thrilling spectacle.

Inevitably, given the big dollars involved and the high stakes of a high-risk sport, there has also been controversy and at times considerable friction.

The evolution of the Surfers Paradise event has tested the ability of the city, a succession of state governments, motorsport and the players involved to push through trying times to keep the racing a fixture on the Gold Coast’s impressive events calendar, from the early days of Indy and the turmoil of the passing of those open-wheel grand prix races through to the Supercars and the GC600.

The Gold Coast and Queensland need the motor racing. It is a major boost to the local and tourism economy, and the images of fast cars duelling through the streets of the tourism capital provide enormous promotional value for not just the racing but also the city as a destination.

The racing this weekend has become synonymous with the Gold Coast. The revhead fans love coming here.

The drivers and their teams, and the sponsors they represent, love everything about the event. The entertainment program and the sideline spectacles – including the highrise balcony parties – give the GC600 street track a flavour that occurs nowhere else.

Embrace this weekend. It’s there for locals as much as for the tens of thousands of fans who can’t wait each year to head to Surfers for the thrill of the sport and for the partying.

This is what an events city is all about. It’s what the Gold Coast does best.