According to a report in today’s Sunshine Coast Daily newspaper, several Queensland shires are getting excited over the prospect of the 2008 Rally Australia potentially being held in their shires.
After the event’s organizers, IQG Rally Events released a broad media release on Monday that the event was likely to be held within a 50km radius of Brisbane, Maroochy councilor Greg Fahey was reported as saying it would be a huge opportunity (the running of the event in Maroochy shire) that council would pursue with the organizers if necessary.
“To get a round of the World Rally Championship here would be astronomical as far as tourism goes,” the Sunshine Coast Daily reported him as saying.
Meanwhile, Caloundra councilor Anna Grosskreutz said she would be happy to see the hills and valleys of Glasshouse included in race plans, should it have the support of residents.
Details of the 2008 event, which it is planned will replace Rally Australia in Perth, were very sketchy in the media release earlier this week, most observers wondering why so few details of the plan for the rally were announced at all.
Speculation is rife as to the whereabouts of the proposed rally base, and how and why a permanent headquarters facility would be built on Brisbane’s outer perimeters.
While annual funding of between $10 and $20 million is believed to have been provided to the event while it ran in Western Australia over the past 19 years, IQG Rally Events have indicated that government funding will not be relied upon for the running of their 2008 event.
RallySport Magazine will continue to follow the story on a regular basis.
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