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Let's get a few figures straight.
The A$25-30 million quoted is the entire outgoing cost for the event. Build and take down circuit, management and promotion, organisation cost etc plus sundries and running the event administration all on top of the actuall race costs.
The A$11.8million is the subsidy put in by the Qld Government.
In past years approx A$1.6 million has come fro the event naming sponsor plus income from trackside advertising.
There is about A$600,000 in services supplied by the City Council but this doesn't appear in any event budget, and is fairly well buried in the City accounts.
The original sanction fee to be paid to VESA (V8SC) this year is "commercial in confidence"but VESA is the TV production company and recieves the right to broadcast fee from and any one else who shows it. Ch7 That is marketed through SEL Tony Cochranes company.
It would seem that the fee to be paid to A1GP was A$3.6 million, and he has already collected half. My understanding is that airfrieght and logistics was to be paid for by A1GP as they were back to backing with China.
In the Champ Car days the arrangement was that the event paid Airfrieght costs ex the US and fares for 7 personel per car, plus accommodation costs for the same amount of crew. In those days the sanction fee paid to CC was approaching A$2.5 million over and above the transport costs.
Probably that was similar to the arrangement offered to IRL. So it was turn up, most expenses paid and grab a share of about A$2.5 million. Of course at the time it was being discussed the A$ was worth about 67c US rather than the 92c US it gets now.
The timing has very little to do with anybodies ego. It is a narrow window of opportunity in October between the interstate family holiday season and the "schoolies" fortnight that both pack the Coast. The only other window is the February to Easter spell which suffers from fairly un reliable weather.
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