Mar.10 (GMM) Organisers of the endangered Australian grand prix have offered to run the Melbourne race at 5pm from next year.
The proposed compromise, announced at a news conference on Monday, comes after F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone warned that the only way Albert Park will be featured on the 2010 calendar is if the circuit is fitted with floodlights for a night race.With a 3.30pm start, Sunday's race is already later than usual, as Ecclestone tries to bolster European television ratings.A 5pm local start for 2009 will mean a 7am start in Europe, 6am in Britain, and an afternoon start in Asia."All this can be achieved without any additional infrastructure costs," said AGPC chairman Ron Walker, already under pressure from the Victorian state government to get the costs of the race under control.Meanwhile, a spokesman for new Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd has denied Ecclestone's claim that the pair recently discussed the future of the grand prix."The grand prix is a matter for the Victorian government," he said, as local media speculate that Ecclestone mistook Rudd for Victorian premier John Brumby.
