Michael McGuire: The V8 race is not for everyone, but the crowing about its demise seems to be rooted in snobbery
Losing racing from Adelaide’s streets feeds that familiar fear that maybe we really are just a bit dull, writes Michael McGuire.
Opinion
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Underlying some of the angst about the removal of the V8 race from the streets of Adelaide are old fears that really, underneath everything, despite all our protestations, South Australia is a bit dull.
It’s not necessarily a fear founded in reality, but as South Australians we carry an inferiority complex and an insecurity that tends to reveal itself most by our overreactions both when someone praises us or, perhaps more obviously, when someone criticises us.
It sees us cling far too hard to all those surveys that say we are one of the most liveable cities in the world. And over-celebrate declarations of our worth by organisations looking to sell something.
And what is liveable anyway? It’s not a word that screams excitement or innovation or cutting edge.
It sounds like you are describing a place where you quietly exist until it’s time to dieable. A place to count down the years until it’s time for the wooden box.
My favourite from that line of thinking was a few years back when Lonely Planet said Adelaide was one of its top-10 destinations to visit that year. Most people by then had forgotten that Lonely Planet existed, but apparently not our government, who closed down Leigh Street for a party.
Sad, didn’t even begin to describe it.
We see the reverse whenever someone has a crack at SA.
When Victorian Premier Dan Andrews came out with his “why would you want to go there’’ line, it caused something of a meltdown.
OK, so he’s the premier of a state we have had a traditional rivalry with. Maybe fair enough. But the reaction was much the same when obscure SBS TV personality Lucy Zelic called Adelaide a “s__thole’’ and “incredibly dull”.
The over-reaction to people like Andrews and Zelic is possibly prompted by a prick of fear that what they are saying is right.
They’re not, but SA has been the butt of so many jokes for so many years (serial killers, one-way freeways, City of Churches, State Bank, if you want a long holiday spend the night in Adelaide) that some of it naturally seeps through. Perhaps that also makes you more defensive than is strictly needed.
But sometimes we don’t help ourselves. Sometimes we needlessly damage ourselves.
The V8 race is clearly not for everyone, but the crowing from some about its demise seems to be rooted in snobbery more than anything else. And helps reinforce another stereotype that we are, in fact, a bunch of snobs.
It is possible not to be a fan of the V8s and still appreciate the scale of the event and the genuine joy it brings to tens of thousands of South Australians every year.
I’ve never been a fan of the V8s. I grew up in Formula One Adelaide and still pine for those days. The V8s feel like a pale imitation.
It uses half the track the F1 cars used, so it’s about half the event. That’s my own snobbery I guess.
But I would rather have the race than not. It brings colour and movement. It provides a counterpoint to the Festival, the Fringe and Womad that demonstrates we are a city that embraces all sections of society. That makes us more interesting.
The State Government is promising replacement events. But they are likely to be a bit quieter, blander.
Some are pushing for a Formula E event to replace the V8s. Just, no. I’m all in favour of electric cars but not for racing.
I still remember the adrenaline thump the first time I heard a Formula One car up close. A Formula E race sounds like a bunch of mosquitoes have taken up residence in your bedroom for the night.
We will miss the V8s next year. We have lost something important to our culture.
And maybe the next time someone accuses us of being a little dull, we will momentarily feel they are right, right before launching into our latest impassioned over-reaction.
