Adelaide, Remember When we had the Formula 1 Grand Prix?

WITH the Clipsal back in town, Bob Byrne takes a look back to the glorious days of Adelaide’s first big car race the Grand Prix in 1985.

WITH the V8 racing cars taking over our streets for the Clipsal 500, Bob Byrne takes a look back to the glorious days of AdelaideÂ’s first big car race around the street circuit, the Grand Prix in 1985.

There was a magical feeling in the air in Adelaide in late 1985 as the first Adelaide Grand Prix roared to life.

That early November day was the culmination of years of planning and hard work going back to the early 1980s when businessman Bill O’Gorman originally came up with the idea of hosting a Formula One race to try to do something to improve the image of the Adelaide.

South Australia’s Premier John Bannon immediately got behind the idea and O’Gorman flew to

London to do a deal with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.

The result of the meeting was a seven-year contract, starting in 1985, to stage the F1 in Australia.

Dr Mal Hemmerling, a senior civil servant, was put in charge and it was decided to build the street circuit incorporating Victoria Park with a long straight on Dequetteville Terrace.

It proved a winner immediately with the drivers proclaiming it as the best street circuit in Formula One racing.

Unlike other street circuits, Adelaide was wide and fast in places, and included two straights, Jones Straight (named after Alan Jones, Australian F1 world champion) and a 900 metre long straight (named the “Brabham Straight” after three-time World Champion Sir Jack Brabham) where the faster cars reached over 200 mph (322 km/h).

The street circuit wasn’t the only winner for Adelaide.

The teams soon discovered how friendly the city was, helped by the fact that the first race was an end-of-season event after the World Championship had been settled.

It established the tradition then of Adelaide being just one big party.

The street circuit was colourful too with the parklands able to accommodate thousands of people with ease.

Organisation of that first event seemed to go without a hitch and by the end of the four-day event more than 200,000 spectators had passed through the turnstiles proving without a doubt that Adelaide was up to the task of managing and staging a world class event.

Head of the Formula One Constructors Association, Bernie Ecclestone, later told the assembled

media that he believed that the standard of the organisation and the circuit itself was bad news for Formula One, explaining that Adelaide had raised the standards of what would be expected in the future and that several tracks in Europe already on the calendar, or hoping to be, would have to lift their own games in order to match it.

Adelaide came to a standstill during that first Grand Prix as everyone embraced the event (well, almost everyone).

There were flags hanging from every lamp post in the city and posters promoting the event were everywhere.

Fans got behind the merchandise as well, swapping their Cold Chisel T-Shirts for various team apparel as Grand Prix fever enveloped the city and even the Formula One paddock could not help but be swept up with the enthusiasm.

Adding even more local flavour to our first Grand Prix was Glen Dix, one of the state’s most famous racing identities who had been involved in motor sport in Adelaide from the days of Rowley Park in the 1950s.

He started out Speedway racing and by the time of the first Adelaide GP in 1985 he had been waving the chequered flag for some 30 years.

For Adelaide’s tight-knit community he was the obvious person for the job.

Glen had a particularly enthusiastic way of waving the flag and at a time when most flag wavers preferred to be off the track, well out of harm’s way, Glen was always at the centre of the action and brought the drivers home on the ground.

Adelaide took on a party atmosphere during that first exciting Grand Prix and for each subsequent event.

Corporate Adelaide embraced the opportunity to host and entertain clients and staff with an invitation to a private marquee or with complimentary passes.

People everywhere were quick to be the first to put on a GP party or barbecue and invite all their friends to celebrate the big event.

The highlight of the social event calendar was the Grand Prix Ball where drivers and crew mingled with fans at a $400-a-head event with national and international artists as entertainment.

It was the ‘glam’ event of the year.

It all came to a screeching halt however in 1995, when Melbourne stole the event and the Grand Prix circus moved to Albert Park with the first race 1996.

Friends who have been tell me it’s not the same though and lacks the excitement and the sheer buzz that enveloped the whole city of Adelaide while the race was on.

What are your memories of the first Grand Prix in 1985? If Adelaide were to be given the opportunity, would you like to see the GP back on the streets of Adelaide again?

To read past blogs in this series, check out the “ Adelaide Remember When” board on The Advertiser’s Pinterest page.

This blog features here and on The Advertiser Facebook page every Friday. You can also check out more of Bob’s musings on SA history on his Adelaide Remember When Facebook page.