GC600 2019: 10 years since Gold Coast’s SuperGP nightmare after Indy departed

As motorsports fans watch today’s GC600 festivities, remember 10 years ago to the infamous one-off disaster that was the supposed Indy replacement SuperGP.

INDY was dead and buried but a replacement was immediately lined up.

Just weeks after the last race was held in 2008 the State Government announced it was finished with the event, which had been held annually since 1991.

But Premier Anna Bligh claimed she had an ace up her sleeve – an agreement to bring the A1GP to the Gold Coast.

SuperGP was announced as the replacement for Indy.

The open-wheeler racing series, founded in the Middle East, was touted as the “world cup of motorsports”

But less than a year later it all went terribly wrong and city’s annual motorsports event, known as SuperGP was in tatters.

A1GP had become troubled under the leadership of chairman Tony Teixeira and there were warning signs that the Gold Coast event, which was due to kick of the 2009-10 season, was in doubt.

Craig Lowndes enters the pits at SuperGP.

Multiple teams had pulled out, proposed legs of the competition failed to materialise and there were concerns about the financial viability of the series.

The Bulletin had closely followed the story for months but had repeatedly been assured by races bosses it would go ahead.

But a week out from the October 2009 race, Teixeira was forced to bow to the inevitable and announced the UK wing of the series was in liquidation.

It became clear that the A1 cars would not have been able to take part in the event at all because they were still in London.

Phil Reeves at the Super GP with Dick Johnson.

State Sports Minister Phil Reeves was forced to call a rapid Saturday press conference to confirm the event was dead and a plan B was being developed.

But this announcement was met with outrage from the state Opposition.

‘‘Anna Bligh should come back and demand the head of Terry Mackenroth and Phil Reeves on a platter,’’ said Surfers Paradise MP and Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek.

‘‘They assured us it would go ahead and now they have egg on their faces and we are an international laughing stock … the event is in absolute disarray.’’

Garth Tander racing during SuperGP

Greg Hooton, who was the vice president of event underwriter IMG as well a member of the Gold Coast Motor Events Corporation board which selected A1GP to replace Indy, was clearly worried his head also would be on the chopping block.

But he maintained his only focus was on salvaging the SuperGP. ‘‘My future here is concentrating on the event … I haven’t even considered the fact people might infer I should resign,’’ he said. ‘‘That is not even in my thought process.’’

The F-111 Dump and burn at SuperGP.

He defended his decision to choose A1GP, saying the series met all the criteria required for an international open-wheeler series.

He said he did not think he was gullible for believing A1GP chairman Tony Teixeira’s assurances.

The V8 Supercars came to the rescue, announcing a rapidly expanded schedule of four races rather than the usual two.

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The Australian Legends race featured Bob Morris’ A9X Torana

And some of Australian motorsports’ best-loved figures, including Dick Johnson and Sir Jack Brabham were roped in to appear with some of their vintage vehicles from their 1950s-1980s heyday.

While crowds were down, the event proved to be a success despite the chaos.

The one and only SuperGP went down in history as one of the Gold Coast’s most infamous events, and was replaced in 2010 with the inaugural GC600, which saw the Supercars become the main attraction.

A decade on, memories of SuperGP remain strong.

The V8 Supercars were the main attraction at SuperGP.