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I’d call it more remote than obscure. If there’s a GP in Indonesia it’s easily the closest place to get to from there.
Darwin has a full tropical climate but the winters are dry and mild. It’s also fully within a cyclone (hurricane) zone.
It has an interesting history - it’s the only place on the Australian mainland that was attacked by the Japanese in WW2, by the same fleet that attacked Pearl Harbour.
I guess the problem is that Luongo just wants too much money to run an event? Only the Northern Territory (state) are willing to pay-up, no matter what, it'll be a great MX event, for riders, media and Australians.
There’s certainly a trend at the moment of governments here not paying exorbitant host fees for sporting events.
Having said that I agree with you, on the whole this will be an overall positive even if the location is a bit out of the way.
If the timing works out I’d be keen to go.
I agree, the viewer numbers are what Infront claimed.
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I've started looking at various ways of doing it.
Probably fly up, and either get a hotel / caravan park accom, or a Campervan / RV. The Complex is only about 11ks(?) from Darwin - but Darwin is not much bigger than my little suburb...... But Fugg me, I can get (my choice - I don't need luxury) cheaper accommodation smack dab in say, Singapore, for shedloads less than Darwin.
Or , get a campervan to drive all the way up to Darwin, and drop it off. That way madness leads, perhaps.
September is a pretty good time for weather there, though, a mate(ess) of mine who's from there, said don't ever count on predictable weather in the NT. Mind you, she went through Cyclone Tracy, waaaaay back when.
I hope they work out the dates, quickly, and, Importantly, they bloody well stick to them.
NT Gov footing the Bill - the (now) 'standard' for big events. It's how it is
I just wish NSW, or even (shudder) Victoria (south of the border is a strange place.......) had been approached / as gullible to Luongo / Infront's promises of "what the F**k ever" . With the right promotion, especially if it were at Eastern Creek / Sydney Motorsports , it might have a chance of staying here in OZ.
ando : "It’s the only place on the Australian mainland that was attacked by the Japanese in WW2, by the same fleet that attacked Pearl Harbour".
Nope, Sydney had the mini Subs in the Harbour, and, I think the 'Mother Sub' shelled Newcastle.
But, Darwin got hammered, quite a few times. It was no one off - something like 64 times. So, with the generally accepted count of 111 air raids on OZ, a few other places, like Broome and Townsville copped it.
If I go, it won't be just for the races, I'll do tours of various Military / Historical sites, and, I guess, trundle down to Kakadu and other Touristy places. Maybe 'spy' on the Joint US / OZ base (if it' exists / is done) that the Chinese (who Own the lease to Darwin Port, for f**ks sake - cripes we are bloody stupid!) got so upset about being near 'their facilities'.............
Checked flights last night
Lombok would be nicer and much less expensive to stay and party ,
All ex Auckland Nz
Darwin $1450
lombok $1830
los angles $1755
Willowbank, Eastern Creek or Broadford would be better locations, close to population centers, they would draw larger crowds, but their state governments are hesitant to spend money on minor sports.
Bloody Hell, your flights to LA are only $305 more than getting to Darwin?
Even with both yours's and ours $$$ having a p**s poor exchange rate, You'd have to think long and flamin' hard about going to Darwin for a GP, as against going to LA / California for a SX or 2, or a National.
Even I am thinking about the costs to get to Darwin, as against going OS. But, I think I have to go, after waiting for so long for another 'Home' GP.
I could borrow a rich mates ADV bike - he's got a whole 'stable' of them, and ride up. I'm not that interested in that option, I've done enough 'distance droning' - but I'm expecting Him to give me a call, all delirious about another bloody ride (fuggin slog, is how I regard those rides as, nowadays), from London, where he makes his $$$$$$$$.
Ride an ADV bike up there, now there’s an idea…
Captain Cook. Convicts. Sheep. Beaker Morant. ANZAC. Gallipoli. Eureka. The Brisbane line. Palmer river. Gold. Jardine. Somerset. Pearls. Cannibals. Torres Strait. Kokoda…. Understated.
History aside. It will be what we make it.
Can’t fucking wait
Can sell you any adv you want. Ex Mackay. Now os visitors… reef fishing anyone?
For you from Perth ?
Hooley Fuggin Dooley, that's a distance. Not sure if you could do a 'diagonal' to Darwin to keep the Ks down (a bit), but a largely coastal route would rack up the Ks.
Ever since I had my Tailbone removed, when I broke my back and Pelvis, sitting down for any length of time, even with a bazzilion dollars fancy seat, plus a Sheep Skin, it's so bloody uncomfortable / painful, and my knees stop me from doing much of the ADV 'World Traveler Standing' thing. Though, I'll have my new knees by then - 1st one's being installed on the 20th of June.
The territory (NT, the state Darwin’s in) is bloody awesome! Full of all the fun wild-life. Every now and again a hotel pool will be closed because a salt water croc has toured in for a swim and a gander at the menu (just make sure you’re not on it)! When it rains, it pours! It’s cyclone territory too so things could get a bit windy! It’s likely Australia’s most laid-back capital city and is definitely worth a visit if you ever get the chance ☺️
It’s worth Noting the Finke is held in the NT every year too, so big off-road motorcycle races aren’t un-common!
Hurry up and tell us the date.
CU in the NT
Presser said September so that narrows it down a bit.
Yep Perth. No easy way to short cut, 3800km the fastest way.
I’ve been toying with the idea of doing the Nullarbor on and ADV bike.
Funnily enough I’m doing the Canning Stock Route next year (not on a bike) so I’ll be within a stones throw of Darwin (relatively) but that will be in June.
Pit Row
Perth, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne are all roughly 40 hours driving time to Darwin.
Bonza airlines (who specialise in domestic flights) just closed its doors aswell so that isnt going to help flight prices. Hopefully they fall in price over the next year or so
I’m in the tropics of Queensland, so a bit closer to Darwin than much of Australia, but it’s still over a 30 hour drive from here. Return flights out of Cairns can be had for less than $400 though; that’ll do me.
That is crazy now those numbers and the driving time examples have given it more context...
Sounds about right for the Luongo Co.
I hope Grape is wrong about Australia being out of a GP again soon because of this, but it sounds totally plausible and I can't fault the logic.
A few mates I spoke to said they’ll be making the trip.
Now Bonza has crashed, Qantas will have a field day with airfare prices. Combine that with half filled gates, not for me. If they could hold on the east coast, it would make it accessible to a lot more people. But money talks.
Just to give context to the non Aussies and even some seemingly unaware Aussies in here, Darwin is one of if not the biggest shithole city in Australia.
Disregarding the fact that it's in the middle of nowhere and is closer to the Philippines than almost every other city in Australia, among the other problems mentioned such as the weather (Darwin is in the tropics so does not have a summer or winter, only a wet and a dry season), low population, blah blah bunch of other stuff mentioned here that I could go on and on about, it's also a crime ridden shithole.
I know plenty of people and families who have left Darwin solely due to the crime, and unlike every other state in Australia, crime in the NT is getting worse. I would hope it wouldn't be too much of a problem for just a short stay for the teams and maybe the handful of spectators making the trip from across the country, but if they're staying in the city, especially if they're out and about at night time they'll probably see a lot of stuff you would never expect to see in Australia. I won't delve into it too much because I don't want to bring politics into this too much, but it's seriously such a shithole city. For the defenders of Darwin, there's a big difference between visiting there and living there, and it's also not the same city it was 20 years ago.
I would hope it won't be too much of an issue for the teams, if they're staying in the city it's unlikely they'll be victims of crime if the bikes are locked up properly, but if they decide to explore the city rather than stay in their accommodation then they might bare witness to some pretty wacky shit. Darwin is one of the worst spots they could've held a GP in for Australia, and certainly the worst out of any significant (50k<
population centre. I mean they have the Australian superbike championship there I think so it probably won't be too bad, but I just wanted to bring up another reason why Darwin is a shit venue, as if there weren't enough already.
I've said before that if there was ever a GP in Australia I'd go, but I doubt I'll head to Darwin for this one. The Indonesian GPs are cheaper and probably much nicer. Truly a shame as the 5 year contract almost certainly means there won't be a GP in any part of Australia worth going to in the meantime, and once they're finished going to Darwin they probably won't come back to Australia because of how poorly the Darwin GPs went.
It’s a shame… so many nice tracks and facilities around Australia and they land there! A GP at Echo Valley with all of their prep and flair would have been awesome!
I've never been but I think Echo Valley wouldn't have enough space for a GP? You'd probably need at the very least triple the space of an Aus national for a GP
Yeah Echo Valley would be an awesome GP track, but unfortunately there’s not enough room for the pits, facilities and parking, otherwise it’d be great with it being a regional city, having an airport and a big population within an hour.
You’re both probably right!
Best GP location for Australia in my opinion would be around Sydney, since it's right in the middle of the 3 biggest population centres in Australia and would be easy for most Australian riders wanting to race it to get to. Purpose-built track at Eastern Creek like Bearuno suggested would probably work the best, if not that then Ranch MX near Raymond Terrace is a good track but probably wouldn't have enough space, however I do think they could create more space there fairly easily. If not around Sydney then maybe Willowbank? How much space does Ride Park Vic have? Horsham held the World Junior Championship in I think 2018, but out of the (existing) tracks mentioned is probably the least good
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