When Adelaideans last heard the thunderous roar of Formula 1 drivers zipping through the city’s east-end, you could ride the Jazz Junction at Dazzeland, David Jones had in-store pianists, Planet Nightclub was the place to be and this reporter was still in nappies.

It was November 1995, and 210,000 fans flocked to the Grand Prix racetrack to bid a final farewell to an event which, in the 11 years it was hosted in Adelaide, became synonymous with the city and its people.

A man in a yellow jacket waves the chequered flag as a Formula 1 car speeds past and a sea of faces watch from the grandstand.

The Australian Grand Prix was a hot ticket in Adelaide in the 1980s and early 1990s, with fans keen to watch the action on the city street circuit. (Getty Images: Pascal Rondeau)

It followed the news two years earlier that Victoria had snatched the Grand Prix from Adelaide, which sent shock waves throughout the South Australian community.

The move also summoned a new wave of deep-rooted and fervent resentment towards the eastern state — a saltiness so briny that, more than 30 years on, is still an enduring flavour of the South Australian psyche.

Rallying cries to “kick a Vic” were often heard at football games amid the continued debate over whether a cheese and tomato sauce-topped crumbed chicken breast was a “parmi” or a “parma”.

But revenge is oh so sweet.

MotoGP Jack Miller

MotoGP rider Jack Miller says he is excited about the move to SA. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

And for Adelaideans, that revenge has emerged in the form of the MotoGP — not exactly a like-for-like replacement to the Grand Prix, but potentially similar enough to appease even the most resentful croweaters and catapult SA back onto the international motorsport stage.

A secret deal and a blame game

It took clandestine hotel bookings and fake names for Victoria to lure the Grand Prix out of Adelaide.

Premier Peter Malinauskas reveals the street circuit that will be used in Adelaide from 2027.

Premier Peter Malinauskas reveals the street circuit that will be used in Adelaide from 2027. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

SA’s then Liberal Leader, Dean Brown, had just won the 1993 state election when he received a phone call from Ron Walker, who was hailed as a man who “loved Melbourne and Victoria” and who served as the head of Melbourne’s Major Events Company.

“Ron said ‘I must come and see you’,” Mr Brown told the ABC in 2015.

“I said, ‘Can’t this wait?’ And he said, ‘No, I think I should come and see you as soon as possible’.”

The next day, Mr Brown said he met Mr Walker, who revealed a piece of paper showing the Victorian government had won the rights to host the Formula One Grand Prix.

MotoGP Jack Miller

MotoGP rider Jack Miller says he has full confidence in the safety of the race on the new street track. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

The contract had been signed almost a year earlier under a veil of secrecy — a deal so secret that Mr Walker said he would check into hotels using fake names so his rivals would not catch wind of his plans.

“I think they (South Australians) have themselves to blame because they wouldn’t sign a new contract,” Mr Walker said in 2015.

Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett agreed, telling the ABC in 2015 that one of the key sticking points in Victoria securing the event was the lack of commitment to the race over the border.

“What was happening in South Australia at the time was a lack of either side of politics to lead, worried about the impact it might have on their constituency,” he said.
MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas.

MotoGP Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta and SA Premier Peter Malinauskas. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

A page from the ‘Jeff Kennett bible’

Thirty years on, and a different scenario has played out.

Describing Thursday as an “historic day for South Australia”, the state’s premier Peter Malinausaks, confirmed the Australian MotoGP would move from Victoria to SA from 2027, with the race to take place on the former Adelaide Grand Prix track.

The announcement came one day after the Victorian government confirmed that this year’s race would be the last held at Phillip Island.

Mr Kennett said he believed Mr Malinauskas had taken a leaf out of his playbook.

“I’m crying because it’s (MotoGP) leaving, I’m laughing because your premier has just taken another page from the Jeff Kennett bible,” the former Victorian premier told ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday morning.

“He has recognised, as we did, the importance of getting major events as part of the offering, which not only is economically good, but … the community love it.”
A colourful Supercar is stationary on a race course with a checkered flag overhead and full crowd watching

The Supercars Championship is held at Victoria Park in Adelaide’s CBD. (Getty Images: Daniel Kalisz)

But while declaring SA was “on the march” when it came to improving its economic standing, Mr Malinauskas said it “never crossed” his mind to lure the MotoGP event to SA as “payback” to the eastern state for snatching the Grand Prix.

“I’m not a premier who’s in the business of diminishing other states,” he said on Thursday.

The sentiment does not appear to be shared across the border.

Dr Sam Shahin smiles and looks into distance. He wears a suit and tie.

Billionaire owner of The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, Dr Sam Shahin was among those at the MotoGP announcement in Adelaide today. (ABC News: Che Chorley)

“They’re (the SA government) in kindergarten and we’re in senior high school when it comes to major events,” Victorian Sports Minister Steve Dimopoulos told SEN Radio on Thursday.

A claim suggesting the salt may have been passed across the border, as Victoria counts its losses and SA revels in retribution.