Premier Peter Malinauskas pushed for South Australia to host Formula 1 races in Adelaide after conflict in the Middle East kicked off.<\/p>\n
But he was not successful, with the two Grand Prix events at Bahrain and Saudi Arabia both officially cancelled earlier this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the war in Iran broke out and we saw the events that were unfolding, it struck me as pretty obvious that that would represent a major challenge for F1 to race their scheduled events in Bahrain and Saudia Arabia,\u201d the Premier told reporters this morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I hit the phone with Stefano,\u201d he said, referring to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.<\/p>\n
He told Triple M this morning: \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be in it to win it\u201d.<\/p>\n
But the Premier was unsuccessful, with F1 this week confirming the two Grand Prix events would be cancelled.<\/p>\n
The two races were scheduled to take place in April, but F1 confirmed that after \u201ccareful evaluations\u201d, the \u201congoing situation in the Middle East region\u201d made the events untenable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile several alternatives were considered, it was ultimately decided that no substitutions will be made in April,\u201d F1 said.<\/p>\n
Domenicali said it was a \u201cdifficult decision to take\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is unfortunately the right one at this stage, considering the current situation in the Middle East,\u201d Domenicali said.<\/p>\n
It comes as registrations for interest in tickets for the 2027 MotoGP Grand Prix of Australia, to be held on a city circuit in Adelaide, open today.<\/p>\n
Registered South Australians will be the first to know when tickets go on sale.<\/p>\n
The Labor party also announced today it would issue 500 limited-edition MotoGP licence plates if re-elected.<\/p>\n
The black plates will be put up for auction, reminiscent of the original 199 black Adelaide Grand Prix plates released in 1985 to commemorate the first F1 Adelaide Grand Prix.<\/p>\n