Ex-official to probe A1GP fiasco

One of the men behind the original Gold Coast Indy has been given the job of reviewing this year's race and reporting back to the Queensland Government about its future.

Premier Anna Bligh this afternoon announced David Williams would start his review of the SuperGP event within hours.

Mr. Williams, who was a former board member of the original Gold Coast Indy Car Grand Prix from 1989 to 1996, will have until the end of next month to compile a report where to from now for the event.

Ms Bligh said Mr. Williams was one of 'Queensland's most experienced event managers' and in previous work had shown no difficulty in being 'critical'.

She said his focus would be looking at all motor racing options including whether or not securing another international race was feasible.

Meanwhile Queensland's Auditor-General Glenn Poole has announced an immediate audit of the contractual agreements in relation to the A1GP component of this year's SuperGP.

Mr. Poole said he had brought part of the normal audit process forward “following significant public interest in the withdrawal of the A1GP event from last weekend's Gold Coast SuperGP program''.

The audit will complement a separate review undertaken by Mr. Williams.

Welcoming the auditor-general's announcement, Ms Bligh said people want answers about the events leading up to withdrawal of the A1GP from this year's event.

“The government invested $11.6 million in the staging of this year's event and taxpayers deserve to know how that contribution was used and managed by the event organizers,'' Ms Bligh said. Goldcoast.com.au