The 2009 Nitro SuperGP, to be held on the streets of Surfers Paradise over October 22-25, has been confirmed as the host of the 2009/10 A1GP World Cup of Motorsport season-opener. The SuperGP will be the first in a proposed 10-round calendar for the international series, which sees about 23 nations competing for a hard-fought championship in races held across the world.

Pitting nation against nation in the World Cup of Motorsport, A1GP unites countries in a competition where human bravery, skill and excellence determine victory.

Racing identical single-seat cars, the deliberately equalised technology allows countries as diverse as Australia, the USA, Lebanon, France, China and South Africa to compete on a level playing field. The cars all use the same 4.5-litre V8 Ferrari engine, a glorious sounding powerplant that should echo sounds off the high rises of Surfers and bring smiles to the faces of all Aussie revheads.

To date, Australia hasn't been particularly successful in the A1GP series, but the Queensland promoters of the Gold Coast event hope that support from local supporters could change all that.

From 2009 the Nitro SuperGP replaces the IndyCar 300 event which proved very popular during its 18-year stint on the Gold Coast. Following the re-uniting of the two branches of American open-wheel motoring racing, the IndyCar calendar has reverted to racing mainly in the USA from this season onwards.

The A1GP will be joined by the Australian V8 Supercars as the co-headline act of the four-day, four-night motorsport festival that seems sure to bring tens of thousands of interstate and overseas visitors to the streets of Surfers Paradise.

Tickets for this year’s event are on sale now through Ticketek on 1300 303 103, or visit www.supergp.com/ for information on the event and you can take part in this four-day feast of Australian motorsport.