The Adelaide Motorsport Festival will roar back to life this month for the first time in five years – and it will feature a major international drawcard.

Formula 1 winner Valtteri Bottas will attend the event at Victoria Park on Sunday, March 26, to meet with fans and take part in on track demonstrations behind the wheel of an Alfa Romeo GTV Group A touring car.

The 2022-23 State Budget provided $5.7 million over four years to reinstate the festival, delivering on an election commitment.

The event has not run since 2018 after the former Liberal government cut its funding in 2019.

The return of the VALO Adelaide 500 in 2022 proved a huge success, generating a record economic impact of $51.85 million.

The Adelaide Motorsport Festival will provide a further boost to SA’s visitor economy.

Held one week before the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix, it will capitalise on overseas visitors and motorsport celebrities already in or planing a trip to Australia, in a boost to SA hotels, hospitality and the regions.

The event is held in Victoria Park - home of the Adelaide Grand Prix and the VALO Adelaide 500 - over the weekend of the 25th and 26th March.

A street party to kick off the festivities will take place from 6pm Friday March 24 on East Terrace, adjacent Rymill Park, featuring a parade of 25 rare cars with music and driver appearances.

For tickets and further information visit: https://www.adelaidemotorsportfestival.com.au/

Quotes

Attributable to Stephen Mullighan

Our state has a long and proud history of car racing, and we are reclaiming our title as the home of motorsport.

The return of the VALO Adelaide 500 was a huge success, generating an economic benefit of almost $52 million – an all-time record.

We are excited to build on that with the return of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival.

These events drive our tourism economy. They keep our hotels, restaurants and retail shops busy, and that means more jobs for South Australians.

Attributable to Massive Events Corp CEO Tim Possingham

After a five year absence we are looking forward to the return of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival, a celebration of all things motoring and motorsport.

The timing being the week before the Australian Grand Prix paves the way for the likes of Valtteri Bottas to attend the event.

We are hoping the event will continue to build from where it left off in 2018.