The Melbourne Formula 1 Grand Prix has returned after a two-year hiatus and up to 130,000 fans are expected at Albert Park for race day.
An impressive number no doubt — but there was another Australian grand prix that eclipsed the figure by a tidy margin.
Adelaide hosted the Australian GP for 11 years and, in 1995, 210,000 fans attended the final race day. It is a figure that remains the biggest-ever one-day crowd for a sporting event in Australia.
"The great thing about the Adelaide era was it coincided with the rise of Brazilian Formula 1 champion Ayrton Senna, who became the local favourite and is the driver most tied to the event," said motorsports journalist Adrian Musolino, who is writing a book on the history of the race.
"There were so many other iconic drivers who raced the unique street circuit. Niki Lauda raced his final grand prix in Adelaide and it ushered in a new era of outstanding drivers: Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet, Nigel Mansell. Even if you weren't a fan of Formula 1, they were household names."
When the Adelaide Grand Prix Corporation closed, thousands of images documenting the event were handed over to the State Library of South Australia.
When Musolino began his research a few years ago, he was the first person to look through the archive in more than 20 years.
In the early 1980s, F1 boss Bernie Eccleston started looking for a new city to add to the grand prix schedule.
He wanted to expand into markets outside of Europe and find an exciting street circuit.
There had been talk of an Australian city hosting for a while, with Sydney, Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Canberra all expressing interest.
It was only Adelaide that really went for it, hungry to secure a world-class event that would help shake off its image as a dull city.
The bid had strong backing from state and local governments and, with the Commonwealth pitching in as well, Adelaide secured the 1985 race.
An overnight sensation and favourite for drivers
The Adelaide grand prix was the final race of the season and, because teams and drivers had spent a long year travelling the world, the Adelaide event was regarded as a bit of party, a place they could finally relax and celebrate.
Its temporary street circuit started in Victoria Park and the rest of the track snaked its way through the centre of Adelaide.
Being so close to the CBD and Adelaide parklands gave the event an atmosphere unlike any F1 event at the time.
The street circuit was also a favourite among the drivers and featured a series of right-angled turns and fast straights with minimal room for error, which made it a challenging and entertaining race.
By the last race of the season, the championship had often already been decided but, on two occasions, it all came to down to the race in Adelaide and it provided some of F1's most iconic moments.
"In 1986, Nigel Mansell goes into the race leading the championship and it looks like he is holding onto the position he needs, but with only a handful of laps left, Mansell blows a tyre, handing the championship to Alain Prost.
"Then, in 1994, Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill are fighting for the driver's championship and they actually collide. Schumacher is forced to retire on the spot and Hill returns to the pit with a damaged car.
"The crash hands Schumacher his first of seven world championships, so it's pretty cool to think that happened in Adelaide."
Brazilian motorsport icon Senna won his final grand prix in Adelaide in 1993.
Less than six months later he was dead, after smashing into a concrete barrier at the San Marino grand prix in Italy.
The first chicane of the circuit was renamed 'Senna Chicane', and there is also a permanent memorial to the Brazilian driver in Victoria Park.
"Senna died in 1994 and, by that time, Adelaide already knew it had lost the event to Melbourne, his passing almost seemed to represent a generational shift in Formula One that coincided with the move away from Adelaide."
The pain of losing the race remains
The first Adelaide GP in 1985 was an immediate success and, right from the start, other cities were circling.
Victoria struck a secret deal with Ecclestone to take over if South Australia ever let it go.
Leading up to the 1993 state election, both the Labor and Liberal parties were unwilling to commit to renewing the contract and this indecision essentially handed the event to Melbourne.
"Adelaide found itself in this financial crisis following the collapse of the State Bank," Musolino said.
"The narrative has always been that Melbourne stole the grand prix but the reality is South Australia was in a position where it was almost impossible to keep hold of it.
"The cost of staging the event, which involved rebuilding the grandstands every year, had just become too expensive."
If you go to Victoria Park today, apart from the memorial to Senna, there is nothing to indicate a world-class F1 grand prix was once held there.
Musolino also runs a Facebook page dedicated to the history of the event.
"I'd like to say Adelaide is proud of its grand prix history, but I don't think it's embraced it just yet," he said.
