Sydney will make its mark as an international motor racing venue next month when the inaugural A1 Grand Prix of Nations is held at Eastern Creek International Raceway, Minister for Tourism Sandra Nori said today.

Ms Nori, speaking at a briefing about A1 Grand Prix for consular staff and ethnic media, said the three day event (November 4-6) would pit 25 countries against each other in what has been dubbed The World Cup of Motorsport.

"Australians love their cars and motor racing and I am sure the excitement offered by the A1 Grand Prix of Nations will generate a strong and enthusiastic following in Sydney and NSW," Ms Nori said.

"Just last week we saw more than 166,000 motor racing fans converge on Mount Panorama over the four days of the Bathurst 1000, one of the world's premier motor racing endurance events.

"I would like to see similar enthusiasm for this truly global A1 event, particularly in multicultural Sydney where I encourage people to get out to Eastern Creek and get behind their favourite team."

Ms Nori said the A1 Grand Prix of Nations had the potential to become an annual sporting and tourism drawcard for Sydney as well as provide economic benefits of up to $10 million a year.

"The NSW Government has been working to promote the economic benefits of motorsport in this State by investing in upgrades in track infrastructure at venues like Mount Panorama and Eastern Creek," she said.

"The NSW Government recognises that sport is big business, particularly global sporting events of this calibre.

"We saw their value in the 2000 Olympics which generated $5.1 billion and 63,000 jobs for the NSW economy, and the Rugby World Cup in 2003 which added another $345 million to the NSW economy and 5,000 fulltime equivalent jobs of one year's duration.

"Similarly, the Government will be working to leverage economic, business and tourism benefits from the A1 Grand Prix of Nations."