MELBOURNE, March 10, 2008 (AFP) - Australian Grand Prix organisers said Monday a later start time for this weekend´s season-opening Formula One race will deliver a larger global television audience for the event.

The start time for Sunday´s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne has been moved from 2:00 pm to 3:30 pm (0430 GMT) so more European fans can watch live television coverage of the race.

Organisers said they expected the time change to attract millions more television viewers around the world.

The move follows a threat by F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone to strip Australia of the race when the track´s current contract expires in 2010 -- unless organisers agree to stage the grand prix at night around Albert Park.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker said if the later start time boosted international viewing numbers, then it would be pushed back further in 2009.

"If starting the race later this year increases the television audience around the world, as we believe it will, we´ll seek a 5:00 pm start for the 2009 race," Walker told a press conference Monday.

"That will mean a 7:00 am start time for the television coverage in Europe, finishing at about 8:40 am; a 6:00 am start time in the UK, finishing at about 7:40 am; and an afternoon start and finish across the Asian continent where there are potentially hundreds of millions of extra viewers.

"All this can be achieved without any additional infrastructure costs."

The Victorian state government has been reluctant to add further to its debts from backing the F1 race by installing lighting for night racing at an estimated cost of 60 million dollars (38 million US).

The Melbourne race is financially hemorrhaging with Victoria losing almost 35 million dollars (33 million US) of taxpayers´ money in 2007.

It is budgeting for a blowout of more than 40 million dollars (37.5 million US) this year. All up, the Melbourne GP has lost more than 120 million dollars (113 million US) since the race from switched from Adelaide in 1996.

Ecclestone wants Australia to fall into line with Singapore, which will stage the first-ever F1 night race on September 28.