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It seems appropriate that just a week after the Isle of Man TT, we should be talking about efforts in Australia to host a similar event.

Dubbed the Sunshine Coast International TT (SCTT), the 29.2-mile race would center off of Australia’s Sunshine coast, near Brisbane, and could potentially bring in $8.5 million to the local economy.

The Sunshine Coast is already a popular destination for motorcyclists, among other types of tourists who flock to the area’s beaches and other topography.

While we have seen other proposals interested in taking the Isle of Man TT formula abroad, some at the whim of the Isle of Man government, the SCTT seems to have some legs, with two public hearings on the subject already held with locals and interested outsiders.

After only three days at home following the Aragon weekend, I was packing my suitcase again and leaving for Australia. The race was still over two weeks away, but I was going for a holiday in Australia with Clare first.

I’ve been to Australia a few times. Clare has family in Sydney and spent some time traveling when she finished university, but on our previous visits neither of us had been to Queensland.

After some deliberation we decided on some time in Brisbane and Cairns before driving to Port Douglas. Port Douglas being a perfect base to visit the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest.

Alex Briggs, Valentino Rossi’s mechanic and A&R super friend, has put together the ultimate Ducati MotoGP experience auction, with all proceeds going towards the disaster relief efforts for the flooding in Australia. Called the worst flood in Australia in the past 50 years, the waters have hit the states of Queensland and Victoria with devastating affect since December 2010 (damages are being estimated in the 10’s of billions of dollars), causing Briggs to want to do something for his home country (most of Rossi’s crew hails from Australia as well).

Bringing his cause before Ducati MotoGP Project Director Alessandro Cicognani, the Marlboro Ducati team has gotten behind Briggs’ desire to help his home country, and has put together an attractive offer to help bring awareness to the floods, and raise some money for the disaster relief effort in the form of an eBay auction that will help raise money for the flood victims. Check after the jump for a full description of the auction details.