V8 Supercars: Top of the pops
22/4/2000 10:51 (Jason Whittaker) - The race to attract the hearts and minds of the Australian sporting public has been run and won, with Australia's mighty V8 Supercars claiming an emphatic victory.
New figures released this week show the V8 Supercars, the fastest growing sport in the country, as dominating the marketplace, both in attendance numbers and television ratings.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show Motor Racing as the third most attended sport behind Australian Rules Football and Horse Racing, attracting 1.57 million people each year.
That figure can be attributed mainly to the growth of the V8 Supercar formula, who alone attracted more people than Cricket and Rugby League last year.
Record crowds have again flocked to Australian circuits this year to witness the start of the Shell Championship Series, with the sport's latest event, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, recording a category-first crowd of over 164,000 patrons.
"A new Australian attendance record was set at this years Clipsal 500 with attendance totalling 164,000 - Friday 43,000, Saturday 57,000 and Sunday 64,000," AVESCO Chairman Tony Cochrane said.
"In addition, we had approximately 50,000 people line the streets to watch the V8 Supercar Street Parade and more than 4,000 fans crowd into Rundle Mall in their lunch hour for a chance to meet the drivers," he said.
AVESCO, the V8 Supercars' governing body, are also crowing over the latest television ratings statistics, which ranks the Ten Network's coverage of the V8 Supercars first in most capital cities and demographics.
More people watched last week's Clipsal 500 than any other V8 Supercar event in history (outside of the FAI 1000) according to AC Nielsen figures, with the two-day coverage winning many markets over steadfast AFL and Rugby League coverage.
Both attendance and television figures combined show an increase in growth far beyond any other sport currently in the marketplace.
"It is clear to see that V8 Supercars are thriving at a time as other major sports have reduced in popularity," Cochrane said.
With new events being added each year, including the Canberra GMC 400 in June, the future for the V8 Supercars looks as bright as ever.
"V8 Supercars are fast becoming a truly recognised national sport in every sense," Cochrane said.
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