Motorsport: Rain puts a dent in the numbers at V8s

The ITM grid girls needed brollies yesterday. Photo / Doug Sherring

Rick Kelly won on the track but the V8 Supercars organisers aren't saying if they are winning the battle to make money.

One thing's certain: when the heavens opened up over the ITM400 in Hamilton, their hopes took a dousing too. Event bosses were not prepared to put a figure on how many people came through the gates on Friday and yesterday until the event finishes today - but media manager Cole Hitchcock admitted the wet weather hadn't helped. He believed numbers were on track to be up on last year "but the rain put a fairly solid dent in it".

The three-day motorsport spectacular has had its share of problems: the failure of the event's previous promoter forced the V8 Supercars organisation itself to take over.

They have already warned Hamilton City councillors that the weekend is unlikely to turn a profit, despite announcing a week ago that main straight's grandstand seating had sold out.

"I'd like to hope it is [profitable]," said V8 Supercars chief executive Martin Whitaker. "But we won't know that until the bean counters have sat down and had a look at it properly after the event.

"I don't think we should focus on the past. We came here with the intention of making a really good job of it and, frankly, I think it worked."

In the wake of the global credit crunch, there has been talk of corporate hospitality and sponsorships drying up, but Whitaker says the Hamilton event and showpiece V8 Supercars fixtures, such as Bathurst, Gold Coast and Adelaide's Clipsal 500, haven't suffered badly. The Herald on Sunday understands corporate hosting and sponsorship was difficult to secure in the current financial climate but Whitaker was not giving much away.

"Corporates are obviously very important to any promoter or event - whether it's the Rugby World Cup or a V8 Supercars race in Hamilton. I'm pretty happy with the way corporates have gone.

"I know New Zealand has had a really tough 24 months - really, really tough times - so in that sense you're going to be in a difficult and competitive market, especially with the Rugby World Cup coming up."

The race-and-rock format - ZZ Top played last night and Good Charlotte plays tonight after the final race - was an "added value" approach that could work.

"It's quite simple - we're in the entertainment business, we want to create an experience and rock and race is all part of that experience of a race weekend. It's not just about what you see on the track.

"There's lots of families here today - our demographic is very much focused on youth and the family involvement. Getting families out to an event like this, whether it's in New Zealand or elsewhere, is very encouraging."

Bernard Francis came all the way from Greymouth for the weekend. "It's more about the cars for me - I've wanted to come for a while and decided that this year was the one. I sat across from the pits and could see all the action - it was very impressive, even in the rain."

Trav and Trev, a pair of mates from Tauranga who didn't give their full names as their respective wives both believed the duo were away working this weekend, said the variety made it worthwhile.

"I don't really like Fords or Holdens," said Trev. "I like Skylines. But there's drifting, a few beers, those grid girls and we're going to ZZ Top tonight - can't go wrong."