The Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series has recorded more crowd growth in 2005 than the Australian Football League in a direct comparison of the sports’ mid term report cards.

The health of V8 Supercars is still soaring at record levels in attendance, television audiences and Internet usage.

A summary of the outcomes of V8 Supercar growth at the midway point of the year revealed:

·             Attendance of V8 Supercar events has increased by 10.5 per cent (compared to seven per cent of the AFL)

·              More women are attending V8 Supercar events with a 10% increase from 2004

·              The largest market in V8 Supercars is 25-39 years with 42.5% of fans in this age bracket

·              Growth in the $80,000-plus income bracket has increased from 19 to 25 per cent from 2004

·               White collar support has risen from 50% to an average of 56.5% from 2004

·               Most patrons are families. Families attending V8 Supercar events has grown from 35% to 38% from 2004

“This sport is vibrantly healthy and going forward like no other in this country,” Australian Vee Eight Supercar Company (AVESCO) Chairman Tony Cochrane said today.

“The exciting aspect is that there is ample room for even more growth. I believe that some of these numbers will double in the next five to ten years with strong management, good strategy and continual building of our exciting brand.

“NASCAR in the United States has shown that a touring car category can be more popular than the traditional ball sports, proving that V8 Supercars is capable of doing the same.”

In the first seven rounds of the V8 Supercar Championship Series attendance was at a record 986,000 – up by 93,000 people on 2004. This translates to an average of around 140,000 people per event in 2005.

An average peak audience of 596,000 people in each market watched V8 Supercars on television across the seven rounds. The opening round of V8 Supercars from the streets of Adelaide attracted a peak of 1.46 million viewers. The June race in Shanghai attracted a total audience of 2.35 million people.

The total audience ‘all people’ in the first eight rounds of the Championship was a staggering 13.7 million viewers in Australia alone (Oz Tam) – far greater than the total audiences that watch Formula One or Champ Car on free to air Australian television (see attached graph).

In website terms, V8 Supercars had an average of 130,000 unique visitors per month, an increase of 37 per cent, with an average of 2.18 million page impressions each month, up 26 per cent.

“V8 Supercars is increasing its’ market share against all other sports. The growth of the sport has been phenomenal in the last nine years and shows no sign at this stage of easing up,” Mr Cochrane said.

“This is reflected in the ever increasing sponsorship levels of the Series, the international growth and the fact we are a truly national sport.”