Without IndyCars SuperGP first-day crowd numbers drop

There has been a massive drop in crowd numbers as the SuperGP got off to a sluggish start today. The first day crowd figures were down 20 percent with only 40,798 people attending today’s race compared to 56,362 last year [Editor's Note: 40,796 is highly inflated. Perhaps 5,000 real race fans were there.]

SuperGP chairman Terry Mackenroth blamed the drop in numbers on the global financial crisis.

"I was not surprised by the downturn in numbers, that has been happening across major events all year," he said. "I think it is a healthy crowd."

"Thursday is traditionally a quieter day. I think we should wait until the V8s get out there. It's too early to say whether the loss of the Indy has impacted on crowd numbers." [Editor's Note: The race was all about "Indy" in the 25 years that CART built it up and made it what it was. The IndyCars are now gone and so too are the people.]

Sparse crowds in the race precinct on Day 1. Pic: Mike Batterham Goldcoast.com.au