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Bumper numbers for carsales TCR Australia debut
TCR Australia and the Shannons Nationals are encouraged by the crowd numbers and broadcast viewers from the opening round at Sydney Motorsport Park last week.
A record Shannons Nationals crowd attended the Sydney venue, with the event promotors Australian Racing Drivers Club quoting a 200 percent increase over last year’s Sydney Shannons meeting.
A total of just under 5000 people attended the two days.
Not only was the crowd size healthy, but it was widely acknowledged that the demographic of the attendees was diverse, including a younger audience, mixed multi-cultural backgrounds and many first-time motorsport guests.
Adding to the foot traffic was an encouraging amount of broadcast eyeballs. An audience of just on 100,000 viewers watched live on SBS, while the live stream attracted 70,000 across the two days – a new record for the most amount of viewers of a Shannons Nationals stream.
Series organisers also noted the positive response on social media, including substantial organic growth amongst its mainstream social platforms.
The boom in interest can be directly attributed to the introduction of the carsales TCR Australia Series, featuring the new breed of touring cars to the Australian motorsport landscape.
TCR Australia received an extraordinary amount of media coverage over the course of the weekend, including editorial in News Limited papers, motoring and motorsport press plus appearances on the Seven Network’s Sunrise breakfast program.
The next round of the carsales TCR Australia Series, headlining the Shannons Nationals, will be at the world-famous Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit on June 7-9.
See below for the fans’ reaction to the Sydney event.
QUOTES
Matt Braid
Director, Australian Racing Group
“We are very pleased with how our first event rolled out and the great support that we saw both at the track and via the livestream,” said Matt Braid.
“The size of the crowd was an encouraging first event for us, but what we were most pleased with was the mix of attendees and their genuine interest in the TCR Australia category.
“It is early days for TCR Australia and we will continue to listen, learn and create a quality product.
“Sydney has given us a great launch pad for the rest of the season and we are really looking forward to Phillip Island and the rest of the TCR Australia Series.”
Michael Smith
Director, Shannons Nationals
“We are absolutely delighted with the really strong interest in the opening round of the Shannons Nationals,” said Michael Smith.
“Across all the categories involved in the weekend, there was plenty of fans tuning in online and on TV, as well as a bumper crowd in attendance at Sydney Motorsport Park.
“With some terrific ratings on SBS for the three TCR races, and strong numbers for the live stream across both Saturday and Sunday, we believe this round sets a really strong foundation for an exciting year to come.
“With Phillip Island now less than three weeks away, we’re really keen for the next round of the Shannons Nationals to get underway and with another strong list of categories lined up for the event, there will be plenty of interest yet again.”