From the Canberra Times.
Switching Canberra's V8 Supercar street race to a new April time slot next year is one of several initiatives for the event under discussion between the ACT Government and the racing series organisers.
The chairman of the Gold Coast based company AVESCO which runs the V8 Supercar series, Tony Cochrane, believes that rescheduling the race to run earlier in the championship calendar would help put the event's ledgers back in the black. "There's no doubt that the cold weather in June can be a potential turn-off for people who come to the race from interstate," Mr Cochrane said.
"We've studied the demographics and the Canberra 400 draws most of its interstate visitor numbers from the western suburbs of Sydney.
"What we're hearing is that we could boost ticket sales by as much as 15 to 20 per cent if we held the race in nice weather . . . when people could drive down from Sydney and camp out for the weekend."
The difficulty with an April race in Canberra is that the only long weekend available is linked with Anzac Day, which could be seen as insensitive and provoke opposition from new quarters.
The June long weekend was chosen for the race because traditionally it is one of the quietest periods for Canberra tourism.
The ACT Minister for Economic Development, Business and Tourism, Ted Quinlan, acknowledges that June "may not be the appropriate time" for the race.
The Canberra 400 is in the third year of a five-year contract between the ACT Government and AVESCO. Although the deal was struck when the Liberals were in power, the new Labor Government has pledged its support, albeit with a close eye on the value the race brings for business and tourism.
The annual investment by the ACT Government in the race is about $4 million. Last year the race incurred an operating loss of $1.45 million, but delivered an economic benefit of $13.2 million.
"We [the Labor Party] supported the proposal because we thought the motor racing fans [in the ACT] don't get an even break given the amount of investment we make in other sporting events and elite sports and access to magnificent facilities," Mr Quinlan said.
However, he said this would be a "solid test year" for the race. "All the indications are good. The only thing that would ruin it is crappy weather on the race weekend."
To see Steven Johnson and Steven Richards hanging 60m off the Rydges Hotel, go here:
http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/vie....jpg&id=143426
BJ