V8 Supercars is a touring car racing category based in Australia held since 1993. It draws over 250,000 spectators, not to mention millions of television viewers. Along with Australia, it has a considerable popularity in New Zealand.
The V8 Supercars themselves take their basis as either the Ford Falcon or Holden Commodore, which have been the two most purchased cars in Australia. Although they bear some resemblance in their appearance, they are highly modified to match the motor-sport application. This has thought to have resulted in the motor racing term “win on Sunday, sell on Monday”.
The drivers in the competition must race against each other in 14 different rounds to complete a series of sprint races, with distances of 250 km or 120 km plus endurance races.12 of the 14 rounds is held in Australia. The rest two take place accordingly in New Zealand (Hamilton 400) and Bahrain (Gulf Air Desert 400). The competitors are highly governed in all aspects of performance in an effort to keep all the drivers on an even footing to create closer, more exciting racing. As a result, entire fields of 29 drivers are determined by just one second over qualifying laps at some events. This makes every second of the race a thrilling experience where the drivers play for everything they have- with everything they have. Some famous names associated with the v8 Supercars history are: Peter Brock, Larry Perkins, Dick Johnson, Jim Richards. At present time names like Craig Lowndes, Jamie Whincup and Garth Tander are more recognizable. Due to the growing popularity of the race, 2 new venues have been added to the race in the year 2009.
The increasing number of spectators reflects the increasing popularity of the v8 super cars. The Gulf air desert 400 has already seen more than 30000 spectators in the year 2007 and was voted the v8 super car ‘event of the rear in 2007.’ This shows the v8 super car is gaining a steady popularity all across the globe.