Adelaide 500 Supercars race sees lowest crowds in 17 years

Multiple factors have been blamed for the lowest number of people attending the Adelaide 500 Supercars race since it became a four-day event in 2003.

Just over 206,000 people attended the event over the four days to Sunday - the lowest attendance since 213,600 motor racing fans turned up in 2003, down from 254,000 last year and 273,500 in 2018.

Race organiser, Events South Australia advised that attendance on the Sunday was down from 91,500 last year to 66,000 this year.

Holden’s announcement that it would be exiting the Australian car market, bushfires and Coronavirus fears as factors in the low crowd numbers

Events SA Executive Director Hitaf Rasheed also suggested "changing consumer behaviour", ageing motorsport fans and the generally weak economy for the crowd drop, advising "it's certainly a big drop.”

Rasheed told the ABC "I still think more than 200,000 people across four days in anyone's language is still a great crowd, but definitely crowds were down over the last four days and I'm sure there a number of reasons why that might be."

This year's Adelaide 500 included a concert headlined by the Hilltop Hoods after previous races were headlined by international acts such as the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Robbie Williams.

Race winner Scott McLaughlin and Australian Hotels Association SA Chief Executive Ian Horne suspected the smaller musical drawcard was a factor in the attendance fall.

Horne told the ABC “no disrespect to the Hilltop Hoods - they're a well known South Australian and Australian band with an international reputation - but in other years we've had some very, very high-profile acts - Robbie Williams just to name one.”

Horne also speculated that the "reality and psyche impact of bushfires and coronavirus", less corporate support, competition from other events and the length of the event could have been factors.

With Australian-based automotive manufacturing coming to an end, it was suggested that Holden and Ford fans are now questioning the passions that have driven their half-century long rivalry.

McLaughlin said "overall as a whole the sport does need to have a big think about a few things" with Holden's closure.

Events SA is contracted to host the Supercars at the Adelaide CBD circuit until next year while a Supercar race is also held at The Bend Motorsport Park in Tailem Bend, about 100 kilometres south-east of Adelaide.

Image: The Adelaide CBD circuit from the air.