#CowboyDavid
18-11-2008, 04:06 PM
Release date: 17/11/2008
Tickets for the Townsville 400 V8 Supercars race next July sold like hot cakes yesterday after North Queensland residents queued overnight to get access to the historic event.
People in their thousands queued at Jupiters Townsville where the official ticket launch for the first V8 Supercars race was held, and Ticketek phone lines also rang off the hook.
Ticket boxes remained open for more than three hours past the original 2pm closing time to cope with the demand, and close to 10,000 had been sold by the close of play.
Currently, the offer of tickets is limited to residents of North Queensland, with the rest of the country to be included in later this week.
Townsville residents Andrew Smith and Ken Houghton secured a shared pole position in the line at 6am on Saturday, waiting 27 hours until tickets officially went on sale at 9am Sunday.
Smith, a motorsport fan since childhood, was intent on being the first in line.
"I grew up watching Bathurst, and when it's finally on your own doorstep you just have to be there," Smith said.
"It was worth every hour of the wait, I would have sat there for another 24 hours if I had to. It's my birthday on July 12 and I've got tickets for all my family so it's going to be a great celebration. I can't wait for July next year."
By midnight on Saturday night, up to 50 people had started camping for tickets and by 9am the queue stretched for 1km.
People drove from as far as Mount Isa and Moranbah to be at the launch, desperate not to miss a chance of being part of V8 Supercars history.
V8 Supercars Australia events general manager Shane Howard said: "This clearly shows that bringing the event to North Queensland is an absolute winner and that the people of North Queensland are not only diehard fans but they want elite sport on their doorstep.
"There was no doubt that today was going to be a huge success, but even we underestimated the demand.
"We want to thank everybody for their patience whilst we were processing the huge numbers of tickets that were purchased in the opening hours.
"Every one of those people is now guaranteed their place at the very first Townsville 400, which we are now certain will be the largest single event in the region."
V8 Supercar driver and championship leader Jamie Whincup said: "These are tough times for everybody from an economic perspective, but today showed how much of an appreciation the people of North Queensland have for our sport.
"As drivers coming here, we knew in some ways what to expect but I think all of us have been surprised by the response.
"We walked along the lines of fans and tried to speak to as many people as we could to get a real feeling for the atmosphere next year, which is just going to be superb.
"It's going to have a really, really good feel about it."
Whincup, James Courtney, Rick and Todd Kelly and Fabian Coulthard travelled to Townsville to meet and greet fans at the official ticket launch.
The exclusive three-day offer for North Queensland to buy their tickets continues Monday November 17 and Tuesday November 18, with the rest of the country able to purchase from 9am on Wednesday November 19.
Prices start at $27 for Friday general admission, with kids aged 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult. Grandstand seats cost from $170 for the three days of racing.
The three-day presale ticket offer is open to residents from Rockhampton north, and west to Mount Isa including Longreach, Barcaldine, Emerald and Blackwater.
Author:BigPond
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright
Tickets for the Townsville 400 V8 Supercars race next July sold like hot cakes yesterday after North Queensland residents queued overnight to get access to the historic event.
People in their thousands queued at Jupiters Townsville where the official ticket launch for the first V8 Supercars race was held, and Ticketek phone lines also rang off the hook.
Ticket boxes remained open for more than three hours past the original 2pm closing time to cope with the demand, and close to 10,000 had been sold by the close of play.
Currently, the offer of tickets is limited to residents of North Queensland, with the rest of the country to be included in later this week.
Townsville residents Andrew Smith and Ken Houghton secured a shared pole position in the line at 6am on Saturday, waiting 27 hours until tickets officially went on sale at 9am Sunday.
Smith, a motorsport fan since childhood, was intent on being the first in line.
"I grew up watching Bathurst, and when it's finally on your own doorstep you just have to be there," Smith said.
"It was worth every hour of the wait, I would have sat there for another 24 hours if I had to. It's my birthday on July 12 and I've got tickets for all my family so it's going to be a great celebration. I can't wait for July next year."
By midnight on Saturday night, up to 50 people had started camping for tickets and by 9am the queue stretched for 1km.
People drove from as far as Mount Isa and Moranbah to be at the launch, desperate not to miss a chance of being part of V8 Supercars history.
V8 Supercars Australia events general manager Shane Howard said: "This clearly shows that bringing the event to North Queensland is an absolute winner and that the people of North Queensland are not only diehard fans but they want elite sport on their doorstep.
"There was no doubt that today was going to be a huge success, but even we underestimated the demand.
"We want to thank everybody for their patience whilst we were processing the huge numbers of tickets that were purchased in the opening hours.
"Every one of those people is now guaranteed their place at the very first Townsville 400, which we are now certain will be the largest single event in the region."
V8 Supercar driver and championship leader Jamie Whincup said: "These are tough times for everybody from an economic perspective, but today showed how much of an appreciation the people of North Queensland have for our sport.
"As drivers coming here, we knew in some ways what to expect but I think all of us have been surprised by the response.
"We walked along the lines of fans and tried to speak to as many people as we could to get a real feeling for the atmosphere next year, which is just going to be superb.
"It's going to have a really, really good feel about it."
Whincup, James Courtney, Rick and Todd Kelly and Fabian Coulthard travelled to Townsville to meet and greet fans at the official ticket launch.
The exclusive three-day offer for North Queensland to buy their tickets continues Monday November 17 and Tuesday November 18, with the rest of the country able to purchase from 9am on Wednesday November 19.
Prices start at $27 for Friday general admission, with kids aged 12 and under free when accompanied by an adult. Grandstand seats cost from $170 for the three days of racing.
The three-day presale ticket offer is open to residents from Rockhampton north, and west to Mount Isa including Longreach, Barcaldine, Emerald and Blackwater.
Author:BigPond
Source:BigPond Sport - copyright