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I have to admit, the article is somewhat right. The last couple of times I've been to the events in Queensland (Ipswich and Gold Coast) there wasn't the same amount of crowds nor atmosphere. Even the small businesses that used to profit from having a stall at the event (and their promo model girls, etc) were sorely lacking. (At QR the other week, even the food vans which were plenty in the past only a few were there)
Plus with Volvo and Ford leaving the sport, it has lost a lot of the series fanbase. When I was at the QR event a few weeks ago, there was only a few diehard fans wearing blue oval merchandise and anyone wearing Volvo or Mercedes gear was non-existent. (with the exception of a few people wearing F1 shirts with one wearing Mercedes colours)
Speaking of marques, when even the top international backed teams are struggling to get factory acknowledgement (Penske, Prodrive, etc) to the point they're running cars no longer being made is alarm bell ringing.
The flip side is that there is some heartwarming nostalgia seeing an Aussie icon still being used and the lack of people means it's easier to see and catch up with friends in the series who would usually be drowning in a sea of fans who would want a photo and/or autograph . (I had a good old chat to Greg Rust, Brad Jones, Neil Crompton and a few others instead of the usual quick hello in the past)
Maybe I'm being an optimist to think that Supercars will survive as the top-level motorsport in this country but with the ever-shrinking market and sponsorship becoming harder and harder by each passing day compared to Aus GT and with some of the top teams looking at the category, (speaking to guys like Tekno, Walkinshaw plus lower-tier runners like Ben Eggleston and Jim Pollicina) it looks like the Supercars series is in troubled waters. So can they save it from sinking or time to abandon ship?
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