Nikon SuperGP 2009 – Gold Coast, QLD 22-25 October 2009

4 NEW V8 SUPERCAR RACES, A NEW RACE PROGRAM AND BRAND NEW CATEGORY ANNOUNCED THAT CELEBRATES AUSTRALIA’S MOTORSPORT LEGENDS!

The 2009 Nikon SuperGP will JUMP START YOUR HEART from October 22 to 25 on Queensland’s spectacular Gold Coast.

The Australian V8 Supercars Championship Series will headline the entertainment with 600km of race distance with four 150km races conducted at over 300 kilometre per hour around one of the world’s most picturesque street circuits.

The Nikon SuperGP will host Event 11 of the 2009 V8 Supercars Championship Series, as well as the Australian Legends category, the Aussie Racing Cars, Strategic Airlines Formula Ford, the Haymans Electrical MINI Challenge and a mammoth on-track entertainment program including stunt shows, burn out displays, drifting, driving challenges and driver parade laps.

Fans will witness some of the finest drivers and cars racing around the 4.47km track with the world’s greatest coastline and high rise skyline as the backdrop. Australian Defence Force aircrafts will soar overhead, sporting and entertainment celebrities will come out to play, the crowd will soak up with the weather and atmosphere, bands will rock the stage, and the whole Gold Coast comes alive.

The Nikon SuperGP is regarded as one of the ‘crown jewel’ motorsport events worldwide and one of the most popular sporting and entertainment events in Australia each year.

The annual four days and four nights in October, this year being staged for the 19th time, has also developed another peak period for Queensland’s tourism industry injecting more than $60 million into the local economy.

While motorsport is the main act, there is so much more entertainment to attract the throngs of people to the Nikon SuperGP over the four hot days and nights, with the entertainment spilling over to an array of locations around the Gold Coast.

On-track the TW Steel Miss SuperGP, Sea FM Air Show and the Australian Defence Force aerobatics will all keep the crowd enthralled, while over 30 Official Off-track Events create a carnival for the entire Gold Coast region, with cocktail parties, corporate breakfasts and luncheons, street parades, extreme sports, nightclub parties, gala balls and much more set to feature on the calendar.

The options are endless even when deciding what tickets to buy. General Admission, Grandstand Seating and Corporate Suites are all available, and once you have decided upon your ticket, getting to the event is easy with all ticketholders able to ‘Travel Free’ on all Surfside Buslines services on the Gold Coast and Queensland Rail Citytrain services from Brisbane to the Gold Coast.

Nikon SuperGP General Manager Greg Hooton said the Nikon SuperGP is a carnival of entertainment that captivates the entire Gold Coast and showcases its beauty, beaches, and value as both a holiday and commercial destination to the world.

“The Nikon SuperGP is a truly amazing event that people from the Gold Coast to all points on the globe recognise, love and appreciate,” said Hooton.

“It all comes down to experiencing the Nikon SuperGP. We find that one of the reasons why the event continues to prosper is because people come, taste the action and atmosphere, have a great time, and make it an annual pilgrimage.

“The atmosphere on the Gold Coast is phenomenal during event week. In one of the most picturesque holiday destinations in the world, a busy commercial and residential area is transformed into a bustling entertainment zone featuring high speed motor racing, amazing aerial acrobatics, and a multitude of functions and parties celebrated by hundreds of thousands of fans.”

For the first time in 2009, the V8 Supercars series will hold four 150km races on the streets of Surfers Paradise. This will be the first time the category has held four races of this kind at any event, and will see the biggest race distance for any one event bar-Bathurst completed over October 22-25, before you even take into account the track time from practice, qualifying and the Top Ten Shootout.

In last year’s V8 Supercar Challenge, eventual 2008 Championship winner Jamie Whincup claimed victory, while Garth Tander (2007), Todd Kelly (2006), Craig Lowndes (2005), Greg Murphy (2004), Russell Ingall (2003) and Jason Bargwanna (2002) have also been winners on the Gold Coast since the event has been an official points-scoring round of the V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Also new for 2009 is the Australian Legends category which features some great names, including Dick Johnson, Kevin Bartlett, John “Rusty” French, Glenn Seton and Colin Bond who will thrill the crowd at close to race speeds in machines that have been a part of Australian motorsport folklore for generations – loud, fast and sideways! They will be driving a host of former championship and Bathurst-winning cars including Allan Moffat’s famous Coca-Cola Mustang, Norm Beechey’s Monaro, Ian “Pete” Geoghegan’s Super Falcon, Bartlett’s famous Channel 9 Camaro, Peter Brock’s A9X Torana, Jim Richard’s JPS 635 BMW, Glenn and Bo Seton’s Ford Capri and Johnson’s Tru Blue Falcon XD – all valued well in excess of $1 million each.

While the track will hold plenty of high-octane action, a tilt of the head skywards will also captivate patrons as the Sea FM Air Show produces amazing aerobatics featuring Australian Defence Force flying machines over the four days. Whether it is the F-111 Dump ’n’ Burn or Navy and Army Helicopters, fans will be spellbound by the sight and sound of these awesome aircrafts.

And yet there is still so much more for spectators on-track aside from the cars, stunts and planes. TW Steel Miss SuperGP girls will feature prominently over the entire week. There is an enormous range of merchandise, and food and drink outlets. To get up close and personal with drivers and celebrities, spectators can also enjoy the entertainment and autograph sessions on the Sea FM Stage.

Thursday is the annual Banana Boat Student’s Day with numerous educational elements for primary and secondary school students.

While so much action is happening on the track, it is the activity off-track that has enabled the Nikon SuperGP to rival the Melbourne Cup as an event which can engage a whole city.

Annually a huge and diverse listing of Official Off-track Events combine to make the Nikon SuperGP a carnival of entertainment with something for everyone. Street parades, car exhibits, sport’s modeling, extreme sports, beach events, cocktail parties, driver functions, singing and dancing competitions, gala balls and nightclub parties are some of the activities that traditionally feature.

A group of Australia’s leading and most respected businesspeople comprise the Events Advisory Committee which works hard behind the scenes to establish the annual Official Off-track Events Calendar.

The Nikon SuperGP is a partnership between the Queensland Government and IMG. Nikon is the Naming Rights sponsor for the event – a company recognised as the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology. Major sponsors include XXXX Gold, Falken Tyres, Strategic Airlines and the Gold Coast City Council.

The Nikon SuperGP is one of the most popular events for the corporate world with more than 250 national and international companies annually securing corporate hospitality packages. These range from single corporate tickets in a Club to private hospitality for groups from 10 to 280 people in one of the Pavilions, Villas, Super Suites and Clubs located around the 4.47km circuit.

The construction of the Gold Coast circuit has been acclaimed internationally and is used as a benchmark for new temporary street circuits world-wide. Over a full 12-month period plans are laid and then implemented to transform a bustling residential, commercial and holiday destination into a temporary street circuit capable of facilitating high-speed motor races and hundreds of thousands of people.

In a two-month period leading up to the event, five bridges are erected, 2515 concrete barriers installed, over 7,000 grandstand seats constructed, more than 100 corporate suites furnished, 10km of debris fencing and 16km of security fencing placed, many more temporary structures fitted, and large-scale power and telecommunications systems activated.

Up to 1500 people volunteer their services to deliver the event in roles such as track marshals, accreditation staff, corporate hosts, gate officials, fire marshals, grandstand officials, media centre assistants, flag marshals, information booth attendants, grid marshals and much more. In fact as of the 2008 event 28 of these 1500 have been volunteers every year since the event started in 1991 (17), while 22 have participated in 16, 23 in 15 and 65 in over 10 events.

Over the whole year, the Nikon SuperGP plans are developed and activated by the Gold Coast Motor Events Co and IMG office of more than 20 staff. The office team is led by General Manager Greg Hooton.

While many interesting statistics have been divulged already, here is a trivia snapshot on last year’s Nikon SuperGP:

More than 26,500 meals were provided in corporate suites, with more than 650 trained casual staff employed in the production and delivery of these meals.
Corporate guests consumed 65,000 bottles of soft drink; 98,000 cans of beer provided by Lion Nathan; and 5,000 bottles of Mitchelton wines.
Spectators ate approximately 28,000 ice creams, 6,000 meat pies, 10,600 hamburgers, 12,750 hot dogs and 42,000 serves of hot chips.
More than 65 companies were contracted to supply a service at the Nikon SuperGP, with the total number of employees close to 1100.
There were approximately 1000 journalists, photographers, camera operators and crew from around Australia and the world in attendance.

To be part of the Nikon SuperGP action this year, there are a variety of options to suit everyone. One day to four-day General Admission tickets, Reserved Grandstand Seating, and Corporate Hospitality packages which can be tailored to meet the needs of all corporate clients, are available.

Tickets for this year’s event are on sale now through Ticketek on 1300 303 103, and from a one day General Admission ticket to a 4 day Platinum Grandstand seat, the Nikon SuperGP has ticket options to suit every style and pocket. One day General Admission tickets start from just $35 and Four Day passes start from $180. Children 12 and under are free to enter the event. See www.SuperGP.com for all ticketing information, terms and conditions and prices.

Corporate packages range from Business Club memberships to private hospitality for 32 people in the Pit Garage Suites. From the hype of the Pits to the explosive Chicane action and the ocean breezes of the Esses – there’s a corporate hospitality package to suit every need and impress every guest. Contact the Nikon SuperGP Sales Team on phone 07 5588 6800.

All Nikon SuperGP ticket holders can also ‘Travel Free’ on the Queensland Rail Citytrain and Surfside Buslines network. Service timetables are available from TransInfo on phone 13 12 30.

Those that can’t make the Nikon SuperGP can watch the coverage on the Seven Network.

When: Thu 22 October 2009 – Sun 25 October 2009
Times: 8am – 5pm
Where: Surfers Paradise Street Circuit, Temporary Street Circuit, Surfers Paradise

The Nikon SuperGP track is located at the northern end of Surfers Paradise, 20km north of the Gold Coast Airport along the Gold Coast Highway and 85km south of Brisbane Airport along the Gateway Motorway, the Pacific Motorway and Smith Street Motorway/exit.

Stay tuned by visiting official event website at www.SuperGP.com for ticket information and all the latest news on the event.