KEY POINTS:
Australia's V8 supercars are heading home, as Hamilton continues its come-down from the weekend of partying and motor-racing action.
Twenty-nine Holdens and Fords which competed in the Hamilton400 V8 series are scheduled to leave Auckland today on two jumbo jets bound for Melbourne and Brisbane.
Safety and medical cars will also be among the pricey cargo, which is worth A$10 million ($11.9 million) and weighs a hefty 200 tonnes.
The V8s, looking slightly worse for wear after their laps of Hamilton's 3.4km street circuit, were loaded on to trucks at the racetrack yesterday.
Several cars had broken bumpers and headlights, but Peter Gibson, who is co-ordinating the freight operation, said that was nothing unusual for a street-racing event. "All street circuits are tough because the walls are so close," he said.
"They're hard on cars but superb from spectators' point-of-view.
Mr Gibson is managing director of Gibson Freight, which is based in Australia and specialises in transporting race cars and motorbikes to motorsport events around the world.
Mr Gibson has been to Formula One, MotoGP and World Superbike events, among others, and said Hamilton's V8 series, which ended Sunday, had been "absolutely fantastic".
"For a first-up event, it's been absolutely superb in terms of organisation."
Mr Gibson's company has been responsible for carting each of the V8s from their workshops in Australia to the Hamilton racetrack and back again - a major logistical exercise.
"We do the jigsaw puzzle and make sure they all end up in the right spot," he said.
For the journey across the Tasman, the cars are stacked on specially built racks and carefully weighed to ensure the 747 freight planes carrying them are balanced.
The pit crews have just three weeks to repair any damage for the next event on the V8 calendar in Perth.
In Hamilton yesterday, there was still plenty of evidence of its event.
Most roads had reopened to the public but the main grandstands had not been dismantled, and motorists took photos on their cellphones as they drove through the circuit.
Holden and Ford emblems remained on curbs and roundabouts.
Hamilton is contracted to hold the event for seven years, but it has been deemed such a success, that V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane is vowing to make the city a feature part of the championship for much longer.
More than 170,000 people attended the three days of racing in Hamilton.
