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Ecstatic organisers of this year's Hamilton 400 V8 series are promising even bigger and better things next year after the event was hailed as one of the biggest successes in the city's history.
About 172,000 fans enjoyed the three-day motorsport festival - including yesterday's sell-out crowd of 60,000 - exceeding expectations by nearly 20,000 people.
Enormous crowds flooded into central Hamilton's usually sedate Hinemoa Park and the several beer gardens dotted around the 3.4km circuit to enjoy the action.
Others packed the temporary grandstands, sat on house roof tops in Frankton or crowded seven-deep around the track fringes.
"At least here you can see the race," said one of the fringe-viewers, 28-year-old Auckland accountant Martin Rogers, referring to the gripe hundreds of fans had about lack of visibility from their expensive grandstand seats on Mill St.
Promoter Dean Calvert said the restricted view from the Mill St grandstands was the only blemish in an otherwise "tremendous effort" .
"It's something we want to improve," he said.
"I spoke to the majority of these people, and most understand that when you have an event of this size and significance you're not always going to get it 100 per cent right.
"But I think we've put on an amazing first-year event and it's a great platform to move forward from."
V8 Supercars chairman Tony Cochrane said he wanted to make Hamilton a feature part of the championship series well beyond its planned seven years in the city.
"It's been a tremendous and seamless exercise and we are delighted with the response," he said.
A beaming Hamilton Mayor, Bob Simcock, said taking on the event had been a big step into the unknown for the city but the pay-off had been huge.
In the city, bars and restaurants were crowded, and some pubs reported having their biggest turnovers despite many of them having imposed a $10 cover charge.
During the races, chants of "Up yours, Auckland, we'll have the V8s", were heard - and the event was a bitter showing for Auckland Mayor John Banks of what might have been.
Last night, he said Auckland lost a "golden opportunity" in 2004, when ratepayers did not accept the city council's bid to hold the series.
Mr Banks said he was happy for Hamilton's success, but not without thinking how that exposure could have been Auckland's.
He was not planning to try again to get the races in Auckland - "I just respect the fact that the people of Auckland said a big N-O."
