KEY POINTS:
One week before the V8 Supercars roar into life, the Hamilton race is already New Zealand's biggest sporting event.
The 162,000 pre-bought tickets dwarf the crowds at cricket and rugby grounds.
Construction of the 3.4km circuit is on schedule and more than 70,000 hours have been put into building the track, barriers and grandstands.
"All the pre-event barriers are in place but locals can still get in and out," said event organiser Steve Vuleta.
"The remaining barriers will go up from midnight Wednesday. The tyre barriers are all but erected and we'll also finish those on Wednesday night. We're bang on schedule."
It's been a huge undertaking for Hamilton, Vuleta and his team. To complete the circuit in time for next Friday's practice, 2000 4.5 tonne concrete blocks will have been placed, 9km of fencing will have been erected, four pedestrian bridges placed over the track, 9000 tonnes of steel and concrete poured and erected and an endurance race (250km) of cable laid.
Come race weekend, spectators will be able see these bellowing behemoths reaching speeds up to 250km/h on what in essence are suburban streets. Now that's exciting.
If Hamilton can get all this done with the minimum of fuss, why is it so difficult for Auckland to build a stadium?
