Motorsport: Hamilton V8 Supercars to screen in US

The Hamilton 400 will be screened to a potential audience of 80 million in the United States. Photo / Getty Images

The third edition of the Hamilton 400 motor race on April 16-18 will be viewed by a potential audience of 80 million fans in the United States.

It is New Zealand's sole round of the Australian V8 Supercar championship series.

Series organisers have struck a deal with Fox Sports USA to broadcast next year's championship on their major motorsport cable network, SPEED.

The network has more than 79 million subscribers in North America and is regarded as the main network for broadcasting Nascar, Formula One, MotoGP, AMA Supercross and many other forms of racing.

The new partnership is for three years starting with this weekend's final round of the 2009 championship at the new street circuit around Olympic Park in Sydney.

Hamilton 400 promoter Dean Calvert said it was a further opportunity for Hamilton to show itself to the world.

"It's a huge deal for V8 Supercars, for our race and for the city of Hamilton," he said.

"Let's not forget that last year nearly 19 million Australians watched the series, and around 1.5 million watched our round in living rooms across the Tasman."

The series is now broadcast to 135 countries with a mix of live, delayed and packaged highlights.

"And now the Hamilton round of the series could be seen by 80 million Americans. That's exposure that money can't buy and represents an amazing opportunity for this city."

- NZPA