Canberra 400 - Downfall

Downfall

Unfortunately, the Canberra 400 only lasted 3 of its 5 year contract. Gary Humphries's Liberal Government was replaced in 2001 by Jon Stanhope's Labor Government. The new Chief Minister allowed the race to run in 2002, but decided to pull the plug for the 2003 race. The main reason given for the cancellation of the contract was the amount of money being spent on the race. Kate Carnell's initial estimation on cost blew out as the years went on, and some Canberrans believed that this money was better spent elsewhere. The race wasn't making as much money as had been expected. The motels and hotels around Canberra were full and having the best winter period ever, but the crowd at the track dropped from 101,000 in 2000 to 89,000 in 2002. This was put down the time of year and the weather. In Canberra, in June the temperature can become lower than 5°C during the day. To most Canberrans this is just a normal winter, but to interstate visitors who weren't used to such cold conditions, it was too cold.

There was talk about moving the race to a warmer part of the year, but it never materialised. Some businessmen in the Canberra district of Tuggeranong even designed their own layout for the V8 Supercars to run on around the Tuggeranong Town Centre, in an effort to boost business, but this also never eventuated.

Today there are still reminders of the V8's short history in Canberra with tyre skid marks and painted racing lines still visible on the narrow, yet challenging roads they raced on.