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Is motorsport “a race out of place”?trees and the buildings of central Adelaide as part ofthe backdrop to the race, which is much moreinteresting than a bland purpose-built circuit. The racetelecast features repeated shots of the racing carsappearing to drive out of central Adelaide into theparkland. In TV coverage of the Adelaide Clipsal 500race in March 2004, the Channel 10 commentaryincluded the following:The official website for the event includes:“It’s a race, a party, an eyeful and an earful …96 hours of on and off track entertainment in oneof the world’s most famous beach cities … foursizzling days and nights of high octaneentertainment – Lexmark Indy 300 style.”(Lexmark Indy 300, 2007a)RESEARCH PAPER“Right now the focus is South Australia and thestreets of Adelaide… You can see the proximity ofthis racing track to the CBD in Adelaide… This isthe Adelaide Parkland Circuit… wonderful event…the Clipsal 500… lots of colour, a grand theatre ofmotorsport … Just outside the city centre, theAdelaide street circuit utilises most of the famousFormula One layout”(Channel 10 Australia, 20 March 2004)The organisers of the race appear to recognise that thelocation of the event, in the Adelaide Parklands, is afactor in attracting people to motorsport. During thecoverage of the 2004 race, the AVESCO (AustralianVee Eight Supercar Company) chairman commented:“To bring a whole stack of people here whootherwise might not be interested in motorsport –you might just bring a few people into the fold…That’s why we’re the fastest growing sport in thecountry.”Case study 4: The Gold Coast Indy – co-sponsorshipof ‘sun, sand and surf’ lifestyle and motorsportArguably the clearest example of how the location of amotorsports event supports the marketing of motorracing and associated activities and products is theGold Coast Indy event, staged in Surfers Paradise,Queensland, each year since 1991. Since 1994 theIndy-Car race (known also as CART racing –Championship Auto Racing Teams) has been run inconjunction with races for Australia’s V8 Supercars.The 2007 Gold Coast Indy event is marketed as a partof the party lifestyle of Surfers Paradise in Queensland.“The Lexmark Indy 300 is internationallyrenowned as not just another motorsport event,but a glamorous and fun week-long party set inone of Australia’s most picturesque locations –Surfers Paradise beach on the glittering GoldCoast… the noise, colour and excitement… theevents atmosphere, creating an experience like noother… you've got one hell of a party!”(Lexmark Indy 300, 2007b)Like the Grand Prix events in Albert Park, the Indy-Carevents in the Gold Coast involved sponsorship by bothalcohol and tobacco companies, though tobaccosponsorship was banned in all sporting events inAustralia from October 2006. (Prior to this date, anexception was made for international events, meaningthat the Indy events and the Grand Prix events werepermitted to include tobacco sponsorship.)Queensland’s Gold Coast is known throughoutAustralia and much of the rest of the world as“Australia’s best expression of ‘tourism urbanisation’, acity built specifically to enable large numbers of peopleto visit for a short period for the consumption of fun… sun, sand, surf abound in promotional materialadvertising the Gold Coast” (Robinson et al, 2000,p.170).The most developed part of the Gold Coast, and thearea that attracts the greatest tourist numbers, isSurfers Paradise, Australia’s best expression of aculture in which people are encouraged to find theirmeaning and identity through the consumption oflavish entertainment and spectacles. The area isrenowned for its high-rise apartment development.Through a deliberately managed promotion aimed at70 International Journal of Sports Marketing & Sponsorship ● OCTOBER 2009 ●