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Earlier this year, Coates Hire proudly announced securing naming rights for event 8 of the V8 Supercars calendar this year, the Coates Hire Ipswich 300.

An extension to the ongoing partnership with V8 Supercars Australia, the Ipswich event was Coates Hire’s first naming event with the V8s and proved to be a runaway success.

Despite early morning rain, the event delivered a big crowd of 50,425, 12,499 more people piling into Queensland Raceway than last year.

V8 Supercars Chief Executive Officer Martin Whitaker said it was a great vote of confidence for the event and the sport.

“We are delighted with the turnout which shows V8 Supercars is enormously popular in this region which is very much a heartland of motorsport,” Whitaker said.

“For those reasons this great crowd has been very, very well received. And I might add they’ve had a fantastic weekend with great racing on the track and terrific entertainment off it.”

Fans of Team Vodafone’s Craig Lowndes were especially treated. Lowndes made a clean sweep of the Coates Hire Ipwich 300, winning all three races of the weekend. The wins were Lowndes’ first of the year making the achievement even more momentous.

Queensland Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said the crowd was an endorsement for the Government’s support of the event continuing in Ipswich under the management of V8 Supercars.

“We know that events such as the Coates Hire Ipswich 300 are good for fans, good for jobs and great for the local economy,” Minister Palaszczuk said.

“It’s been a tough year for Ipswich so far but these events provide a much needed boost for our community. The significant increase in crowd numbers this year show the Ipswich community supports this great partnership between the Queensland Government, Ipswich City Council and V8 Supercars.”

Coates Hire is the official equipment hire supplier of the V8 Supercar Championship Series in Australia.