Hunter residents will have access to the cheapest street-race tickets on the Supercars calendar at a community fun day on Saturday.
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Supercars organisers have discounted three-day general admission passes to the Newcastle 500 to $96 for fans who attend the family day at Foreshore Park with proof of their address.
The 20 per cent discount brings a concession pass down to $80 for the season-ending race weekend from November 24 to 26.
Hunter residents can also buy general admission tickets at a 10 per cent discount ($108) until May 7 from Ticketek, the day before they go on sale to the general public at $120 ($100 concession).
Local fans will also have first access on Saturday to tickets for covered grandstand seats, which cost $315 for three days, or $295 concession.
“We wanted to recognise and offer the Newcastle community, which has been so strongly supportive of the event, a great incentive and the opportunity to get in first,” Supercars chief executive James Warburton told the Herald on Tuesday.
“For less than $100, or a little over $30 a day, you get three days of Supercars racing with a 250-kilometre race each day to crown the 2017 champion, a full support category card, all of the trackside entertainment and two massive concerts across two nights with world-class acts and supports.
“It’s the best value of any street race in the country, and we would argue of any major event in Australia with that level of all-round, world-class entertainment.”
Organisers expect a crowd of about 150,000 over the three-day race meeting, including 60,000 on Saturday and Sunday. They anticipate the grandstands will sell out.
The community day from 10am to 2pm on Saturday will include autograph sessions with Supercars drivers, a Hot Wheels Stuntz Team display and children’s activities.
Fans will also get a first look at the official track map for the Newcastle 500, showing grandstand locations and other viewing areas.
Meanwhile, the championship is turning into nothing like the Red Bull Holden Racing Team procession some were expecting after Shane Van Gisbergen lost the lead to DJR Team Penske rival Fabian Coulthard last weekend at Phillip Island.
The Ford driver leads by seven points from fellow Kiwi Van Gisbergen, who is 30 in front of Phillip Island winner Chaz Mostert in a Supercheap Auto Ford.
Van Gisbergen won the first three races, two in Adelaide and one in Tasmania, but the consistent Coulthard claimed the second in Tasmania and first at Phillip Island, raising the prospect of a down-to-the-wire decider in Newcastle.
