Aspects of Residents' Perceptions of the GMC 400 - Canberra's V8 Supercar Race

The Inaugural GMC 400 Super Car Race was held in Canberra, Australia, on 11 June 2000 within the Parliamentary Precinct of the national capital. Some debate arose in the media about the appropriateness of the event for Canberra in general, and for the zone in particular. While the event was shown on television to all Australians, it is the residents of Canberra who are most affected by the traffic, by the visual impact of the infrastructure, and by other social costs. The residents are also the ones who experience any social benefits such as the excitement and the pride of hosting the event. This paper presents the results of a telephone survey of local residents conducted immediately after the weekend of the race to gauge residents' perceptions of the event and to test for differences in attitudes amongst different groups. Overall, the results of this study recognised that residents experienced some disruption and perceived some negative impacts of the event; however, they also perceived some of the positive impacts such as promotion for the national capital and community pride. The study also revealed that residents' perceptions differed according to several intrinsic variables, including attendance at the event, employment as a result of the event, interest in motorsports, and residential proximity to the race circuit.