Each year at GP time I trek down to Melbourne and take an apartment in St Kilda nearby the Melbourne Grand Prix circuit. In recent years that has become more about soaking up the cosmopolitan delights of St Kilda and enjoying a break with my wife and not-quite-five-year-old daughters. It used to be a chance to catch up with friends from distant lands who also congregated in the area at that time but clearly age and the global financial crisis have taken their toll as I knew not one soul arriving from afar.

I'll be honest. I was so busy enjoying myself that I nearly didn't bother with the Grand Prix. Judging by the official attendance figures I was part of a minority that did bother. Reports have it that this was the lowest aggregate attendance in the history of the race.

And note the use of the word "attendance". As Pitpass has learned in years gone by, this is a very different thing to the number of people who bothered reaching into their pockets and paying for a ticket given that there have been previous admissions of 'gifting' large numbers of tickets which may or may not have been used.

The Australian Grand Prix Commission has also previously admitted that it does not conduct head counts at the gates, relying rather on "statistical methods" of establishing attendances. Depending on whom you choose to believe this can mean anything from tallying total tickets on issue to including the team members, officials and marshals.

Whatever the rhetoric, I wandered into the circuit for the first time about 10 minutes before Qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Given my late arrival and relative geography, I opted to view the action from the infield in the areas of turns 13 and 14 - a personal favourite.

In years gone by such a late arrival would have relegated me to a lacking view 3 or 4 bodies back from a packed fence line that had been staked out all day by the eager. Not this year. I actually had pretty much my pick of locations and a view unimpeded for yards either side of me. I was able to freely amble between my chosen turns and easily find good, clear space. I'd go so far as to say that I could have let off a shotgun and struggled to hit anyone, not that I routinely carry such a weapon.

The next thing that struck me was the glaring absence of structures I'd grown used to in this area of the circuit. From day one there have been grandstands on the outside of the entry to turn 14 and a quite large grandstand complex on the far side of the gravel trap at the exit. All gone. As were any of those mobile, giant television screens that I used to alternately curse for impeding my view and bless for
allowing me to see replays of missed action from the far corners of the track.

Another notable absence in this area which had become a trusted ally of mine from the very first Melbourne GP was the complex of portable toilets that used to adorn the high ground on the lake bank between these turns. While I am able to accept the impact of the global credit crunch on grandstands and television screens, one wonders what the organisers were thinking when resolving to cut back on loos.

Me, I never made it beyond the paddock complex but a trusted friend and Pitpass devotee, Nestora Strintzos, whose word I have no reason to doubt, spent time at the other end of the circuit and gleefully reported the absence of corporate platforms had greatly improved the viewing between turns 5 and 6 from the general admission areas.