05/11/2006
NEWS STORY
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In the wake of the scheme whereby female race fans will be offered discounted tickets for the 2007 event - a move that has not entirely gone down well with male race fans - the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) has come up with another scheme aimed at putting more bums on seats for next year's race.
The AGPC has announced details of an exercise for grade 5 and 6 schoolchildren, which will see as many as 10,000 free tickets given away for the event next March. This is a major increase on the 4,000 given away in a similar exercise this year.
However, rather than admit that it is merely giving away the tickets, which might be seen by some as a cynical way of filling the gaps, the AGPC has come up with a special initiative, Real Academic Car Experience (RACE).
The initiative sees children having to answer a number of questions about the event, such as naming two sponsors (hint; ING and Qantas) and various other tasks, including coming up with a new logo and slogan for the event.
Having recently revealed a loss of $21m Au (£8.27m) on this year's race, a significant increase on the previous year's loss of $13m Au (£5.1m), the AGPC will no doubt be seeking further initiatives in order to encourage people to attend the 2007 event, which clashes with the World Swimming Championships.
That said, there is no proof that organizers are considering offering free or discounted seats to dingoes, kangaroos, anyone who dresses like Sir Les Patterson, owns a Stylophone - in the original Rolf Harris packaging - or has a ticket stub from a Mad Max movie. But give it time!