Epic Bathurst attracts big TV audience

Sunday’s dramatic Repco Bathurst 1000 has attracted big TV ratings.

The race, won by Shane van Gisbergen and Garth Tander, featured eight Safety Cars.

The 161-lap classic was the final for Holden, with the Commodore bowing out with victory.

The broadcast featured a number of new innovations, which took viewers closer to the action than ever before.

The Seven Network and Foxtel have combined to deliver a large audience.

Foxtel has broken records for Foxtel Group with more than 62.5 million minutes streamed during The Great Race.

It was the highest of any Supercars event in history.

The event was the second highest performing Supercars race of all time across the Foxtel Group.

An average audience of 524,000 tuned in across Foxtel and streaming platforms Kayo Sports, Foxtel NOW and Foxtel GO, up 9% on 2021.

Kayo Sports saw more than 103.7 million streamed hours throughout Bathurst week with dedicated programming available live and On Demand on Fox Sports from October 3-10.

Fox Sports Executive Director Steve Crawley said: "Bathurst continues to be a race that revs up fans right around the country.

"With Jessica Yates, six-time Bathurst champion Mark Skaife and Neil Crompton heading world-class coverage it’s always a highlight of the year and just keeps getting better.

"Great to see another bumper Bathurst for the home of Motorsport in Australia."

Over 4.82 million people watched the live racing action on Channel 7 and 7mate.

A further 299,000 watched on 7plus.

The podium averaged 1.89 million viewers, including 94,000 on 7plus; it was up 38 per cent on 2021.

The podium topped the 16-39, 18-49 and 25-54 demographics.

More than 43.6 million minutes of the race were streamed on 7plus, which was up 78 per cent on 2021.

"The Repco Bathurst 1000 is the jewel in the crown of Australian motorsport,”Seven’s Head of Network Sport, Lewis Martin, said.

“Seven is a pioneer of motorsport broadcasting in Australia and Supercars is a key part of our sports schedule.

"There’s no better motorsport in Australia than Supercars and we’re thrilled to bring fans more comprehensive and unbeatable coverage in 2023.”

The 2022 season will continue at the Boost Mobile Gold Coast 500 on October 28-30.