We wrote after the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix weekend was in the books that even if there wasn’t a massive turnout of fans, it was still a very successful, well-run weekend as a whole.
Well, for the weekend, there was a very large turnout of fans, per estimates released Wednesday by the event.
Weekend attendance numbers were estimated at 110,000 fans over the course of the three-day event. The estimates included approximately 25,000 fans for Comerica Bank Free Prix Day, just under 40,000 in attendance on Saturday and a little over 45,000 people on Sunday. The total represents the highest attendance since the Grand Prix returned to Detroit in 2007.
“It was a remarkable weekend for everyone at the Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix,” said Bud Denker, Chairman of the Grand Prix. “The numbers are impressive but the true value was in the smiles on people’s faces as they experienced the event and all that Belle Isle has to offer. Our beautiful waterfront shined like never before. But the true champion here is Belle Isle as the investments and improvements made to the island this year by the Grand Prix will be in place for citizens to use on a daily basis for years to come.”
Denker also paid tribute to General Motors’ domination, sweeping the five races it was entered in.
“Of course, the icing on the top was to have General Motors win five races held during the weekend,” he said. “We want to thank all the fans that came to the event and allowed us to set new attendance records and our sponsors, who made the event possible. Without Chevrolet, Cadillac, Quicken Loans and many others, this event would not occur. Our job now is to make the 2015 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Pix, which will again include two Verizon IndyCar Series races, even better.”
