Officials: Grand Prix draws 100K-plus, sets Sat. record

The Detroit News

More than 100,000 people attended the three-day Detroit Grand Prix on Belle Isle, including a record number of people for the Saturday event, officials said Monday.

Graham Rahal swept both races at the Detroit Grand Prix, the first driver to accomplish the feat in the doubleheader’s five-year history.

About 45,000 people were on the island for Rahal’s first victory, in what Grand Prix officials called “the best-attended Saturday in the history of the Grand Prix.” More than 25,000 attended the “Free Prix Day,” and officials said more than 30,000 attended the Sunday event, which included Rahal’s second victory.

It is the fifth time in the last six years the weekend event drew at least 95,000 people, according to officials.

According to Grand Prix officials, the races drew a combined 1.8 million viewers nationwide, which ranks second behind the Indy 500 (which, of course, is just one, one-day race). Race officials also touted the event as having the “highest total social media engagement and growth of any (IndyCar) series event this season,” as well as its record number (77) of partners when it came to “corporate support.”

“With over 100,000 fans in attendance on Belle Isle over the course of the weekend,” Grand Prix chairman Bud Denker said in a statement, “that is really the perfect number for us to execute our transportation plan, which ran flawlessly during the weekend. We’re very excited to see the remarkable growth and engagement numbers on the digital and social media front as we know that our fans are finding different and creative ways to engage with our event.”