THE lowest final-day crowd in 16 years has capped off a weekend of dismal attendances for the Clipsal 500.

Sunday’s turnout of just 65,100 was the lowest since 2001, back when the event spanned just three days.

Final-day crowds have dropped almost 30,000 in just two years, with the huge drop-off leaving V8 Supercars and Tourism Minister Leon Bignell searching for answers.

The total four-day crowd was just over 244,000, the lowest since 2004.

Mr Bignell attributed much of the fall in crowd numbers to the event hosting just one big concert instead of the usual two — which he said was due to a date clash with the Adelaide Festival.

media_camera Drivers Chaz Mostert (third), Clipsal 500 winner Shane van Gisbergen, and Scott McLaughlin (second) on the podium. Picture: AAP

“The biggest Clipsal was when we had KISS and the second biggest was when we had Cold Chisel. We’re definitely set on having a Sunday concert again next year,” he said.

“A lot of that attendance drop-off seems to be local people who said they would go to the free Neil Finn concert at the Adelaide Festival when they otherwise might have gone to a concert at the 500.”

The Neil Finn concert attracted 15,000 fans.

“We’ll go through everything we’ve done this year as we all always do and look at what we could have done differently,” Mr Bignell said.

“But let’s be clear: there’s a lot to be proud of — we still got a quarter of a million over the four days and there’s not many sporting events that can do that.”

Opposition tourism spokesman David Ridgway said the fall was “really disturbing” and called on event organisers to continually refresh the iconic race.

The Clipsal 500 in pictures media_camera The sign says it all. Shane Van Gisbergen celebrates after making it a clean sweep at the 2017 Clipsal 500. Picture: Daniel Kalisz (Getty Images) 1 of 38 media_camera No prizes for guessing who Cathy Harrison and Brenton McKenny support. Picture: Calum Robertson 2 of 38 media_camera Paul Moprris finds a novel way to celebrate his win in the Stadium Super Trucks at the Clipsal 500. Picture: Mark Brake 3 of 38 media_camera Andrew Heimgartner flat out through the chicanes in is Porsche 911 GT3 at the Clipsal 500. Picture: Mark Brake 4 of 38 nav_small_close Want to see more?( 34 more photos in collection )Continue to full gallery nav_small_left nav_small_right

“It’s probably still the jewel in the crown but it needs a good polish and clean up,” he said.

Mr Ridgway said it was hard to know what changes to make due to the Government keeping the event’s budget secret, but said action was clearly needed.

Mr Bignell wouldn’t comment on how much taxpayer funding Clipsal received, but said the Government had paid more this year than for the 2016 event.

He batted away criticism that declining crowd figures called into question the increased investment.

“Yes, it was a bit disappointing with attendance but everyone constantly tells me this is the motor race that sets the standard around the world and there’s plenty of big things going on around it,” Mr Bignell said.

media_camera Teammates Gavin Harlien and Jeff Hoffman fly side by side in the Stadium Super Trucks. Picture: Calum Robertson

media_camera Wilma Klaebe, Brody Woodifield and Helen Woodifield. Picture: Calum Robertson

A handful of fans stayed after the race to be entertained by a DJ on the race podium.

The clash echoed a 2012 scheduling drama when Adelaide Festival’s gala opening classical concert at Elder Park was drowned out by Clipsal.

Complaints on social media and to The Advertiser at the track included fans angry about the Sunday concert axing as well as criticism over the decision to cut the grid girls, breakdowns of the big screen television and expensive ticket prices.

Yvonne Weggery, 61, from Brompton, has been coming for 11 years and said attendances were down.

media_camera Cathy Harrison and Brenton McKenny. Picture: Calum Robertson

“I’ve never seen pit lane as deserted as this,” she said.

But Lobethal woman Kerri Butson, 45, and her family went to the Gold Coast 600 last year and said nothing compared to Clipsal.

Ms Butson, her husband Gavin and daughter Jayde attend Clipsal every year to support Holden.

Ms Butson, however, criticised the axing of the post race concert and said they would either go out for dinner or head home instead.

Jason Minge, 38, of Glengowrie, made his own “bring back the grid girls” T-shirt and said the axing was still unpopular with fans.

Mr responded to fans by refusing to say if the Clipsal overall budget was up or down, but said the Government had increased its contribution.

He apologised to fans for the big screen failure and said the race had increased options for cheaper tickets which were at an entry level of $45.

media_camera Jayde, Gavin and Kerri Butson. Picture: Calum Robertson

Mr Ridgway said he would ask the Tourism Commission for a full briefing on why fans were turning away from the event since it had taken control in 2016, when the State Government abolished the Motorsport Board.

However, flagging crowd numbers could not silence the enthusiasm of thousands of diehard motorsport fans who flocked to the last of the historic events before new sponsors take over next year.

Pit crews, drivers and fans welcomed cooler conditions on Sunday with the maximum peaking at 26.6C, down from the high of 35C on Thursday.

In the second Supercars race of the weekend both DJR Team Penske Ford drivers Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin jumped Red Bull Holden Racing poll sitter Shane van Gisbergen at the start to take the lead.

Adelaide Afternoon Newsbyte - 6.3.17 Adelaide Afternoon Newsbyte - 6.3.17

Van Gisbergen reclaimed the lead on lap 14. But with pit stops, Scott McLaughlin built a 10-second lead as the race neared the halfway mark.

In a tight finish, van Gisbergen closed to 1.3 seconds with five laps to go and passed on lap 75 of 78. The pair stayed in these positions and Supercheap Auto Racing Ford driver Chaz Mostert finished third.

Crowd favourite and last year’s winner, hometown hero Nick Percat driving the Clipsal and Brand SA car, crashed on lap one and failed to finish.

Van Gisbergen’s win came after his triumph on Saturday and made him the runaway winner of the last ever “Clipsal 500”. A new and yet to be decided sponsor will take over naming rights of the race next year.

V8 fans again roared their approval of the bravery and skill of the drivers on track but organisers have been sharply criticised by fans over this year’s event.