Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development CEO Brett O'Riley says he'll need to crunch the numbers before committing keeping the Supercars in New Zealand beyond 2018.

The Supercars were back in Pukekohe for the fourth straight year this weekend, after the failed experiment of moving the event to Hamilton.

Supercars CEO James Warburton is keen on starting talks with Ateed about a new deal later this year and as a sign of their commitment to the country they want to open an office in Auckland.

VIRGIN V8 SUPERCARS AUSTRALIA Drivers unhappy with Pukekohe race format.

But O'Riley said they need to see the financial figures for this year's event before entering talks.

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"We will definitely start talking about where we take this after this weekend, after we've looked at all of the results," O'Riley said.

MARK HORSBURGH/EDGE PHOTOGRAPHIC Crowd numbers were slightly down over the weekend at Pukekohe this year.

"We're a bit disappointed with the crowd numbers. So we need to understand if that's anything to do with Hampton Downs."

Last weekend 20 minutes down SH1, there was the Hampton Downs 101, with Australian GT cars racing.

While the event didn't draw big numbers, it could have had an impact with some people deciding which event to go to.

VIRGIN V8 SUPERCARS AUSTRALIA Shane van Gisbergen wins second race at Pukekohe.

"We moved the event to this time of the year because we thought it would give it a bit of a clear air, but that doesn't seem to have been the case," O'Riley said.

"Obviously, the TV images look magnificent and that's a big part of why we it, but getting crowd numbers along is important and we need to make sure Aucklanders are engaging with it."

However, Warburton says the crowd was only slightly down from the 116,554 people who came over the weekend last year.

"The attendance over three days was 106,753," Warburton said.

"While the attendance was down this year there is no doubt that the All Blacks match had an impact as rugby is a religion in NZ.

"But this is a still a significant attendance and far exceeds any other local motorsport events."

While Supercars do want to continue coming to New Zealand, there are plenty of cashed up cities in Asia desperate to hold races from 2018 and there's a danger of Auckland being squeezed out unless Ateed continue to support the event and the facilities at Pukekohe are improved.

"We've had a great relationship with the Government and value their support which is crucial to host an international motorsport category of this calibre," Warburton said.

"We have a massive worldwide television audience of 233 million homes and huge television audience back into Australia which is a key tourism driver for New Zealand.

"We are currently in advanced talks with at least four international promoters and this is a highly sought after slot in our calendar.

"The Government will do its due diligence and we will seek an answer before Christmas so we can guarantee this event moving forward from 2018 given the significant international interest in our sport."

The facilities at the 53-year-old circuit are looking tired and the track needs resurfacing and O'Riley says he will talk about it with the venue's owners.

"There is a discussion to have with Counties Racing Club to see where they're at," he said.

"They've got a new CEO, Lance Bickford, but I haven't had a chance to catch up with him since he started.

"It would be good to understand how we continue to improve the amenities here, so that it is a good experience for spectators.

"But the racing has been fantastic and it's great to see over the life of this event the New Zealand drivers getting better and having Shane van Gisbergen leading adds to a lot of the interest.

"I thought we might have seen more Kiwis would have come out to see him."