Thursday is Ladies Day at the Clipsal 500

The weekend may be about the boys and their toys, but Thursday is definitely for the ladies at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

One thousand guests filled the Advertiser/Sunday Mail Foundation Clipsal 500 Ladies Day Lunch at the Adelaide Parklands circuit this afternoon. A number of V8 Supercar drivers mingled with the ladies who were wined, dined and treated to performances by some of Australia’s great talents.

“It’s better hanging out with these ladies all frocked up and looking beautiful than hanging with the greasy mechanics!”  Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney laughed.

Ford Pepsi Max Crew FPR’s Chaz Mostert attended his first Ladies Day Lunch – and was snapped with the likes of Jesinta Campbell, Dami Im and Ali from The Bachelor, who were all in attendance.

“Super pumped, it’s pretty cool!” Mostert said. “It’s a great, well put-together venue and fantastic to be a part of.

“I kind of feel like I’m at a horse racing event and like I’m a bit underdressed myself! It’s fantastic to see all the ladies dressed up for the occasion.”

The Bachelor’s Ali said she was a regular attendee of the women’s social event that takes over the first day of the Clipsal 500 Adelaide.

“I normally attend every year, it’s absolutely amazing – I love hearing the fast cars and how loud they are, it gets my adrenaline going,” she told v8supercars.com.au. “They’ve got really great skills, they’re professionals at what they do. I look up to them – they really know how to control a car.”

And while she had the chance to get up close and personal posing for photos with our drivers, Ali suggested she is no longer on the lookout for the perfect man.

“Yes I am in love,” she said. “I’m really happy and in love, it couldn’t be better… No eyes on the drivers, definitely not! Eyes on the road.”

Courtney was swarmed by female fans on arrival, but the Holden Racing Team driver – the group’s most experienced ‘Ladies Luncher’ – took a minute for a photo with Robb Mills and X-Factor’s Nathaniel Willemse as well.

“Normally that crown goes to Mr Lowndes, but for some reason he’s not here this year, so I suppose I have to take the mantle!” Courtney joked. 

“It’s always a cracking day, always a bit of fun. The ladies get very friendly!”

In all seriousness – the HRT driver believes Thursday’s large female audience shows just how much the sport has evolved over the years. 

“I think the first year in 2006 when I came here, there was maybe half, if that – you just see how much it’s grown over that time. And that’s not only in here, but out in the stands and at all our events. It shows it’s all part of the good clean image our sport has… It’s starting to now get a bit of recognition for all the hard work us drivers put in.”

The 25 V8 Supercars hit the track for the first time tomorrow at the Clipsal 500 Adelaide. The Ladies Day Lunch is just one of the many entertainment options over the weekend – head to the website for more information on the great concerts, displays and hangouts around the circuit.

Tickets are available now through Ticketek.