24 Beers a Day Is Limit for Aussie Race Fans

BATHURST, Australia — The heavy hand of the law has fallen on motorsports fans here. Local police are limiting spectators at the Bathurst 1,000-km race to a mere 24 cans of beer a day.

In a statement, police said spectators will be limited to one 24-can case each of full-strength beer, although those willing to quaff lower-strength alcohol — 3.5 percent alcohol content or less — are entitled to bring 36 cans. Wine lovers are restricted to "one cask of wine, up to four liters," the police statement said. Police said the tough new rules were designed to hold down "alcohol-related crime and violence."

The action has prompted howls of laughter around the globe. Jay Leno on Thursday night's monologue on The Jay Leno Show said, "If there is one thing drunks are good at, it's counting to 24."

The British newspaper guardian.co.uk described the police action as "quite harsh" and said, "Clearly, we mere mortals could not hope to match the exploits of a rowdy Australian motorsport fanatic." It noted that Australians often hold the world's most notorious drinking records. "The Australian cricketer David Boon famously, or infamously, drank 52 cans of beer on a flight from Sydney to London before the 1989 Ashes tour, a staggering (literally) total of 19,500 ml of grog."

Inside Line says: Leave it to the Aussie race fans to make beer pong look like child's play. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent