Yes. The same year the promoter decided to remove Barrabool from the series. The thinking seemed to be that deleting the best round from the series from '96 to '01 (and the one that catapulted the Thumpernats to stardom) would somehow improve the brand.
Sponsors jumped ship like fleas from a dead dog. Excuses were given, but that's all they were.
The 2001 Barrabool round was the biggest ever Thumpernats event. The track area was huge but the carpark was 3 times bigger! 300 riders, 4,500 people.
Next year zilch! Go figure. Might have had something to do with the club making too much money? Sad because if it had run for a few more years the club would have been in a position to buy the property before all the bullshit took over.