Event 14, Sydeny Telstra 500, Sydney Olypic Park, NSW. Races 25 and 26 of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series.
Point of Interest: Although V8 Supercars have not been able to hit the Sydney Olympic Park circuit at speed yet, computer simulations are predicting a flying lap time to be approximately 1m30s.
Circuit length: 3.4-kilometres
Circuit direction: Anti-Clockwise
Projected top speed: 250km/h
Fastest Point: End of Pit Straight
Slowest Point: Turns 12/13
Brief description of the circuit: Winding its way around the Sydney Olympic Park complex which hosted the 2000 Olympic Games, the newest V8 Supercar circuit is a real mixture. Track designers, including five-time series champion Mark Skaife, have focused on creating a real challenge for the drivers, with a variety of bumps, camber changes and fast and slow corners making it difficult to complete the perfect lap.
10 FAST FACTS
1. Jamie Whincup needs just 19 points - the equivalent of a 28th-place finish in either of the races at the Sydney Telstra 500 - to clinch the second consecutive championship for both he and TeamVodafone.
Marcos Ambrose, the last back-to-back V8 Supercar champ in 2003/2004, will be present in Sydney as Whincup seeks to become just the 12th man to have won multiple Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar Championships.
Whincup will also achieve the rare feat of having led the championship from the finish of the first race at the Clipsal 500 in March right through to the finish of the last race in Sydney in December. The last time a driver led the whole championship was in 2002 when Mark Skaife led all year for the Holden Racing Team.
His winning rate has been more impressive this year, winning 11 of the 24 races held so far (45.8%), compared to last year when he won 15 of 37 (40.5%) across the season.
While the Driver's Championship is all but sealed, the fight is still on for the Team's Championship. A strong weekend at the BigPond 300 at Barbagallo has put TeamVodafone back in the lead by one single point over the Toll Holden Racing Team. TeamVodafone won last year's Team's Championship while Toll HRT have not won it since 2002.
2. While there are no Sydney-based teams or drivers competing in the Sydney Telstra 500, there are a range of drivers who were born and/or raised in Sydney.
Jim Beam Racing's James Courtney was raised in Penrith before embarking on a racing career that saw him move to Europe as a teenager, while Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winterbottom grew up in Doonside but now calls Melbourne home.
Michael Caruso is Sydney born and bred and only moved to Melbourne at the beginning of last year when he joined Garry Rogers Motorsport, while Sprint Gas Racing's Jason Bargwanna is another ‘local' having been born and raised in Sydney despite now calling the outskirts of Melbourne home.
Supercheap Auto Racing's Tim Slade lives on the Gold Coast now but was born in Hornsby, NSW.
3. Sydney Olympic Park becomes the 29th circuit to have hosted an Australian Touring Car/V8 Supercar Championship Series event. A completely unique scenario will unfold - not only will the 2009 championship end with a brand new circuit - the first time the series has had its finale on a brand new track - but the 2010 title chase will begin on another new circuit in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East.
4. Ford has sealed back-to-back Champion Manufacturer's awards thanks to the FG Falcon taking victory in 16 of the 24 races held so far. Ironically, 14 of those have been taken by TeamVodafone, which does not receive any financial funding from Ford. Just one of the wins has come via the factory-backed Ford Performance Racing outfit (Mark Winterbottom on the Gold Coast), while the other was won by James Courtney (in a Triple Eight-built Jim Beam Falcon) in Townsville.
5. WOW Racing's Cameron McConville will retire from full-time V8 Supercar racing after the Sydney Telstra 500. The Victorian has indicated he would like to continue to drive in the Phillip Island and Bathurst endurance events after finishing up his 10th season as a full-time driver in the championship.
McConville made his V8SCS debut at Sandown in 1999 and has driven for John Faulkner Racing, Holden Racing Team, Rod Nash Racing, Lansvale Racing Team, Garry Rogers Motorsport, Supercheap Auto/PWR Racing and Brad Jones Racing over those 10 seasons.
He will make his 139th V8SCS start in Sydney, which places him 17th on the all-time list. McConville has scored five podium finishes, including his solitary V8 Supercar win, which came at Winton in 2004 for GRM after a dramatic last lap pass on Rick Kelly. Runner-up finishes at Bathurst in 1999 (with Craig Lowndes for HRT) and this year (with Jason Richards and BJR) count among McConville's career highlights.
6. Sprint Gas Racing will be making its last appearance in Sydney, with the Melbourne-based team closing down at the completion of the Sydney Telstra 500.
Tasman Motorsport - which has gone under the Sprint Gas banner for the last two seasons - was born out of the Lansvale Racing Team established in Sydney by privateer drivers Steve Reed and Trevor Ashby in 1986.
Lansvale was bought out in 2004 and the renamed Tasman Motorsport moved to Melbourne in 2005.
The team won a reverse grid race at Winton in 2006 but overall race victory has eluded them. Runner-up results at Bathurst in 2005 and 2008, as well as a fourth place this year with Greg Murphy/Mark Skaife, stand out as team highlights over the past six seasons.
The squad's RECs (Racing Entitlements Contracts) have been sold to Lucas Dumbrell Racing and Tony D'Alberto Racing for next year, while the team's factory assets will be on-sold to other teams.
7. Craig Lowndes will make his last start in a Ford at the Sydney Telstra 500 after nine seasons behind the wheel of Falcons. Next year his Triple Eight team will switch to using Holden Commodores.
Championship success in a Ford has managed to elude Lowndes, who finished runner-up in both the 2005 and 2006 titles. However, three straight victories at Bathurst in 2006/2007/2008 have helped stamp his mark as one of the all-time greats of V8 Supercar racing.
Lowndes switched to Ford in 2001 with Gibson Motorsport, which was renamed 00 Motorsport for the following season. He moved to Ford Performance Racing in 2003 and won the team's first race at Phillip Island, before moving to Triple Eight in 2005.
A three-time champion with the Holden Racing Team, Lowndes has made 119 of his 164 series starts in a Ford, netting 15 round wins, 25 individual race wins and eight pole positions. His victory in Race 24 at Barbagallo was his 74th career series race win, leaving him just 13 short of the all-time record of Mark Skaife.
8. Jason Bargwanna has received a 100 championship point penalty for the contact with Todd Kelly in Race 24 that set off a chain of events resulting in the Jack Daniel's Commodore being badly damaged in a crash at Barbagallo. Ironically, it has been announced since the Barbagallo event that Bargwanna has signed to drive one of Kelly Racing's entries in the 2010 championship!
The penalty drops Bargwanna to 25th in the championship, while Kelly is expected to drive a spare chassis in Sydney. The team's spare VE Commodore was last used by Jack Perkins and Dale Wood at the Phillip Island and Bathurst events in Dodo/Bet 24 7 colours.
9. The Armor-All Pole Position Award remains up for grabs in Sydney, with the drivers who have won it for the past two seasons the only ones remaining in contention. 2008 Pole Award winner Jamie Whincup has six poles this year, while 2007 Pole Award winner Mark Winterbottom trails him by one.
In the case of a tie, a count back of second-places, thirds and so on will determine the winner. Whincup has qualified second five times this year, Winterbottom four. Whincup has also had more third place qualifying results with four to Winterbottom's two.
10. The Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series will be decided in the seventh and final round in Sydney, with Jonathon Webb leading David Russell by 79 points with 300 more available across the two races.
Webb has won the last two rounds and five individual races in a row, however there are still 150 championship points available to the winner of each race in Sydney.
A potential wildcard in the equation is 2008 Fujitsu Series champion Steve Owen, who will take over the #35 TAG Motorsport Commodore normally driven by Tony Bates for the weekend.
Brit James Winslow - last year's Australian Drivers Champion in Formula 3 - will make his V8 Supercar debut in Sydney. He will drive the Jay Motorsport Commodore driven earlier in the season by Shane Price.
2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Drivers Championship after Race 24 of 26
1. Jamie Whincup (TeamVodafone), 3175 pts
2. Will Davison (Toll Holden Racing Team), 2894 pts
3. Garth Tander (Toll Holden Racing Team), 2766 pts
4. Craig Lowndes (TeamVodafone), 2544 pts
5. Steven Johnson (Jim Beam Racing), 2177 pts
6. Mark Winterbottom (Ford Performance Racing), 2147 pts
7. Rick Kelly (Jack Daniel's Racing), 2078 pts
8. James Courtney (Jim Beam Racing), 1988 pts
9. Lee Holdsworth (Garry Rogers Motorsport), 1886 pts
10. Russell Ingall (Supercheap Auto Racing), 1871 pts
Teams Championship after Race 24 of 26
1. TeamVodafone, 5351 pts
2. Toll Holden Racing Team, 5350 pts
3. Jim Beam Racing, 4075 pts
4. Ford Performance Racing, 3687 pts
5. Garry Rogers Motorsport, 3630 pts
6. Jack Daniel's Racing, 3461 pts
7. Stone Brothers Racing, 3246 pts
8. Brad Jones Racing, 3039 pts
9. Walkinshaw Performance, 3014 pts
10. Supercheap Auto Racing, 2882 pts
2009 Race Win Count
11 - Jamie Whincup
5 - Garth Tander
4 - Will Davison
3 - Craig Lowndes
1 - Michael Caruso, James Courtney, Mark Winterbottom
2009 Armor-All Pole Position Count
6 - Jamie Whincup
5 - Mark Winterbottom
4 - Garth Tander
2 - Will Davison
1 - Steven Johnson, Jason Richards, Lee Holdsworth, Steve Richards, Jason Bargwanna, Jason Bright, Craig Lowndes
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
Drivers Championship after Round 6 of 7
1. Jonathon Webb (MW Motorsport), 1586 pts
2. David Russell (Howard Racing), 1507 pts
3. James Moffat (Sonic Motor Racing), 1335 pts
4. Grant Denyer (Dick Johnson Racing), 1183 pts
5. Daniel Gaunt (McElrea Racing), 1179 pts
6. Brad Lowe (MW Motorsport), 1077 pts
7. Damian Assaillit, (MW Motorsport), 940 pts
8. Shane Price (Jay Motorsport), 913 pts
9. Sam Walter (Greg Murphy Racing), 871 pts
10. Taz Douglas (Fastaz Motorsport), 842 pts
2009 Round Wins
3 - Jonathon Webb
2 - James Moffat
1 - David Russell
2009 Race Wins
5 - Jonathon Webb
4 - James Moffat, David Russell
2 - Grant Denyer
1 - Damian Assaillitt
2009 Armor-All Pole Positions
3 - Jonathon Webb
2 - James Moffat
1 - David Russell
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