Behind the scenes: Sydney Telstra 500
Friday 04/12/2009 10:30
Author: Briar Gunther | Source: BigPond Sport - copyright
Skaife tests Sydney circuit
Skaifey given first lap honour
Five-time Bathurst champ Mark Skaife was given the huge honour this morning (Friday) of being the very first person to drive a V8 Supercar at full speed on the new Sydney Telstra 500 track at Sydney Olympic Park.
Borrowing Jason Richards’ Team BOC Commodore, Skaifey was bright eyed and bushy tailed to take to the track just before 8am.
Skaife, who is now a V8 Supercars Australia Board member, has been the architect in the design of the track in conjunction with company IEDM and has worked tirelessly to ensure it will provide the best racing possible.
New South Wales Treasurer and State Development Minister, Eric Roozendaal, will officially open the track minutes before the V8 Supercars starts Friday practice.
Practice starts today at 12.35pm local time.
FPR sails Sydney Harbour
Ford Performance Racing drivers Mark Winterbottom and Steve Richards have decided to stick to their day jobs after taking part in a sailing challenge on Tuesday.
In the lead-up to the Sydney Telstra 500, each headed up a team of customers from FPR’s sponsors Orrcon Steel and Castrol, sailng with professional crew members from the Kookaburra Group in a pair of Volvo 60 Ocean Racing yachts.
“When you watch the sailing races on the TV it all looks pretty cruisy; however, anyone who has done any form of sailing knows that this is far from the truth,” Winterbottom, who grew up in the Sydney suburb of Doonside, said.
“When you’re putting the spinnakers up it’s all systems go. As a team, the Orrcon Steel guys really dug in and used the day as a team building exercise.
“It was a great experience, but I can assure you I have no intentions of changing professions from a racing car driver to a yachtsman!”
Boxing versus V8s
Following his victory in the world title fight, boxer Danny Green is expected to attend the Sydney Telstra 500 and might even hop into a V8 Supercar.
Green is a V8 Supercar fan and drivers Will Davison, Jamie Whincup and Mark McNally all attended his fight on Wednesday night, where he beat Roy Jones Jr in less than two minutes.
The boxer has a Ford GT and a 1974 XB and is set to get a hot lap in a Ford Performance Racing car later today (Friday) at the Sydney Telstra 500.
Both Green and McNally are from Western Australia and are both sponsored by specialist mining contractors NRW.
“He’s such a down to earth, humble bloke who has taken the time to sit with me and talk about his life experiences, what it's taken for him to get to the top, the setbacks, the highs and the lows,” McNally said.
“Obviously Roy Jones Jr is one of the best boxers that the world has even seen, but you could tell that Danny at that weight class has just awesome power. So I wasn’t surprised that he knocked him out; I was just surprised at how quick it was.”
TeamVodafone goes pink
TeamVodafone has traded its rocket red paint job for McGrath Foundation pink at the Sydney Telstra 500 this weekend.
Its sponsor Norton from Symantec is also supporting the charity which places McGrath Breast Care Nurses across Australia as well as educating young women to be breast aware.
Thanks to the Norton customers in Australia, Norton is donating $140,000 to the McGrath Foundation.
Further funds will be raised for the McGrath Foundation when a panel from each of the racecars will be auctioned on eBay following the Sydney Telstra 500.
While their new livery is sure to create some hype, every position and point will be crucial as Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes attempt to defend both drivers’ and teams’ championships at this weekend’s season-ending Sydney Telstra 500.
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