Homebush Street Circuit

Homebush Street Circuit
Sydney Olympic Park
LocationSydney Olympic Park, New South Wales
Time zoneUTC+10:00
Coordinates33°50′41″S 151°3′58″E / 33.84472°S 151.06611°E / -33.84472; 151.06611
Opened4 December 2009; 15 years ago (2009-12-04)
Closed4 December 2016; 8 years ago (2016-12-04)
ArchitectMark Skaife
Major eventsSupercars Championship
Sydney 500 (2009–2016)
Australian GT (2009, 2012)
Australian F4 (2015)
Stadium Super Trucks (2015)
Street Circuit (2009–2016)
Length3.420 km (2.125 miles)
Turns13
Race lap record1:27.9481 (New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen, Holden VF Commodore, 2016, Supercars)

The Homebush Street Circuit, also known as the Sydney Olympic Park Street Circuit, was a 3.420 km (2.125 mi) temporary street circuit around the former Olympic precinct at Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay, Australia. The track hosted the Sydney 500 and was used for the first time at the final round of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series.[1] The circuit was used for the final time in December 2016 due to a relocation to a Newcastle after it was announced the ANZ stadium precinct would be upgraded and block the track location.

Layout

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Aerial image of Sydney Olympic Park, including the circuit, looking north

The circuit was designed by Mark Skaife, who focused on creating a track with a variety of bumps, camber changes and fast and slow corners making it difficult to complete the perfect lap.[2] It was constructed on Australia Avenue, Kevin Coombs Avenue, Edwin Flack Avenue and Dawn Fraser Avenue. 140 mature trees needed to be removed and kilometres of tarmac needed to be torn up to accommodate the race.[3] Overall the track had a mixture of track surfaces.[2]

V8 Supercar driver Jason Richards suggested that there were many difficult braking areas, interesting corners and good passing spots.[4] The main straight was the single widest section of race track in Australia, while the straight along Edwin Flack Avenue was one of the narrowest. The outside of turn eight had an unusual negative camber that caught many drivers out in the inaugural race, resulting in several cars crashing into the outer barriers. The first race was won by the Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander from pole position while, the second 250 km race was won by Dick Johnson Racing's James Courtney (who started from second position on the grid). Jamie Whincup secured winning the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series after finishing fifth in race 1 and fourteenth in race 2.

Environmental concerns

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Wetlands at Sydney Olympic Park

The conversion of part of the Sydney Olympic Park precinct into a V8 street-car race circuit was widely criticised. The Total Environment Centre said that the New South Wales Government overrode the threatened species law, as well as the Homebush Bay Authority's planning principals, and would cause social, environmental and economic disruption at Sydney Olympic Park.[5] Tony McCormick, who led the team that designed Sydney Olympic Park, said "I find it truly a travesty... The site was supposed to be a legacy for generations and we can’t even make it last a decade."[6]

Closure

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In 2015, V8 Supercars proposed to shorten the circuit to reduce the event's costs.[7] This proposal failed, and in March 2016 it was announced that the ongoing costs of running the event would result in 2016 being the final running of the Sydney 500.[8]

Lap records

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As of 4 December 2016, the official race lap records at Homebush Street Circuit are listed as:[9]

Class Driver Vehicle Time Date
Street Circuit: 3.420 km (2009–2016)
Supercars Championship New Zealand Shane van Gisbergen Holden VF Commodore 1:27.9481 3 December 2016
Super2 Series Australia Cameron Waters Ford FG Falcon 1:28.3668 7 December 2014
GT3 Germany Bernd Schneider Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 1:28.6368[10] 2 December 2012
Porsche Carrera Cup New Zealand Jonny Reid Porsche 911 (997) GT3 Cup 1:30.2244 4 December 2011
Formula Ford Australia Anton De Pasquale Mygale SJ13a 1:34.1651 8 December 2013
Formula 4 Australia Nick Rowe Mygale M14-F4 1:34.2658 6 December 2015
Touring Car Masters Australia John Bowe Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 1:36.8400 4 December 2016
Aussie Racing Cars Australia Blake Sciberras Toyota Aurion-Yamaha 1:43.0750 5 December 2015
V8 Ute Racing Series Australia David Sieders Holden VE SS Ute 1:43.5860 3 December 2016
Australian Mini Challenge Australia Chris Alajajian Mini JCW R56 1:46.2661 5 December 2010
Toyota 86 Racing Series Australia Will Brown Toyota 86 1:49.3997 3 December 2016
Stadium Super Trucks United States Sheldon Creed Stadium Super Truck 1:54.9534 5 December 2015

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Allan Edwards (29 September 2008). "Homebush to host V8 Supercar race". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series, however it's reported that the event was running at a 56 plus million dollar loss a year and was not financially viable for the state government to continue to outlay the shortfall. Retrieved 29 September 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Sydney Telstra 500, Sydney Olympic Park". v8supercars.com.au. n.d. Archived from the original on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
  3. ^ Allan Edwards (30 September 2008). "2009 V8 Supercar calendar released". Official site of the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series. Archived from the original on 27 August 2009. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
  4. ^ "Minister impressed by Sydney track". v8supercars.com.au. 12 November 2009. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2009.
  5. ^ "Govt adds fuel to V8 race debate". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2 December 2008.
  6. ^ Moore, Matthew (31 July 2009). "Tree felling for V8 Supercars gets black flag". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  7. ^ Bartholomaeus, Adrian (7 December 2015). "Sydney shift touted after circuit plans quashed". Speedcafe. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  8. ^ "Axe falls on Sydney Olympic Park street race". Speedcafe. 22 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
  9. ^ "Natsoft ® - IT Specialists!". Archived from the original on 17 July 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2014.
  10. ^ "Australian GT Sydney Street 2012". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
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