The Sprint/Turn 8
The Sydney Telstra 500 is a V8 Supercar motor racing event held annually at Homebush Street Circuit. The event is the last on the V8 Supercar calendar in December.
The event is staged over a three-day "weekend" (Friday-Sunday).
Practice is held on Friday with a 35-minute session followed by two 50-minute sessions.
Qualifying is held on Saturday, with two 20-minute sessions, the first session determining places 21-29 and session two 11-20.
The top ten cars proceeded to the top 10 shootout.
On Sunday a 20-minute all in session determines the grid.
Each race is 250 km long, at 74 laps.
The Sprinter:
Look familiar?
To celebrate the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, AMP commissioned Sydney sculptor Dominique Sutton to design three figures representing the Olympic and Paralympic ideals. The three figures depicting a gymnast, a Paralympics basketballer and a sprinter were airlifted and installed atop the AMP Tower in July 1998, becoming a focal point of celebrations in the lead up to and during the games.
The Sprinter, has been permanently relocated here at Sydney Olympic Park. In its new location, viewers are offered a much closer vantage point than was possible when the sculpture was perched in its original site more than 300 metres above ground.
The Sprinter weighs 3.5 tonnes and is an impressive 12 metre high, three dimensional steel rendition of an elite athlete. Captured at the instant of maximum speed, it is an iconic image of movement.
AMP donated the other two sculptures -a gymnast and a Paralympics basketballer - to the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra.