2012 Sydney Telstra 500

rdf:langString 2012 Sydney Telstra 500

rdf:langString Homebush Street Circuit

rdf:langString New South Wales

rdf:langString IVSC

rdf:langString Homebush Street Circuit track map.svg

rdf:langString Sydney Telstra 500

rdf:langString none

rdf:langString Fine

rdf:langString The 2012 Sydney Telstra 500 was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars racing cars. It was the fifteenth and final event of the 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on the weekend of 30 November–2 December at the Homebush Street Circuit in Sydney, New South Wales. Craig Lowndes became the first driver to win two races at the circuit, winning on Saturday after first-time pole-sitter Tim Slade made a mistake late in the race. Will Davison gave Ford Performance Racing a strong finish to the year, winning the second race. James Courtney found form, finishing on the podium in both races. Series champion Jamie Whincup finished fifth in both races. There was some controversy when Whincup pulled over in the pit lane in the first race to let team-mate Lowndes past, in order to boost Lowndes' chances of finishing second in the championship, but no penalty was applied. Mark Winterbottom was beaten to second in the points standings by Lowndes after a disappointing weekend. The 2012 Dunlop Series champion Scott McLaughlin made his solo debut for Garry Rogers Motorsport (after having driven with Jonathon Webb at the endurance races), replacing Alex Prémat for the second race after Prémat suffered heat exhaustion on Saturday and was deemed unfit to race. The event was also the final one for the Project Blueprint specification V8 Supercars, with the new Car of the Future regulations coming into effect in 2013.