Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber has smashed the lap record at Sydney Motorsport Park by more than five seconds at Top Gear Festival Sydney (March 9 – 10).
Webber, in his Red Bull RB7 Formula 1 car, clocked a best time of 1:13.6060 around the original GP Circuit, easily besting the previous, long-standing record of 1:19.142 set by Nico Hulkenberg during the A1GP in 2007.
Webber cut the record down to 1:15.218 on the Saturday, and promised to cull it further in his next attempt for day two of the weekend Festival with some overnight ride height and suspension changes. He did not disappoint, taking a further two seconds off in his second and final attempt.
Webber also set another record over the weekend, during the Aussie Speed Showdown race on the North Circuit track. During the race, which also featured Casey Stoner on a motorcycle and Jamie Whincup in a V8 Supercar, Webber lapped the North Circuit track in 49.277 seconds, making his average speed an astonishing 209.74 km/h.
An Australian circuit is considered fast when the average speed is over 160km/h, and no track has ever seen average speeds peaking over 200km/h. Sydney Motorsport Park and the Australian Racing Drivers’ Club are confident that Webber’s weekend lap record has made the North Circuit track the fastest racing circuit in Australia.