Mark Winterbottom says Sydney 500 is toughest race in Australian motorsport Winterbottom is preparing for a brutal conclusion to the V8 season. MARK Winterbottom says the Sydney 500 is now the most "physically brutal" race in Australian motorsport - with statistics confirming the Homebush circuit is more difficult to complete than both the Hawaiian Ironman and Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. In a surprise call from the reigning Bathurst 1000 champion, Winterbottom insists the Sydney Olympic Park race is the toughest on the V8 Supercars calendar thanks to a chaotic mix of course design, concrete walls and a December humidity that last year saw Frenchman Alex Premat almost killed when his cool suit failed. And while the event, thankfully, does not boast any fatalities - like the Bathurst 1000 or that notorious 1998 Sydney to Hobart - official figures reveal, on average, only 68% of drivers will actually complete the trying street circuit. Incredibly, these numbers are far worse than even the toughest ironman events, whose numbers for 'Did Not Finish' peak at around 20%. And in the notoriously tough Sydney to Hobart, DNF numbers have dropped below 70% only twice in the past 14 years. "The Sydney 500 is brutally tough - undoubtedly the most physically demanding of all our events," Winterbottom told The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday. You've got short straights, lots of corners, aggressive ripple strips, the works. And then on top of that you've got the heat. Last year inside my car the temperature was up around 70 degrees. It was the toughest day I've had behind the steering wheel. Indeed V8 legend Mark Skaife, who was instrumental in the Homebush course design, agreed the venue "is the hardest of all the street circuits to get a good time on." "On paper, the Sydney 500 looks basic," Skaife explains. But ask the drivers how it looks going down that rollercoaster past the Novotel Hotel, or through the area that is usually a bus stop. While we could've taken the bumps out of this course, we didn't. If you want to talk about racetracks where it's easy to make a mistake, this is it. While Red Bull Racing stars Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes currently sit first and second in the V8 Championship race, Whincup knows the carnage caused by this track ensures he is still a hope of taking the title from third this weekend. According to the numbers, a minimum of six cars have failed to finish the Sydney 500 every year since its inception while at least half the field will be lapped. Only three years ago, in extremely wet conditions, just 15 of 29 starters completed the Saturday race. "So this event is quickly building a reputation," Winterbottom concedes. Obviously it's only been around a short time but because of both its location and attrition rate, it's quickly becoming a marquee event. Plus, coming at the end of the season, your getting the most physically demanding race when your body has been through the most. Then when you consider a championship is on the line . . yeah, it's tough. And for proof, simply ask championship leader Whincup. Despite coming into the final race of the season leading the V8 Supercars Championship by 20 points, the Red Bull star will have to overcome a disastrous Homebush hoodoo to claim his fifth title. In four years and eight races, Whincup has not only never won a Sydney 500, he's never even earned a single podium finish. So determined are Red Bull Racing to have both Whincup and Lowndes focused for this event, the pair have been on a media ban until Thursday morning - when they will front a variety of media organisations for brief five-minute interview slots.