Skaife: Adelaide's Turn 8 'the reason we go racing'

Mark Skaife has expressed his anticipation in seeing "the wildest corner in Australian motorsport" return in December.

The Adelaide 500 will end the 2022 Repco Supercars Championship on December 1-4.

The popular event will conclude Supercars seasons until 2026.

The return of the Adelaide Parklands Circuit returns one of the most iconic corners to Supercars.

Adelaide’s infamous Turn 8 is known worldwide as one of the most revered and feared corners there is.

On Adelaide 500 weekend, the intersection linking Bartels Road with Dequetteville Terrace becomes a sixth-gear terror.

The corner has a narrow entry and zero run-off on exit, meaning only one thing if you make a mistake: disaster.

Turn 8 as we know it didn’t exist back when Formula 1 raced in Adelaide, but it evolved when the event was reborn for Supercars in 1999.

For Skaife, it offers a true test of a driver’s guile and talent amid the exhaustion of 78 gut-busting laps.

"It's one of the world's best street circuits," Skaife said.

"Peter Brock used to say that great race tracks have got consequences.

"This is what this one's got. If you make a mistake, it bites you and it bites you hard.

"It's unforgiving, it’s got a hero corner... it’s the reason people ride big waves or jump out of planes.

"This race track’s got Turn 8. It’s probably the wildest corner in Australian motorsport.

"We love it. It’s the reason we go car racing."

The December event will be the first Adelaide 500 since February 2020.

For the first time, the Adelaide Parklands Circuit will end a Supercars season, as it did for F1 between 1985 and 1995.

Skaife compared the feeling of winning the Adelaide 500 to scoring victory at the Bathurst 1000.

"There are two things in Australian motorsport that are the absolute pinnacle," he said.

"If you lead on the last lap of Bathurst and you drive across the top of the hill, the crowd goes absolutely mad.

"If you lead here after 78 laps of what is the Adelaide 500, and you come over the finish line and you’re lucky enough to be first, the place goes absolutely crazy.

"You can hear everything above the car noise. That atmosphere, you can't replicate it. It's authentic, it's real.

"People love their car racing in South Australia. We’re very proud to bring it back."

The 2022 season will resume at the NTI Townsville 500. Purchase your tickets now.