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After the field was set yesterday for the Sandown 500, today is race day, as the first endurance race of the 2014 season gets underway. Join The Roar for Race 29 of the V8 Supercar championship from 1:20pm (AEST).
Yesterday was all about Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell as they secured pole position for the event. They dominated the day, winning the two races that decided the grid.
The Red Bull duo are the favourites for today and have been given the nod by the bookies to take out the win. They deserve to be as well as they the form and pace on the board already.
The combo won last year’s Sandown 500 and won the Bathurst 1000 in 2012. This doesn’t mean the combination is unbeatable though.
They haven’t won a back to back endurance race yet and there are some doubts about Dumbrell who can make mistakes at crucial times.
Another issue for the team is winning two years in a row at Sandown.
It hasn’t been done since 1995 and 1996 when Craig Lowndes and Greg Murphy won for the Holden Racing Team.
It is very hard to win back to back races and they will be hunted down by other teams today. Up to 10 combinations, in this race, are serious contenders.
Whincup’s team-mate, Craig Lowndes, is one of them.
Lowndes and his co-driver, Steven Richards, are the most experienced combination in the field for this year’s race. They qualified 7th and will be strong this afternoon.
Lowndes is also looking to join the record books if he wins today. Peter Brock won 9 pre-endurance races before Bathurst with all of them at Sandown. Lowndes is currently at 8 with 5 wins at Sandown, 2 at Phillip Island and 1 at Queensland Raceway.
One more win would equal the kid with the legend.
Peter Brock’s former team, the Holden Racing Team, will be keen to keep Brock as number 1 with a win this weekend.
Both teams are strong with James Courtney teamed up with Greg Murphy and Garth Tander teamed up with Warren Luff. Both qualified strong with Tander in 5th and Courtney in 6th.
The big problem for HRT is their recent success at Sandown. Their last Sandown win was in 2003 and their last endurance win was in 2011.
3 years is a long time to wait for a HRT fan. They will be expecting a result today.
Another team looking for results is Ford Performance Racing. Mark Winterbottom has had a poor couple of rounds and the championship is slipping from his grasp.
This weekend has started well so far with the FPR driver, and his co-driver Steve Owen, finishing in third in qualifying.
Winterbottom is a former winner of the event – 2006 – and he will be looking to repeat that feat today. He is in contention today for the win.
His team-mates, Chaz Mostert and David Reynolds, are also one’s to look out for. Both have strong co-drivers and both know how to win races and endurance events.
They are dark horses.
Others to look out for include the two Brad Jones Racing cars of Fabian Coulthard and Jason Bright, the Tekno Autosport car of Shane Van Gisbergen, and the Volvo of Scott McLaughlin.
The two Brad Jones Racing cars have some work to do today after qualifying poorly – by their standards – in the races. Coulthard will start 10th with Bright starting in 15th.
Both have experienced co-drivers in Luke Youlden and Andrew Jones respectively and are chances to be high in the race at the end.
The Tekno Autosport car of Shane Van Gisbergen is also one to look out for after yesterday. They will start on the front row of today’s race after a great drive from Jonathon Webb.
He finished his race in 2nd position after starting in 7th. This combination could spoil the party of the others. They are quick, reliable, and have two great drivers in the car.
This is a car to watch.
The Volvo of Scott McLaughlin also showed pace with them starting from 4th today.
The Volvo’s problem is reliability. Can it finish the 500 kilometre race and can it be competitive for the duration of the race, and not for a few laps.
That will be answered today.
For the other two new manufacturers, Nissan and Erebus, it is all about making the car better and getting it good for the long runs in the race.
Both manufacturers struggled yesterday and none of them are in the top ten for the race.
It will be a tough day for them but endurances can pull surprises.
It promises to be an action packed day of racing.
I predict the Red fans of Holden will be happy by the end of the day but I can’t decide who will win for the manufacturer.
It could be one of a few teams.
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