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V8 Supercar Championship: Sandown 500 live coverage, blog

Motorsport is all about evolution, and Supercars will not be lost without the V8s. (Volvo Polestar)
Roar Guru
12th September, 2015
97

Qualifying Result: Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell have secured pole position for the Sandown 500 after winning both race for the grid events on Saturday afternoon.

After qualifying in third, during the twenty minute session in the middle of the day, Paul Dumbrell and Jamie Whincup would win both 20 laps races to take their 2nd successive pole position at the event.

The top spot is also the 300th pole position for Holden in V8 Supercars.

The team didn’t have it all their own way though.

Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters took pole position for the 20 lap co-driver race as Whincup qualified third for Red Bull.

Waters would lead for a lap before braking late into turn 9 as he lost positions to both Steve Owen and Paul Dumbrell.

Dumbrell would then overtake Owen into turn 1 on the next lap and run away with the race.

He wasn’t troubled by the Prodrive drivers as he gained a huge margin.

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Dumbrell would win by 7 seconds ahead of Owen, Waters, Canto and Webb.

In the main drivers race, Whincup started well, and held off Winterbottom and Mostert into turn 1.

They would then have a battle for the next 19 laps for pole position with Winterbottom and Mostert no less than a second behind the Red Bull driver.

Behind them, carnage occurred, as Craig Lowndes made contact with Jack Perkins into turn 9 and ended both drivers chances for a good qualifying position.

Lowndes would serve a penalty for the contact and finish in 23rd.

For Perkins, it was made worse, when he was an innocent bystander in another incident.

Andre Heimgartner lost his breaks, down the back straight, and went on to the grass.

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He came back on to the track and made heavy contact with Perkins.

Both drivers suffered damage and finished 24th and 25th.

This triggered a safety car and a one lap dash to the finish.

Whincup would hold on with Winterbottom and Mostert finishing 2nd and 3rd despite contact with each other.

This now sets up a fascinating race with up to 15 combinations capable of winning. There are also some combinations who are further down the order than where they should be.

That could set up a brilliant Sandown 500 which will be blogged tomorrow here for the Roar.

Qualifying Preview: It is qualifying day at Sandown as the grid is filled for Sunday’s race which is Race 24 of the 2015 V8 Supercar Championship. Join The Roar for a live blog of qualifying from 12:00pm (AEST).

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The season of endurance is upon us at the first round of the Pirtek Endurance Cup begins at Sandown.

This event is built on tradition with some of the biggest names in the sport winning here. Peter Brock, Alan Moffat, Larry Perkins, Jim Richards, Jamie Whincup, Glenn Seton, Mark Skaife, Craig Lowndes, and Dick Johnson have all won at Sandown.

It is the perfect warm up for the Bathurst 1000 with teams tested in every area that is vital for success in the Great Race.

A fast car, a good team-mate, an in-sync team, and reliability are all pivotal to win not only here but also at Bathurst.

Yesterday there were three practice sessions, with co-drivers having a run on their own in the last two.

It was an interesting day with some co-drivers excelling and others taking a bit of time to find their groove.

In the opening session, which was open to all drivers, Jamie Whincup topped the session as he looks to win here with Paul Dumbrell for the third straight year.

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If they can do that they will become the first combination to do it at Sandown. The last three-straight winner was Peter Brock when he won seven in a row from 1975 to 1981.

In the other two sessions, the co-drivers of Prodrive dominated, with Cameron Waters and Steve Owen taking out Practice 2 and 3.

All the Fords look quick this weekend and will be among the ones to beat.

If you aren’t familiar with qualifying for the Sandown 500, it is a little bit different to normal race weekends. For starters there is a 20 minute qualifying session which sets the grid for the first race.

At Sandown there is two races, one for the main driver and one for the co-driver, to set the grid.

The first race is done by the co-drivers and it is run over 20 laps.

They then hand the car over to their main drivers for Race 2 with the finishing positions of Race 1 setting the grid for the final race.

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The main drivers then compete for the win, over 20 laps, and pole position for Sunday’s race.

Positions 1-25 in the second race determine the grid.

It is an exciting format which provides plenty of great racing as drivers fight for grid spots.

I expect Red Bull racing and Prodrive to contend for pole after yesterday’s practice sessions. With Chaz Mostert dominating qualifying this season, and both him and Waters confident in the car, I see them taking pole for Sunday.

It promises to be a great day’s racing and all the action will be here at The Roar.

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