The return of the Sandown 500 to its pre-Bathurst enduro status was one that was met with universal glee, as endurance racing once again got Supercars buzzing at the historic Melbourne circuit.
Co-drivers, long stints and pit-stops made for great viewing, as well as the titanic battle between two heavyweight teams for the lead and a dismal day for key Ford contenders. Here are the talking points from the Sandown 500.
The 500km classic delivered another cracker of a race, as championship contending heavyweights in Erebus and Triple Eight locked horns in a titanic endurance contest, with Broc Feeney and his Red Bull team boss Jamie Whincup took the win.
It was a sixth win at the Sandown 500 for seven-time champion Whincup, as well as Triple Eight’s 250th in Supercars – which is the most of any team in Australian touring car championship history.
What a race!
— Supercars (@supercars) September 17, 2023
Broc Feeney and Jamie Whincup win the Penrite Oil Sandown 500!! #RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/oyWDHFdrKf
Feeney qualified fifth in the Top Ten Shootout, with both Coca-Cola Camaros from Erebus locking out the front-row. Shane van Gisbergen and Richie Stanaway in the #97 Red Bull Camaro in contrast were starting from nineteenth.
The opening stint saw all co-drivers aboard their respective cars, with Whincup making inroads immediately and passing the Ford Mustangs of Alex Davison and James Moffat that started on the second row.
Jack Perkins led the field away from pole in the #9 car, while David Russell slotted in behind, before a Whincup assault on Lap 3 where the #99 Camaro was picked off at Turn 4. Whincup didn’t assume the lead of the race till Lap 41 from Perkins, after the Safety Car for Garth Tander’s high-speed incident at the ‘esses’.
The three leading cars all went tic-for-tat during their pit-stops, while Stanaway made inroads during his co-driver stint before handing the car to van Gisbergen. Heading into the critical laps of the race, Erebus and Triple Eight had their cars locking out the top four.
Feeney led championship leader Brodie Kostecki by 5.5-seconds, before a late Safety Car was deployed on Lap 140 to recover Cameron Hill’s Camaro at Dandenong Road, which had reported steering failure.
Following the restart, Brown in the dying stages of the race made an error at the end of the back straight, which played into the hands of van Gisbergen – moving the Kiwi up into the top three and ensuring two Red Bulls on the podium.
A tantalising battle between the two title contending teams, with more to play for next time out the Bathurst 1000.
Coming into the 161-lapper, the combinations of David Reynolds and Garth Tander as well as Cameron Waters and Moffat were dubbed key contenders and the pace shown by the Penrite Mustang was mega.
In a freak accident on Lap 19, five-time Bathurst 1000 winner Tander lost the left-rear wheel coming through the esses and lost control of the Penrite Mustang – pirouetting before becoming stationary in a gravel trap. The #26 car had been running in fourth at stage showing strong pace.
The wheel that went astray from the Penrite Mustang then bizarrely bounced onto and knocked off the rear wing of the Monster Energy Mustang, which Moffat was behind the wheel of directly behind Tander.
A wild ride for Garth Tander, near misses and one hell of a battle to the flag!
— Supercars (@supercars) September 17, 2023
Catch all the key moments from the @penriteoil Sandown 500 with the @BoostAus highlights #RepcoSC #Supercars pic.twitter.com/rODnQhCJ83
Tickford were forced to repair the rear end of the car, as the Safety Car circulated while the mess of the Tander incident was cleared. Though even after Waters took control of the #6 car, there was no recovering from there.
As was the case for the Mobil 1 Optus Mustang piloted by 2021-Bathurst 1000 winning combination of Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth. While the Monster Energy Mustang, took repairs early on – there was rear-diffusor damage on the #25 that needed to be rectified.
Mostert had qualified sixteenth too, though was confident that in the race they’d be able to make inroads. However it wasn’t the case as Mostert was hit with a 15-second penalty for an incident with Declan Fraser at Turn 4 on Lap 149. The WAU pair were classified nineteenth.
One Ford combination that did impress however was the sister Penrite Mustang of rookie Matt Payne and international sportscar ace Kevin Estre. They ended up finishing as the top Ford car in sixth behind a Camaro top five.
Back in its rightful place on the Supercars calendar as the pre-Bathurst enduro, the Sandown 500 is one of those heritage events that is ensconced in the sport’s rich history and the series did feel lesser without it.
This year’s 500km race at the South-Eastern Melbourne circuit marked the first time since 2019 that an endurance event was held at Sandown Raceway, with sprint racing a feature in the last two trips. It was also the first time since 2018 though, that Sandown is held before the Bathurst 1000.
While it is known that the circuit’s days are numbered and have been for quite some time, it is great to add some more memories of Sandown Raceway, before it is inevitably bulldozed for housing. Even the fact that there’ll be a Sandown 500 on the calendar next year, with the knowledge that Supercars would rather have travelled to Singapore to support Formula One – means these are the last few times Supercars will be at Sandown.
There is always a buzz around Sandown, especially when the category goes into endurance mode and introduce new variables like co-drivers, longer stints and more complex pit-stops. It truly builds anticipation ahead of the blue-ribband Bathurst 1000.
Extended highlights from an enthralling @PenriteOil Sandown 500#RepcoSC #Supercarshttps://t.co/djfe1ihX7b
— Supercars (@supercars) September 17, 2023
The only thing lacking about this year’s Sandown 500 however, was the Retro Round which was a feature of recent races at Sandown. Grove Racing did embrace the retro livery of the great Allan Moffat’s 1979 Federation Falcon – in support of Dementia Australia.
Though overall, what an event with the uncertainty of how the Gen3 cars would fare long distance and in the end not as much drama through the pit-stops as initially expected. Perhaps that will be reserved for the Bathurst 1000 on October 8.
The pieces of the 2024 puzzle for Supercars have continued to fall into place following the last round of the championship at The Bend, with more driver announcements as well as TRC (Teams Racing Charters) movements.
2011-Bathurst 1000 winner Nick Percat’s exit from Walkinshaw Andretti United was confirmed and ahead of Sandown there was surprise at the 35-year old finding refuge at Matt Stone Racing for next year and beyond.
MSR also locked away incumbent rookie Cameron Hill on a multi-year deal, while David Reynolds’s move to Charlie Schwerkolt’s Team 18 was at last confirmed – as was the departure of Scott Pye from the team.
WAU meanwhile have handed a dream opportunity to their Super2 academy driver Ryan Wood, who will be promoted to the main game alongside two-time Bathurst 1000 winner Mostert. Wood impressed again at Sandown with victory on Saturday, but had his aggressive style questioned on Sunday, with a chaotic sequence of events triggered by Wood’s botched pass attempt on Aaron Love into the final corner.
In terms of TRC movements, the rumoured downsizing of Tickford Racing was confirmed to be true with the team announcing via statement that they’d be scaling down to a two-car operation for 2024 – in order to focus its resources on being a championship contender.
It’s likely that the team’s marquee driver Waters will be joined by Thomas Randle who impressed last time out at The Bend, while rookie Declan Fraser’s future seems a bit more uncertain.
2010-series champion James Courtney is meanwhile expected to land at the benefactor of Tickford’s downsizing in the Blanchard Racing Team – who’ve inherited one of the Tickford TRCs and will expand to a two car team next year. Todd Hazelwood is set to depart, with Super2 driver Love expected to fill the other vacancy.
Reigning Supercars champion van Gisbergen at last has his destination for 2024 confirmed, with the Kiwi set to link up with Trackhouse Racing for his maiden foray into NASCAR and racing Stateside.
The Justin Marks owned outfit first gave van Gisbergen the opportunity in its Project91 wildcard entry at the Chicago Cup Series event, where the 34-year old stunned on debut and won the race. Now he’ll be in Trackhouse colours for 2024.
“I want to thank Justin Marks and everyone at Trackhouse Racing who have taken a chance on me and given me this opportunity. I’m excited to get to America and getting the season started,” said van Gisbergen in a statement issued by the team.
A bonafide full-time campaign in the top tier Cup Series isn’t what van Gisbergen will be doing next year however, with his program set to see the Kiwi dabble in the three different tiers of NASCAR – featuring the development Xfinity series and Truck series.
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