Rick Kelly will be keen to win the Sandown 500 on Sunday and bridge the six-point gap between him and team-mate, V8 Supercar series leader Garth Tander.Picture: Meagan Rogers.By Brad Kingsbury
THE V8 Supercar series lands at Sandown International Raceway this weekend with the battle for the lead in the rich series a close contest between Holden team-mates Garth Tander and Rick Kelly.
It is the 40th running of the classic Melbourne V8 Supercar endurance race.
The Toll HSV Dealer Team drivers, both piloting VE Commodores, are separated by only six points with Tander (389 points) ahead after eight rounds.
While they battle for the outright series leadership, the two Holden drivers are more than aware that the next two positions on the series ladder are filled by Ford Team Vodafone drivers Jamie Wincup (317 points) and Craig Lowndes (301).
Given that the Sandown track has historically suited the Fords more than Holdens, Wincup and Lowndes will be approaching the round with confidence in their BF Falcons.
There will be a number of attractions at the event, which will be the last time the well-known and often controversial Holden blimp will be seen in a flyover before it is decommissioned and returns to the United States.
Last round’s winner Lee Holdsworth and co-driver Dean Canto are dark horses to win Sunday’s 161-lap race, while Tasman Motorsport’s Jason Richards and team-mate Greg Murphy, a two-time winner of the Sandown classic, are also strongly in the running.
Paul Dumbrell and Paul Weel pair up at Sandown for the first time with Supercheap Auto Racing and should be competitive, while Cameron McConville shares the second team car with newcomer David Reynolds.
Defending Sandown 500 champion team Ford Performance Racing (FPR) returns to Sandown with the aim of back-to-back victories.
FPR boasts one of the strongest Ford driver line-ups with 2006 Sandown 500 winner Mark Winterbottom leading the way in his fifth tilt at the Melbourne event.
Practice for this weekend’s Sandown 500 begins 1.15pm tomorrow (Friday), with another practice session and qualifying on Saturday. Sunday’s 161-lap race begins at 1.30pm.
