Jamie Whincup’s Team Vodafone Falcon rounds a corner during his Midas 400 round win.By Paul Pickering
THE Falcons reigned supreme at Sandown International Raceway on the weekend as the V8 Supercars roadshow drove into town for the inaugural Midas 400.
The revamped and rescheduled event attracted more than 40,000 fans to the Springvale track, with loyalties evenly divided between bitter motorsport rivals Ford and Holden.
There was little joy for Holden fans though, as Ford trio Jamie Whincup, Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom revelled in the new three-race format to share the spoils.
Whincup scored the overall round victory with wins in the first and third races, while his Team Vodafone comrade Lowndes edged out 19-year-old Kiwi driver Shane Van Gisbergen to secure maximum points from the second 120km sprint.
Meanwhile, Winterbottom’s consistency throughout the weekend allowed him to overhaul Toll Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander to claim the championship lead after five rounds.
Whincup served his rivals an early warning by registering a stunning qualifying lap of 1 minute 10 seconds in his Team Vodafone Falcon on Sunday, and he delivered by gapping Winterbottom and Lowndes in the first race later that afternoon.
He looked destined to make it two from two on Monday morning, but an untimely exit from the rain-drenched surface saw Whincup surrender the lead to Lowndes in the penultimate lap.
Lowndes’ challenge was thwarted before it began in the last race through, after he broke an axle on his Triple Eight Falcon on the way to the starting grid.
Pit crews were forced to work overtime in an eventful final race, but it was Whincup who cruised to the line as dusk descended on a wind-swept and wintery Sandown circuit.
“I had a great battle with Mark (Winterbottom) throughout the race,” Whincup said.
“He would gap me and then I would pull him back in. I’m just thankful that my team today was the best in pit lane and we came out in front.”
For his part, Winterbottom was content to arrive safely in second and assume the series lead.
“The championship lead is fantastic – it is the first time ever for FPR (Ford Performance Racing),” he said.
“It was quite hard to see with about 10 laps to go.
“The risk of going off was quite high because of the conditions out there. I was happy sitting in second and it was probably as good as it was going to be.”
Meanwhile, Russell Ingall, Todd Kelly and Tander were the only Holden drivers to register a top-five race finish throughout the weekend.
Despite Monday’s weather, organisers were delighted with the way crowds responded to the new sprint format.
While attendance was down on the Sandown 500 endurance race that was traditionally held in September, IMG director of motorsport Greg Hooton said the fans had embraced the event.
“We expected a drop in crowds, going to a new weekend and a new format, but we were more than happy,” he said.
“The weather was disappointing in terms of getting the crowds, but it makes for interesting racing. Seeing the skills of the drivers on a wet track – it makes it interesting for the punters.”
The V8 Supercars Championship Series will now head to Darwin for round six from 4-6 July.
