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Sandown welcomes a change of pace to the usual sprint format as the first of the V8 Supercars ‘Enduro Cup’ rounds. A deceptively simple layout is categorised by deep braking zones and rewards aggressive use of the kerbing (which leads to some fun two-wheeling action!). 

Qualify:

Being a small track, lap times were just over the minute mark. Only David Lord and Chris Beresford achieved the 1:05 bracket and subsequently, the front row of the grid. Fortunately, the nature of endurance racing often throws up a few surprises.


Race:

Lights for the 76-lapper went out and Matt Pisani flew off row two, pass Chris and just behind David into turn one. No one got left behind through the first few corners. Jayme Hemi embarked on a wild ride over the grass at the end of the backstretch but did an amazing job to hold it. Ben Weeks fell victim to the steep kerb on the entry to the back stretch, and looped. Matt too, got loose over exit kerbing which promoted Chris to 2nd place at the end of lap 2. Lord had already found his rhythm; timesheets already showed a 3 second lead. The first of the front runners, Wade Keenan and Matt Pisani, came in after 11 laps. David and Chris held on a bit longer for 14 laps, but Troy Czislowski became considered as a threat when he demonstrated a 15 lap stint and temporarily took the lead. The distance threw the doors wide-open in terms of strategy, as drivers would be tasked with calculating their number of stops, considering the cost/benefit of undercutting their closest rivals and all whilst wrestling their heavy cars on the limit.
Potentially a race-deciding moment was Chris blowing a tyre trying to stretch a stint, losing 34 seconds to David. However, with more pit stops, came more chance of drive-thru penalties for speeding; Iain McIntosh and race-leader David were both pinged (the gap once again closing for Chris). Quick laps provided plenty of overtaking opportunities too, largely contributed to the blue flag; the main reason being, David and Chris lapped every other car!
David took the win by 7 seconds over Chris. The final and hotly contested podium spot was taken by Greg Gavalas. Wade committed to stretching his final stint after matching Matt’s earlier sequences, managing to steal 4th. Whilst some might consider Sandown to be the warm-up to the 1000, we certainly witnessed an entertaining race! Can’t wait to see what special events Bathurst will bring next round!
By Matt Anderson

Race Results:

Drivers Standings: