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Failure Of 2003 Haunts Richards As Kiwi Looks To Make Amends In Sandown |
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Tuesday, 29 August 2006 |
KIWI driver Jason Richards has done everything but win the Sandown 500 V8 Supercar endurance classic over the past three years.
The 30yearold, who recently had his contract with Tasman Motorsport extended through to the end of the 2008 season, has experienced both and the highs and the lows of the traditional warmup race for Bathurst.
In 2003 he hunted down Mark Skaife in wet conditions for the lead and made an attempt to pass in the dying stages that ended in the sand trap. A year later he finished in the top 10 and last year he gave Tasman Motorsport its firstever podium finish by coming home third in tricky conditions.
But the 2003 Sandown event, where he was driving a Commodore for Team Dynamik, remains the closest he has come bar Bathurst last year to winning a V8 Supercar race and it still sticks in his mind as the ‘one that got away’.
“It was such a cracking race; I can’t imagine how good it was for the viewers,” Richards recalls.
“I actually watched the video of the race in its entirety not all that
long ago and it had everything. It had such a David versus Goliath
finish with Skaife and the might of the factory Holden team being
challenged by the new upstart Dynamik car that was only in its first
season.
“It took that slight touch with Skaife to discover a weakness in our
front suspension tierods, something we fixed immediately for Bathurst.
But by then it was too late to win Sandown!
“I don’t regret the move I made up the inside. If I had the opportunity
again I would take it. But it does haunt me because I did have the
faster car and there was only a lap and a bit to go.” Richards will
team this weekend with Andrew Jones in the #3 Firepowerbacked Tasman
Commodore, after the duo completed a preSandown test at Winton on
Monday.
Meanwhile, namesake Steven Richards will have birthday boy Paul Dumbrell alongside in the #7 Jack Daniel’s Racing Commodore.
Dumbrell, who will turn 24 on Friday, is teaming with Richards for the
endurance events for the secondstraight year and has a new outlook on
the races, given he is also in the top 10 in the championship and has
his own point score to protect.
“It’s a different position to what I’ve been in before but I’m
approaching it the same way as previous years in that it’s imperative
to finish and you can’t afford not to finish at all,” Dumbrell said.
“We’ve had a few ordinary rounds in the last few outings. Most of the
guys in the top 10 are pairing together for Sandown so that gives us a
chance to make up some points on them if they have dramas.
“It’s very hard to make your race plans around the event not running
the full 161 laps and running to time, which has happened more times
than not in the recent past.
“You have it in the back of your mind but you also have to plan for
what’s on the schedule and that is 161 laps. You run a risky strategy
if you plan any different. If you pull it off, you’re a hero, but if it
doesn’t work out you ruin your championship.”
Richards is sixth in the championship entering Sandown with Dumbrell in
10 th spot. A team not in championship calculation is Supercheap Auto
Racing and drivers Greg Murphy and Cameron McConville.
While both aren’t in the point fight, the duo knows that the
characteristics of endurance racing reward consistency and smarts and
their #51 Commodore could spring a surprise after a nightmare 2006.
“We can’t go making bold predictions but we’re quietly confident we’ve
got a better package than what we’ve had of late,” said McConville on
Monday after shaking down the Commodore they’ll use, which has been
rebuilt after it was involved in an accident at the seasonopening
Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
“The new car was positive to drive straight out of the box, which is a
good sign and, on good tyres, the grip will be even better.
“There’s still a bit of testing and tuning to do, but the team has done
an incredible job with its rebuild and the 60 laps we ran at Winton on
Monday were the perfect chance to shake it down.” One of the added
stories to this weekend’s Sandown 500 is the V8 Supercar debut of the
Holden Racing Team’s Ryan Briscoe.
Back after testing last week at Winton and then making a whirlwind trip
to America to race at Infineon Raceway in the IRL IndyCar Series event
last weekend, the 24yearold will pair up with Jim Richards in the #22
HRT Holden.
Opening practice for the Sandown 500 will commence on Friday with qualifying and the Top 10 Shootout on Saturday.
The 39 th running of the Sandown enduro classic will commence on Sunday at 1pm AEST.
THE RACING LINE – SANDOWN 500, VICTORIA, ROUND 8
| Circuit Length |
3.1 kilometres |
| Circuit Direction |
AntiClockwise |
| Average Speed |
159 km/h |
| Maximum Speed |
262 km/h |
| Qualifying Lap Record |
Marcos Ambrose, Ford Falcon BA, 1m10.6715s, 2005 |
| 2005 Pole Position |
Garth Tander, Holden Commodore VZ, 1m10.8917s |
| Current Lap Record |
Marcos Ambrose, Ford Falcon BA, 1m10.8251s in 2004 |
2005 Results:
| Pos. |
Drivers |
Team |
Car |
| 1 |
Craig Lowndes/Yvan Muller |
Triple Eight Racing |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2 |
Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly |
Holden Racing Team |
Holden Commodore VZ |
| 3 |
Jason Richards/Jamie Whincup |
Tasman Motorsport |
Holden Commodore VZ |
| 4 |
Garth Tander/Rick Kelly |
HSV Dealer Team |
Holden Commodore VZ |
| 5 |
Steve Ellery/Adam Macrow |
Triple Eight Racing |
Ford Falcon BA |
Race Format: The first of the two driver per car endurance
events, Sandown is run over 161 laps (500kilometres) or run to a time
limit of 4.45pm AEST, whichever comes first. Each car must complete a
compulsory brake pad change.
Television Coverage: Network Ten will telecast the Sandown action live on Sunday September 3 from 12pm to 5pm AEST.
Previous Winners
| Year |
Drivers |
Car |
| Previous Sandown 500 Winners |
| 1993 |
Geoff Brabham/David Parsons |
Ford Falcon EB |
| 1994 |
Dick Johnson/John Bowe |
Ford Falcon EB |
| 1995 |
Dick Johnson/John Bowe |
Ford Falcon EF |
| 1996 |
Craig Lowndes/Greg Murphy |
Holden Commodore VR |
| 1997 |
Greg Murphy/Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VS |
| 1998 |
Larry Perkins/Russell Ingall |
Holden Commodore VT |
| 2001 |
John Bowe/Tom Waring |
Ferrari 360 Challenge |
| 2002 |
Paul Stokell/Anthony Tratt |
Lamborghini Diablo GTR |
| 2003 |
Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly |
Holden Commodore VY |
| 2004 |
Marcos Ambrose/Greg Ritter |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2005 |
Craig Lowndes/Yvan Muller |
Ford Falcon BA |
| Sandown 500 Pole Position Winners |
| 1993 |
Tomas Mezera |
Holden Commodore VP |
| 1994 |
Peter Brock |
Holden Commodore VP |
| 1995 |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VR |
| 1996 |
Craig Lowndes |
Holden Commodore VR |
| 1997 |
Mark Skaife |
Holden Commodore VS |
| 1998 |
Greg Murphy |
Holden Commodore VS |
| 2001 |
Jim Richards |
Porsche GT3 |
| 2002 |
John ‘Sam’ Newman |
Ferrari 360 Challenge |
| 2003 |
Marcos Ambrose |
Ford Falcon BA |
| 2004 |
Rick Kelly |
Holden Commodore VY |
| 2005 |
Garth Tander |
Holden Commodore VZ |
FAST FACTS
· This year is the 39th running of the Sandown 500. It was first run as
a sixhour race in 1964. It wasn’t run in 1966 or 1967 but returned as a
threehour race the following year. It evolved into a 400kilometre race
in 1976 after being a 250kilometre event and then became 500kilometres
in 1984. In 1999 the annual V8 Supercar 500kilometre race moved to
Queensland for four years, though PROCAR’s Nations Cup/Productions Cars
ran in the race in 2001 and 2002 before the V8 Supercars returned in
2003.
· Team Kiwi Racing’s Paul Radisich celebrates a milestone this weekend,
racking up his 100 th start in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. The
twotime FIA Touring Car World Cup champion debuted in the series in
1999 and is in his second year with TKR.
· Todd Kelly won his firstever V8 Supercar round at Sandown in 2001 at
the V8 Ultimate season finale. Driving for Kmart Racing, Kelly won one
race and finished third in the two others.
· The last three winners of the Sandown 500 have started from second on the grid.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 06 January 2007 )
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