After many years as a single 500-kilometre two-driver endurance race, Sandown
will be a sprint round in 2008 with three individual races.
Although the
format is different from the recent past, the 2006 winner of the Sandown 500
sees no reason to change too many things in his approach to the race.
“The individual race distances at Sandown this year are around the
length of a driver stint in the 500km format,” said Bright.
“So we don’t
need to do anything that different.
“The only thing really different is
that you have to attack throughout each race, as there’s no real time to relax.
“This time of year the weather could play its part. A cold and wintery
day could make it feel like a 500-kilometre race!
“We have a new car
that’s working very well. Despite having just one race under its belt, we are
confident that we can look at a result well inside the top-10."
The
Fujitsu Racing team goes into the Midas 400 buoyed by a promising test at Winton
last week. The test was used to further develop the all-new Ford Falcon that
debuted at the previous round in Perth.
“The test was excellent,” said
Fujitsu Racing Chief Engineer Geoff Slater.
“We tried a few ideas and
that’s provided us with valuable information as we head forward with the car.
“Perth was a good outing, but that track is really not like any other
track – so the Winton test was extremely valuable.
“Last year Sandown
seemed to be a good circuit for our car. We were quickest in a rain affected
practice session. Following our test we are confident that we can be competitive
throughout the entire weekend.”
2008 V8 Supercar Championship
Series
Round 5, Sandown International Raceway, Melbourne, VIC
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS – After 4 of 14 rounds
1 Garth Tander –
896 points
2 Rick Kelly – 882
3 Mark Winterbottom – 872
4 Jamie
Whincup – 776
5 Steve Richards – 721
6 Craig Lowndes – 711
7 Will
Davison – 640
8 Lee Holdsworth – 626
9 James Courtney – 577
10
Fabian Coulthard - 569
19 Jason Bright - 388
Weekend Schedule
Saturday 7 June
12:50pm – 1:20pm
– Practice (Part 1)
1:35pm – 2:05pm – Practice (Part 2)
2:45pm – 4:00pm
– Practice (Part 3)
Sunday 8 June
9:55am – 10:50am – Qualifying
12:50pm – Race One (39 laps)
Monday 9 June!
12:15pm – Race
Two (39 laps)
4:05pm – Race Three (39 laps)
*All times AEST
V8 SUPERCARS ON TV
*All programs are shown on Channel
7
Sunday 8 June
12:00pm – 1:30pm – (Adelaide)
1:30pm –
3:00pm – (Melbourne)
4:00pm – 5:30pm – (Sydney, Brisbane)
4:30pm –
6:00pm – (Perth)
Monday 9 June
1:00pm – 5:30pm (Sydney,
Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth)
*Times subject to change. Check
local guides
Facts and Figures
Track
History
Located in Melbourne the Sandown International Raceway was first
opened in 1962. It held the Sandown International Cup, which featured
world-famous drivers such as Stirling Moss and Bruce McLaren. Throughout the
1960s and 70s the race meetings continued to attract international stars along
with the best of Australia's drivers. Australia's traditional Holden/Ford
rivalry really surfaced at the track in the late 1960s and through the 1970s
until Peter Brock won seven meetings in a row, out of a total of nine. The first
500 km race was held in 1984 and was named the Castrol 500. In 2008 the Sandown
round of the V8 championship has reverted to a three-race sprint format.
Track Location: Princess Highway, Springvale, Vic
Circuit
length: 3.1km
Circuit direction: Anti-clockwise
Average
speed: 142 km/h
Maximum speed: 261 km/h
Current Qualifying
Lap Record: James Courtney, Ford Falcon BF, 1m10.4430s, 2007
Current
Race Lap Record: Marcos Ambrose, Ford Falcon BA, 1:10.8251, 2004
Previous Sandown V8 Winners (1998 – 2007)
1998 Craig
Lowndes Holden Commodore VS
1999 Mark Skaife Holden Commodore VT
2000
Paul Radisich Ford Falcon AU
2001 Todd Kelly Holden Commodore VX
2002
Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon AU
2003 Mark Skaife/Todd Kelly Holden Commodore
VY (500km)
2004 Marcos Ambrose/Greg Ritter Ford Falcon BA (500km)
2005
Craig Lowndes/Yvan Muller Ford Falcon BA (500km)
2006 Jason Bright/Mark
Winterbottom Ford Falcon BA (500km)
2007 Craig Lowndes/Jamie Whincup Ford
Falcon BF (500km)
Previous Sandown V8 Pole Position Winners (1998
– 2007)
1998 John Bowe Ford Falcon EL
1999 Craig Lowndes Holden
Commodore VT
2000 Craig Lowndes Holden Commodore VT
2001 Mark Skaife
Holden Commodore VX
2002 Marcos Ambrose Ford Falcon AU
2003 Marcos
Ambrose Ford Falcon BA (500km)
2004 Rick Kelly Holden Commodore VY (500 km)
2005 Garth Tander Holden Commodore VZ (500 km)
2006 Garth Tander Holden
Commodore VZ (500 km)
2007 Mark Winterbottom Ford Falcon BF (500 km)
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Jason Bright aboard the #25 Fujitsu
Racing Falcon during a recent test in Winton
Fujitsu Racing Chief Engineer Geoff
Slater
Driver of the #25 Fujitsu Racing
Falcon, Jason Bright
Sandown will be a sprint round in
2008 with three individual races
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