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The IRWIN Racing team carried out detailed testing of the Ford Falcon V8 Supercar alongside teammate Jason Bright (Fujitsu Racing). The result was an improvement in performance and team chemistry between Marshall and his engineering and technical team headed by Greg Foletta.

“It was a really good day,” said Marshall.

“I got well over 100 laps in the car and most importantly our work as a group was outstanding.

“With no race weekend pressure on us, we were really able to work through a solid program with the car. The result was a range of improvements across the board.

“Heading to Sandown I feel a lot more confident that we can hit the track running.

“Sandown is a track that I know extremely well and I’m sure that we can look forward to a really strong result.”

Race Engineer Greg Foletta echoed Marshall’s confidence after the test.

“The test was very productive,” said Foletta.

“We are able to confirm that we are heading in the right direction with the car. That’s really important as we can better understand what’s required to get the most out of the car at race events.

“We have come a long way at the last two events. We are around that top-20 qualifying position and we are improving in the races.

“In terms of approaching Sandown, same place but a different event. That’s quite exciting and we feel that it could work in our favour.”

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
24 Marcus Marshall - 328

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)

Marcus Marshall in the #26 IRWIN Racing Ford

IRWIN Racing race engineer Greg Foletta

The IRWIN Racing crew at work in the pit area during a recent test at Winton

Driver of the #26 IRWIN Racing Falcon, Marcus Marshall