Home » Sports » V8 Supercar Racing » Betta Electrical Sandown 500

Betta Electrical Sandown 500

© Philip Northeast

Craig Lowndes and the Betta Electrical Ford team staked their claim as contenders for Australia's Great V8 Supercar race when they won the Sandown 500, the traditional warm up to the Bathurst 1000.

In a thrilling finish Lowndes snatched victory from Holden's Mark Skaife in the shadow of the chequered flag.

"The chase for Skaife was pretty exciting. The guys knew he had a couple of dramas and had to conserve fuel. We kept the pace up and with the gap coming down I couldn't believe how it all unfolded, " said Lowndes.

One of the features that sets this race apart from the usual races is the presence of co-drivers. Much of the discussion surrounding the race centres on how well the these co-drivers perform compared to the regular drivers. There were question marks over Yvan Muller and how well he could step up to the power of a five litre V8 Supercar from the little four cylinder British Touring Car he normally drives. Muller's performance here at Sandown suggests he will not be a liability at Bathurst as many other imported drivers have proven to be.

"The car was great, the team was great and Yvan was just sensational," said Lowndes. "A lot of people questioned the decision to put Yvan and I together, but today showed just how classy he is as a driver.

Muller is under no illusions about the task he faces in Australia . "Believe me it's not easy for any European or non-regular driver in the V8 Supercar Championship Series. I wanted to do these races because I know how big the challenge is," said Muller.

Lowndes started the car and got a great start establishing a lead of over 20 seconds before the first round of pit stops. Then Melbourne's weather added some excitement and uncertainty with intermittent drizzle forcing teams to make a choice between dry slicks and wet weather tyres.

The Holden Racing Team tried to play the strategy card after Todd Kelly had started the race instead of Mark Skaife, and for a change the number 2 HRT Holden Commodore got a good start and ran untroubled with the leading pack. By conserving fuel and concentrating on fuel economy the HRT inherited the lead by making fewer pit stops. On lap 96 during a rainy period Skaife made his last pit stop for wet tyres and fuel. Then the task for the HRT driver was to make the most of his advantage by making the fuel load last to the end of the race. With admaged front spoiler hampering his cornering speed and it proved to be an impossible task.