Wet, dry thrills
Rick Kelly leads the field on a sodden Sandown circuit
Is it just me, or is it hard to believe that only two races still remain in the 2011 V8 Supercar Championship? It feels like only yesterday that the V8 Supercars fraternity descended on Eastern Creek Raceway for the popular pre-season test day at the Western Sydney circuit, where fans turned out en masse for their first sight of fresh war paint and the season’s new driver, team and engineer combinations.
But before we pack our well-travelled bags and bookend the year with another trip to Sydney for the Sydney Telstra 500 on the streets of Homebush, let’s reflect on the season’s penultimate hit-out at the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge.
While it was not a championship changing weekend – and fair to say Sunday’s 65-lapper was not one of the classics on Heritage Weekend at Sandown – Saturday’s race in near monsoonal conditions provided us with one of the genuinely most entertaining encounters of the season so far, of which 2011 has seen its fair share.
In an era when Formula One Grands Prix are blighted by Safety Car intervention at the merest hint of precipitation, it was enthralling – if at times frightening – to watch 28 drivers battle it out in blinding spray on one of Australia’s toughest wet weather circuits. From my vantage point in the commentary box directly opposite the start/ finish straight, the number of drivers who caught nervous wiggles while wheel-spinning and aquaplaning in fifth and sixth gear was amazing, and it’s a credit to all drivers who kept their cars on the island – no pun intended!
A 1-3 result for Kelly Racing, as they achieved in Hamilton earlier this year, also a sopping wet affair, demonstrated that the Jack Daniel’s machines are clearly a good thing to have when the heavens open. Rick’s effort of pole position, race win and the resistance of James Courtney’s numerous advances was exemplary, and wasn’t it great to see both Courtney and Todd back on a V8 Supercars podium after each has had to endure their most torrid seasons yet. Certainly, the first non-TeamVodafone podium since the Sunday race at Hamilton was well received by the enthusiastic crowd in Sandown’s packed grandstand.
Lowndes was stunning in wet conditions
While Craig Lowndes only came out of the weekend a meagre six points closer to halting his team-mate’s quest for a much deserved third title, his drive in atrocious conditions on Saturday was one of greatness. After grappling with a problematic set-up to wind up 27th in qualifying (equalling his career worst at 2004’s Queensland Raceway round in the dark old days of the CAT FPR Falcon), Lowndes’ inexorable climb to sixth – with the front-row starting Whincup almost ten seconds in arrears at the finish – reaffirmed that the man who won his first ATCC crown some 15 years ago, can still be counted on to produce the something very special. The fans noticed too, giving him a rousing cheer when he crossed the line at race end.
Equally superb was the performance of Garth Tander who recovered from 21st position at mid-race distance – after suffering horrible visibility in his Toll/ HRT Commodore – to scythe his way up to eighth by race’s end. Good to see GT also joining his HRT crew in the rain after the race to applaud Courtney’s first podium finish since winning on debut at Yas Marina way back in February.
The rain also allowed Warren Luff to use the car control he has honed after years of driving on skid pans to produce Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport’s best-ever qualifying result of 11th, while another wet weather specialist Jason Bargwanna hauled his Jana Living Commodore from 26th on the grid to 12th when he was sidelined after heavy contact with James Moffat.
While the experienced hands of the Kelly boys, Courtney, Lowndes, Tander, Bargwanna and Luff all shone in the wet weather, Sandown also saw the continual emergence of a new rain master. Last year’s Australian Formula Ford champion Chaz Mostert debuted for Ford Performance Racing in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series in the best way possible, setting pole position in the wet and recording a pair of second place finishes. Had it not been for contact sustained – through no fault of his own – in the chaotic reverse-grid Race 2, Mostert may well have won the round.
Mostert has already shown his wet weather prowess in the Miles Racing Falcon with standout drives at Queensland Raceway and again during practice at Bathurst, and his performances on the weekend have vindicated the decision by Ford Performance Racing to give the exciting young talent a shot in the cleverly numbered #56 FPR machine.
Sydney Olympic Park is next. Will there be a surprise sting in the tail to what has been an enthralling year of V8 Supercars action?
We will see.
