After eight rounds of the 2012 season, the V8 Supercars Championship now heads into the business end of the year. This weekend sees the start of the all-important endurance season, where many a championship challenge has been made or destroyed.

Following a dramatic pair of races two weeks ago at Sydney Motorsport Park, defending champion Jamie Whincup leads the championship race by a single point from Mark Winterbottom, and it promises to be another thrilling instalment of tin-top racing once again.

Take a look at our event preview for the Dick Smith Sandown 500…

The Circuit

2012 V8 SUPERCARS DICK SMITH SANDOWN 500

* Denotes L&H Phillip Island 500K

After a four-year stint at Phillip Island, Melbourne’s Sandown Raceway plays host to the traditional 500-kilometre race that acts as the curtain-raiser to next month’s iconic Bathurst 1000.

Along with the racing circuit – which staged the very first Sandown 500 back in 1962 – the facility also houses Sandown Racecourse, Melbourne’s second-largest horse-racing facility.

Located about 25km south-east of Melbourne’s city centre, the circuit is an institution on the Australian motorsport landscape.

It has played host to more rounds of the Australian Touring Car / V8 Supercars Championship than any other venue. This year’s running will mark the 43rd time that the series has visited this high-speed circuit.

The circuit was first opened in 1962, the track played host to the non-championship Australian Grand Prix on six occasions. In 1964, the venue staged a six-hour international touring car race, which would eventually gain fame as the Sandown 500.

Featuring two long straights, the track is known for its high speeds and great slipstreaming battles, with the best overtaking spots being at the Turn 1 and Turn 9 left-handers, which are the track’s heaviest braking zones.

As it’s built within the confines of the horse-racing facility, its safety barriers are positioned very closely to the margins of the circuit at some points, and circuit run-off is limited. A high-shunt will guarantee a hefty repair bill.

Rewinding to 2011

With last year’s event held at Phillip Island, it served as the the first of the season’s two endurance events, with the lead drivers paired with their Bathurst 1000 co-drivers in a 500-kilometre single-race event.

With the grid make-up decided by two non-points sprint races (where the lead and co-drivers drove in one race apiece, the same as this year), it was the TeamVodafone pairing of Craig Lowndes and Mark Skaife who successfully defended their Phillip Island 500 wins from 2010, leading home a team 1-2 ahead of Jamie Whincup and Andrew Thompson.

Their win was assured courtesy of a slow puncture suffered by Stone Brothers Racing pairing Shane van Gisbergen and John McIntyre, as well as a delayed pit stop from Thompson/Whincup.

Facts, Stats & Predictions

While the Whincup-Winterbottom battle is as close as ever, keep an eye out for this pair’s respective team-mates, Will Davison and Craig Lowndes, who could both claim the lead of the Drivers’ Championship at the end of this weekend with a maximum 300 championship points up for grabs.

Winterbottom’s team-mate Davison is just 122 points behind series leader Whincup, while the ever-improving Lowndes is 154 points further behind.

The major factor in play will be how each of the championship contenders’ respective co-drivers cope behind the wheel.

Since 2010, the championship rules have banned teams from pairing their full-time drivers together in the one car, meaning that each lead driver will be partnered by a – usually – less-experienced campaigner.

Forty-three of the 56-driver field are Australian, while the remainder of the grid comprises ten New Zealanders, one Danish driver, an Austrian and a Frenchman. The full entry list is below:

2012 V8 Supercars Dick Smith 500 Entry List:

	Entry / Team		Driver	Co-Driver
1.	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing		Jamie Whincup	Paul Dumbrell
2.	TOLL / Holden Racing Team		Garth Tander	Nick Percat
3.	HIFLEX Racing / Tony D’Alberto Racing		Tony D’Alberto	Dale Wood
4.	Irwin Racing / Stone Brothers Racing		Lee Holdsworth	Craig Baird
5.	Orrcon Steel / Ford Performance Racing		Mark Winterbottom	Steven Richards
6.	Trading Post / Ford Performance Racing		Will Davison	John McIntyre
7.	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing		Todd Kelly	Tim Blanchard
8.	Team BOC / Brad Jones Racing		Jason Bright	Andrew Jones
9.	SP Tools / Stone Brothers Racing		Shane van Gisbergen	Luke Youlden
11.	Fair Dinkum Sheds / Kelly Racing		Karl Reindler	Daniel Gaunt
12.	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing		Dean Fiore	Matt Halliday
14.	Lockwood Racing / Brad Jones Racing		Fabian Coulthard	David Besnard
15.	Jack Daniel’s / Kelly Racing		Rick Kelly	David Russell
17.	Jim Beam Racing / Dick Johnson Racing		Steven Johnson	Allan Simonsen
18.	Team Norton / Dick Johnson Racing		James Moffat	Alex Davison
19.	Tekno Autosports		Jonathon Webb	Scott McLaughlin
21.	Wilson Security / Brad Jones Racing		David Wall	Chris Pither
22.	TOLL / Holden Racing Team		James Courtney	Cam McConville
30.	Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport		Taz Douglas	Scott Pye
33.	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport		Alexandre Prémat	Jack Perkins
34.	Fujitsu Racing / Garry Rogers Motorsport		Michael Caruso	Greg Ritter
47.	Lucky 7 Racing / Stone Brothers Racing		Tim Slade	Andrew Thompson
49.	VIP Petfoods / Dick Johnson Racing		Steve Owen	Paul Morris
51.	Pepsi Max Crew / Kelly Racing		Greg Murphy	Owen Kelly
55.	The Bottle-O Racing Team / Rod Nash		David Reynolds	Dean Canto
66.	Supercheap Auto / Walkinshaw Racing		Russell Ingall	Christian Klien
91.	Tekno Autosports		Michael Patrizi	Jonny Reid
888.	Team Vodafone / Triple 8 Racing		Craig Lowndes	Warren Luff

Another added factor is the qualifying format in play for this weekend. Fans heading to the track on Saturday will be thrilled with one conventional qualifying session, followed by two qualifying ‘sprint’ races.

These races don’t give any championship points, but they will determine the make-up of the grid for Sunday’s 161-lap feature race.

The first race, driven by all of the co-drivers, will have its grid determined by the preceding qualifying session, and the finishing results of this race will then determine the starting order for the second ‘sprint’ race, which is driven by the leading drivers. Their finishing order will determine the starting order for Sunday’s race.

The aim of the game is all about staying out of trouble on Saturday, while going just fast enough to guarantee the best possible starting position for Sunday. With plenty of young gun drivers eager to make a name for themselves, this has all the ingredients for a few tears and headaches for those actually vying for championship glory.

Make sure you visit the RichardsF1.com website throughout the weekend for all the latest news, highlights and gossip from Sandown Raceway!

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Richard Bailey

Founder & Chief Editor at MotorsportM8

Hasn't missed a Grand Prix since 1989. Has a soft spot for Minardi. Tattooed with 35+ Grand Prix circuits.

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