Shane van Gisbergen expects his VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Holden Commodore to be a strong performer at this weekend’s Wilson Security Sandown 500, care of his recent race-winning form at the previous round in Sydney.
Van Gisbergen, who is paired with Team TEKNO VIP owner Jonathon Webb for the three-event Pirtek Endurance Cup, has now taken six victories this season – and is just 247 points from the championship lead.
The star driver, who was paired last year with Dutch racer Jeroen Bleekemolen, is confident that the team can be competitive – having enjoyed a successful test at Queensland’s Morgan Park last week.
The endurance format sees two 20-lap qualifying races on Saturday to set the grid for Sunday’s 161-lap, 500km race – all run on the hard tyre.
The Sandown 500 is the traditional warm-up for Australia’s great race, the iconic Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000. The VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Holden Commodore will be on-track tomorrow from 10.35am AEST.
Shane van Gisbergen, driver
#97 VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Holden VF Commodore:
“We had a great weekend in Sydney, with two victories in the wet on Saturday, so I’m really looking forward to Sandown – we have a great car in the VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Commodore, and we should be competitive.
“It was good to get some laps in the VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Commodore at last week’s test at Morgan Park in Queensland and get race-ready for the enduros. Jonathon also had plenty of laps to prepare for Sandown.
“Teaming up with Jono makes so much sense. We’re a very similar fit in the VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Commodore, so it just makes the driver changes and racing so much easier for the both of us. So we should have a strong enduro campaign, given we were strong last year.
“I think we will be competitive at Sandown this year, which will set us up for Bathurst in a few weeks’ time.”
Jonathon Webb, co-driver
#97 VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Holden VF Commodore:
“I think we’re on for a good run. It’s not been easy to stay at the front this year with multiple winners, but we’ve generally been at the pointy end of the field.
“I think the fact that I’ve not been out of the car too long, and so far in testing my pace has been pretty competitive, we’ll definitely be in the hunt come the end of the weekend.
“I’ve felt comfortable at all of the the tests I’ve done in the VIP Petfoods/Lucas Oil Commodore throughout the year, which gives me confidence going into the all-important endurance races.
“It was fantastic was able to do lots of laps at the recent test, along with pit-stop practice and other things to prepare myself completely for Sandown.
“Sandown is one of the classics, and it’d be great to win the event with Shane – we’ve just got to put ourselves in a good position from the start.”
Thoughts on Sandown Motor Raceway:
“To be fast at Sandown, you need to be able to get over the kerbs and bumps well to get a good run onto the back straight. You also need a lot of horsepower given that it’s a power circuit.”
Turn 1:
“Turn 1 is pretty basic, but really hard to get right. The braking zone is quite bumpy. And then you’ve got a pretty exciting part of the track following it.”
Turns 2-4:
“You have to be so aggressive over the kerbs and bumps here, and you feel like you’re almost breaking the car every lap but that’s how you achieve the speed. Turn 4 is so critical as it’s a slow corner followed by the long back straight and the fastest part of the track.”
Turns 6-9:
“Once you get to the top of the hill you’re off-camber on the rev-limiter in top gear, and you head into a fast left-hander (Turn 6) that is pretty scary. You’re hanging on all the way through, and you’ve got to brake heavily at Dandenong Road.”
Turns 9-12:
“The last section of the track seems basic, but you’ve still got to finish it off nicely to get a great lap. It’s a couple of 90-degree corners. There’s not too much to it, but it’s still hard to get right.”
2014 Wilson Security Sandown 500 Schedule:
Friday, 12 September
10:35 – 11:15 Practice 1
12:35 – 13:15 Practice 2 (Co-drivers only)
14:35 – 15:15 Practice 3 (Co-drivers only)
Saturday, 13 September
10:05 – 10:45 Practice 4
12:15 – 12:35 Qualifying
14:45 – 15:20 Qualifying - Race 1 (20 laps)
16:40 – 17:15 Qualifying - Race 2 (20 laps)
Sunday, 14 September
10:35 – 10:55 Warm Up
13:40 – 17:15 Race 29 (161 laps)
*N.B. The above times are all in Australian Eastern Standard Time.
2014 V8 Supercars Championship Series
Top 10 Drivers' Championship Points
Top 10 Teams' Championship Points
* Single-car team.
