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V8s

Jamie Whincup headed up a Ford dominated Sandown meeting yesterday.

The Triple Eight driver finished the round in front of FPR’s Mark Winterbottom, with SBR’s

James Courtney coming home in third.

SBR’s young gun Shane van Gisbergen put in an impressive performance in the wet and slippery conditions to finish fourth giving Ford the top four spots.

Holden’s Russell Ingall and Ford’s Craig Lowndes were fifth and sixth respectively.

Lowndes was in a good position to take the round win after winning the second race, but a freak mechanical failure forced him out of the final leg.

The Ford ace was warming up his tyres accelerating and braking hard on the formation lap when his axle broke.

The Triple Eight team tried desperately to fix the car, but ran out of time.

Whincup was lucky to escape some errors, one of which cost him the race lead in race two.     

While he was happy to take the win, Whincup felt he needed to improve.

“I made three or four errors over the weekend which is below average for an elite athlete,” Whincup said.

“I am running in the top line of motorsport when you’ve got to stay on the limit. All these guys beside you are pushing to the limit and you are to the limit but as an elite athlete should be able to perform at their best and not make any mistakes.”

Winterbottom moved into the championship lead with his second placing for the round.

“It’s the first time FPR has led the championship and we’re excited about how we’re going. It’s a great feeling; it’s an achievement in itself,” Winterbottom said.

 “The team did a great job; they play a massive role in the whole scheme of it and I’m very pleased to be with such a great bunch. Obviously the car was close to good enough but Jamie (Whincup) had a solid weekend.”

Garth Tander struggled through the weekend to finish seventh, while Rick Kelly suffered a range of dramas including a spin and problem with a wheel nut in the final race, but still managed to finish the round in tenth place.

V8 Supercars Round Points
1. Jamie Whincup 286 pts
2. Mark Winterbottom 252 pts
3. James Courtney 234 pts
4. Shane Van Gisbergen 228 pts
5. Russell Ingall 212 pts
6. Craig Lowndes 186 pts
7. Garth Tander 176 pts
8. Todd Kelly 170 pts
9. Steven Johnson 170 pts
10. Rick Kelly 146 pts

V8 Supercars Championship Points
1. Mark Winterbottom 1124 pts
2. Garth Tander 1072 pts
3. Jamie Whincup 1062 pts
4. Rick Kelly 1028 pts
5. Craig Lowndes 897 pts
6. Steven Richards 839 pts
7. James Courtney 811 pts
8. Lee Holdsworth 760 pts
9. Will Davison 752 pts
10. Todd Kelly 726 pts

Sandown Race 1
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Mark Winterbottom
3. Craig Lowndes
4. Russell Ingall
5. Garth Tander
6. James Courtney
7. Rick Kelly
8. Fabian Coulthard
9. Shane Van Gisbergen
10. Mark Skaife      

    

Sandown Race 2
1. Craig Lowndes
2. Shane Van Gisbergen
3. Jamie Whincup
4. James Courtney
5. Steven Johnson
6. Mark Winterbottom
7. Russell Ingall
8. Todd Kelly
9. Garth Tander
10. Cameron McConville

Sandown Race 3
1. Jamie Whincup
2. Mark Winterbottom
3. James Courtney
4. Shane Van Gisbergen
5. Todd Kelly
6. Russell Ingall
7. Will Davison
8. Lee Holdsworth
9. Steven Richards
10. Steven Johnson