Saturday Talking Points: Four seasons in one day set up thrilling race
Saturday at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500 was the epitome of Melbourne's famous four seasons in one day weather patterns.
There was plenty of rain, hail right before qualifying, before the day ended with the sun beaming down on Sandown.
Will Brown emerged from the other side to claim pole position for Red Bull Ampol Racing in the #87 Camaro he'll share with Scott Pye.
However, there are plenty of contenders who are shaping up to threaten the enduro supremacy of the Red Bull Camaros.
Supercars.com takes a look at some of the key talking points from Saturday at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500.
Rain jumbles things up
The headline of yesterday’s daily wrap begged the question of whether or not we would see rain today at Sandown. Sunrise revealed the answer was yes, and an emphatic one at that. All Supercars running up to the Top Ten Shootout was held in wet conditions, and even the shootout itself was held in tricky wet conditions with rivers running across the track in several places. Several drivers were caught out by the conditions, with Will Davison and Aaron Love finding the wall in Practice 5 and Boost Mobile Qualifying respectively, and Ryan Wood nearly having a big accident in the shootout. Some big names couldn’t convert dry weather pace into wet pace today, Nick Percat and Jack Le Brocq in particular would be disappointed to be starting outside the front five rows. Tomorrow is expected to be a dry affair, but with rain washing all the rubber off the track today, the track condition could still be a far cry from yesterday.
The enduro kings stamp their authority
Red Bull Ampol Racing, as they always seem to do at this time of year, have stepped up to the plate for the biggest races of the year. Will Brown broke through for his first pole since the opening race of the season at Bathurst in today’s shootout, and shapes as an extremely strong combination alongside Scott Pye, who topped the only exclusive co-driver session of the weekend. Broc Feeney was the provisional pole sitter after the wet qualifying session, and didn’t get a fair crack at pole position after Ryan Wood’s wild ride in the shootout, but still managed to jag fifth. Feeney also qualified fifth last year, and went on to win his maiden Sandown 500 alongside Jamie Whincup. There is no reason lightning can’t strike twice for Feeney and Whincup this year, but Brown won’t be making it easy should they engage in on-track combat.
Grove Racing move towards the front
The wet weather was exactly what Grove Racing needed to get themselves back into the game at Sandown. Richie Stanaway excelled in the wet conditions, topping Practice 4 this morning and finishing second in the following session. Young teammate Matt Payne also excelled in the wet today, and was third in both Practice 5 and Qualifying, Although they both couldn’t quite convert in the shootout, both cars will be ones to watch in the race. Stanaway will pair with the experienced Dale Wood out of seventh on the grid, whilst Payne has one of the superstar co-drivers of the field in Garth Tander. Whilst there could still be a potential question mark over dry weather pace, both Penrite Mustangs have track position after qualifying, and four speedy drivers who have all done the job before in enduro season. Watch for the Allan Moffat tribute liveries to work their way closer to the front tomorrow.
De Pasquale’s great escape
Anton De Pasquale would have gladly accepted a Top Ten Shootout berth as a 29th birthday present at the start of the day. However, having bumped out Nick Percat at the death in qualifying, and nearly spinning on his out lap, a third place start for tomorrow would've used up quite the allotment of birthday luck. This weekend hasn't been entirely smooth sailing for Dick Johnson Racing in terms of outright speed, however De Pasquale came up clutch to maintain his run of featuring in every shootout this season. Being the first car out in tricky conditions were always going to stack the odds against the future Team 18 recruit's favour. and his out lap moment ruined his run onto the front straight to start his lap. From that point on, the local Melburnian kept his cool and put together a time that was only beaten by 2024 pole king Cam Waters and eventual pole-sitter Will Brown. Last time De Pasquale paired with Tony D'Alberto, they stood on the podium at Bathurst last year, and they're well placed to repeat the trick tomorrow.
What can we expect tomorrow?
Now that the grid has been determined, we now have the clearest picture yet as to how tomorrow’s Penrite Oil Sandown 500 will play out. All that remains before the 500km classic begins at 2:05pm is the 20-minute Warm Up that begins at 9:55am. The morning session will be nothing more than a systems check and final rehearsal for driver changes and pit stops, so we can assume that the race run form guide from yesterday should carry into the race. The Red Bull Camaros are without doubt the favourites, especially the #87 that starts from pole, but a lot can and will happen in 161 laps at Sandown. Outside of the Red Bulls, Chaz Mostert and Lee Holdsworth have looked rock solid in race trim, and Holdsworth in particular was mighty in the co-driver session. Cam Waters starts alongside Feeney on the front row tomorrow, and James Moffat has proven to be reliable over the years, even if he had a little brush with the wall today. Brodie Kostecki and Todd Hazelwood have also firmed up as a strong pairing, ditto Andre Heimgartner and Declan Fraser. Outside the top 10, Nick Percat and Dylan O'Keeffe showed great speed yesterday, even if Percat missed the top ten by just 0.03s, and we've seen Matt Stone Racing utilise brilliant strategy on occasion this year.
