SANDOWN 500 - SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17 - WARM-UP & RACE
Fabian Coulthard & Tony D'Alberto - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Warm-Up – 10th (Fastest Lap: 1m09.2307s)
Race 19 – 5th (Fastest Lap: 1m09.4216s)
Scott McLaughlin & Alex Prémat - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Warm-Up – 9th (Fastest Lap: 1m10.4885s)
Race 19 – 2nd (Fastest Lap: 1m09.4216s)
Fabian Coulthard & Tony D’Alberto - No. 12 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Recap: In the opening race of the Pirtek Enduro Cup, Fabian Coulthard and Tony D'Alberto drove smart to assist in building the Team's Championship lead. In a red-flag shortened race, both drivers worked hard with engineer Phil Keed to find a balance they were happy with. With Championship rivals battling, it was key to stay out of trouble. Running fourth for much of the race, they were hampered by back markers late in the race. Ignoring blue flags, Coulthard lost time and fourth position to finish 5th. Coulthard remains third in the Championship, 161 points behind leader McLaughlin.
Coulthard Quote: "Fifth is definitely not a bad result. It could have been better, but we just didn’t get on top of it all weekend. It was a pretty lonely race, I was on my own for much of it. The boys worked really hard, the pit stops and strategy wee great and we did the best we could today."
D’Alberto Quote: "It was a solid result. We worked really hard this weekend, but it definitely didn't go all our way. Fifth is a good result after all that, and now we head to Bathurst."
Scott McLaughlin & Alex Prémat - No. 17 Shell V-Power Racing Ford
Recap: Scott McLaughlin and Alex Prémat worked hard all across the weekend to continue to strong pace that Car No.17 has shown across the 2017 Championship to date. Starting the race second, both Prémat and McLaughlin shadowed the PRA Falcon of Waters/Stanaway for much of the shortened race. Prémat did a very strong job, maintaining position throughout his stint. McLaughlin then worked his way back to the front, looking after the car and tyres until he attacked over the final laps. It was not quite enough, and the pair finished second. With his rivals faltering, he has extended his Championship lead to 84 points, with the Teams’ Championship lead 378 points.
McLaughlin Quote: "Awesome day. If you'd told me at the start of the year that we'd be on the podium at the Sandown 500, I'd have thought you were kidding. We came here this weekend with the goal of finishing in front of our Championship rival, and we did that. Alex was fantastic all weekend. Next up is the best race week of the year."
Premat Quote: "I'm feeling very good, like a copy and paste of last year! It is always a challenge to win big races, and now the next goal is Bathurst. We wanted to score points, this is what we did and it is the best thing for Scott's Championship. I'm very proud of what we did here today."