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V8SC 2012 Round 10: Lowndes and Luff Triumph At Sandown 500

Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff have continued TeamVodafone’s recent dominance of the 2012 V8 Supercar Championship, winning the Sandown 500 race in Melbourne at the weekend. TeamVodafone's ninth straight victory has helped Lowndes climb to


Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff have continued TeamVodafone’s recent dominance of the 2012 V8 Supercar Championship, winning the Sandown 500 race in Melbourne at the weekend.

TeamVodafone's ninth straight victory has helped Lowndes climb to third in the championship, with the remaining steps occupied by the pairings of Mark Winterbottom/Steven Richards and Jamie Whincup/Paul Dumbrell.

The round also marked the first 500km V8 Supercar Championship event to be held at the circuit since 2007, returning to its traditional role as warmup endurance event for the iconic Bathurst 1000.

This was also the first test for the 2012 endurance driver pairings, and the event’s qualifying program ensured that these drivers were integral to the final results.

Qualifying was split into two 20 lap ‘qualifying races’ on the Saturday, with championship points awarded for each.

The first race was for co-drivers only, while the second race for primary championship drivers determined the grid positions for the main race on Sunday.

Both were won by the Shane Van Gisbergen and Luke Youlden driver pairing, placing their Stone Brothers Racing Falcon on pole for the main race - a career first for both drivers.

These races also saw Whincup extend his points lead from just one point to 44 over Mark Winterbottom, which would ultimately prove vital in maintaining this lead at the end of the round.

During the race, pole-sitting Youlden managed to maintain first position until place until a slow first pitstop dropped him back to fifth, which gave the lead to Whincup/Dumbrell for the majority of the race.

Whincup sacrificed this lead 20 laps from the end with a mistake on Turn 2, which gave the lead to his teammates Lowndes/Luff.

Winterbottom managed to push Whincup back to third position just two laps from the end, making minor contact with his rival in the process.

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