Hi to all you Supercars Fans around the world!On the weekend of the 20^th and 21^st of March was the Penrite Oil Sandown Supersprint.

The event was held at the Sandown International Raceway. It is a famous track of 3.1  kilometres  owned by Melbourne Racing Club with a rich history stretching beyond its opening as a raceway in 1962 and the first Sandown 500 in 1964. Prior to this it was a horse racing facilty built in the 19^th century.

In motor racing it seems to be a tough and challenging track. History shows that both Ash Walsh and Lee Holdsworth crashed in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Both at the end of the back straight.

As for the event this year, it looked like it was going to be a tough one for the Red Bull Ampol Racing Team. Three weeks ago after the opening round of the Supercars Championship at the Bathurst 500, Shane Van Gisbergen broke his collar bone in a mountain bike accident. He was admitted to hospital for surgery.

With such an injury it was doubtful Shane Van Gisbergen would be racing at Sandown . The team had Garth Tander on stand by to fill in. Even commentator Mark Skaife said that he didn’t think that Shane Van Gisbergen would race but…  HE DID!!!.

I am sure Triple Eight had their concerns for Shane Van Gisbergen, as well as the impact on the team and the championship after his double win at the opening event, Bathurst 500.

Results for the Pre-Race sessions:

• Jamie Whincup was fastest in Practice 1
• Cameron Waters was fastest in Practice 2
• Chaz Mostert was fastest in the Armour All Qualifying
• Shane Van Gibergen qualified 17^th

In race 3 Chaz Mostert started on pole position with Cameron Water alongside him.

At the start of the race Chaz Mostert led into turn 1 but Cameron Waters took the lead between turns 2 and 3.. During the opening stages Mark Winterbottom and Jamie Whincup were flying up to turn 1.

When the pit window opened the front runners stayed out while cars further back pitted.

In the middle of the race the drivers were going nuts because they knew that every pass they made was critical.

As it turned outShane Van Gisbergen started 17^th with his broken collar bone and finished 1^st !  Wow!. After his double win at Bathurst a few weeks back this was an exciting finish.

What a incredible race. Well done SVG.

Results for Race 3

1^st Shane Van Gisbergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
2^nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.
3^rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

Regardless of weather reports, races 4 and 5 were wet and created tension out on the track.

Shane Van Gisbergen astounded everyone by being fastest in the Qualifying for Race 4  earning him pole position. Alongside him was teammate Jamie Whincup.

At the start of the race Jamie Whincup took the lead into turn 1 but Shane Van Gisbergern was soon  passed him.

Early on in the race Will Davison spun in between turns 2 and 3 and nearly collected Anton de Pasqaule on the re-join. Thankfully that didn’t happen.

The front runners stayed out while the cars back in the pack pitted.

Will Brown was charging through the pack in Race 4 just like Shane Van Gisbergen did in Race 3.

Brodie Kosecki was back in the pack so the Erebus team brought him in to give him clear air.

Once Shane Van Gisbergen took his final pit stop and re-joined he was the clear leader and seemed impossible to catch. Yes, Shane Van Gisbergen won this race too. That was 2 of 2 races for the weekend and 4 out of 4 for the season. Just incredible!

Results for Race 4

1^st Shane Van Gisergen – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.
2^nd Cameron Waters – Tickford Racing.
3^rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

In race 5 Shane Van Gisbergen again started on pole position with teammate Jamie Whincup alongside him.

During the opening laps Brodie Kostecki was up from 7^th to 4^th spot which Erebus Motorsport must have been happy with. I bet team owner Betty Klimenco regretted not being there and staying home with her sick dog. Boo hoo! Bow wow!

Will Brown, also from Erebus Motorsport came in early because he wasn’t moving forward.

Chaz Mostert was dogfighting up front for the lead. He just would’nt give in and some spectacular driving was on show.  The manoeuvres were just incredible as he traded the lead with Shane Van Gisbergen multiple times. Im sure Shane Van Gisbergen was thinking Mostert was like a fly at a picnic. Just buzzing around and being a pest.

Once again towards the end of the race no one could catch Shane Van Gisbergen.

Incredible! 5 out of 5 races for the season.

Results for race 5

1^st Shane van Gisbrgen – Red Bull Ampol Racing team.
2^nd Brodie Kostecki – Erebus Motorsport.
3^rd Jamie Whincup – Red Bull Ampol Racing Team.

The next event is the Beaurepairs Tasmania Supersprint has been delayed 1 week due to COVID19 lock downs. It will now be run on the 17^th and 18^th  of April 2021.