Sandown 500: The weekend where the final 4 drivers for the Grand Final is decided.
For many of the drivers, Sandown is just another weekend, but for our final 7 it is much more than that. Sandown can make or break your finals opportunities, and for 2 drivers the weekend helped to secure their spot into finals.
Race 33:
For race 33, it was a positive start to the weekend for Dick Johnson Racings very own Brodie Kostecki, who secured the first spot in finals with a win. Moving up 2 positions from where he started, it was a very smooth race for him with very little issues as he cruised through for the finals spot.
Matt Payne finished in P2 as he continued to extend the lead into the championship. Whilst he didn’t secure a finals spot on the Saturday, the points were still essential for himself. His teammate Kai Allen had a difficult race, unfortunately starting from the back and only finishing P22.
Cam Waters was able to finish P3 despite starting P2, and this was vital heading into the Sunday race with the points difference. Thomas Randle faced a difficult day dropping 12 positions and finishing P19. This would not be helpful, especially when trying to assist his teammate in the finals fight.
Chaz Mostert finished an impressive P4, after starting P10 and working to make up those lost positions, also proved essential to the finals fight. Similarly to Tickfords duo, Walkinshaw faced the same problem as Ryan Wood was stuck down in P17 and unable to help his teammate out in Race 33.
Blanchard Racing Team had a race of mixed results as James Golding drove a brilliant race to finish in P5. However, on the opposite side of the garage, driver Aaron Cameron had a scary and tough day as his car caught fire, and he was forced to stop the car before the back half of the car erupted in flames. Cameron was okay after exiting the vehicle; however, the car itself required a significant build to be in race 34.
Anton De Pasquale continued to help his finals fight as he finished P6, with a very quiet race until towards the end where he began to close in on Golding.
Cooper Murray has shown he has plenty of potential at his new home in PremiAir Racing. Despite being down one position, he managed to finish an impressive P7. His teammate also had a great race too, finishing P13 but being up 2 positions.
Brad Jones Racing had 2 of their drivers in the top 10. Andre Heimgartner finished in P8, with a great showing through the entire race weekend. Macauley Jones was the second driver in the top 10, ultimately finishing P9 and moving up an impressive 11 positions.
The final driver in the top 10 for race 33, was Zach Bates. The young driver has shown great potential in the second half of the year and continues to improve every week he drives.
A duo who missed out on the top 10 was the RedBull Ampol Racing duo of Broc Feeney and Will Brown. Feeney was just out of the 10, finishing P11, whilst Brown finished down in P20 after a mistake and a spin on lap 36 cost him the lead.
Race 34:
Race 34 helped to finalise who would be making it into the final round in Adelaide. Matt Payne secured his spot as he won the race, after a close battle at the end of the race.
Anton De Pasquale had a great start to the race, having started P2. However, despite fighting and working extremely hard in the last few laps to close the gap, he just missed out on the win, ultimately finishing P2.
Cooper Murray was the driver who started and finished in P3. The continued growth and improvement from him show real potential for the next season. His teammate Jayden Ojeda also finished within the top 10 for PremiAir Racing, finishing P9.
Broc Feeney finished race 34 in P4. After a very difficult race the previous day, the team managed to bounce back and work to secure better results for both drivers. Will Brown also finished in the top 10, finishing P7 which was a much stronger result compared to race 33.
Finishing in P5 was Chaz Mostert. Walkinshaw continue to show improvement with the Supra, and Mostert continued his good results. His teammate Ryan Wood was mixed into the back half of the pack unfortunately finishing where he started in P16.
Thomas Randle had a stronger race finishing in P6. His teammate who was competing in the finals however didn’t do as strong as he had hoped. Cam Waters finished out of the top 10 after a tough qualifying session saw him out very early on. He finished the race in P15.
Andre Heimgartner continued his solid performance in the second half of the season with another top 10 finish. The Brad Jones Racing driver finished race 34 in P8.
The final driver in the top 10 was Brodie Kostecki. After being given a drive through penalty, Kostecki was forced to the back end of the grid and had to fight to make it back into the top 10. He ultimately finished P10.
3 drivers were unfortunately eliminated after a tough weekend at Sandown. Will Brown was at the bottom ending up 7th and forced out of finals contention. Cam Waters was 6th and forced out with a solid race 33 on the Saturday but a difficult race 34 on the Sunday. The final driver who just missed out on a finals spot was Anton De Pasquale who essentially needed that win on the Sunday but was just a bit too late to the opportunity.
The final 4 heading into Adelaide is: Matt Payne (Penrite Racing), Brodie Kostecki (Shell V-Power/Dick Johnson Racing), Chaz Mostert (Walkinshaw TWG) and Broc Feeney (RedBull Ampol Racing).
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