GROVE Racing has led the way in a short and sharp warm-up session ahead of the Sandown 500 main event.
In fact, three of its four drivers set faster times than anyone else in the field – an impressive feat given it only runs two cars.
After Team 18’s Scott Pye initially held top spot on a 1:09.6005s, Garth Tander put Grove on top with a 1:09.2036s on his second lap.
THE GRID: Where every car will start the Sandown 500
TACTICS: The race within a race for Erebus stars
The only driver to beat that time was Tander’s primary steerer in the #26 Penrite Mustang, David Reynolds, with a 1:09.1334s.
The sister #19 car ended up its nearest rival at 0.2115s adrift, Matt Payne responsible for that effort.
The #19 raised eyebrows late in the piece when Kevin Estre ran off after locking up into Turn 1.
That was the only major moment in the 20-minute session.
Programs varied team to team, with some focusing on race pace or maximising co-driver seat time, and others getting to work on practicing driver and brake pitstop changes.
Dick Johnson Racing, for example, left Alex Davison in the car for an 11-lap run at the start of the session, in which time many other cars had already pitted twice.
At the end, behind the two Grove cars was Walkinshaw Andretti United’s Chaz Mostert, Matt Stone Racing’s Jaylyn Robotham and Pye.
In other notable news, Simona De Silvestro was spotted on the broadcast, her arrival in Australia having been delayed by emergency appendix surgery.
De Silvestro will partner Kai Allen in a DJR wildcard at the Repco Bathurst 1000 in three weeks’ time.
Back to the Sandown 500, the 161-lap race starts at 2:15pm AEST this afternoon.
RESULTS: Warm-up, 2023 Sandown 500
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 26 | David Reynolds / Garth Tander | Grove | Ford | 1m09.1334s |
| 2 | 19 | Matthew Payne / Kevin Estre | Grove | Ford | +0.2115s |
| 3 | 25 | Chaz Mostert / Lee Holdsworth | WAU | Ford | +0.2954s |
| 4 | 35 | Cameron Hill / Jaylyn Robotham | MSR | Chevrolet | +0.2967s |
| 5 | 20 | Scott Pye / Warren Luff | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +0.4195s |
| 6 | 11 | Anton De Pasquale / Tony D’Alberto | DJR | Ford | +0.4775s |
| 7 | 34 | Jack Le Brocq / Jayden Ojeda | MSR | Chevrolet | +0.6164s |
| 8 | 99 | Brodie Kostecki / David Russell | Erebus | Chevrolet | +0.6340s |
| 9 | 6 | Cam Waters / James Moffat | Tickford | Ford | +0.6945s |
| 10 | 5 | James Courtney / Zak Best | Tickford | Ford | +0.6989s |
| 11 | 18 | Mark Winterbottom / Michael Caruso | Team 18 | Chevrolet | +0.7217s |
| 12 | 23 | Tim Slade / Jonathon Webb | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +0.7779s |
| 13 | 888 | Zane Goddard / Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +0.7857s |
| 14 | 2 | Nick Percat / Fabian Coulthard | WAU | Ford | +0.7893s |
| 15 | 17 | Will Davison / Alex Davison | DJR | Ford | +0.8283s |
| 16 | 55 | Thomas Randle / Garry Jacobson | Tickford | Ford | +0.8577s |
| 17 | 31 | James Golding / Dylan O’Keeffe | PremiAir | Chevrolet | +0.8803s |
| 18 | 96 | Macauley Jones / Jordan Boys | BJR | Chevrolet | +0.8880s |
| 19 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen / Richie Stanaway | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +1.0483s |
| 20 | 88 | Broc Feeney / Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight | Chevrolet | +1.0753s |
| 21 | 9 | Will Brown / Jack Perkins | Erebus | Chevrolet | +1.0945s |
| 22 | 14 | Bryce Fullwood / Dean Fiore | BJR | Chevrolet | +1.0971s |
| 23 | 8 | Andre Heimgartner / Dale Wood | BJR | Chevrolet | +1.1113s |
| 24 | 56 | Declan Fraser / Tyler Everingham | Tickford | Ford | +1.1285s |
| 25 | 4 | Jack Smith / Jaxon Evans | BJR | Chevrolet | +1.1387s |
| 26 | 3 | Todd Hazelwood / Tim Blanchard | BRT | Ford | +1.2490s |
| 27 | 7 | Aaron Love / Jake Kostecki | BRT | Ford | +1.2754s |
V8 Sleuth’s coverage of the 2023 Penrite Oil Sandown 500 is proudly presented by Biante – Fuel your passion with winning model cars. Visit Biante here to check out their range of model cars in a range of scales from 1:64 to 1:10.
