Red Bull Ampol Racing’s Jamie Whincup has dismissed the notion that the Sandown 500 is merely a warm-up for the Bathurst 1000.
The historic Melbourne circuit had already lost its status as the 500km enduro in 2020 before Supercars scrapped that concept altogether amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Next weekend, however, the Sandown 500 makes a popular return to the calendar.
It will furthermore reclaim its traditional position as the event before the Bathurst 1000, in a five-year first which harks back to the days when it was considered a reliability test for Mount Panorama.
While that is a somewhat outdated idea now, Sandown is still a chance for teams to refine their procedures and learn more about their race cars in the first enduro of the Gen3 era.
Nevertheless, according to the five-time Sandown 500 winner, it is a big prize in its own right.
“Sandown’s great; the vibe down there is really, really good,” said Whincup, who is Broc Feeney’s co-driver in the #88 Chevrolet Camaro.
“I’ve got family down there as well so it’s a little extra special for me, so it’s great to be back there.
“It feels it feels right having a 500km race before we go into the 1000.
“Don’t be fooled though, it’s no warm-up; it’s certainly a standalone event.
“Everyone wants that Sandown 500 crown, so we’ll be doing everything we can.
“Lowndesy and I had a good run there in 2019 [victory with Craig Lowndes], so hopefully Broc and I can put our head down and do some good things.”
Triple Eight Race Engineering tested in the past week with all three of its cars, including the Supercheap Auto wildcard of Lowndes/Zane Goddard, running at Queensland Raceway.
Whincup has made 13 Sandown 500 starts and 21 in the Bathurst 1000 but, like most of the co-drivers in the field in 2023, is yet to race a Gen3 Supercar.
“I’ve done 90 percent of the laps,” he remarked during Triple Eight’s final pre-enduro test day, “so I’m feeling good.
“I’m loving life; just being back in the car, the car’s moving around on the brakes and in the mid-corner, so I’m sort of starting to get a bit of a feel for driving the car.
“I’m not maximising the braking zones yet – that’s probably the last bit that comes – but as far as the mid-corner and the drive and the buttons on the steering wheel and everything goes on, I’m in a good place, I’m feeling good.”
Practice at Sandown starts on Friday.
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