Sandown the place to be in Victoria this weekend
They call Sandown “the race on Melbourne’s doorstep” – far enough, too, sitting just half-hour’s drive southeast of the CBD, easily accessible by train as well as car. And it’s not hard to see why Sandown is so popular with Victorians and the big number of fans who travel from interstate to attend the event.
You see, Sandown has what many race-tracks wish they had – that great combination of heritage along with great facilities to cater for the fans. That heritage is connected with its days as host of the 500km Bathurst precursor enduro event. And fans will undoubtedly join me in saying that it’s great to see Sandown regain its enduro event from 2012. About time!
Fans congregate in big numbers in Sandown’s main grandstand along the front straight, which is usually used to spectate horsepower of a different kind. Amazingly, the facility hosted the Sandown Cup just a matter of days before the V8s turn up!
It’s always great to sit in that stand and watch the start of the race, as parochial Ford and Holden fans wait to see whether one of their cars will be leading the way as they track the around the track. After all, watch intently and you can follow your favourite driver around for most of the lap, such is the great view from the main stand.
Jamie Whincup will be looking to cement his title lead, which currently stands at 194 points, heading into the season finale on the streets of Homebush. Pressure is on teammate Craig Lowndes to fight back for it’s now or never.
Alongside the main event will be the Fujitsu Series, also in their penultimate round, V8 Utes and GTs. And in keeping with the heritage theme of this event, the Touring Car Masters will be racing and heritage vehicles touring arounf the track over the weekend.
Nostalgia meets entertainment at Sandown.
