Triple Eight have scored an historic 1-2-3 result in the Sandown 500, where Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell led allcomers in a Supercars cakewalk.
Shane van Gisbergen and co-driver Earl Bamber, on his Supercars debut, were second with veteran pairing Craig Lowndes and Steven Richards rounding out the podium.
The result consolidates van Gisbergen’s lead in the championship standings and secured a first podium lockout for Roland Dane’s master team in over two years.
But it wasn’t captivating.
In a mind-numbingly dull start to the Enduro Cup, car No.1 cruised to a success that looked likely from Friday’s first practice session.
Dumbrell trashed Whincup’s long-running lap record on his first spin around the Melbourne circuit, showing the awesome pace of their Red Bull Holden Racing Team ZB Commodore.
Whincup took his own record back in qualifying, when only an overly cautious decision to put on wet tyres cost them pole position.
That didn’t matter on Sunday, when Dumbrell swiftly jumped polesitter David Reynolds’ co-driver Luke Youlden.
Whincup and Dumbrell then controlled the race throughout to claim their third Sandown victory after wins in 2013-14.
« I couldn’t be happier, the car’s been awesome all weekend, » Whincup said.
« We brought three really quick cars this weekend and I’m really proud of the engineering group. »
Whincup’s win was his fourth in the Sandown 500 – he also triumphed with Lowndes in 2007 – while Van Gisbergen’s race-day resurgence headed off a hit to his title hopes.
The Kiwi was off the pace at the Home of Horsepower until Sunday, when Bamber improved from his 11th placed start and van Gisbergen completed the recovery mission for Red Bull’s other combination.
« What a privilege to drive these cars with the Red Bull Holden Racing Team. They gave us some rockets today, » van Gisbergen said.
The Kiwi’s chief rival for the title, countryman Scott McLaughlin, finished fourth by holding off outside championship shot Reynolds.
Van Gisbergen’s lead now stands at 55 points with four rounds remaining.
Storm clouds that provided drama on Saturday cleared, and even the notorious turn six – possibly Australia’s most dangerous Supercars corner – didn’t cause any serious issue.
Early safety cars following bungles by Dean Fiore and Jason Bright made no difference to the outcome.
McLaughlin and the rest of the field were never in the contest, as the Red Bull team tuned up for Bathurst in emphatic fashion.
SANDOWN 500 RESULTS
1. Jamie Whincup – Paul Dumbrell (Holden)
2. Shane van Gisbergen – Earl Bamber (Holden)
3. Craig Lowndes – Steven Richards (Holden)
4. Scott McLaughlin – Alex Premat (Ford)
5. David Reynolds – Luke Youlden (Holden)
6. Scott Pye – Warren Luff (Holden)
SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden) – 3054
2. Scott McLaughlin (Ford) – 2999
3. Jamie Whincup (Holden) – 2716
4. Craig Lowndes (Holden) – 2487
5. David Reynolds (Holden) – 2435
6. Fabian Coulthard (Ford) – 2114
http://www.espn.com/v8-supercars/story/_/id/24687424/whincup-dumbrell-cruise-sandown-win
