Sandown 500 1998 - V8 Supercars - Race part 1 - video Dailymotion

Touring Car Classics by Tony Thompson

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Transcript

00:00:00Yes we're back as we get set for a start here in the 1998 Tickford 500 at Sandown, a record

00:00:08field, 33 cars, fantastic array of driving talent here and for the first time in a long

00:00:13time we see team mates on the front row, the HRT Commodores, little fuel coming out of

00:00:19the Lownes Scaife Commodore a while ago but we're told it was just an overflow, there's

00:00:23a shot of it, no real worries there for the Mobile HRT team, they say it's all under control

00:00:29for what should be a terrific contest, terrific contest with two Holdens sitting on the front

00:00:34row and speaking of Holden, if you are a Holden fan, get yourself some of this, it is a great

00:00:40piece of memorabilia, it is the Russell Ingle limited edition print, it's the second in

00:00:45a series of five, you can call 1800 888 321, this shot was taken at Darwin's Hidden Valley

00:00:51the first time ever a VT recorded a win for a race and around, 1800 888 321, get hold

00:00:58of that now as we get set, take hold for the 1998 Tickford 500 but first of all let's

00:01:04take a look at the grid because it is long, 33 cars in this, the 33rd time an endurance

00:01:12race has run at Sandown, fantastic atmosphere out there, biggest field ever, V8 supercars

00:01:22for the Tickford 500 at Sandown and seasoned observers may notice that the start line has

00:01:30been moved further down the straight as Greg mentioned earlier in the telecast to try and

00:01:34sort this field out before Turn 1. Well it is Greg Murphy and Mark Nosky, their first

00:01:39ever pole here at the Tickford 500, they will start alongside their teammates Craig Lowndes

00:01:43and Mark Scaife. Out of three, John Bow and Cameron McConville, John Bow driving with

00:01:48McConville, not sharing with Dick Johnson for the first time since he's been with the

00:01:51Shell team, Jason Bright and Stephen Richards coming back from the UK, they start out of

00:01:55four. And they are just two of many new combinations, here's another one, Glenn Seaton, Neil Crompton

00:02:00in the Ford Credit Racing, Falcon Mark Larkin teams up again with Brad Jones. Out of seven,

00:02:07Tony Longhurst and Geoff Brabham, Australia's most successful international driver of the

00:02:10last decade, he teams up in the Castrol Ford, Dick Johnson and Stephen Johnson for the first

00:02:14time ever, the father and son team, they'll start out of eight. Some really exciting combinations,

00:02:18how about this one? With maybe a little inexperience, then the ultimate experience, Jason Barguana

00:02:24and Jim Richards, look out for them, Larry Perkins and Russell Ingle, they were runners

00:02:28up here last year, can they take it out this year? Alan Jones and Adam Macro by way of

00:02:33the Generation XR program, Formula Ford Championship winner this year, his prize, a drive in a

00:02:38V8 supercar, fantastic program. Garth Tander and Cameron McLean, they'll team up in the

00:02:42Valvoline Commodore. We go back to position number 13, Mark Poole and Tony Scott, Wayne

00:02:47Gardner returns to Australia, no longer teamed up with Neil Cromden, he's teamed up with

00:02:50Paul Stokel. Out of 15, Paul Romano and Stephen Ellery link up in the Siemens Mobile Commodore,

00:02:57Darren Hossack and Darren Pate in the Winsolden. The two Darrens together and looking forward

00:03:01to it, now Thomas Mazera has his new VT top Commodore all together, he teams up with Terry

00:03:07Finnegan, four wheeled a youngster, three times Australian Rally champ, Neil Bates.

00:03:13Dougal MacDougal and Jason Wiley, they're leasing the second Castrol Commodore, the

00:03:16car in fact Russell Engle used throughout the Shell Championship this year. Anthony

00:03:20Tratt and Bob Jones will start out of 20 in the Toll Transport Falcon.

00:03:24Plenty more to go, 21 Greg Prick and Dean Croswell who did well this year, David Parsons

00:03:28and Simon Wills in the second of the Wins cars.

00:03:31Here the V8s roar as they head out on their warm up lap, Steve Reid and Trevor Ashby,

00:03:35Privateers Cup winners in 1998, they'll team up in the Landsvale Commodore. Karen Brewer

00:03:39and Melinda Price, the Castrol Cougars.

00:03:41Good to see the girls back as we go back to 25, Gary Wilmington and Simon Emezidis.

00:03:46McDonagher teams up with Formula Ford youngster Dean Lindstrom.

00:03:50And they keep coming too, 27 Robert Smith and Bruce Williams in the Smith Trucks Commodore,

00:03:55Rod Nash and Darren Edwards in the Auto Pro Budweiser Holden.

00:03:58Darren Edwards has been putting in some good times too, Mike Conway and Chris Owens in

00:04:01the Oams Insurance Ford. Darcy Russell teams up with Porsche Cup driver

00:04:05Cole Ivory.

00:04:0731 Mike Imrie teams up with multiple Australian truck racing champion Rodney Crick, Richard

00:04:12Mork and Bill Siders round out the grid.

00:04:15It's exciting, there's so many interesting characters.

00:04:17The bad luck for this guy though, John Faulkner and Holden Young Lions driver Todd Kelly.

00:04:22Now the car broke a rocker yesterday and that was during qualifying and they must start

00:04:27rear of grid.

00:04:28Now John is a bit of an endurance specialist, Todd Kelly a novice in terms of V8 supercar

00:04:32racing.

00:04:33John will take the wheel first up and he's got a lot of work to do to carve his way through

00:04:3733 cars if he wants to get to the front.

00:04:39Should be exciting to watch mate.

00:04:41V8s, tens of thousands of horsepower warming up on the 3.1km Sandown International layout,

00:04:48weaving backwards and forwards trying to generate maximum heat into the tyres before they blast

00:04:53off for 161 laps flat out around Sandown.

00:04:57Fantastic contest lying ahead, tremendous driver combinations and none better than this

00:05:02one.

00:05:03Craig Lowndes our new Shell Australian Touring Car Champion teaming up with Mark Scaife in

00:05:09the Mobil 1 Commodore.

00:05:11Well if you've been with us all year on the Home of Motorsport Network 10 we have mentioned

00:05:16about record crowds and more to the point record grids and this one is no different.

00:05:2133 cars, 9 more than last year's Tickford 500.

00:05:24We thought that one was good, this one is just going to be unbelievable.

00:05:29As they come around, there's Wayne Gardner, it's great to see Wayne back, he's living

00:05:33in Monaco at the moment, he's been racing in the All Japan GT Series where he's had

00:05:38some mixed results.

00:05:40Here is Larry, possibly known as the enduro specialist, reigning Bathurst champ, second

00:05:47here last year as we mentioned earlier and had some problems during qualifying.

00:05:52I said to him yesterday, I said oh well three better than last year, you're 10th this year,

00:05:5513th last year, he said oh I don't even think about that.

00:05:58Keep your eyes on Larry though, he's run this race 16 times, he's finished 9 and out of

00:06:03those 9 he's been on the podium 7 times, so when he gets to the finish, very effective

00:06:08as we've seen at Bathurst too.

00:06:10Mark, this is a really exciting combination, John Bow and young Victorian Cameron McConville.

00:06:16Now Cameron returns to the Shell Helix race team, he was back with it some years ago,

00:06:20he's expected to do well and John Bow I know is very happy with him, a little sad not to

00:06:24be with Dick Johnson anymore, but Dick's excited about being with his son, Stephen.

00:06:29This is a tough combination, Scaife and Lowndes.

00:06:32Fabulous grid there, huge crowd in at Southend International Raceway in Melbourne, one car's

00:06:36just headed into the pitch, Steve Reid and Trevor Ashby.

00:06:39That'll be a great disappointment, you can see the marshals there winding them up, come

00:06:42on, get into position, we want to get this race underway, as does everyone.

00:06:47This enormous crowd has sat down here this afternoon, waiting for the start of the 1998

00:06:52Tickford 500.

00:06:53Well that's a great sight, isn't it, the final couple of cars, there's Steve Reid, Trevor

00:06:57Ashby, they're coming to the front, they will have to start from pit lane now.

00:07:00Big expectations on this guy, he is flying Ford's flag, maybe more than anyone.

00:07:05There are big expectations, he's teamed up with Stephen Richards, who has just returned

00:07:09from the UK, where he now is a test driver for the Nissan factory team in the British

00:07:13Touring Car Championship.

00:07:15We'll see how they go, the revs rise, we are seconds away, get yourself ready, this is

00:07:19the Tickford 500, 1998, two Mobile One Holden Racing Team cars on the front row.

00:07:25We've got 161 laps to go, and it looks like Lowndes slightly jumped the start, Murphy

00:07:30has bogged it down, and it's John Bow who takes the lead.

00:07:33Well, you can see that big gap up the inside, they've got another 400 metres of racetrack

00:07:37to play with, one of the Valvoline Cummins Commodores in trouble at the start.

00:07:41But John Bow and Shell 18 will lead this massive field through Shell Mastercard Turn for the

00:07:46first of 161 laps.

00:07:48Now it looks like Lowndes who slotted into that second position, they saw themselves

00:07:51out, I saw a car further back, Mark, on the main straight, it may have been Alan Jones's

00:07:55car that stopped after the start line.

00:07:57As we go on board, this is with the Perkins-Ingle combination, Larry Perkins behind the wheel

00:08:03and he is right behind there is Alan Jones.

00:08:05So, the car just stopped off the line, we have no idea of what happened at the moment,

00:08:09but Alan would be very disappointed with that.

00:08:12Well, we saw him break a propeller shaft in one of the Touring Car rounds earlier on,

00:08:17maybe the same problem again when you try and dump that amount of horsepower through

00:08:20the rear axle, anything can happen, as you can hear in this battle for the lead.

00:08:24Craig Lowndes, breathing all over the back of the Shell 18 port of John Bower.

00:08:28Settle in, this is going to be a great battle, it's going to be a terrific afternoon of motorsport.

00:08:32We're on lap one of 161 and look at Lowndes already, so impatient, wanting to get past

00:08:37John Bower desperately.

00:08:38Look behind, further back there in third spot, that is Jason Bright, he qualified well yesterday,

00:08:43it was tough conditions in the wet, nice and dry now though here in Melbourne

00:08:47at the Sandown International Raceway.

00:08:49This is the battle of first and second, lap one is down, John Bower leads the way.

00:08:53Listen to the crowd roar, Ford hungry for success in 1998, they need a big win

00:08:57and John Bower wants to give it to them.

00:08:59In the Shell 18, Falconeer, look at this attack up the inside by Lowndes in the VT Commodore.

00:09:03They'll go side by side, up toward the SS and up toward Repco Corner.

00:09:07Great battle already and we're only one lap old.

00:09:10Now although he started from the front row, he was a little disappointed, not in his teammate

00:09:14Mark Skate, but disappointed for the fact that they didn't start from pole.

00:09:18That's how aggressive this young guy is, winning the Australian Touring Car Championship

00:09:22for the second time in three years.

00:09:24He wants to go three times for the Sandown Endurance Race, the Tickman 500.

00:09:30The Bridgestone in car camera, this is Craig Lowndes, it is the new VT Commodore

00:09:35and he's all over the back.

00:09:36Have a look how much Bright has come up and so too Larry Perkins,

00:09:39dives for the inside line on Bright, the outside coming through the left hander

00:09:42at XR8, this is tight.

00:09:45Larry Perkins putting the squeeze on Ford's new hero, Jason Bright.

00:09:48They'll go side by side, hard under brakes, into Simico Corner.

00:09:53But it's John Bower still in command from Craig Lowndes.

00:09:56Jason Bright back in third position, filling plenty of heat for the Castrol Commodore.

00:10:00And it's the second, the pole man Greg Murphy in the second of the Mobile Holden Racing Team Commodores

00:10:05as this big pack, Ford Holden, Ford Holden, flat out down the main straight.

00:10:09Big mover early in the pack has been Garth Tander, he has come from 12th up into 9th position.

00:10:14So good work by the Gary Rogers Valvoline driver.

00:10:17The top five are nice and tight, then we go back, there's Tander,

00:10:20trying to squeeze his way through, but it is so close up the front.

00:10:24Lowndes can't find a way past Bower, then we go back to Bright,

00:10:27we pick up Perkins as an extra.

00:10:29Greg Murphy has clawed his way back after bogging it down off the line.

00:10:32Steve Johnson, who has started in the Johnson & Johnson entry, is sitting there in 6th position.

00:10:37Well, a lot of people looked at this combination of John Bower and Cameron McConville

00:10:41as one of the strongest driving combinations in the Enduros this year.

00:10:44Well, John Bower doing it at the moment.

00:10:47Craig Lowndes locked in behind him, flames belching from the exhaust as the car,

00:10:50as they reach 240kmh, back to 5th gear, brake hard for Falcon XR Corner.

00:10:55And look at that move, Larry Perkins really sticking the nose of the Castrol Commodore

00:10:59up beside Bright's car, and Murphy closing in for his taste of the action.

00:11:03Keeping you in touch with John Faulkner, remember he started 33rd, he's up to 22nd.

00:11:07Great work, Faulkner.

00:11:10Coming around, heading out to the main straight mark.

00:11:14Of course, gotta get a good run on here.

00:11:17At the moment we are with Larry Perkins.

00:11:19Word we hear from the pits, it could have been a rear accident on Alan Jones' car.

00:11:23We'll find out later on, but John Bower continues to lead this field

00:11:26as they roar past the grandstand, this packed grandstand.

00:11:29Look at the size of the crowd at Soundhound International this afternoon.

00:11:32Massive field certainly way through, Bower, Lowndes, Bright, Perkins, Murphy up to 5th.

00:11:36Then it's Steven Johnson making the start in the Shell 17 car.

00:11:39Mark Larcombe, Glenn Seaton, Tony Longhurst up to 9th.

00:11:42Garth Tanner up to 10th, and Wayne Gardner in the Coca-Cola Commodore,

00:11:45he's just outside the top 10.

00:11:47Well that's good for Gardner, he started 14th, he's already gained 3 positions.

00:11:50We don't know, we have no idea what happened to Jason Barguana,

00:11:53but he has gone from 9th on the grid back to 22nd.

00:11:57As we have a look at this challenge, this ever-continuing challenge of Lowndes on Bower.

00:12:01He's gone the outside, but that's the long way through there.

00:12:04Bower holds the line.

00:12:06Can you believe, that's unbelievable.

00:12:09That is one of the most frightening parts of Soundhound International.

00:12:12At maximum speed, going over the top of that hill,

00:12:15the car gets light, working the suspension very hard,

00:12:18and he's trying for a run on the outside of the Shell 18 Ford.

00:12:22Craig Lowndes really on the attack, he wants to get in the lead.

00:12:25Lowndes who just has an unbelievable record here,

00:12:28this is his fifth start, he's had two wins.

00:12:33So as they come up past the green stand once again,

00:12:36the crowd on the edge of their seats,

00:12:38this tremendous battle between Ford and Holden.

00:12:40Lowndes on the attack up the inside,

00:12:42flames belching from the exhaust, hard under brakes,

00:12:44he picks up the lead of the Tickford 500.

00:12:47Well let's see what he can do now, will he be able to pull away from John Bower?

00:12:50I think he may be able to.

00:12:52Now we have a battle of the two Ford drivers next in line.

00:12:55John Bower with Jason Wright right on him.

00:12:57Now we've just got word through that Bargwana suffered from an overheating clutch on the start,

00:13:02but it is now OK.

00:13:04So they've obviously got that information from the Bargwana pit, thank you very much.

00:13:07Bargwana's got a lot of work to do though.

00:13:09Now it's the battle of the fours,

00:13:11let's see if Craig Lowndes can gap them and get a bit of a lead

00:13:13before the first pit stops start after lap 50.

00:13:17In the Mobile One Holden Racing Team, Commodore, 24 years of age.

00:13:21Born in Yarrambat, Victoria in the Diamond Valley District.

00:13:25And look at that, tremendous record.

00:13:27Two times a winner at Sandow.

00:13:30He'll be going for his hat-trick today.

00:13:32Well, his usual team-mate is a couple of positions back, Greg Murphy,

00:13:35they have separated that combination.

00:13:38Obviously Scaife and Lowndes, the full-time drivers for Mobile One Holden Racing Team this year round.

00:13:44They're a good team though, they've fitted nicely into the car.

00:13:46There we go back to the 50 combination of Murphy and Nossi.

00:13:49Greg Murphy behind the wheel at the moment, sizing up Larry Perkins.

00:13:52Listen to the crowd roar as the big V8s come down the main straight.

00:13:56The Peterbrock Straight here at Sandow, lap 6 of 1.61.

00:14:00And already Lowndes has started to pull away a little bit,

00:14:02Murphy has come back on Larry Perkins.

00:14:06Murphy of course the first driver to debut the new VT at Calder

00:14:10along with Larry Perkins who is sitting right in front of him at the moment.

00:14:15Steven Johnson still holding steady in 6th, Markham in 7th,

00:14:18Seton in 8th, Longhurst 9th, Panda 10th.

00:14:22Those positions remain a great effort by Mark Pool at the moment.

00:14:25He's sitting in 12th outright and Darren Pate the youngster in 13th.

00:14:29161 laps the distance in the Tickman 500 for 1998.

00:14:32We've got a compulsory brake pad change between laps 48 and 112.

00:14:37Minimum of two pit stops required in this race.

00:14:42There's a few more details on the compulsory pad change we'll reveal to you later.

00:14:46But there's plenty of action to come in the pits and on the track.

00:14:50Well a lot of these guys would have been expecting and so were we.

00:14:53We must admit a wet race because the weather has just been shocking here in Melbourne.

00:14:57But it's dried at the right time.

00:14:59Have a look how close this bunch are. Normally we see some pull away

00:15:02but they're all remaining pretty much the same.

00:15:04Komatsu Ford has not and will not move.

00:15:07Well Craig Lowndes the fastest man on the track at the moment.

00:15:09He's the first to dip into the 1 minute 13 second barrier.

00:15:121.13.57 the last time around.

00:15:15That means he's put a gap out 1.2 seconds over John Bow.

00:15:18There's a real gaggle of cars lining up behind the shell 4.

00:15:21Look at this. Mark Markham's doing well behind Murphy there Mark.

00:15:24Yep.

00:15:25Well that time around Brian Perkins going quicker than Bow too.

00:15:29So Bow may be holding up this train. You can see him starting to bunch up behind

00:15:32the shell 18 Falcon. Jason Bright's just in a 1.13.9.

00:15:35Perkins gone with him. Both in the 1.13.9s.

00:15:38So John Bow's going to be feeling plenty of heat.

00:15:41He may just be deciding to take it easy in these opening laps.

00:15:44You can't afford to let Malina get away in this level of racing.

00:15:48Every second counts.

00:15:50Jason Bright in the Pertec 4. The 25 year old who now resides on the Gold Coast.

00:15:55Here we go. This is a replay of an earlier incident.

00:15:57Oh Paul Romano crunching the wall big time.

00:16:01Goodness me. See how hard he hit the wall.

00:16:03He went for a second taste on the other side too.

00:16:05John Faulkner. Boy is that guy lucky.

00:16:07He was trying to pick his way from the back after problems in practice.

00:16:10He's been caught up in that accident. Look he's ripped the wheel off.

00:16:13Paul Romano's gone for an absolutely wild ride.

00:16:15Let's check this out from another angle. It's a bit later on in the crash.

00:16:18Not sure why he broke loose there.

00:16:22Now that's Romano's wheel that goes flying in a second.

00:16:24You watch out to the right hand side of the car if we get to look at it.

00:16:27Now Faulkner's car that looks to be just superficial damage.

00:16:30Let's hope that John can get back around to the pits.

00:16:32The team can fix that and keep him in this race.

00:16:35That is the most important thing. For Romano and Ellery, their race is over.

00:16:39It's going to be interesting to see if there's a safety car out here.

00:16:41There's a lot of debris on the racetrack there after he hit the wall.

00:16:44It just smashed and broke into hundreds of pieces.

00:16:46I know the organisers, Clark of course, Tim Schenken, were saying he wanted to...

00:16:50Oh Tony Longhurst in trouble too.

00:16:52The action's starting very, very early in the Tickford 500 for 1998.

00:16:56Look at the smoke pouring from the exhaust.

00:16:58I think he may have blown that engine up.

00:17:00Well, not only is there plenty of action happening on the track,

00:17:03Paul Romano is OK. That is good.

00:17:05The car isn't, but it's as long as he is OK.

00:17:08Look at the front of that car. That is wrecked.

00:17:10And he will be very disappointed with that.

00:17:12Now the word through, the safety car is out.

00:17:14And also the rain has begun to fall as Larry starts to apply the pressure to the back of Jason Wright.

00:17:20So it really is all happening here at Sandown.

00:17:23Oh, look at that in-car shot from Larry Perkins' car.

00:17:26Ominous signs of those big grey clouds starting to build.

00:17:29Holden on board camera, you're riding with Larry Perkins' safety car.

00:17:32He's out on the circuit, so very shortly these cars are going to start queuing up.

00:17:36There's Johnny Faulkner's car in the pits now.

00:17:38The guys can fix that, no problem at all.

00:17:40Let's hope it just doesn't take them too long.

00:17:43Now Faulkner's already proved that he can come from the back.

00:17:46He was up as high in the teens.

00:17:49He has dropped off our timing monitor at the moment.

00:17:51But he worked early in the race from 33rd up to 22nd.

00:17:54So he was on a great charge when unfortunately he got tangled up

00:17:58with Paul Romano just coming across the track in front of him.

00:18:03Craig Lowndes continued to build that gap.

00:18:051.8 seconds over John Bauer.

00:18:07He's still the fastest man on the track at 13.57.

00:18:10He's brought it down another couple of tenths.

00:18:12Lowndes has really got the hammer down.

00:18:13He wants to open up a bigger gap as possible before that first pit stop.

00:18:16But this safety car is going to bring all that undone.

00:18:19Well, word through now that Longhurst, the Longhurst Brabham entry,

00:18:22definitely a blonde engine.

00:18:24Yeah, you can see that telltale trail of smoke coming from the exhaust.

00:18:28We take triple imagery on board Larry Perkins' Castrol Commodore.

00:18:32There's your road speed on the left of screen.

00:18:34Your engine revolution's on the right.

00:18:35In the middle, brake applications.

00:18:37There's that red light that flashes on and off every time Larry hits the brake pedal.

00:18:40And across to the right, of course, is the gear change.

00:18:43Safety car has returned to the pits, so no change to the racing.

00:18:47Larry about to click it up into sixth.

00:19:17Well, great stuff there from Larry Perkins, VT Commodore in car.

00:19:41We've seen a change up ahead.

00:19:42Brian is now sitting in third position.

00:19:44He has gone past the Bauer-McConville entry.

00:19:46John Bauer driving the car, but it is still Lowndes out in front now.

00:19:49Look at Perkins all over the back of John Bauer.

00:19:51Coming onto the main straight here at Sandown.

00:19:54Will Larry be able to find a way past?

00:19:56We'll have to wait and see.

00:19:57But Brian has cleared out.

00:19:58Look at that.

00:19:59He's got in front of John Bauer and has just stomped on it.

00:20:01And he's charged out to try and catch Craig Lowndes in his Bauer in third.

00:20:05Perkins fourth.

00:20:06Murphy maintaining that fifth position as Larry Perkins tries for an inside run on John Bauer.

00:20:11This is tight stuff up front.

00:20:13Larkham doing well in sixth.

00:20:14Seaton seventh.

00:20:15Johnson back in eighth.

00:20:16He's dropped two positions.

00:20:18Tander inside the top ten.

00:20:19And he's through.

00:20:20Larry's up one more position.

00:20:23Mark Larkham climbing onto the back of this lead.

00:20:26John Bauer just losing position in these opening laps of the Tickfoot 500.

00:20:30Well, how about this?

00:20:31We have only done ten laps, 151 to go.

00:20:34It has been frantic.

00:20:35Lowndes leads the way from Bright.

00:20:37Bauer, Perkins and Murphy.

00:20:39That's your top five.

00:20:40We'll be back right after this.

00:20:42Welcome back.

00:20:56Welcome back.

00:20:57Tickfoot 500, 1998.

00:20:58Just a few moments ago, the man who started so well in this race is now slowly drifting

00:21:02back through the field.

00:21:03John Bauer overtaken by Mark Larkham.

00:21:05Lap 14 of 161.

00:21:07Long way to go, but some problems to be solved there in the Shell Helix Garage.

00:21:11Craig Lowndes increasing his lead just over three seconds from Jason Bright.

00:21:14Then Larry Perkins and Greg Murphy leading open class.

00:21:18But the privateer is Rod Nash and Steve Reid.

00:21:22Marvellous start, Lee, from pit lane to second in the privateer class.

00:21:26Yeah, tremendous effort, but things aren't going so well for John Bauer, who has dropped

00:21:30right back.

00:21:31Once leader, he's dropped back.

00:21:32He looks to be in seventh position now.

00:21:34Greg down in pit lane.

00:21:35Any problems?

00:21:37Well, we'll come back to Greg and see if he can find anything from the Shell Helix race

00:21:42team.

00:21:45And it's Lowndes who still leads the way.

00:21:48Now, here is John Bauer.

00:21:49He's obviously got a problem because he's just going backwards too quick, whether it's tyres

00:21:52or what.

00:21:53We will endeavour to find out.

00:21:55It's Jason Bright who's still sitting second, going well.

00:21:57He may have pulled about a tenth in on Lowndes.

00:22:00Larry Perkins third, Greg Murphy fourth, Mark Larkham sitting in fifth.

00:22:04But if you want to talk about big movers in the pack, let's talk Jason Barguana, because

00:22:08he went from ninth back to 22nd.

00:22:10He is now up into tenth, or rather, twelfth position.

00:22:13He's gained ten spots.

00:22:15Now we'll go back to the pits.

00:22:16Greg, what's the problem with Bauer?

00:22:17Well, there's some disconsolate faces down here at the moment.

00:22:20Lee and Cam McConville is one of them, but Bauer, he's getting swollen up.

00:22:23What's going on?

00:22:24Well, we didn't really expect to run so fast early on, Greg, so I don't think there's a

00:22:28problem with the car.

00:22:29We're really just settling into our race pace.

00:22:31We don't want to be too hard on the right rear tyre, and perhaps John was to stay with

00:22:35the front bunch, so I think he may have just let them go.

00:22:37Best of luck for the rest of it.

00:22:38Thank you.

00:22:39Yeah, that's quite interesting too, because Bauer is still running in the one-minute thirteens

00:22:42at the high one-thirteens.

00:22:44Everyone else is running sort of four or five tenths a second faster than him, and he's

00:22:47doing that consistently, so maybe he has just backed off a little bit to stick to their

00:22:51race plan.

00:22:52That, we will find out.

00:22:53But here's the young man, Jason Barguana, fighting back from a terrible start, overheating

00:22:57clutch.

00:22:58But now the Valvoline Cummins Commodore absolutely flying as the young man from Como in New South

00:23:03Wales starts to pick his ways with the field.

00:23:05He's up to twelfth position.

00:23:07Well, a ninth here last year in his very first attempt.

00:23:10Of course, he was driving for the Holland Young Lions team, and he was teamed up with

00:23:13Mark Nosky, who is now with Greg Murphy, and today Barguana, and also at the FAI 1000 Classic,

00:23:20Barguana will partner veteran Jim Richards.

00:23:24Good combination there, and they've been able to fit into the car quite nicely.

00:23:28No seat changes in terms of back and forth, just a slight pad change in the seat to when

00:23:35Jimmy gets in the car.

00:23:36But it's been very happy.

00:23:37Gary Rogers, team owner and manager, has been delighted with their progress during testing,

00:23:41et cetera.

00:23:42And he's excited about the combination of Barguana and Jimmy Richards, so we'll wait

00:23:46and see at the moment.

00:23:47He's certainly going very well.

00:23:49He's just got past Mark Toole.

00:23:50Mark Toole, that passing manoeuvre there has put him up into eleventh position outright.

00:23:54Yeah, he's always been fast, hasn't he, Barguana?

00:23:57From the moment he stepped into one of these V8 supercars, he qualified an amazing third

00:24:01at the Tickford 500 last year.

00:24:03His first drive on the Holland Young Lions team, then he put it on provisional pole for

00:24:07the 1000 Classic at Bathurst only a few weeks later.

00:24:10So no one ever doubted his speed, and this year he's proving Gary Rogers right.

00:24:15Taking his first hit with a corner.

00:24:17Very, very strong toward the end of the championship.

00:24:19A man to watch in season 99.

00:24:21Well, this meeting marks his one-year anniversary in the V8 supercars.

00:24:25The Tickford 500 1997 was his first step into the big category, coming up from Formula Fords,

00:24:32Formula Holdens, into the V8s.

00:24:34He's handled it very well.

00:24:36He had a little bit of a spasmodic year, you could say.

00:24:39Some success, some craziness.

00:24:42But I tell you what, he's certainly shown that he's starting to think a lot more about

00:24:46his racing, and he is definitely one to watch.

00:24:48He loves his racing, keeps as fit as he possibly can.

00:24:51He works for his boss.

00:24:53In terms of the boss of the team, Gary Rogers, he works at one of the dealerships, along

00:24:57with Garth Tander.

00:24:58He's trying very, very hard here.

00:25:00We go back to Larry Perkins and Greg Murphy.

00:25:02Perkins third, Murphy fourth.

00:25:04The pole sitter dropping back, but running consistent lap times, and loving being back

00:25:10in a V8 supercar.

00:25:11Well, he's about seven seconds behind our race leader, Craig Lowndes.

00:25:14That's Larry Perkins in third position.

00:25:16Jason Bright and Craig Lowndes at the front of these two are having a tremendous battle

00:25:20in terms of lap times.

00:25:21Bright sitting about three and a half seconds behind Lowndes, but they're matching each

00:25:25other.

00:25:26It is a tremendous contest.

00:25:27Each time they're only about even down to hundreds of a second apart, as Bright tries

00:25:31to close the gap to Lowndes.

00:25:32So a fabulous battle at the front between Ford and Holden, and here's another great battle

00:25:36between two Holdens, fourth, third position.

00:25:39New VT Commodore being debuted by Larry Perkins in the Shell Series this year.

00:25:46At the same time, the mobile Holden racing team debuted their example of the Calder route,

00:25:51and the car very quickly has proved itself very, very competitive.

00:25:56They are having trouble, as they say, getting the rear end or the rear suspension of the

00:26:01car to work as well, as the previous model, the Vs, is sitting right behind Perkins now.

00:26:06Apparently it doesn't get its power down as well as the older car out of slow corners.

00:26:10Whether that's an aerodynamic problem or whether that's a mechanical grip problem, they're

00:26:13still yet to find out, but they've got a little bit more development work to do on the VT

00:26:18before they head to Mount Panorama for the FIA 1000 Classic in November.

00:26:22Well, I was talking to Larry yesterday and said, everybody else gives you the big raps

00:26:26and you've proven that you are an endurance specialist.

00:26:28Do you consider yourself as that, you know, you're feeling confident about winning tomorrow?

00:26:32And he said, well, it's as simple as this.

00:26:34He said, if everybody in the team has done their job like they're supposed to do, we

00:26:38do our job, we will win no problem.

00:26:41Confidence for you.

00:26:42Here's the Mitre 10 Falcon.

00:26:44Mark Larkham in fifth, Lynn Seaton closing on the Mitre 10 Ford.

00:26:48This is a good, strong, competitive run in the opening laps of the Tickford race.

00:26:51We go on board with the Mitre 10 onboard camera with Mark Larkham, who's had a tremendous

00:26:57season compared to his previous ones.

00:26:59And let's look at the heart rate monitor attached to the chest of Mark Larkham.

00:27:05220 is a peak we have seen in some situations of high stress for racing drivers.

00:27:10Look at Larkham showing his fitness there, operating around the 150, 160 beats a minute.

00:27:16And when you consider that the resting rate for some of these guys is as low as 50, it

00:27:20just shows how hard the old tickers work.

00:27:22Well, even take it up to the other scale because your approximate maximum heart rate is 220

00:27:27beats per minute, minus your age.

00:27:29Larkham's 34, so his max heart rate's around 186 beats per minute.

00:27:34So he's climbing.

00:27:35Now, I don't think he's got anyone too close behind him.

00:27:38We'll have to wait and see how far...

00:27:40He's got Lynn Seaton.

00:27:41How far as he will.

00:27:42Watch when Seaton comes a little bit closer and watch his heart rate rise if we go back

00:27:45to it.

00:27:47So he swings into Falcon XR corner.

00:27:49You can see the weight come off that inside front wheel.

00:27:52The wheel just virtually stops turning.

00:27:55A massive brake disc in the front wheel.

00:27:58Contact with the brake pads doesn't take long before it stops to spin.

00:28:02And now he's copying more and more heat from Glenn Seaton in the Ford Predator Falcon.

00:28:06It really is a fight back for Seaton.

00:28:08He's had an absolutely wretched Shell Championship Series.

00:28:12We still have the heart rate monitor on Larkham.

00:28:15And you can see Seaton closing the gap for Larkham, remaining pretty cool under pressure.

00:28:19And staying up there, gets back up to 158.

00:28:21He's pretty cool around the back part of the circuit, isn't he?

00:28:23Well, it's still about four or five car lengths away.

00:28:26We'll keep a very close eye on the weather.

00:28:29Well, there's a few cars running around with their windscreen wipers on.

00:28:32So we're going to get sprinkles of rain.

00:28:34The forecast, look at the drops on the camera lens.

00:28:36So it's going to be like this all afternoon.

00:28:38Now, there you are.

00:28:39I know that Glenn Seaton uses a product called RainX, which they spray on the glass.

00:28:43And it makes the water stream off.

00:28:45So he doesn't have to use the windscreen wiper.

00:28:47There's a graphic example of it.

00:28:48So the water's streaming up over the screen.

00:28:51It allows him to drive at high speed without having to use his windscreen wiper.

00:28:55Very similar technique to what motorcycle racers use on the visors of their full-face helmets.

00:28:59Seaton's a big fan of that.

00:29:01You can see he's not having to use the wipers at all at the moment.

00:29:03As he tries to find a way past the Mitre 10 Ford.

00:29:07This is the battle for fifth position.

00:29:10Greg Murphy, Larry Perkins, Jason Brighton, Craig Lowndes up ahead of them.

00:29:13Well, Seaton starts to close right in on Mark Larkham.

00:29:17The action has been red hot here at Sandown so far.

00:29:20But the rain is coming down.

00:29:22It is Lowndes who still leads the way by almost five seconds.

00:29:25Bright is sitting in second from Perkins.

00:29:27And we go back to Murphy and Larkham.

00:29:29Seaton challenging up the inside.

00:29:31Bow, Tander in eighth.

00:29:33Johnson in ninth.

00:29:34And Gardner rounds out the top ten.

00:29:35We go back.

00:29:36Barguana, Poole, Hossack, Parsons and Crick.

00:29:38More right after this.

00:29:48Seventh.

00:29:56Welcome back to the Tickford 500.

00:29:58You can see that the Whitman's Lightship isn't the only thing filling the skies here.

00:30:02As Melbourne is hit by rain.

00:30:04And so is this dramatic race.

00:30:06A number of cars have entered pit lane already.

00:30:08We should point out at this stage that the two classes of car racing today.

00:30:12The open class and the control tyre.

00:30:14The control tyre class and tyres at the moment, Lee Hippy, are the name of the game.

00:30:18Well, good that you pointed that out, Bill.

00:30:20Because a few of the privateers that have been running on the control Yokohama tyre throughout the year.

00:30:24Have come up into the open category class.

00:30:26Which means they've gone on to different brands and different compounds of tyres.

00:30:29So we only have a handful running on the privateer control tyre.

00:30:33And we'll let you know that at the moment Rod Nash is the top of that heap.

00:30:36So he's done very well.

00:30:38Now there was a flurry just a moment ago as Wayne Gardner heads into the pits.

00:30:41Lowndes came in.

00:30:42Murphy came in.

00:30:43Seaton came in.

00:30:44A whole heap of drivers came in and put the full wet weather tyres on.

00:30:48As you can see the track is very greasy now.

00:30:51And this is going to make things very interesting.

00:30:53This is exactly like the Tickford 500 1997.

00:30:56Simon Emezzini's spinning the Falcon.

00:30:58The HSV replay showing us that.

00:31:00And that is through Shell Master car turn.

00:31:02Where we saw so many in 1997 spin off.

00:31:05Yeah, fortunately that track was only freshly laid before the Tickford 500 last year.

00:31:09And it was absolutely like a skating rink in the wet.

00:31:11Fortunately that track has had 12 months to stabilise.

00:31:14It's not nearly as slippery.

00:31:15But even in these wet conditions.

00:31:17Sand doesn't seem to drain particularly well.

00:31:19We saw that in the top ten shootout yesterday.

00:31:21It was raining.

00:31:22The sun came out.

00:31:23The wind was blowing.

00:31:24And the water stayed there for a long, long time.

00:31:25Valvoline.

00:31:26Cummins Commodore in there too.

00:31:27The Barguana Richards entry.

00:31:29So conditions out there getting pretty treacherous.

00:31:31Everyone going to a small block.

00:31:33Driver change.

00:31:34Driver change.

00:31:35Notice that.

00:31:36Barguana's out of the car.

00:31:37They've put Jimmy Richards in.

00:31:38As Jason said before, the race's secret weapon is Jim Richards.

00:31:41Jimmy, a proven wet weather expert.

00:31:44Always been very quick when the rain starts to come down.

00:31:47Decided to put Jim in these conditions very early.

00:31:51Shared the car with his son, Stephen, last year.

00:31:53And it was in the Gary Rogers, Valvoline, Cummins team.

00:31:56They finished fifth outright.

00:31:57Which was a great result.

00:31:58Let's see what Jimmy can do this year.

00:32:01Now, as the timing monitor clicks over.

00:32:04There's this flurry of pit stops.

00:32:06The tyre change that occurs.

00:32:07John Bow, which is our new race leader.

00:32:10We go back to Mark Larkham.

00:32:12And then Craig Lowndes.

00:32:13Keep in mind, Lowndes has changed.

00:32:15He is on wets.

00:32:16We haven't yet seen Bow yet.

00:32:18Now, is this the 18 car?

00:32:19No.

00:32:2017.

00:32:21Johnson and Johnson.

00:32:22So you can see they're going for a small block wet weather tyre.

00:32:25That means that it's got the most cuts in it the tyre engineers can do.

00:32:29And the meaning with that is it can displace the most amount of water.

00:32:33So that means conditions out there are getting very, very slippery.

00:32:35There's a lot of water lying around.

00:32:37So they've gone for the most aggressive tread pattern possible.

00:32:40Here is the new race leader at the moment.

00:32:42And he was earlier.

00:32:43Right from the beginning.

00:32:44John Bow.

00:32:45And the Bow-McConville entry.

00:32:46Interesting.

00:32:47Much anticipation about Cameron McConville's return to V8 supercars.

00:32:51We'll see how camp goes.

00:32:53Up 25 of 161.

00:32:56Well, it should be interesting to compare the lap times between Craig Lowndes.

00:33:00Who switched on to a wet weather tyre.

00:33:01And this car, the Shell 18 Ford.

00:33:03We have seen the Dunlop slick tyre, the dry tyre that Bow's driving on now.

00:33:07The track is only a slight bit damp.

00:33:09It actually performs quite well.

00:33:11And Bow might try and hang out there if these conditions remain static.

00:33:14Because this combination could be the fastest on the track if the rain holds off.

00:33:18Well, the last lap around, Bow put in a 1.39.

00:33:22And Lowndes with a 1.32.

00:33:25It's pretty frantic out there at the moment, Barry Sheen.

00:33:28Yeah, it is.

00:33:29I'm with Jason Bogwana.

00:33:30Jason, what happened to the style?

00:33:32Oh, Barry, the clutch started slipping as soon as I dropped the clutch.

00:33:34And I just pulled to the left and got everyone's way.

00:33:37Just eased off it.

00:33:38Let the clutch come back a bit.

00:33:40Then it was fine from then on.

00:33:41Obviously just got a bit hot.

00:33:42Making great ground when it got going.

00:33:44Yeah, I mean, the car is really working well.

00:33:46We worked really hard on the race package.

00:33:48Things pulling off the numbers we needed.

00:33:50And now the rain's come.

00:33:51So it's going to be interesting.

00:33:52So what, Jimmy's got the short straw to go out in the rain.

00:33:54I don't know why, but anyway.

00:33:55He's out there having fun at the moment.

00:33:56So, yeah, we'll be all right.

00:33:57Long day to go still.

00:33:58Thanks a lot, Jason.

00:33:59Thanks, mate.

00:34:01Jason Barguana there, nice and positive.

00:34:03And I tell you what, he put in a tremendous drive.

00:34:05Now he's handed over to the man they call the Rain Master, Jimmy Richards.

00:34:08We'll see what he can do in the Valvoline Cummins Commodore.

00:34:14As they make their way around.

00:34:15Their teammate, the sister car to this, Garth Tander, has done a tremendous job.

00:34:20He qualified 12th.

00:34:21And for the entire race has been in the top 10.

00:34:24As far back as 10th.

00:34:26He now sits 9th at the moment.

00:34:28He's teamed up with another talented young driver, Cameron McLean.

00:34:31We haven't seen Cameron in the V8 supercar category yet.

00:34:34So we'll see how he goes.

00:34:36This battle continues.

00:34:37Larry Perkins has just gone past Jason Bright.

00:34:42He's up to 4th position.

00:34:44Bright goes back to 5th.

00:34:45He's watching for these lap times between John Bow and Craig Lowndes at the front of this battle.

00:34:50Because Bow is still on slick tyres.

00:34:52Craig Lowndes has switched to wets.

00:34:54And there you are.

00:34:55There's the proof of the pudding.

00:34:56Craig Lowndes almost 2 seconds faster than Bow that time around.

00:34:59Closing the gap.

00:35:00It's down to 10.6 seconds.

00:35:02The gap between Bow leading the race and Lowndes in 2nd position.

00:35:05He's catching him hand over fist.

00:35:08It's interesting to see when they bring the Sherlade in.

00:35:10Because he's struggling out there now.

00:35:13Rod Nash doing a good job.

00:35:14Still the top of the heap in terms of the drivers on the control tyre.

00:35:18So he's doing a good job.

00:35:21Larry Perkins in 4th position.

00:35:23Using his enormous wealth of experience, this man.

00:35:27His late 40s.

00:35:28Tremendous international career.

00:35:30Got as high as Formula 1.

00:35:32Very, very successful in the lower categories in Europe.

00:35:35European Formula 3.

00:35:37He's competed in Le Mans sports cars.

00:35:39Very successful in Australian touring cars.

00:35:416 times Bathurst winner.

00:35:43And chasing, really aggressively chasing that total of Peter Brock.

00:35:47The all-time great Bathurst champion with 9 wins.

00:35:49Larry Perkins.

00:35:51Showing his form.

00:35:52Always so strong in endurance competition.

00:35:55This is his 17th appearance in the endurance race here at Sandown.

00:35:59Now he's had quite a few retirements.

00:36:01He's had 7 retirements in fact.

00:36:03But he just very tentatively nudges through on one of the winds.

00:36:06Commodore Sotooters Bright.

00:36:09You just can't afford any understanding of these conditions, can you?

00:36:11You can see they're just tippy-toeing around in these conditions.

00:36:14Track very, very slippery.

00:36:16Falling.

00:36:17Holds a lot of water.

00:36:18Any sort of misunderstanding of the grip levels of that load can usually end in drama.

00:36:23So Perkins up the inside of the Minor 10 Falcon.

00:36:26As he continues to try.

00:36:29In fact.

00:36:31Yep.

00:36:33He keeps himself in 4th position.

00:36:34So the order.

00:36:35No, that moves him up to 3rd, doesn't it?

00:36:36Larkham.

00:36:38Dropping back.

00:36:39Larkham's back to 5th now.

00:36:41Bright in 4th.

00:36:42And he's still bow-lounged.

00:36:43Perkins, Bright, Larkham.

00:36:45Seton in 6th.

00:36:46Stephen Johnson in 7th.

00:36:47Garth Tander worked up to 8th.

00:36:49Thomas Mazera is sitting in 9th position.

00:36:52So Larkham really struggling out there.

00:36:53He just dropped 2 positions straight away.

00:36:56Bow-lounged.

00:36:57Perkins, Bright, Larkham.

00:36:58Back to 5th.

00:36:59Seton in 6th.

00:37:00Stephen Johnson in 7th.

00:37:01Garth Tander in 8th.

00:37:03Thomas Mazera.

00:37:04Now look at that.

00:37:05Thomas Mazera in the Plastback Densitron Racing VT.

00:37:07A car of his own construction.

00:37:09He said he wanted to run in the top 10.

00:37:11That'd be an outstanding effort for the team's debut.

00:37:13Well, there he is in 10th position at the moment.

00:37:15Greg Murphy up into 11th.

00:37:17Whether Greg's had some problems or not.

00:37:20Because he came in at a similar time to Lowndes.

00:37:23So it looks like Murphy has had some problems.

00:37:25Jim Richards is up into 12th.

00:37:27David Parsons in the 2nd of the wins.

00:37:29Commodores teamed up with Simon Wills.

00:37:31He is in 13th position.

00:37:32How about this, Mark?

00:37:33The youngster is the rain.

00:37:35Gets heavier and heavier.

00:37:36The youngster, Paul Wheel, is up into 14th position as we see.

00:37:39A good battle going on here.

00:37:41Rod Nash has gone around.

00:37:43Wheel is up into 13th position now.

00:37:45This is a great battle here.

00:37:47That is Rod Smith in the Smith's truck style.

00:37:50Larry Perkins is going to try and weave his way through these guys.

00:37:54Plenty of traffic here.

00:37:55Jason Bright's going with him.

00:37:56Bright's going to try and take advantage in the spray.

00:37:58He's up on the inside as they come up towards Shell.

00:38:00Master can't turn and he takes Perkins.

00:38:02Beautiful move.

00:38:03Jason Bright using the traffic to his advantage.

00:38:05And Larry's going to get held up here.

00:38:06Indeed he is.

00:38:07Well, he really is an opportunist, isn't he?

00:38:10But John Bough, he's now three seconds a lap slower than Craig Lowndes.

00:38:13Lowndes has closed the gap to 6.7 seconds.

00:38:15The battle for first position.

00:38:17Lowndes catching it.

00:38:19Well, we're through.

00:38:20John Bough is in the pits.

00:38:21Bough has finally come in.

00:38:24Struggling out there on slick tyres.

00:38:25They've put Lowndes back into the lead.

00:38:27That'll put Perkins and Bright up into second and third position.

00:38:32Bright now in second.

00:38:33Perkins in third.

00:38:34Positions changing via the second.

00:38:37Wayne Gardner back up inside the top ten.

00:38:39Gardner is back up into ninth.

00:38:41He was a little frustrated.

00:38:42Struggling for speed.

00:38:43He was having some tyre problems.

00:38:45And he said, let's just hope for rain.

00:38:47Well, Wayne, you've got your wish.

00:38:49Simon Emazidis.

00:38:52Coming out of the top there.

00:38:53He's taking it easy.

00:38:54Car seven.

00:38:55Wins Commodore.

00:38:56And here comes John Bough.

00:38:58Craig Rust.

00:39:00Well, Mark, it's all happening down here at pit lane at the moment.

00:39:02The wet weather is really starting to set in.

00:39:04John Bough has come in in the Shell number 18 car.

00:39:06The guys are diving on it.

00:39:08And normally they're very slick with their pit stops,

00:39:10so they're going to put some wet weather tyres on here.

00:39:12And John and Mark Larkham are the two guys who've really made a gamble

00:39:16as this race changes its complexion because of the wet weather.

00:39:19They've waited a long time before coming in to put some wet weather tyres on.

00:39:22Just waiting for the front right to go on.

00:39:25Indeed, it's on now.

00:39:26And Bough, he drops the glideslope out of there

00:39:28in a time of around about 28 seconds.

00:39:32Not too bad by the Shell Helix race team.

00:39:34But Bough is out and he's dropped quite a number of positions

00:39:38as this rain gets heavier.

00:39:40So the order now.

00:39:41Craig Lowndes continuing to close the gap.

00:39:47And he's really taken this race by the throat.

00:39:51John Bough gets back into the action.

00:39:53Struggling around there on slick tyres.

00:39:56Now he's back in there.

00:39:57A lot of work to do.

00:39:58Look at these conditions just getting worse and worse.

00:40:00As the rain really starts to bucket down.

00:40:02Mark Larkham is still out there on slick tyres

00:40:04in the Mitre 10 Ford just behind Bough.

00:40:08Jason Bright some 19 seconds behind Craig Lowndes.

00:40:11That is a big gap.

00:40:15Now, Perkins still sitting in third.

00:40:20Seaton has managed to climb up to fourth.

00:40:24Bough back in fifth.

00:40:25Now we're waiting for the next lap to come around

00:40:27and actually see when our timing monitor trips up.

00:40:29But here is your race leader.

00:40:30There is no doubt about that.

00:40:32Craig Lowndes leads the way.

00:40:35An earlier than expected pit stop.

00:40:37Lap 31 of 1.61 at the moment.

00:40:39Mazera is in the pits after running strong early on

00:40:42when the majority of the field came into the pits.

00:40:48Well, these are the conditions they were dreading.

00:40:51They didn't want the rain to come down.

00:40:52They wanted a clean, dry race.

00:40:54Well, the drivers aren't going to get it.

00:40:57Saw so much action in the Tickford 500 last year

00:41:00when the rain came down.

00:41:01Drivers faced with exactly the same conditions.

00:41:03One year later, Craig Lowndes leading the race

00:41:06in the mobile Holden Racing Team VT Commodore.

00:41:11Well, he's sitting in a nice spot, isn't he?

00:41:12To get his hat trick three in a row,

00:41:151996, 1997.

00:41:18Will he be able to do it in 1998?

00:41:21If he does, he'll be the first driver to get a hat trick,

00:41:24to get three in a row since Peter Brock.

00:41:26And, of course, Brock got seven in a row

00:41:28between 1975 and 1981

00:41:30as Mark Larkham finally comes into the pits

00:41:32in the Moto 10 Ford.

00:41:33Now, word we get is he has had a spin out on the circuit.

00:41:37The team will work hard now to get these wet weather tyres on

00:41:39and Larkham back out there after qualifying well.

00:41:42He won't want to lose too many positions,

00:41:43but perhaps he has stayed out there too long.

00:41:4531 laps completed for our race leader, Craig Lowndes.

00:41:48They kept him out on the track a long time, Greg Russ.

00:41:50Yeah, they did send some people down here

00:41:52at the Larkham pit shaking their head.

00:41:53One of them, Brad Jones, his co-driver.

00:41:55Brad, you've really waited a long time

00:41:56before coming in there,

00:41:57or before bringing Mark in to change the tyres.

00:41:59Well, yeah, we have one of those things.

00:42:02Calculate a risk and it's just the way it goes.

00:42:05I mean, it's a long race.

00:42:06There's plenty of time to go.

00:42:07We really didn't want to go a lap down,

00:42:09so it's a bit disappointing,

00:42:11but, as I said, it's a risk.

00:42:13If they'd had it dried up a little bit,

00:42:14we would have been way out in front.

00:42:16So, a bit of a gamble, but, as I said, a long day.

00:42:19To make matters worse, of course,

00:42:20an unfortunate spin for Mark

00:42:21just before coming into pit lane.

00:42:23Well, I think that's probably the difference

00:42:24between going down a lap down or not.

00:42:26So, you know, John Bauer stayed out for a while

00:42:29and we decided to,

00:42:30and, as it turns out, it wasn't the right thing.

00:42:33But, you know, we'll see what happens.

00:42:35Well, it reminds us of last year

00:42:37when Neil Cromden stayed out on slicks

00:42:39trying to gain an advantage

00:42:40and momentarily did,

00:42:41but then the rain started again and he lost it.

00:42:43But, never mind, Mark Larkham will soldier on

00:42:46from this and try and keep on climbing up.

00:42:49He's teamed up with his partner, Brad Jones,

00:42:51who he raced with in 1989

00:42:53when the two guys finished seventh.

00:42:55We'll see if they can better that in 1998.

00:42:58The rain continues to fall here at Sandown.

00:43:01This is the 1998 Tickford 500.

00:43:04We'll be back real soon.

00:43:19Sixth.

00:43:26Great disappointment there for a great talent

00:43:28in Australian motorsport.

00:43:29Garth Tander having a lose over the back

00:43:31here at Sandown in the Gary Rogers,

00:43:33Valvoline Cummins Commodore.

00:43:35And it's a shame because not only do we

00:43:37miss out on the rest of Garth Tander's race,

00:43:39but we don't see his team-mates

00:43:41in the race at all.

00:43:42So, we'll see what happens.

00:43:43We'll see what happens.

00:43:44We'll see what happens.

00:43:45We'll see what happens.

00:43:46We'll see what happens.

00:43:47Garth Tander's race, but we don't see his team-mate

00:43:49Cameron McLean get the opportunity to race

00:43:51in the Tickford 500 either.

00:43:52They'd worked their way from 12th on the grid

00:43:54up to 8th in this race.

00:43:55And that is well and truly parked.

00:43:58Of course, the field under yellow at the moment.

00:44:00The safety car out.

00:44:01So, things a little quiet here at Sandown.

00:44:04Well, a big disappointment there for the 20-year-old.

00:44:09And it'll go down as a learning experience.

00:44:18Well, we have this opportunity.

00:44:22We'll tell you a bit more about the Holden banner competition.

00:44:24We'll show you some examples of last year.

00:44:26Marvellous creativity at work.

00:44:28And you'll see plenty more of the FAI 1000 Classic.

00:44:31And it's been such a great battle this year.

00:44:33Certainly, you'd say from the Shell Australian Touring Car Championship,

00:44:36it's been Holden's year forward wanting to strike back.

00:44:39They may well do it today.

00:44:40And who knows?

00:44:41They could do it again in the FAI 1000.

00:44:43We'll judge those at the end of the season.

00:44:45And the winning banner, the person who comes up with the winning banner,

00:44:48will win an SS Commodore.

00:44:50The person who calls in to Network 10 and selects the winning banner,

00:44:54that is, agrees with the judges and gets it right,

00:44:57will win a Holden Club Sport worth more than $70,000.

00:45:01It's a good bit of gear.

00:45:02And I'm sure the banners will be out in force.

00:45:05Right now, though, the safety car's out in the Tickford 500.

00:45:08And look at those conditions.

00:45:10Garth Tandon won't be the only one to come unstuck today

00:45:13before the 161 laps are down.

00:45:15Mighty Mick Doohan will begin our coverage of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

00:45:20on the 4th of October at 10 a.m. start.

00:45:23Make a note of that.

00:45:24It is a marvellous documentary.

00:45:26And who knows?

00:45:27Mick could well secure, or at least go a long way towards securing,

00:45:32his fifth world title at Phillip Island.

00:45:34Ticketmaster is the place to call.

00:45:37That is the number for tickets to this marvellous motorsport event.

00:45:41Probably the championship will be wide open at that stage,

00:45:44so it should be even tougher on Mick Doohan

00:45:48as he hopes to notch his first win at Phillip Island.

00:45:53Greg Rust is in pit lane, where, of course, you can see

00:45:55they're trying to sort out the mess that is starting to be created out on track

00:45:59here in the Tickford 500.

00:46:00Well, Billy, I hope you're enjoying the warmth of the commentary box,

00:46:02because I can tell you it is awfully bitter and cold down here.

00:46:05Cam McLean, great disappointment for you.

00:46:07It doesn't look like you're going to get a drive today.

00:46:09Yeah, it's disappointing.

00:46:10Obviously, we were running seventh at the time,

00:46:12and the rain came out, and Garth was just holding station with the guys around him.

00:46:15I'm not sure what happened or how he got in the situation he did,

00:46:18but, yeah, it's disappointing.

00:46:19We'll just have to live on and fight at Bathurst.

00:46:21Best of luck for that.

00:46:22Thanks very much.

00:46:23Up to you, Barry.

00:46:24E.J., Stephen came in with some problem with the wipers.

00:46:27What's the matter with it?

00:46:28Well, he obviously sort of picked up the same sort of luck that I have.

00:46:31I don't know.

00:46:32There's something going wrong with the wiper motor or whatever.

00:46:34You put these things in, and they work sometimes, and sometimes they don't.

00:46:38It's just unfortunate for him, and I tell you what,

00:46:40it's almost impossible driving out there in these conditions without a wiper going

00:46:44because you just can't see a thing.

00:46:46And what has Stephen said?

00:46:47Is there much surface water forming?

00:46:49Well, he said the car's fantastic.

00:46:51He said that the wiper just won't work.

00:46:53So when it don't work, it don't work.

00:46:55Okay, thanks a lot, E.J.

00:46:57Thanks, mate.

00:46:59Well, the Shell Helix team having a tough time,

00:47:02and there is Stephen Johnson coming into the pits.

00:47:06It was early up.

00:47:07We get back to it now as they follow the safety car around.

00:47:10Well, it's a good time to come in, isn't it, under safety car conditions?

00:47:13Yeah.

00:47:14The field's slowed right down.

00:47:15They're spraying that Rain-X water repellent on the screen,

00:47:18as we saw in action on Glenn Seetha's car during the early laps of the race.

00:47:22Makes the water slow.

00:47:23Now the wiper motor's working again by the look of it.

00:47:26There's Jason Barguana in the sole remaining Valvoline Cummins Commodore.

00:47:34Stevie Richards, or rather Jimmy Richards, still in the car.

00:47:40And handling the wet conditions well while there is the sister car.

00:47:46Getting loaded onto the truck.

00:47:48Garth Tanner and Cameron McLean's day is over.

00:47:51Now, at the moment, we've had the similar drivers in the top ten.

00:47:55How about this?

00:47:57Eighteen-year-old youngster Paul Wheel is in tenth position.

00:48:01Paul Wheel is in tenth position.

00:48:03His very first Tickford 500.

00:48:05He has teamed up with rally ace Neil Bates.

00:48:08Can you believe it?

00:48:09He is in tenth position.

00:48:10That is a fantastic effort by that young guy.

00:48:13He is a rookie in every sense of the word.

00:48:16He has barely had his tea plates very long.

00:48:20He started driving V8 supercars.

00:48:22This is his first season, of course, and he's now running tenth.

00:48:24That is great.

00:48:25There he is on screen.

00:48:26There it is, the TradeLink Falcon.

00:48:27It's amazing when you look at this driving combination.

00:48:29Paul Wheel, a former off-road stadium truck champion,

00:48:33and Neil Bates, his co-driver, three times Australian rally champion.

00:48:36These two guys are very used to a car sliding around underneath them.

00:48:40They will probably revel in these wet conditions.

00:48:43There's a lot of throttle control, a lot of anticipation when you're driving a car this powerful and this weight.

00:48:48In tricky conditions like this.

00:48:50That is a lot of driver talent on board that Falcon.

00:48:53It could be right up at the end of the day.

00:48:55Fingers crossed. Let's hope he keeps it going.

00:48:57This is the order.

00:48:58Lounds, then we go back to Bright.

00:49:00Perkins, Seton and Bow.

00:49:03Six through ten, Murphy, Gardner, Barguana, Johnson.

00:49:07And there it is in ten.

00:49:08Wheel and Bates.

00:49:09Back to 11th position.

00:49:10It is Greg Crick, holding stall.

00:49:12Poole, Parkham, Parsons and Haight.

00:49:16Mazera, Reid, Nash out of 18.

00:49:18Donovan at 19.

00:49:19Smith out of 20.

00:49:20Back with more in just a moment.

00:49:28Welcome back to the Tickford 500.

00:49:30As you've probably gathered, the safety car is off.

00:49:32We've had about half a lap under full speed.

00:49:34Craig Lounds, race leader, on his 37th of 161 laps.

00:49:38Of course, not leading by as much as he did.

00:49:41He was out to more than 20 seconds ahead of Jason Bright.

00:49:44And is now in desperate attempt to try and shake off Bright again and rebuild that lead.

00:49:51It'll be interesting to see how Bright can hang on.

00:49:5320 seconds back to 2.7.

00:49:55I'll tell you what, he's doing it again, guys, too.

00:49:57Look at that.

00:49:58A 1.265, a 27.5 for Bright.

00:50:01He's put a second on him on that first lap.

00:50:032.7 seconds the gap over the Pertek Falcon up to one lap.

00:50:06Lounds is absolutely dynamite in these wet conditions.

00:50:09There's Jason Bright in second position.

00:50:11Larry Perkins in third in the Castrol VT.

00:50:13Then it's sick.

00:50:16And waiting for John Bauer.

00:50:18There he is.

00:50:19John Bauer in fifth position.

00:50:21Just got morphed there a little bit by the Nash-Edwards combination.

00:50:24And John Bauer will get past him.

00:50:26A lot of water there gathered on the exit of that turn.

00:50:28And surprise, surprise.

00:50:29Look, he's in the back of that pack.

00:50:31It's a Commodore with Coca-Cola written all over it.

00:50:34Making a charge through the pack.

00:50:36He's returned to V8 supercar racing.

00:50:38Spending a lot of time racing in Japan in the GT Championship.

00:50:42A lot of excitement.

00:50:44A lot of time racing in Japan in the GT Championship.

00:50:48A lot of experience of wet weather driving this year.

00:50:50For the 1987 World 500cc Motorcycle Champion.

00:50:54And he's been looking forward to this race.

00:50:58And there he is up in sixth position.

00:51:00Well, this suits Gardner right down to the ground.

00:51:02Because not only has he been doing wet weather racing,

00:51:04but he's been doing endurance racing this year.

00:51:06Of course, he competed in a prototype car at the Le Mans 24-Hour this year.

00:51:12Teamed up with his long-term mate and former 500cc racer,

00:51:15Didier Derendix.

00:51:16And the team owner, Philippe Gache.

00:51:18And he did very well.

00:51:19It was a Riley and Scott prototype with a big Ford V8 in it.

00:51:22And he did exceptionally well.

00:51:24Now, here's Steven Johnson coming up the inside.

00:51:26Nice move, Steven.

00:51:27Well done.

00:51:28Well, he's just going to run a race of survival, he said.

00:51:32Tires.

00:51:33Tire performance of this car not matching what he had last year.

00:51:37So just a matter of grinding around there.

00:51:39Doing strong, consistent laps.

00:51:41Before he hands over to his new co-driver, Paul Stoeckl.

00:51:44Multiple Australian Drivers' Champion in Formula Holden open-wheeler cars.

00:51:48He'll have his run alongside Gardner a bit later in the race.

00:51:51But the Coca-Cola Commodore looking very strong here.

00:51:54Whoa!

00:51:55Just when you say that, the car failed to take that turn.

00:51:59Just went straight off.

00:52:00You can see it not responding to steering input.

00:52:03Went off on the grass.

00:52:04But fortunately, enough runoff room and a smooth enough infield

00:52:08to allow the car to get back on undamaged.

00:52:10So Gardner is really struggling for grip.

00:52:12Well, look at that.

00:52:14Tell you what, if we want to...

00:52:16You've probably heard us folks talking throughout the year

00:52:18about a proposed control tire format for 1998.

00:52:22Well, that has been passed and accepted.

00:52:25And this category will run on a control tire next year in 1999.

00:52:29And I'll give you some proof of how good that is.

00:52:32Greg Crick, who has been running as a privateer this year,

00:52:35has come up into the open category and is now sitting in 10th position.

00:52:39So Crick in the Thrust Bank Ericsson car doing exceptionally well.

00:52:42Here's a HSV replay of Gardner going off.

00:52:45How lucky was that front splitter that it didn't break off?

00:52:48Look at that, look how close it is to the grass.

00:52:50Just like a lawnmower going right across the tops of the grass there.

00:52:53Fortunately, or apparently no damage.

00:52:55Nothing breaking off the car, Gardner just easing it back onto the tarmac.

00:52:59And you can see how much he's struggling for grip.

00:53:02The car, very, very light on traction on this very slippery track.

00:53:06Talk about lacking traction.

00:53:07Larry Perkins in the Castrol VT Commodore.

00:53:10He's come off at that same corner.

00:53:13Now we thought maybe in these wet conditions,

00:53:15after that bit of resurfacing is the time to settle,

00:53:18there'd be better grip.

00:53:20But apparently it's still pretty treacherous up there.

00:53:23These drivers are going to have to be very, very wary.

00:53:25Last year we saw in these conditions cars coming off left, right and centre.

00:53:28There's Larry. A classic replay of 1997.

00:53:31The cars try and break, the rears lock up and they go off.

00:53:36I think he ended up in the sand.

00:53:37Now look at this, he would have kept the boot into it.

00:53:39And he was very, very lucky to get out of there.

00:53:41Normally that thing would bog you and you're out for the day.

00:53:43But he kept the accelerator down and managed to just drive out of the bunker.

00:53:47Well done.

00:53:48And I think too, obviously with the amount of rain we've had,

00:53:50that sand is quite compacted.

00:53:52So that would help Larry's cause.

00:53:54But I tell you what, with Larry exiting the circuit,

00:53:56Steven Johnson is on a big charge.

00:53:58Here's Russell Ingall in the pits, watching and waiting,

00:54:00and waiting for his turn to get behind the wheel

00:54:02and have a real good shot at this race.

00:54:04They finished runners-up last year.

00:54:06Russell looking nice and relaxed.

00:54:08He will be ready to go.

00:54:09Ian Forser, third in last year's Touring Car Championship,

00:54:12second in this year's.

00:54:14Of course, they are the reigning Bathurst champs.

00:54:17Just up ahead of these two, the battle between Lowndes and Bryde for the lead.

00:54:20Lowndes doing what he always does.

00:54:22He's gapped him once again, a 1.26.08 for Lowndes.

00:54:26Bryde a 27.7.

00:54:28So he's pumped it out to 8.7 seconds, the lead over the Perntec Ford.

00:54:32The mobile Holden Racing Team Commodore,

00:54:34absolutely blistering speed in these conditions.

00:54:38This is how it sits at the moment.

00:54:40Lowndes has got an 8.7 second gap over Jason Bryde.

00:54:44Seaton is sitting nicely in third.

00:54:46Bow, Perkins, Steve Johnson, Greg Murphy up into seventh.

00:54:49Jim Richards up into eighth.

00:54:51Gardner dropped back, obviously, because he went off the circuit tonight.

00:54:54And Greg Crick is still sitting in tenth.

00:54:56Another tremendous effort.

00:54:57Mark Poole is sitting eleventh.

00:54:59Well, word we heard from the Shell garage is that windscreen wiper

00:55:02on Steven Johnson's car is still not working.

00:55:05You can see they're putting the Rain-X on the screen.

00:55:07But, boy, they're going to struggle out there today.

00:55:09It's hard enough to see when your windscreen wiper is working.

00:55:11You drive up behind one of these cars,

00:55:13they're displacing an enormous amount of water.

00:55:15You can tell that by the spray that's coming off the back of the car.

00:55:19And without the windscreen wiper, that's going to be murder out there.

00:55:22Car 55 on screen, Rod Nash, with some new spots in the race.

00:55:27Rod Nash with some new sponsorship on board from Autopro and Budweiser.

00:55:32Great to see some new sponsors.

00:55:34Well, Autopro's not a new one.

00:55:35They did run with Max Dumsley some years ago.

00:55:37But great to see them back in the category.

00:55:39Barry Sheen, how are you handling the rain?

00:55:41Oh, yeah, it's a bit dodgy down there.

00:55:43Oh, Larry came a bit close there, didn't he?

00:55:45I tell you what, Barry, I can see why he collects tractors now.

00:55:48Because I tell you what, he was doing a bit of tractor plowing,

00:55:50getting through that gravel track.

00:55:52But, hey, look, he did a good job to get back on the track.

00:55:54But he's pressing on now, apparently going real quick.

00:55:56So he'll probably fire him up a bit more now.

00:55:58Can you imagine if it had been you and it got off and got stuck?

00:56:01Oh, I'd terrify me.

00:56:03Actually, when it becomes wet like this, it actually compacts the gravel track

00:56:07so you can actually skid across it a bit more.

00:56:09So it's very, very lucky.

00:56:11Don't cry.

00:56:12Absolutely. No, no, no, I won't.

00:56:14All right, thanks, mate.

00:56:16Realising you said the wrong thing.

00:56:18Yeah, I won't cry.

00:56:20I can see Russell Ingle cry.

00:56:22A bit of disappointment this year going into Greg Lowndes in the final round.

00:56:25He wasn't determined to win that Shell Championship Series in 1999.

00:56:29Unbelievable amount of mist coming off this circuit.

00:56:31Just look how wet it is.

00:56:33There's Jason Bright, your second-place runner.

00:56:34Look at Seton starting to bridge the gap now in the forward.

00:56:36Credit Falcon.

00:56:37He will be handing over to Glenn Seton.

00:56:39Now, here is the man of the moment.

00:56:41This is a tremendous effort by the Tasmanian,

00:56:43the Ericsson Trust Bank Commodore.

00:56:45This is Greg Crick doing a tremendous job,

00:56:48sitting in tenth position behind Wayne Gardner.

00:56:51There is also the 18 Ford of Bowne-McConville.

00:56:56Oh, very, very tight there as the Shell Ford tries to find a way through.

00:57:01Crick defending his territory.

00:57:03We don't want to see another incident on that same corner

00:57:05like we did in the Oance Insurance Endurance Classic,

00:57:09where the race leader Gary Walden was taken out.

00:57:13Keep it together, guys.

00:57:14I was saying before about the new control tyre regulations coming in force for 1999.

00:57:18The Ericsson Trust Bank car will be one to watch.

00:57:20Greg Crick, I firmly believe,

00:57:22one of the most underrated drivers in the country,

00:57:2543-year-old Tasmanian.

00:57:27Anytime he gets in a car, he's very, very quick.

00:57:29He's always been hindered by the fact he hasn't been able

00:57:31to get the right tyres for the car.

00:57:33I think you'll find when everyone's on the same rubber next year,

00:57:36this car is going to fly.

00:57:37Well, I'll tell you what is exciting is for this race

00:57:40and also for the FAI 1000,

00:57:42he is teamed up with fellow Tasmanian Dean Croswell,

00:57:45a former Commodore Cup competitor,

00:57:47and he was very exciting in his debut race at Malala.

00:57:51He won the Privateers Cup.

00:57:53This is how it stands.

00:57:54Lowndes, Bright, Seaton, Bowe and Perkins at the moment.

00:57:57We go back.

00:57:58It is the Johnson-Johnson combination.

00:58:00Murphy, Jimmy Richards is in the Bargwana entry.

00:58:03Then we go back.

00:58:04Gardner and Crick, Poole, Wheel, Larkham, Hossack and Parsons

00:58:08will be back right after this.

00:58:11This Tickford 500 race update brought to you by FAI.

00:58:17The rain may be setting here at Sandow,

00:58:19but this is how the race began in the dry

00:58:21and an absolute flyer from Johnny Bowe

00:58:23who took over from the all HRT front row

00:58:26and took the race lead early on.

00:58:29But Bowe was on another plan as we saw Alan Jones

00:58:32exit the race to Komatsu Ford.

00:58:34Suspected broken rear axle pulled up to the front.

00:58:38Suspected broken rear axle pulled up beside the track.

00:58:41Barely had the race begun when Jones was out.

00:58:44Great disappointment there in his 30th year

00:58:46since debuting here at Sandow.

00:58:48Now, this is the look back as Craig Lowndes

00:58:51was attacking John Bower for the lead

00:58:53and Lowndes in fact did take that lead on lap 5.

00:58:55Marvellous driving from the young gun from HRT.

00:58:58This is Paul Romano, the first major contact of the race.

00:59:01Hitting the wall, collecting John Faulkner

00:59:03who's had a rotten weekend.

00:59:04Johnny Faulkner starting from the back of the grid

00:59:06when he started top 10 here last year

00:59:08and has had all sorts of trouble

00:59:09and this was just adding to it.

00:59:11Tony Longhurst, a brilliant drive

00:59:13in the top 10 shootout in very wet conditions.

00:59:15We expected similar stuff today

00:59:17but unfortunately he blew an engine

00:59:19retiring on lap 9 with smoke everywhere.

00:59:22John Bower slipped off the pace.

00:59:23As I said, driving to a plan

00:59:25and allowing a few past him.

00:59:27Bright, Perkins and then Seton moved ahead.

00:59:30But Bower is a long way from out of the picture.

00:59:32Still holding fourth in Sandow.

00:59:34The race set in.

00:59:35Lowndes first to pit to change tyres.

00:59:37In fact both HRT Commodores were in

00:59:39but this VT and the team behind it is in superb shape.

00:59:43Gartanda retiring from the race.

00:59:45A little lose but it cost him greatly

00:59:47on the back of the circuit.

00:59:48It also cost his team mate Cameron McLean

00:59:50a drive in the Tickman 500.

00:59:52The safety car was out.

00:59:54Craig Lowndes has since rebuilt his lead

00:59:56to more than 17 seconds

00:59:58and he is just in superb form.

01:00:00He certainly is Bill Woods

01:00:02In Sand there's a real battle going on

01:00:04for that second position though.

01:00:05Glenn Seton has now climbed in front of

01:00:07Jason Bright during our break.

01:00:09So Glenn Seton and the Ford Credit Falcon

01:00:11taking the fight right up to Lowndes.

01:00:13He's got a lot of work to do.

01:00:14Lowndes is absolutely on fire here.

01:00:1617 seconds the gap now.

01:00:17He's been lapping one and a half

01:00:19up to two seconds a lap faster than his chasers.

01:00:22He is absolutely untouchable

01:00:24as the rain continues to pour

01:00:26at Sandown International.

01:00:27Top three cars all Bridgestone shod.

01:00:29Then we go back to John Bower

01:00:30now the first of the Dunlop runners.

01:00:32The wet weather conditions

01:00:34really suiting them quite nicely.

01:00:36Now word is Jim Richards has returned

01:00:38to the pits to fix a windscreen wiper problem.

01:00:40All drivers have been instructed

01:00:42to have their headlights on.

01:00:44Now conditions are so bad.

01:00:46Here is our new second place runner

01:00:48Glenn Seton and the Ford Credit Falcon

01:00:50teamed up with his new team mate

01:00:52someone who has changed a long term

01:00:54association with Holden.

01:00:56Now to Ford we're talking about Neil Crompton

01:00:58Crompton will probably see him

01:01:00take over within the next 10 or so laps.

01:01:02Barry Sheen.

01:01:03I'm standing down here with Neil.

01:01:04Your man's doing well isn't he?

01:01:06He's doing very well and I've got the best seat in the house

01:01:08because I'm dry.

01:01:09When are you due to go out?

01:01:10Well obviously when we came in

01:01:12and put the wets on

01:01:14we took the opportunity to fill the car up with 120 litres

01:01:16so you can probably

01:01:18I'm not sure exactly what lap he came in on

01:01:20but I expect it's probably going to be around about

01:01:2270 to 75 or something like that.

01:01:24Just very rough arithmetic.

01:01:26Are you as good a star in the wet as you are in the dry?

01:01:30I'm not sure that I'm going to be a star in either.

01:01:32It's pretty ordinary conditions although last year

01:01:34I ran around here on slick tyres in the wet

01:01:36so anything today on a grooved tyre is a bonus.

01:01:38I'm actually looking forward to it. The car's very nice to drive.

01:01:40It's a great team to work with

01:01:42and all you've got to do in these conditions is just relax

01:01:44and slip and slide and have some fun

01:01:46and try and stay on the stuff that's marked as black

01:01:48not green.

01:01:49We'll be watching.

01:01:50Thank you.

01:01:51Hopefully no mistakes.

01:01:52Speaking of watching have a look at this

01:01:54John Bough right on Glenn Seaton.

01:01:56Bough has not only got past Bright

01:01:58but he's about to get past Seaton if he can get an inside run

01:02:00here. Still a bit of ground to make up.

01:02:02The two Ford campaigners. He's got him!

01:02:04John Bough right through on the inside of Glenn Seaton

01:02:06so a new second place competitor.

01:02:08Bough is up there

01:02:10and he is on fire. He was back in fourth

01:02:12only moments ago. Now he is up into second position.

01:02:14Seaton relegated to third.

01:02:16We have Perkins back in fifth

01:02:18behind Bright. Steve Johnson still sixth.

01:02:20Murphy seventh. Gardiner eighth.

01:02:22Jim Richards ninth. And Greg Crick

01:02:24back in tenth. I'll tell you what on the split

01:02:26two up the back straight we've got our

01:02:28set up halfway around the circuit.

01:02:30He was just as fast as Lowndes to that point.

01:02:32So the Shell Helix Ford

01:02:34with these Dunlop wet weather tyres

01:02:36is really starting to haunt.

01:02:38That's really interesting. Dunlop wanted to

01:02:40use these tyres

01:02:42during the wet conditions of Calder

01:02:44but the race meeting got rained out. This is the first

01:02:46time we've seen this new generation wet weather tyre

01:02:48from Dunlop. A lot of the engineers

01:02:50have had a lot of expectations of this tyre.

01:02:52It's based on a lot of feedback from their

01:02:54GT and sports car racing programs

01:02:56and a lot of the feedback they also

01:02:58get from V8 Supercar Racing. It's a new product

01:03:00and by the look of it it's working particularly

01:03:02well. Bough is really starting to move

01:03:04up the order. Well just think about

01:03:06when

01:03:08it rained in race three at Phillip Island earlier

01:03:10this year and we saw both Russell Engle and

01:03:12Bough and all of the Dunlop runners

01:03:14just go crazy as soon as it became

01:03:16wet. That's exactly what Bough

01:03:18is doing now. Look how much he's pulled away

01:03:20from Seton. A lap ago in this position

01:03:22we were saying, look out, here comes John Bough.

01:03:24Well now he's just

01:03:26blasted away from Seton and

01:03:28he's beginning to fall in Craig Lowndes.

01:03:30Mind you that gap is 19.2

01:03:32seconds. Well we're going to watch

01:03:34that gap very closely because

01:03:36he was a second faster than Lowndes that time

01:03:38around. So the Shell Ford

01:03:40Dunlop combination working very strongly

01:03:42in Soundown. Look at the amount of water on this track.

01:03:44It's like a skating rink.

01:03:46Reflecting there.

01:03:48Holding a lot of water.

01:03:50John Bough really starting to

01:03:52charge and watch that gap. 19.2

01:03:54seconds it is between himself and our race

01:03:56leader Craig Lowndes and we're getting very

01:03:58close to the first of two

01:04:00compulsory pit stops.

01:04:02Two times winner here at the Soundown

01:04:04Endurance Race. John Bough, both

01:04:06of his former

01:04:08well still his team mate but

01:04:10co-driver we should say in Dick Johnson

01:04:1294, 95. They won it back to back.

01:04:14Guy who

01:04:16first raced

01:04:18in the Soundown Endurance event

01:04:20with Robbie Frantz a bit in a Volvo.

01:04:22Well he was just three tenths of

01:04:24a, three tenths quicker than Lowndes that

01:04:26time around. So he's matching

01:04:28the speed of the mobile Holden Racing Team

01:04:30driver and the time's going faster. He may have hit some

01:04:32traffic there but he locked the second

01:04:34off and it's a tremendous see-sawing battle. Keep in mind

01:04:36both these cars are going to be fighting their

01:04:38way through traffic so you may see a false

01:04:40representation of their speed.

01:04:42There's no doubt you saw how quickly John Bough caught

01:04:44Glen Seton. He's really on a move.

01:04:46Well it's going to be interesting to see too if they

01:04:48come in at similar times. If this

01:04:50gap continues to decrease. It's down now

01:04:52to 18.9 seconds between

01:04:54Lowndes and Bough. The

01:04:56Mobile One Holden Racing Team have just

01:04:58been absolutely fanatical about their

01:05:00pit stops. The guys have done

01:05:02well in excess, talking about

01:05:04the team, well in excess of

01:05:06400 practice pit stops.

01:05:08They are fair dinkum about getting it down

01:05:10around the 20 second mark. It's going to help

01:05:12Lowndes keep that gap if they can repeat it.

01:05:37Well John Bough has done it again.

01:05:39Undercut Craig Lowndes by almost a second.

01:05:41He is faster than the Mobile Holden

01:05:43Racing Team. Commodore consistently

01:05:45lap after lap. He's closing. It's down to 17

01:05:47seconds now. I don't know whether

01:05:49Lowndes is just backing it off a little bit.

01:05:51I imagine he'll be having to push as hard

01:05:53as he can to try and get maximum space

01:05:55between himself and John Bough before those pit stops

01:05:57start. They're not far away. Top

01:05:59driver on the control tyre is Steve

01:06:01Reid. The Reid-Ashby combination. The

01:06:03Lansdale Autocolour car. Well done.

01:06:05Second in that category is Bruce

01:06:07Williams. He hasn't driven a V8

01:06:09supercar since Mount Panorama

01:06:11last October. Well done Bruce Williams.

01:06:13He's loving the wet weather. Here is

01:06:15our top one. We usually call them privateers.

01:06:17Today we're calling them the drivers

01:06:19on the control tyres because that's the

01:06:21difference. We've got the open class tyres.

01:06:23We'll be the last or the second last occasion when we

01:06:25see it run like this which is very pleasing

01:06:27to most people. Next year,

01:06:291999, this category will run on a

01:06:31control tyre format. You know what we're

01:06:33talking about. All that means is every

01:06:35single car will be on the same

01:06:37type of tyre which basically

01:06:39means it's a level playing field.

01:06:41A lot of the privateers

01:06:43will be doing handstands about that.

01:06:45These guys believe they have the

01:06:47performance and the team structure to do much, much

01:06:49better if they can get the same tyres as the leading

01:06:51teams. That situation exists next

01:06:53year. It's going to be very, very exciting.

01:06:55And I expect this car, the Lansdale

01:06:57Smash Repairs ICI

01:06:59Autocolour Commodore to be one of

01:07:01those cars moving up the order. Wally Storey

01:07:03engineering the car. Former

01:07:05Wayne Gardner racing team guru.

01:07:07Wally very much

01:07:09a handling man. He very much

01:07:11concentrates on chassis setup. Tremendously

01:07:13experienced at shock absorber tuning

01:07:15and development. And they really have been doing

01:07:17a great job with this car throughout season.

01:07:1998 won the Privateers Cup Championship

01:07:21running on the Yokohama control

01:07:23tyre. The boys are very, very

01:07:25excited about that. As do

01:07:27about their chances in the Enduros this

01:07:29year. They're just running particularly

01:07:31strongly here. Leading the control tyre

01:07:33class. They're back in 17th place outright.

01:07:35But leading a very hotly contested

01:07:37field. Well, this is their fourth

01:07:39appearance. The Tickford 500

01:07:41their best result was in 1996

01:07:43where they finished 9th.

01:07:45The Sydney Siders

01:07:47they're just such a team.

01:07:49Running off, that's Mick Donoher in the

01:07:51UltraTune entry. Coming back on.

01:07:53I'll tell you what, for the conditions Mark, we've seen the drivers

01:07:55handle it very, very well. It's a

01:07:57lot less spin-offs and altercations than last

01:07:59year. Yep.

01:08:01So hopefully the track is not as breezy

01:08:03as it was last year. A lot of that resurfacing

01:08:05happened only

01:08:07weeks before the event last year. A lot of the oil

01:08:09and the bitumen compound started to rise to

01:08:11the surface. It was just absolutely

01:08:13atrocious. I saw it even.

01:08:15I don't think one car got through the race without

01:08:17having at least one spin.

01:08:19And most of it was the first spin.

01:08:21John Bow, last lap

01:08:23around has taken 6 tenths of a second

01:08:25off Craig Lowndes. It was 17.7

01:08:27The gap is down now to 17.1

01:08:31And we're 53 laps into the

01:08:33Tickford 500, getting very, very close

01:08:35to the first of our scheduled pit stops.

01:08:39Here's a good battle. This is the battle

01:08:41for fourth and fifth. Now we saw these guys

01:08:43fighting it out, but in reverse order

01:08:45earlier, Bright was trying to get past Larry Perkins

01:08:47earlier in the race. Now it's a

01:08:49forward V Holden battle in reverse.

01:08:51Bright is defending his fourth position.

01:08:53Perkins charging hard after spinning

01:08:55earlier, right here in turn

01:08:57one. He kept the foot down hard

01:08:59and managed to escape from the sand

01:09:01trap as he goes right around the outside

01:09:03of Jason Bright. Bright has the inside

01:09:05line for the next right hander, so

01:09:07maintains it, but for how much longer?

01:09:09This will be a great drag race up the

01:09:11back as Larry sneaks up the inside of the

01:09:13Repco turn. He's going to lead the Pertek

01:09:15Ford onto the back straight once again. Look at him

01:09:17try and get 600 horsepower to the ground too

01:09:19in very, very slippery conditions.

01:09:21A big handful of opposite

01:09:23lock. As he gets the power

01:09:25down into the Castrol VT, that moves

01:09:27him up another position. He toes to

01:09:29fourth, so he's got Glenn Seaton,

01:09:31John Bower and Craig Lowndes ahead of him, but

01:09:33all that's going to get very mixed up very shortly

01:09:35as these cars start piling into pit load.

01:09:37I tell you what, they give Jim Richards the tag

01:09:39of the rain master and he certainly deserved that

01:09:41over the years, but I tell you what, how about Jason Bright?

01:09:43His very first drive in a V8 supercar

01:09:45was in atrocious conditions at Simmons Plains

01:09:47last year. He handled that very well.

01:09:49That was in the Gary Rogers Valvoline

01:09:51Commodore. Last year here

01:09:53was his first big race in a V8

01:09:55supercar at the Tickford 500. That was

01:09:57wet. He finished on the podium with Alan

01:09:59Jones in third place in his very first attempt.

01:10:01Now look at him. He is blasting

01:10:03on, going very well in the Pertek

01:10:05Ford, sitting in the top five again and

01:10:07handling the conditions to the utmost of

01:10:09maturity. I'll tell you what, this new Dunlop

01:10:11wet seems to be working a treat whether you've got a Ford

01:10:13or a Holden. Larry Perkins on that new generation

01:10:15Dunlop wet and that's working very well.

01:10:17He's just disposed of Jason Bright

01:10:19in the Bridgestone shot Pertek Falcon.

01:10:21So both Perkins and Bauer

01:10:23doing very strongly in their individual

01:10:25battles. Bauer's brought it down now.

01:10:27It's under 16, under 17

01:10:29seconds I should say, the gap between John Bauer

01:10:31and Craig Lowndes as he continues to

01:10:33hunt after the mobile Holden racing

01:10:35team driver. Positions haven't changed through

01:10:37the top ten and it's still obviously Bauer

01:10:39chasing in second spot, Seton third,

01:10:41Perkins there in fourth. That is the only change.

01:10:43Bright, Steve Johnson doing exceptionally

01:10:45well under those difficult circumstances

01:10:47with windscreen wiper problems.

01:10:49Back to Greg Murphy maintaining

01:10:51seventh, Gardner still eighth, Jim Richards

01:10:53ninth, Greg Crick doing a great job

01:10:55in the Trust Bank Ericsson car. Then

01:10:57Thomas Mazera in his new

01:10:59VT in his own team is up to 12th

01:11:01ahead of the youngster, the novice, the

01:11:03rookie, Paul Wheel in 13th and

01:11:05Larkin has remained steady in 14th

01:11:07for quite a long time. Darren Pate

01:11:09is 15th, David Parsons in

01:11:11the second. Both wins cars side by side

01:11:13there. Parsons is in 16th, Steve

01:11:15Murray first of the control tyres

01:11:17in 17th, Bruce Williams and then

01:11:19Mick Donagher.

01:11:21Kieran

01:11:23Brewer, car 16, running

01:11:25in open tyres in this

01:11:27race. He was previously running on the

01:11:29control tyre, wouldn't have a crack

01:11:31at the leaders.

01:11:33Fair way down the order at the moment.

01:11:35Here comes the boss.

01:11:37Did not get tangled up with him,

01:11:39Kieran. As he comes blazing

01:11:41up through the spray. Look at the amount of spray,

01:11:43the education of just how poor

01:11:45the vision is for the drivers as they come up behind the left car.

01:11:47This is the

01:11:4977 machine

01:11:51of Richard Mauck and Bill Cedars.

01:11:53Now I was just about to say that

01:11:55Kieran Brewer, in her break from

01:11:57V8 supercars, has been racing

01:11:59super trucks. Well, it's

01:12:01Richard Mauck's

01:12:03co-member, co-driver

01:12:05and Bill Cedars, he is also a super

01:12:07truck

01:12:09competitor. So too Rodney Crick and

01:12:11also some great

01:12:13crossovers here.

01:12:15Meanwhile, that great battle at the front between

01:12:17Lowndes and Bauer continues. That gap

01:12:19maintained, about 17 seconds.

01:12:21They're just swapping lap times within

01:12:23tenths, down to a hundredths of a second of each other.

01:12:25As we head up toward

01:12:27pit stop time, 55

01:12:29laps have been completed at the

01:12:31TicBit 500. Bauer race leader, Craig Lowndes.

01:12:33Compulsory brake pad

01:12:35change can take place between laps 48

01:12:37and 112. So it's going to be interesting now

01:12:39to see whether they go, or which teams go for the

01:12:41pad change in the first stop. Here's your

01:12:43update, your Shell Helix update for

01:12:45the privateers on control tyres.

01:12:47Steve Reid is still the man

01:12:49leading the way in atrocious conditions.

01:12:51Now, we were

01:12:53talking about, well,

01:12:55altercations and spin-offs and things

01:12:57like that. The Valvoline Cummins car of

01:12:59Garth Tander came to grief

01:13:01so disappointingly up on the back straight

01:13:03and is out

01:13:05of this race. There is one Valvoline Cummins

01:13:07Commodore remaining, and that is of Jason

01:13:09Barguana and Jim Richards. Richards is currently

01:13:11ninth, and his co-driver

01:13:13Jason Barguana joins us in commentary now.

01:13:15How's things, Bargs? Yeah, great.

01:13:17Thanks, Lee. Well, it's great. It's not

01:13:19so great out on the track, but Jimmy's going well in the top

01:13:21ten. Hey, mate, it's great where I'm sitting, I've got to tell you.

01:13:23It's not weird. Well, how were conditions

01:13:25when you were out there? I mean... Well, it wasn't too bad

01:13:27actually. I mean, we were on a slipping clutch on the start

01:13:29and it forced us to go back a fair bit.

01:13:31The car was fantastic coming through the

01:13:33traffic there, so

01:13:35as it started to rain, we fitted early. We put

01:13:37Jimmy in the car. Obviously, he's a bit of a wet weather expert,

01:13:39so we'll take advantage of the fact that he knows

01:13:41what he's doing out there and see where we

01:13:43end up. It's an interesting car.

01:13:45The Budweiser Auto

01:13:47Pro Commodore. Something that never ceases

01:13:49to amaze me, Lee, is with the

01:13:51main brewers in Australia. They just don't want

01:13:53to touch motor racing because of some sort

01:13:55of drink-driving connection, yet in America

01:13:57we see companies like Bud, like Miller Lite

01:13:59getting very, very actively involved

01:14:01in motorsport, not as a negative exercise

01:14:03but as a positive exercise. The drivers

01:14:05go to schools and driver training courses

01:14:07pushing the message, look, have a beer,

01:14:09enjoy a beer, but just don't drink and drive. I don't know

01:14:11why the Australian companies continue to run

01:14:13away from it. Here's an example of an American

01:14:15beer cracking the Australian market.

01:14:17It should be more of it. Well, it's funny you say that because

01:14:19with the Mobile One Holden Racing team,

01:14:21Carlton United Breweries have got on board

01:14:23to a small extent with their brand

01:14:25VB, so it'll be interesting to see what

01:14:27happens in time to come as we see Greg

01:14:29Crick in the pits. Now,

01:14:31Jason, have you managed to meet up? Is Garth

01:14:33back in the pits? Have you spoken with Tanda?

01:14:35Yeah, he just walked back in not so long ago and

01:14:37unfortunately he's obviously a bit

01:14:39down in the dumps about it all. He moved

01:14:41over to let, I think it was John Bower through, I believe

01:14:43and just got on a bit of a wet, slippery patch

01:14:45and off she went. So, unfortunately

01:14:47it's one of those things that in these conditions it's

01:14:49hard to avoid. Now, with

01:14:51that clutch problem with your car, is that going to be a

01:14:53drama in the pit stops in terms of starting up and driving

01:14:55out of the pits or will you be okay? Well, we

01:14:57weren't concerned about that obviously. I talked about it during

01:14:59the stint and as Jimmy jumped

01:15:01in, he took off without a

01:15:03problem. So, it really wasn't an issue but it's good to see

01:15:05Darren Edwards out there driving

01:15:07the car 55. I mean, it's another young form of

01:15:09a holding boat. It's good to see more young guys out

01:15:11there with new sponsorship and doing

01:15:13quite well. Well, not only that, not only is he out there

01:15:15and having a go but he has been putting in some

01:15:17very good times and in fact matching Rod Nash's

01:15:19times in the wet. So, he's

01:15:21taken to the V8 supercar quite

01:15:23nicely. That is, Darren Edwards is

01:15:25behind the wheel of the 55 Autopro

01:15:27Budweiser car. Tell you what, Rod Nash's

01:15:29car went for quite a while with just the high lift

01:15:31sponsorship on it. It's terrific to see

01:15:33some new sponsorship on board.

01:15:35Thomas Mazera has worked his way up into 11th

01:15:37position. Mark Poole in 10th. Obviously

01:15:39Crick has dropped back a bit because he has come

01:15:41into the pits. Jason,

01:15:43you were just talking about youngsters having

01:15:45a go. How about Paul Wheeler? He's sitting 13th

01:15:47outright. Yeah, I mean, they've done a fantastic

01:15:49job. I've got on really well with

01:15:51Paul this year. Obviously, Batesy I know

01:15:53quite well as well. So, they're in obviously a good

01:15:55position. They're running on the Dunlop tyre I believe this

01:15:57weekend. I mean, those

01:15:59conditions out there are pretty tricky. It's pretty

01:16:01slippery. So, it's not too bad. I was going to ask

01:16:03you, there's your car there. Jimmy Richards at the

01:16:05wheel. I was going to ask you about the track condition. No sand

01:16:07down last year. We talked about the resurfacing that

01:16:09only happened quite soon before the race.

01:16:11New blokes were slipping and sliding all over the place. Is it

01:16:13better now in the wet than it was last year? Well,

01:16:15it certainly appears to be. Out here

01:16:17yesterday morning, it was a wet session. We're

01:16:19out there and I believe the track was

01:16:21nowhere near as slippery as what it was last

01:16:23year. I mean, Jimmy's out there doing a fantastic

01:16:25job at the moment but I mean, wet down

01:16:27the end of the straight here and over the top of the hill, that's where

01:16:29it's at its worst. As I remember

01:16:31from last year, I think it was. Now, listen,

01:16:33I want an honest answer out of you.

01:16:35Whose idea was it for the pink straps?

01:16:37The pink belts?

01:16:39I remember seeing Gary walking around in that white corset

01:16:41on the roof. Oh, it's

01:16:43catching up. No, I mean, it's

01:16:45they look fantastic, don't they?

01:16:47Go, Jimmy. We thought there was something wrong with

01:16:49our monitors yesterday when it first came up.

01:16:51We realised it was the colour of the belts.

01:16:53Oh, well, you can't be shy in this game, can you?

01:16:55I mean, why not? Lap 60, we've got

01:16:57101 to go.

01:16:59So, still quite a

01:17:01long way left to run but it's been an interesting race

01:17:03so far. It's been a very interesting race and it's just

01:17:05almost a replete of

01:17:07last year. It certainly is in terms of the

01:17:09conditions. Fortunately, we haven't

01:17:11had as much carnage as last year which has been

01:17:13great for the competitors. Though some of our

01:17:15major ones have dropped out. Tony Longhurst,

01:17:17Geoff Brabham, they'd be very disappointed. A blown engine

01:17:19early Garth Tander, Cameron McLean,

01:17:21they are out. Alan Jones and Adam

01:17:23Macro, the newly crowned

01:17:25Australian Formula 4 champ and our own

01:17:271980 World Formula 1

01:17:29champ. Didn't get

01:17:31to do one lap. It stops

01:17:33right on the line. There's quite a difference in

01:17:35the height between

01:17:37you and

01:17:39Jimmy Richards. What are the terms when you come into

01:17:41the pit stop? You got to slide the seat forward or do you

01:17:43have an insert? What do you do there? No, basically what

01:17:45happened, Jimmy and I spent a lot of time in

01:17:47the workshop compromising

01:17:49on a setting position. At the moment, I can't really see

01:17:51how to dash that well. Jimmy's

01:17:53head's up hitting on the top of the car but

01:17:55I put some little pads in the back

01:17:57of my driving suit so they don't fall

01:17:59out or whatever. I jump in. The

01:18:01belts are set perfectly so all we have to do is just

01:18:03fill them up.

01:18:05Not compromise.

01:18:07You've got a guy on board here

01:18:09in your team, Chris Horvath, who worked

01:18:11for Porsche at Le Mans

01:18:13this year in the Porsche team.

01:18:15He's obviously very quick and very well regarded

01:18:17as a mechanic and quick. How quick can your

01:18:19boys... What's your best pit stop time?

01:18:21What can you expect to do? Well, I mean,

01:18:23he's tough in these sort of conditions as well. It makes it a little

01:18:25bit more difficult. But the other day,

01:18:27we were practicing. Jimmy and I got these driver changes

01:18:29down to 12 seconds and the boys are down to

01:18:3115 seconds on the tyre change.

01:18:33So, I mean, part of this race

01:18:35obviously now is going to change with the weather.

01:18:37The strategies will be different if there's

01:18:39pace cars and so forth. So I'll have to sit down and wait and see what happens.

01:18:41We're seeing a tremendous battle here, Jason,

01:18:43between Craig Lowndes and John Bauer. We've just been watching

01:18:45that time. Sometimes Bauer takes a second off

01:18:47Craig. Craig fights back the next lap.

01:18:49I guess they're battling their way through traffic.

01:18:51The important thing is the gap. It's down to 15

01:18:53and a half seconds as Bauer really tries

01:18:55to minimize that advantage before they come in

01:18:57for their pit stops. Yeah, as we know,

01:18:59traffic out there is quite difficult and that's

01:19:01obviously why that gap's sort of all over the place.

01:19:03I mean, it's good to see that

01:19:05the Bridgestone tyre obviously is working well

01:19:07in these conditions, as is the Dunlop.

01:19:09It's good to see there's a bit of battle going on.

01:19:11Well, here is the main man, the number one,

01:19:13mobile one, Holden Racing Team,

01:19:15Commodore, the VT, Craig Lowndes is

01:19:17well in command with 100

01:19:19laps to go here in the Dickford.

01:19:21500. Lowndes leads the way,

01:19:23of course, from Bauer. Then we go back to seat

01:19:25Perkins and Stephen Johnson.

01:19:27Right out of six, Murphy

01:19:29seven, Gardner in eighth, Vaguano,

01:19:31Richards in ninth and

01:19:3310th is Poole. Mazera, Larkham,

01:19:35Wheel, Hossack and Parsons.

01:19:3716, Reid and Ashby,

01:19:3917, Smith, Crick out of 18, Donagher

01:19:4119 and Tratt running in 20th.

01:19:43Still doing well. There is Edwards. We go

01:19:45back to the Brewer-Price, Russell Ivory,

01:19:47Imri Crick and Mork and Cedars.

01:19:4926, Conway, Wilmington in 27,

01:19:51Faulkner in 28, Tander

01:19:53in 29th and Cowan out early and

01:19:55McDougal out as well. We go back to full field,

01:19:57Longhurst out, Romano, Illery out, Jones

01:19:59and Macro out. More right after this.

01:20:10Headlights blazing.

01:20:12Larry Perkins is on the attack

01:20:14at the Tickford 500. Just one of a number

01:20:16of drivers reeling in Craig

01:20:18Lowndes, the early Tearaway leader.

01:20:20They've cut that margin down to

01:20:2214.6 seconds.

01:20:24Lowndes has completed 63 of 161

01:20:26laps and there are pitstops to come.

01:20:28They don't call it an enduro for nothing.

01:20:30Well, Larry has gone one position better.

01:20:32He has passed Glenn Seaton for third.

01:20:34So it is now Lowndes, Bow, Perkins.

01:20:36Perkins is within sight.

01:20:3817 seconds of Lowndes, Bow, as

01:20:40Billy said, down to 14.5.

01:20:42Seaton back to fourth.

01:20:44Steven Johnson has been the big mover as well, of course.

01:20:46We're seeing all the Dunlop movers

01:20:48do the business. Johnson is up into

01:20:50five, Bright back to six, Murphy

01:20:52in seventh, Wayne Gardner up to

01:20:54eighth, Jimmy Richards still ninth

01:20:56and Mark Poole doing a great job, holding

01:20:58steady in tenth.

01:21:00Yeah, it looks like Larry's

01:21:02actually having to go there over the top of the hill.

01:21:04The car's sliding all over the place. I mean, obviously

01:21:06there's a lot of laps to go, but you still have to be fairly committed.

01:21:08You still have to concentrate quite hard

01:21:10in these conditions to keep the car

01:21:12straight and on that sort of dry line.

01:21:14As you can see, if you step off the

01:21:16dry line, it's obviously very slippery.

01:21:18How have the slower drivers been, or the

01:21:20privateers? You're coming up to lap them.

01:21:22Are they pretty good in the mirrors?

01:21:24I have had a bit of a struggle with that sort of thing

01:21:26over the weekend, but this morning in that

01:21:28first sort of stint when I was out there, I didn't have too much

01:21:30of a drama. In these conditions

01:21:32it is quite hard, though, because you've got to understand that

01:21:34the guys don't want to step off the dry line,

01:21:36and that means you've got to do all your overtaking on the wet

01:21:38stuff, and the main places you pass

01:21:40are over the top of the hill and down the end of the front straight,

01:21:42and that's where it's at that's slippery, so that's what makes it dangerous.

01:21:44You're a little bit tentative going down

01:21:46into the first turn, seeing how you spun there last year.

01:21:48How many times now?

01:21:50Yeah, I mean, it's one of

01:21:52those things, obviously, yesterday I went out and

01:21:54thought, OK, I did this wrong last year, let's get it

01:21:56right this year, but in that wet

01:21:58session yesterday, the car was quite cool.

01:22:00We changed a lot of things, and the thing works

01:22:02really good in the wet, so I'm looking forward to getting

01:22:04out there, actually.

01:22:3295 laps now for our race leader.

01:22:34Keep in mind when all those cars came in,

01:22:36those first few laps to change

01:22:38from slick tyres to wet tyres

01:22:40as the rain came down, they all refuelled,

01:22:42so they're throwing the original

01:22:44pit stop strategy out the window. There's a profile,

01:22:46Holden profile for Greg Murphy,

01:22:48debut at 95,

01:22:50three starts, two poles,

01:22:52two wins, an extraordinary

01:22:54record for the Kiwi, and he's on a hat-trick

01:22:56if he wins this one today.

01:22:58Now, Jason, Murph has teamed up with

01:23:00Mark Noski, who was, of course, your partner

01:23:02last year in the Holden Young Lions entry.

01:23:04How does Mark handle the wet conditions?

01:23:06Well, he did fantastic last year. I think he started

01:23:08the race, and he brought the car in, and I

01:23:10jumped in towards the end there, but

01:23:12in those wet conditions, he was really

01:23:14good out there, and even in the Formula

01:23:16Holden, you see him in the wet, and he really does

01:23:18well, but it's good to see Murph doing well in the wet

01:23:20there, because we've got a jet boat for next week.

01:23:22Well, he's an impressive driver, the 24-year-old

01:23:24Queenslander Steven Johnson, son

01:23:26of Dick. He started the race.

01:23:28Dick has been

01:23:30suffering from severe headaches. He's had

01:23:32some problems with his sinuses.

01:23:34In fact, he had an operation on his sinuses

01:23:36to try and fix the problem some time ago,

01:23:38and it's playing up on him again, and so Dick isn't

01:23:40feeling the best. Steven has started the race

01:23:42and has really held up his end of the deal

01:23:44beautifully. He's done a tremendous job,

01:23:46and he is now sitting in fifth

01:23:48position in the Shell Helix

01:23:50Ford, and he's only

01:23:52three positions behind

01:23:54his teammate John Bauer, who continues

01:23:56to reel in Craig Lowndes.

01:23:58That gap's still some 14.5

01:24:00seconds between Bauer and Lowndes.

01:24:02He just brought it down under 14.

01:24:0413.6, a very quick lap

01:24:06for John Bauer that time around.

01:24:08He's beat Lowndes on the split by almost a second

01:24:10up the back straight. So as he gets a

01:24:12clear bit of track, Bauer is consistently faster

01:24:14than our race leader. 13.5

01:24:16seconds of the gap as you build up toward this

01:24:18first pit stop. Every second, Jason,

01:24:20absolutely critical, because you're trying

01:24:22to make up a second

01:24:24on the track. It's very, very hard.

01:24:26Well, it is. I mean, looking at the

01:24:28it's not that many laps, but you're saying it's 100 laps to go.

01:24:30It's really not that many when you're out there

01:24:32in these conditions, but that's why the pit

01:24:34stops are so critical. You make up two seconds

01:24:36in a pit stop, and it's a hard thing

01:24:38to sort of try and make up on the track.

01:24:40In these conditions, you know, I mean,

01:24:42slipping and sliding all over the place, these guys are doing a fantastic

01:24:44job at it. Well, you'd have to have some faith

01:24:46in Steve Johnson. He has competed

01:24:48four times previously in this race,

01:24:50and he has never suffered from a

01:24:52retirement. He has finished every

01:24:54single time, with his best being third

01:24:56in 95 with Charlie O'Brien.

01:24:58So, let's hope that Steve can hold it together.

01:25:00He will hand over the wheel at some stage

01:25:02to Dan Dick.

01:25:04We'll see how the number 17 Shell Helix

01:25:06Ford goes. These two have been waiting

01:25:08to drive together for a long time. We go back

01:25:10to Greg Murphy, who sits

01:25:12a couple of positions behind Steve

01:25:14Johnson in seventh. He is

01:25:16behind Jason Wright and the head of

01:25:18Wayne Gardner in the Coca-Cola Commodore.

01:25:20And the conditions

01:25:22seem to be getting worse.

01:25:24There is Mark Noski. He has got the helmet

01:25:26on. He is set to go. So,

01:25:28we may see the number 50

01:25:30Mobile One Holden Racing Team Commodore come in very shortly.

01:25:32Now, just saw a quick shot. There is John

01:25:34Faulkner, the better electrical officer in Pike Hell Car.

01:25:36Now, remember, Faulkner

01:25:38started rear of grid, got up as high as

01:25:4022, then was involved

01:25:42in that incident with Paul Romano on the front straight.

01:25:44The front of the car was damaged. It still is,

01:25:46but they've done their best to fix it. They've put on a new front

01:25:48arm splitter, and he is

01:25:50back out there and giving it

01:25:52his best shot.

01:25:56Just checking on our timing monitor where

01:25:58Faulkner is, in fact. John Faulkner

01:26:00meanwhile, this battle for the lead here is

01:26:02really flying. It's just one to

01:26:04123, and the HSV replay

01:26:06shows us some drama out there, just an indication.

01:26:08Lee was just saying before

01:26:10the condition is getting much worse. Look, it's absolutely

01:26:12bucketing down.

01:26:14Drama down at Falcon XR corner. There's

01:26:16Robert Smith or Bruce Williams with it.

01:26:18Maybe Bruce is still in the car.

01:26:20Bruce still at the wheel,

01:26:22getting right out in the grass. Fortunately, kept it

01:26:24off the armco, and getting

01:26:26back into the race. But the lead

01:26:28gap now between Lowndes and Bauer, down to

01:26:3011 seconds. Bauer continuing

01:26:32to monster that lead. When he gets a clear lap,

01:26:34he's really taking some chunks

01:26:36out of that lead.

01:26:38Craig Lowndes. Well, I tell you what,

01:26:40there has been a driver change, and this is

01:26:42young Todd Kelly, the teenager who

01:26:44is behind the wheel of the Faulkner car,

01:26:46and his last lap was in the

01:26:48125s. Now, that's exactly what

01:26:50Craig Lowndes and John Bauer's doing.

01:26:52That is just unbelievable. This is this kid's

01:26:54first race in this V8 supercar.

01:26:56How about some talent? He is

01:26:58tremendously finished runner-up in this year's Formula

01:27:00Holden Championship, the Australian

01:27:02Drivers' Championship,

01:27:04and John Faulkner has been

01:27:06taking him out on training

01:27:08runs, and he's just been fighting his

01:27:10time, learning this car, learning it, getting

01:27:12better and better, and

01:27:14he is going very well. That's him,

01:27:16that's him just behind Craig Murphy, the car on

01:27:18screen now, the metallurgical Commodore,

01:27:22and he's making a great

01:27:24V8 supercar debut. Here comes

01:27:26Craig Murphy, and he's bringing it into the pits,

01:27:28the first of the scheduled stops. Let's see

01:27:30how quick they do this.

01:27:32The all-important, we saw

01:27:34Mark Oskey all kitted up, helmet on, ready

01:27:36to go. So Holden

01:27:38Racing Team choosing to bring their second

01:27:40car in first. I can tell you

01:27:42now that Mark's heart rate is just about to step into

01:27:44the car, it'll be up around 180, I can't

01:27:46tell you. Well, you've been in this situation last

01:27:48year, V8 rookie. Let's go to Barry Sheen.

01:27:50Down here, and

01:27:52it looks just like a routine change at the

01:27:54moment, so I'll try and have a word with

01:27:56Greg when he straightens out. Nothing, no

01:27:58panic going on, he's just popping the old fuel in,

01:28:00looking around.

01:28:02It's all calm and collected.

01:28:04No, I don't think

01:28:06there's any dramas here, it's all

01:28:08a bit of trouble with the front right, so that's all

01:28:10sorted out.

01:28:12Washing the old windscreen,

01:28:14and away he goes. Beautiful.

01:28:16I'll have a

01:28:18quick word with

01:28:20Namur when he gets his

01:28:22party frock off. Well, that was pretty quick

01:28:24with the pad change as well. Oh, and look

01:28:26at that. Can you believe how the weather

01:28:28has deteriorated?

01:28:30Just almost a whiteout

01:28:32on Brock Straight at Soundown.

01:28:34We might even see a safety car coming out soon,

01:28:36these conditions continue.

01:28:38I mean, that's obviously hard when you leave pit lane

01:28:40like that and you don't know what the track's like, you don't know

01:28:42what the visibility's like, you don't know what the brake pedal's like

01:28:44on cold tyres and that sort of thing, so you've

01:28:46just got to take it easy for the first couple of laps

01:28:48and dial yourself in quick and

01:28:50easily. And we're continuing to watch

01:28:52that gap between our race leader, Craig Lowndes

01:28:54and John Bow, it's down under 10 seconds

01:28:56now, 9.8.

01:28:58Bow, quicker,

01:29:00more than a second faster than Lowndes

01:29:02that time around, Barry Sheen. Yeah,

01:29:04it looked like hard work, was it?

01:29:06I thought last year was bad, Barry.

01:29:08This has got nothing on that. I mean,

01:29:10my wiper stopped at that second lap

01:29:12after it started to rain and I just couldn't see

01:29:14anything. It was really, really

01:29:16treacherous. And no wipers

01:29:18that mentally draining, isn't it?

01:29:20Yeah, well, you have to strain to see and

01:29:22it's bad enough when the wiper's going and

01:29:24I couldn't even see the apex of the

01:29:26corners until you were actually there, so you were sort of guessing

01:29:28most of the time. Well, you've done 15

01:29:30rounds with a Bengal Tiger.

01:29:32Feels like it, mate, feels like it.

01:29:34Well, there you have a red. Thanks, Barry.

01:29:36Craig Murphy did a terrific job to bring the car

01:29:38home well inside the top 10. It was in

01:29:407th when he brought it in. Now,

01:29:42Mark Noski, the

01:29:4424-year-old, behind the wheel

01:29:46and he's got a big job to do

01:29:48in very, very tough conditions.

01:29:50Another guy who's doing a big job for his team

01:29:52is John Bow. He's just taken 2 seconds

01:29:54out of Lowndes' lead that time. It's down

01:29:56to 7.8 seconds. He's doing a

01:29:58tremendous job in that shell forward.

01:30:00On board with Larry Perkins

01:30:02who sits 3rd behind Bow

01:30:04and he too is

01:30:06taking chunks out. He's up 27

01:30:08seconds behind Bow, though.

01:30:10So, a fair way off. We're focusing on

01:30:12the battle between Bow and Lowndes, but

01:30:14we're about to see

01:30:16a

01:30:18multitude of driver

01:30:20changes, pit stops, pad changes. It's all

01:30:22about to happen here in the Tickford

01:30:24500 at Sandow. This is the way it sits at the moment.

01:30:26Lowndes, Bow, Perkins, Sink,

01:30:28Steve Johnson, Jason Bright, Wayne Gardner,

01:30:30now 7th. Mark Nosky was

01:30:328th. We'll wait till he comes around this

01:30:34next lap. We go back to Jim

01:30:36Richards and Mark

01:30:38Poole.

01:30:42Now, we've just had word that Car

01:30:4414, which is

01:30:46Rodney Crick, has been

01:30:48caught for

01:30:50speeding into plane and will

01:30:52give it a stop-go penalty.

01:30:54Well, it's about time that

01:30:56our guest, Jason Barguana, heads back down

01:30:58to the pits. Thanks very much for coming up, mate.

01:31:00Best of luck for the rest of today.

01:31:02I'll go and put the helmet on now and hope to get out

01:31:04and try and give you guys a wave.

01:31:06Don't worry about it.

01:31:08Don't do that, please.

01:31:10Thanks, mate. Best of luck.

01:31:12Thanks, Jason.

01:31:14Well, there is our elapsed race time.

01:31:16One hour, 42 minutes.

01:31:18Now, keep in mind the circumstances

01:31:20that unfolded last year. This is a

01:31:22161-lap race,

01:31:24and we've had a few slowdown

01:31:26things happen today

01:31:28as we did last year. Of course, the wet weather

01:31:30slows things down enough.

01:31:324.45 is the cut-off time,

01:31:34so whatever comes first, 161

01:31:36laps or 4.45,

01:31:38and obviously when we get a lot closer to that,

01:31:40we will

01:31:42let you know.

01:31:44There's a very good shot of just

01:31:46what is going on inside one of these cars.

01:31:48You see how poor the

01:31:50visibility is without the windscreen

01:31:52wipers. That's what Greg Murphy was talking about.

01:31:54It's amazing, isn't it, when you think of these

01:31:56multi-hundred, two-hundred,

01:31:58twelve-thousand-dollar V8 supercars, the amount

01:32:00of preparation that goes into them. You can still have

01:32:02something as simple as a windscreen wiper

01:32:04back up. It absolutely throws your campaign

01:32:06out the window.

01:32:08The windscreen wiper working now for Marc Goski.

01:32:10Larry Perkins ranges up on the outside

01:32:12up Ripco Hill.

01:32:14Goski holding him in a straight line,

01:32:16but Perkins now running up the outside.

01:32:18He picks up another gear

01:32:20and sets himself up for this daunting

01:32:22run down toward XR Falcon Corner.

01:32:24Conditions, absolutely

01:32:26treacherous.

01:32:28You heard it from Greg Murphy.

01:32:30He said, we thought last year was bad.

01:32:32This year leaves it behind.

01:32:34It's very, very

01:32:36tough for the drivers. Lap 73

01:32:38of 161.

01:32:40Lowndes still leads the way, but the gap

01:32:42is even less. Here's Wayne Gardner. Now he will

01:32:44swap over with three times

01:32:46Australian Drivers' Champ, Paul Stokel,

01:32:48who's been competing in the little Lotus Elise

01:32:50in this year's Australian

01:32:52GT Production Car Championship. Time for a pad

01:32:54change. Now, obviously

01:32:56Wayne Gardner racing full time

01:32:58if we talk about that. That is no

01:33:00more, but a lot of the guys who used

01:33:02to work for Wayne when he had the team

01:33:04are back with him here for Sandown and also

01:33:06the FAI 1000 Classic

01:33:08at Matheson. Wayne is also going

01:33:10to try and do Honda Indy

01:33:12on the Gold Coast. The support race

01:33:14is there. Big moment for this young guy.

01:33:16Look at him. He's all pumped up, ready to go.

01:33:18Yeah, you can see him pumping

01:33:20that brake pedal as those new pads go on.

01:33:22The last thing you want to do is arrive at turn one.

01:33:24Shell MasterCard turn, your pedal goes to the floor.

01:33:26So he's pumping that pedal

01:33:28to get the pads up against the disc brake. He's stalled the car

01:33:30as it came off the edge. It fires up straight

01:33:32away. Paul Stokel

01:33:34gets his chance. V8 Supercar

01:33:36racing in 1998

01:33:38as he heads out on this very wet, wild

01:33:40Sandown International.

01:33:42Well, when Gardner came in, they were sitting

01:33:44in 9th, and I'm sure Wayne would be happy

01:33:46with that because they qualified outside the top 10

01:33:48in 14th position. He was a little

01:33:50disappointed. Have a look at that shot again.

01:33:52I mean, you can't even make out the

01:33:54cars. You can barely see the headlights.

01:33:56Just see them emerging through the spray without

01:33:58those headlights on. Just wouldn't even

01:34:00see them coming. It's a very dangerous

01:34:02situation.

01:34:04Not looking in your mirrors and not trying to anticipate

01:34:06what's up ahead of you. It's very, very

01:34:08hard when the cars are chucking

01:34:10out this amount of water.

01:34:12Now, Craig Lowndes has

01:34:14responded that gap between he and Bowers down

01:34:16into the 8 second bracket. It's now out to

01:34:189.2, so interesting

01:34:20there. How's things down in pit lane for you,

01:34:22Greg Rust? Well, the 1987

01:34:24World 500cc motorcycle champion,

01:34:26Wayne Gardner, is with me. And Wayne, you're looking a little

01:34:28puffed, mate. It's tough work out there at the moment.

01:34:30Well, it's just difficult what to do

01:34:32out there, you know. It sometimes dries up a

01:34:34little bit. I mean, not dries, but the

01:34:36rain backs off, and then the next

01:34:38minute it's down heavy. So it's really hard to

01:34:40know exactly what to do on the track.

01:34:42The brakes are playing up a bit in the car. They're

01:34:44binding a bit in the front, which is causing a couple of locks

01:34:46for me. But, yeah,

01:34:48it's hard to see. It's very, very

01:34:50hard conditions, and hard to know what to do

01:34:52with tyre choice. All right, well, let's hope

01:34:54the weather might be cleared up for the rest of it for you.

01:34:56I hope so.

01:34:58I think everybody is, too. I mean, it's just

01:35:00not easing up. In fact, it's getting

01:35:02worse as we see...

01:35:04Here comes John Bower. John Bower, trying

01:35:06to get past Paul Stoeckl.

01:35:08Paul has been doing an amazing job at closing down

01:35:10that lead. It was out to almost 20 seconds

01:35:12when the really bad weather conditions

01:35:14started to settle in, and he's closed it

01:35:16right down to under 10. He's been grinding

01:35:18away, really

01:35:20applying the pump screws to Craig

01:35:22Lowndes, pushing him really hard. He's just been

01:35:24faster again. 1.2 seconds

01:35:26faster than Craig Lowndes. That time

01:35:28around, the gap, 8 seconds.

01:35:30So John Bower really on the attack. He's

01:35:32taking this one right up to the first

01:35:34pit stop. Well, I tell you what, let's give you an update

01:35:36on some of the drivers towards the back of the top

01:35:3810 and maybe just out. Larcombe has

01:35:40improved. He is up into 11th position.

01:35:42How about Thomas Mazera? He

01:35:44is inside the top 10. That is great

01:35:46for Thomas. We'll take a break, but have a look

01:35:48at first. It is, of course, Lowndes,

01:35:50Bower, Perkins, Seaton, and

01:35:52Steven Johnson, your top five. Six

01:35:54through 10. Bright, Barguana, Murphy,

01:35:56Gardner just came into the pits

01:35:58and Poole. Mazera, Larcombe,

01:36:00Parsons. We go back to Wheel and

01:36:02Reid.

01:36:04Cossack, Brigg, Trapp,

01:36:06Nash, rounding out the 20.

01:36:08Smith. We'll be back with more from Soundout

01:36:10in just a moment.

Sandown 500 1998 - V8 Supercars - Race part 1

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