Waters And Stanaway Win Sandown 500!

Prodrive Racing Australia drivers’ Cam Waters and Richie Stanaway held off a late charge to register their first ever Supercars race victory at the Sandown 500.

The youngest enduro pairing in the field kept their nerve to secure Prodrive Racing’s third win of 2017. The victory was set up by a flawless ride on Saturday by Cam Waters, who rode to pole position for the fourth time in the team’s history. That form led into Sunday’s endurance event, where Waters drove the final 70 laps to lock in his first Supercars victory at just 23-years-old.

Chaz Mostert and Steven Owen snatched a double podium for PRA with a consistent performance through the entire weekend. It was a case of reward for effort for Chaz, who raced into fifth on Saturday and backed it up with a third placed finish in Sandown’s Sunday epic.

Mark Winterbottom and Dean Canto had an action-packed weekend, which saw the pair finish ninth on Saturday and then recover from a first lap spin on Sunday to finish the weekend in 10th. While young guns Cam Waters and Richie Stanaway will saviour this victory for years to come, the team will now be turning their attention to Bathurst.

 

Saturday
Thanks to a stellar team drive by drivers Cam Waters and Richie Stanaway, Prodrive Racing (Australia) will start on pole at Sandown Raceway for the fourth time in team history. In a pair of Saturday qualifying races, Stanaway marched from sixth to third in Race 1, and Waters finished the job by blazing to the lead early and dominating Race 2 to put the #6 Monster Energy FG X on pole for Sunday’s Sandown 500. It is Waters’ second career pole (first since Race 1 at Barbagallo Raceway, 2016), and Stanaway’s first.

Supercheap Auto duo Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen raced their way into the fifth starting position for Sunday’s 161-lap affair.

Mark Winterbottom and Dean Canto will line up ninth in the #5 The Bottle-O FG X following the pair of sprint races.

 

Drivers' View 

Mark Winterbottom (co-driving with Dean Canto)
#5 The Bottle-O PRA Ford
Qualifying: 4th
Quali Race 2: 9th
“I was lucky I didn’t stall on the line. The car flamed out so we need to get the mapping a little better but we’ll work on it to improve. In the race we had good drive and only lacked a little bit of turn so we can tidy it up a bit and I think we’ll have a good race car. It was unfortunate we dropped so many places at the start and in the short 20-lap race there isn’t enough time to recover them all. Congratulations to Cam for getting pole and it is great for the team we have a few cars up there.”

Cameron Waters (co-driving with Richie Stanaway)
#6 Monster Energy PRA Ford
Qualifying: 6th
Quali Race 2: 1st
“I am pumped to get pole and start from P1. To lead every lap and take the win is brilliant. The car was awesome and I am so excited to be starting from pole. I wanted to do some burnouts but we need the tyres for tomorrow! Richie is doing a fantastic job. He moved forward in his race and that allowed me to have a chance at the win. The crew are working well together and we’re starting in the best spot possible. We have been pretty close to getting a podium this year and it hasn’t quite clicked yet but we have a great chance tomorrow.”

Chaz Mostert (co-driving with Steve Owen)
#55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford
Qualifying: 3rd
Quali Race 2: 5th
“I moved past cars that got me on the start as I didn’t have the best one, but overall I was happy with the car. I could do what I wanted, put the car where I wanted and the tyres hung in there even though I was passing cars. I am pleased with the package we’ve got, so I am hoping it carries over to tomorrow where the grip levels will come up. It is a great result for the team to have Cam and Richie on pole. We have three cars on the pace which is what we’ll need tomorrow to take the fight to everyone else.”

Tim Edwards
Team Principal
“First and foremost I’m very happy for Cam and Richie. They both drove tremendously and earned that pole, which we’re quite proud of. Having two more cars starting in the ten is good as well, and obviously those drivers know how to manage enduro races, so we’ll have high hopes for Sunday. It’s unfortunate, what happened with Brighty, but of course these things happen in racing. Jason’s a pro, and Garry’s been quick so I’m confident they’ll make up ground, and tomorrow’s a long race. It’ll be a challenge as always, but we’re looking forward to having a strong showing tomorrow and hope to score some big results.”

 

Sunday
Prodrive Racing (Australia)’s youngest enduro pairing packed the biggest punch on Sunday, as Monster Energy drivers Cam Waters and Richie Stanaway won the Sandown 500 from the pole position. The duo held off a late charge by Car 17 driver Scott McLaughlin as Waters drove the final 70 laps to secure the young pair’s first Supercars race victory, and Prodrive Racing’s third win of 2017.

Chaz Mostert and Steve Owen (#55 Supercheap Auto FG X) raced in the top five for a majority of the afternoon, and consistent pace landed the pair on the third step of the podium at day’s end.

Mark Winterbottom and Dean Canto (#5 The Bottle-O FG X) recovered from a first lap spin to finish 10th.

 

Drivers' View 

Mark Winterbottom (co-driving with Dean Canto)
#5 The Bottle-O PRA Ford:
Start: 9th
Finish: 10th
“First off congratulations to Cam and Richie on a really impressive win, it’s great for the team. Unfortunately for us it just wasn’t our day. We had great car pace throughout the afternoon but between Dean getting spun and later getting hung up we just couldn’t find any good luck. We had the car and strategy for a top five, maybe even better, but it wasn’t meant to be. Hopefully we used up all our bad luck and can enjoy some good luck at Bathurst.”

Cameron Waters (co-driving with Richie Stanaway)
#6 Monster Energy PRA Ford:
Start: 1st
Finish: 1st
“That’s probably one of the most pressured battles I’ve ever been in, and one of the career highlights. That last stint was pretty full on, and the lapped traffic kind of worked against me, and then it worked for me. We were trying to look after the tyres a bit. Scotty was catching me, and I think probably gave up a little bit, so I just tried to manage the gap, and I knew he was going to come at me pretty hard at the end, so (he) had a crack, and I managed to hold him off.”

Chaz Mostert (co-driving with Steve Owen)
#55 Supercheap Auto PRA Ford
Start: 5th
Finish: 3rd
“As a team we’ve been working pretty hard. We’ve had some lows this year – Winton we had a mechanical failure, and also Darwin we struggled for pace – so I think we’ve been putting those bricks back together, getting more base setups with our cars, and this weekend even in the wet our car was really, really quick. I felt very comfortable in the car, our race, I’m actually pretty shocked to be on the podium to be honest with you. We were a little bit further back in the pack. Would’ve been good to be at the pointy end with the other boys, get in there and have a race with those guys, but to get a podium today is pretty awesome as well.”

Tim Edwards
Team Principal
“Brilliant. Cam and Richie impressed everybody with the way they drove yesterday, but to back it up with today is just outstanding. Credit to Chaz and Steve as well to get on the podium, and good to see Frosty and Dean bounce back from tough luck to finish in the ten. The team have been working extremely hard this year, and this is just the result we need going into Bathurst. Good day.”

 

Results - Race 18
1) Cameron Waters / Richie Stanaway – Monster Energy Racing
2) Scott McLaughlin / Alexandre Prémat - Shell V-Power Racing Team  
3) Chaz Mostert / Steve Owen- Supercheap Auto Racing
10) Mark Winterbottom / Dean Canto – The Bottle-O Racing Team

 

Championship Points
1) Scott McLaughlin – DJR Team Penske: 2334
2) Jamie Whincup – Triple Eight: 2250
3) Fabian Coulthard – DJR Team Penske: 2173
4) Chaz Mostert – Supercheap Auto Racing: 2052
6) Mark Winterbottom – The Bottle-O Racing Team: 1659
9) Cameron Waters – Monster Energy Racing: 1564

 

Team Championship Points
1) Shell V-Power Racing Team: 4542
2) Triple Eight Race Engineering: 4170
3) Prodrive Racing Australia: 3270