Motorsport: Whincup calls the shots

Jamie Whincup behind the wheel in the Sandown 500; below, Whincup and Paul Dumbrel. Pictures / Getty Images

Top driver has won seven of the last 13 races since taking the lead, writes Eric Thompson

Defending V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup and co-driver Paul Dumbrell have won their second Sandown 500 in a row to extend their series lead.

Only lapped traffic after a late safety car stopped James Courtney (driving with Greg Murphy) and Garth Tander (with Warren Luff) from mounting a robust challenge.

Whincup and Red Bull Racing Australia team-mate Lowndes are now on top of the table with Mark Winterbottom and Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen tucked in behind.

Fellow New Zealanders Fabian Coulthard (sixth) and Scott McLaughlin (eighth) had small issues to contend with which prevented their moving up through the field.

Talking point of the weekend was Erebus driver Lee Holdsworth's big shunt towards the end of the race. Holdsworth got out of shape at over 260km/h and smacked heavily into the barrier, destroying the car.

Luckily for Whincup, three lapped cars stood between him and Courtney at the restart, giving him an advantage over the HRT driver.

"The lapped traffic wasn't that keen on getting out of the way," said Courtney. "I think they wanted to un-lap themselves. It hindered us a little for the run at the end there, but that's the way it is."

Whincup has now won seven of the last 13 races since he took the championship lead from Winterbottom and now has a comfortable 273-point buffer over Lowndes.

The series now heads for the second leg of the Pirtek Enduro Cup - the Bathurst 1000 - from October 9 to 12.