Motorsport: V8 Supercars championship powers up

Fabian Coulthard will be looking to arrest a slide down the competition table. Picture / Edge Photographics

Enduro Cup likely to set tone for rest of competition

The power play gets under way in V8 Supercars this weekend, with the opening round of the Pirtek Enduro Cup at Sandown Park, Melbourne.

This is a three-round series inside the main championship, including the Bathurst 1000 and Gold Coast 600.

The 3.1km Sandown track is considered a power circuit with its "drag strip" front and back straights of 899m and 910m. One of the oldest endurance races in Australia, this will set the tone for the rest of the championship.

Jamie Whincup, the overall series leader after nine rounds and defending champion, has Paul Dumbrell with him. Teammate Craig Lowndes holds the Enduro Cup - he won with Warren Luff last season but has Steven Richards sharing duties this time. Richards finished third with Mark Winterbottom last year. Winterbottom pairs up with Steve Owen.

Among the Kiwis, Shane van Gisbergen has been on a roll and knows he and Jonathan Webb will make a formidable pair. Van Gisbergen is nicely poised at fourth in the title race.

"It'll be good to get back amongst it," said Van Gisbergen.

"We should be good around here and we've started to build a bit of consistency. It's about time as we've been working hard at it.

"These three races set your championship up. You have to be in the top five in all of them if you want to make a challenge for the title."

Scott McLaughlin, paired with Alex Premat, is keen to get under way as it's the first time in 20 years a Volvo has howled around Sandown.

McLaughlin's tilt at his first title might have slipped away, but he's after a win. "I can't wait to get on it. It's going to be a little different driving with someone else but Alex was a teammate last year so it should be sweet," said McLaughlin.

"Alex was fast in the three endurance races last year and he had a whole test day last week. We'll be good on these high-speed circuits and we're doing a good job."

Fabian Coulthard was happy with his podium finish in the 200km feature race at Sydney last month, but is looking to get a good result this weekend to halt his gentle slide down the championship table.

"The last round was good," said Coulthard. "We haven't been that strong on Sunday's longer races in previous rounds, so for us to tune the car up and make it strong on a Sunday is a good indication that we're getting on top of things.

"It's a good lead in to Sandown and I'm looking forward to a strong race. Luke Youldon knows exactly what to do. We understand each other, he likes the same things from the car as I do."

Just to add a bit more spice, the V8 Supercars Commission has ordered compulsory pitstops for the Enduro Cup.

Four stops will be compulsory at Sandown. There'll be seven at Bathurst and a compulsory 550mm fuel drop for the Gold Coast 600.

The Sandown 500 has two qualifying races today.

Points after nine rounds
1. Jamie Whincup - 2025
2. Mark Winterbottom - 1890
3. Craig Lowndes - 1812
4. Shane van Gisbergen - 1778
5. Fabian Coulthard - 1712
6. James Courtney - 1688
7. Chaz Mostert - 1502
8. Scott McLaughlin - 1497