By David McCowen
Marcos Ambrose became the first driver to win consecutive rounds this year, when he crossed the line in first place at the Sandown 500 in the Australian V8 Supercar series.
Marcos Ambrose and Rick Kelly started on the front row for the Betta Electrical Sandown 500, ahead of the Holdens of Paul Morris and Mark Skaife.
Kelly nailed pole position in the ‘Shoot Out' session where water, oil and various debris dictated how hard the V8 Supercar drivers could push their powerful machines.
Teams have seen considerable variation in weather conditions throughout the Sandown meeting, as the notorious Melbourne weather demonstrated its full repertoire, adding further confusion to setup and strategy for the first endurance race for 2004.
The field waltzed up to the grid in dry, overcast conditions, with slick tyres on every entrant, though teams and drivers alike expected the forecasted rain and hail to have an influence on the 161 lap event.
At the race start, Ambrose took the hole shot, beating Kelly to turn one, a fast left-hand bend.
The field passed through the first corner relatively safely, except for Steven Johnson and David Besnard, who made excursions off the circuit and into the sticky mud that lines the Victorian circuit. Besnard's mistake buried the car quite successfully, as the safety car was called to assist in the retrieval of the WPS Falcon.
At the race restart, Ambrose led the field through cleanly, with Lowndes and Kelly in pursuit of the 2003 champion, though Kelly soon fond his HRT Commodore faltering, suffering driveline issues (later found to be a slipping clutch) that saw the fancied entry slip back to twelfth position.
Lap eight saw Andrew Jones, 2004 Konica series champion, punted by John McIntyre, spinning the OzeMail Falcon at turn three, and although no-one else hit him, the awkward nature of his spin saw him drop to last place, until a beached car – Grant Elliot's AU Falcon - caused the second coming of the safety car, when lesser-placed teams took the opportunity to make a pit stop.
