IRWIN Racing duo Lee Holdsworth and Craig Baird have finished the Friday practice sessions for the Dick Smith Sandown 500 in ninth overall.
In a productive day, Holdsworth was charged with improving the speed in the IRWIN Ford, while Baird worked on the car’s balance on full fuel loads.
After a challenging past few events, the drivers as well as everyone on the team, was pleased with the day’s running on used hard Dunlop race tyres in cool and at times wet conditions.
Saturday’s action will include another practice session, before a single 20-miniute qualifying session which will set the grid for the first of two 20-lap sprint qualifying races. Baird will drive in the opening 20-lap race, while Holdsworth will take the wheel for the second 20-lap hit out. The results from that race will set the grid for Sunday’s 161-lap 500km race.
WHAT LEE HOLDSWORTH HAD TO SAY
“I feel like we are back to where we were at the start of the year,” said Holdsworth.
“The changes we are making to the car I can positively feel and that makes me feel heaps better and the smile is back on my face.
“It all comes down to tomorrow for where we start on Sunday and we just need to keep our nose clean, qualify well and start up the front for the big one.”
WHAT CRAIG BAIRD HAD TO SAY
“It’s been good to get back in the car around Sandown as we have not been here for a few years for the 500,” said Baird.
“It was really comfortable and the main thing was to get a feel for the car on full tanks. We made sure the car was well suited to also running on used tyres and I was pleased with how it all went.”
V8 SUPERCARS : PRACTICE SESSIONS P1 P2 P3
1. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team D.Reynolds/D.Canto 1:10.5812
2. #1 TeamVodafone J.Whincup/P.Dumbrell +0.0123
3. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford W.Davison/J.McIntyre +0.0420
4. #888 TeamVodafone C.Lowndes/W.Luff +0.0486
5. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford M.Winterbottom/S.Richards +0.1162
6. #47 Lucky 7 Racing T.Slade/A.Thompson +0.1361
7. #49 VIP Petfoods S.Owen/P.Morris +0.1920
8. #2 Holden Racing Team G.Tander/N.Percat +0.2064
9. #4 IRWIN Racing L.Holdsworth/C.Baird +0.2756
10. #14 Lockwood Racing F.Coulthard/D.Besnard +0.3016
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 3
1. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team D.Reynolds/D.Canto 1:10.5812
2. #1 TeamVodafone J.Whincup/P.Dumbrell +0.0123
3. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford W.Davison/J.McIntyre +0.0420
4. #888 TeamVodafone C.Lowndes/W.Luff +0.0486
5. #47 Lucky 7 Racing Tim Slade +0.1361
6. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Mark Winterbottom +0.1839
7. #4 IRWIN Racing Lee Holdsworth +0.2756
8. #2 Holden Racing Team G.Tander/N.Percat +0.3481
9. #51 Pepsi Max Crew G.Murphy/O.Kelly +0.4684
10. #22 Holden Racing Team J.Courtney/C.McConville +0.5005
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 2
1. #1 TeamVodafone Paul Dumbrell 1:10.9915*
2. #22 Holden Racing Team Cameron McConville +0.1135
3. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team Dean Canto +0.3305
4. #47 Lucky 7 Racing Andrew Thompson +0.3346
5. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford Steven Richards +0.3659
6. #888 TeamVodafone Warren Luff +0.3734
7. #66 Supercheap Auto Racing Christian Klien (AUT) +0.4254
8. #19 Tekno Autosports Scott McLaughlin +0.4377
9. #34 Fujitsu Racing GRM Greg Ritter +0.5518
10. #18 Team Norton DJR Alex Davison +0.5714
19. #4 IRWIN Racing Craig Baird +0.8886
V8 SUPERCARS – Practice 1
1. #5 Orrcon Steel FPR Ford M.Winterbottom/S.Richards 1:10.6974*
2. #1 TeamVodafone Jamie Whincup +0.0210
3. #55 The Bottle-O Racing Team David Reynolds +0.0561
4. #888 TeamVodafone C.Lowndes/W.Luff +0.0702
5. #49 VIP Petfoods S.Owen/P.Morris +0.0758
6. #6 Trading Post FPR Ford W.Davison/J.McIntyre +0.0788
7. #2 Holden Racing Team Garth Tander +0.0902
8. #14 Lockwood Racing F.Coulthard/D.Besnard +0.1854
9. #17 Jim Beam Racing Steven Johnson +0.2466
10. #66 Supercheap Auto Racing R.Ingall/C.Klien +0.3662
12 . #4 IRWIN Racing L.Holdsworth/C.Baird +0.4123