The Excitement of Endurance Racing: Supercars Season and Sandown 500 Preview

This isn’t the usual 4WD content you expect from our monthly contribution to Motoring Today, but I feel compelled to talk about the season of Endurance racing that starts today. Qualifying is underway, and all the support categories are racing this weekend at Sandown in Melbourne.

The Supercars silly season has almost ended, with only a couple of seats left for 2025. Some big changes include the 2023 Champion, Brodie Kostecki, moving to Staplyton to join Will Davison at Dick Johnson Racing, switching from the Chev Camaro to the Ford Mustang. This move has Anton DePasquale moving from DJR to Team 18, also switching from Ford to Chev. This isn’t Anton’s first time changing brands, as he drove the ZB Commodore for Erebus before DJR. Other notable moves include Kai Allen graduating from Super 2 to join the Grove family at Penrite Racing, and Cooper Murray taking the seat left by Brodie Kostecki at Erebus Racing. Five teams remain unchanged for 2025: Triple Eight, Tickford Racing, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Matt Stone Racing, and Blanchard Racing Team.

Now for the endurance rounds: first stop is Sandown 500, then onto Bathurst 1000. With all the off-season work in the USA and the Ford engine program headed by Dr. Ryan Story from DJR, the racing this year has been much closer than last year. Different tracks suit different cars and drivers, making the racing exciting. It’s been hard to say that one driver has stood out, with seven different drivers taking the top step on the podium over 18 races in 2024. Broc Feeney has the most wins, and Cam Waters has the most pole positions.

The pairings of Cam Waters/James Moffat and Broc Feeney/Jamie Whincup are favourites, along with Chaz Mostert/Lee Holdsworth, to win the Sandown round this weekend. However, there are some strong pairings that could cause an upset. Garth Tander is teamed up with Matt Payne, who has matured in Supercars this year and shows great qualifying speed and race pace. A recent win in Townsville has motivated him to grab another one soon. Looking to put Sandown 2023 behind them, they will be on the money.

Will Davison/Kai Allen are teamed up at DJR, and with Kai now having a seat secured for 2025, he is set to drive the wheels off this DJR Mustang and put Will in a good spot to race on. We can’t forget the veterans of the sport in Team 18: Mark Winterbottom/Michael Caruso and David Reynolds/Warren Luff. The experience these pairings have is priceless. Both Frosty and Dave have shown glimpses of speed, with Dave recently coming close to a pole position in Tasmania.

Andre Heimgartner has Declan Fraser by his side. Declan is a fast young driver who has risen through the Super2 ranks and drove for Tickford last year before they reduced from a four-car team to a two-car team this year. This pairing will surprise you with their race pace, as long as they qualify well and stay out of trouble.

The race is going to be great, and I will be watching. I also have to give a big shout-out to Rocky’s Dave Casey from SWL Racing, who is competing at Sandown in the Touring Car Masters. Dave is racing in the number 5 blue, red, and white Holden Torana. Practice and qualifying are on Friday, with three races on Saturday and one race on Sunday. All the best, Dave, and have fun!