# 2018 Sandown 500

The 2018 Sandown 500 (known for sponsorship purposes as the 2018 Rabble.club Sandown 500) was a motor racing event for Supercars, held on the weekend of 14 to 16 September 2018. The event was held at Sandown Raceway in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and consisted of one race, 500 kilometres in length. It was the twelfth event of sixteen in the 2018 Supercars Championship and hosted Race 24 of the series. It was also the first event of the 2018 Enduro Cup.
The race was won by Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell driving a Holden Commodore ZB.

## Background

The event was the 48th running of the Sandown 500, which was first held in 1964 as a six-hour race for series production touring cars. It was the fourteenth time the race had been held as part of the Supercars Championship and the sixth time it formed part of the Enduro Cup. The defending winners of the race were Cam Waters and Richie Stanaway.
The event was promoted as a "retro round", with teams encouraged to use adaptations of Australian touring car liveries from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, although some teams extended beyond these parameters when devising a livery.
The following cars carried a retro livery during the event:
| Vehicle | Vehicle | Notes |
| Walkinshaw Andretti United | 2 | Holden Racing Team livery used by Garth Tander and Mark Skaife in the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series. |
| Walkinshaw Andretti United | 25 | Holden Racing Team livery used by Garth Tander and Mark Skaife in the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series. |
| Erebus Motorsport | 9 | Roadways Racing 'Chickadee' livery used by 1986 Bathurst 1000 winners, Allan Grice and Graeme Bailey. |
| Erebus Motorsport | 99 | 'Chickadee Chicken' livery used by Graeme Bailey and Steve Land in the 1982 Sandown 400 |
| DJR Team Penske | 12 | Dick Johnson Racing livery used by Dick Johnson and John Bowe in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship. |
| DJR Team Penske | 17 | Dick Johnson Racing livery used by Dick Johnson and John Bowe in the 1988 Australian Touring Car Championship. |
| Brad Jones Racing | 14 | Livery based on one used by Bob Jane in the 1970s on his Holden HQ Monaro GTS350 Sports Sedan. |
| Nissan Motorsport | 15 | Perkins Engineering livery used by Russell Ingall, Steven Richards and Larry Perkins in the 2002 V8 Supercar Championship Series. |
| Nissan Motorsport | 78 | Livery inspired by various 1960's Nissan Motorsport liveries. |
| Team 18 | 18 | Wyong Motors Pty Ltd livery used by Bruce McPhee and Barry Mulholland in the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500. |
| Tim Blanchard Racing | 21 | Benson & Hedges Racing livery used by Blanchard's father, John in the 1993 Tooheys 1000. |
| Garry Rogers Motorsport | 33 | Bob Jane T-Marts livery used by Garry Rogers in the 1978 Hardie-Ferodo 1000. |
| Garry Rogers Motorsport | 34 | Soundwave Discos livery used by Garry Rogers in the 1983 James Hardie 1000. |
| Tickford Racing | 55 | Steven Ellery Racing livery used by Steven Ellery in the 2004 V8 Supercar Championship Series. |
| 23Red Racing | 230 | Livery featured vintage cream look. |

## Results
### Practice

Practice summary :
| Session | Day | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap | Fastest lap |
| Session | Day | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time |
| Practice 1 | Friday | 1 | Paul Dumbrell | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8467 |
| Practice 2 | Friday | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.9688 |
| Practice 3 | Friday | 99 | Will Brown | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.6230 |
| Practice 4 | Saturday | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:14.3447 |
| Warm-Up | Sunday | 1 | Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.4080 |
| Sources: |||||||

### Qualifying

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Grid |
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:07.8389 | | 1 |
| 2 | 55 | Chaz Mostert | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:08.1206 | +0.2817 | 2 |
| 3 | 25 | James Courtney | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.1223 | +0.2834 | 3 |
| 4 | 9 | David Reynolds | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.2097 | +0.3708 | 4 |
| 5 | 2 | Scott Pye | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.3580 | +0.5191 | 5 |
| 6 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:08.3610 | +0.5221 | 9 |
| 7 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.3668 | +0.5279 | 6 |
| 8 | 8 | Nick Percat | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.3996 | +0.5607 | 7 |
| 9 | 34 | James Golding | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.3998 | +0.5609 | 8 |
| 10 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.4181 | +0.5792 | 10 |
| 11 | 6 | Cam Waters | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:08.4195 | +0.5806 | 11 |
| 12 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:08.4516 | +0.6127 | 12 |
| 13 | 888 | Craig Lowndes | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.4601 | +0.6212 | 13 |
| 14 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:08.4731 | +0.6342 | 14 |
| 15 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:08.4802 | +0.6413 | 15 |
| 16 | 15 | Rick Kelly | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:08.5391 | +0.7002 | 16 |
| 17 | 14 | Tim Slade | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.6103 | +0.7714 | 17 |
| 18 | 23 | Michael Caruso | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:08.6421 | +0.8032 | 18 |
| 19 | 33 | Garth Tander | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.6457 | +0.8068 | 19 |
| 20 | 230 | Will Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:08.6907 | +0.8518 | 20 |
| 21 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.7279 | +0.8890 | 21 |
| 22 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.7972 | +0.9583 | 22 |
| 23 | 21 | Tim Blanchard | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 1:08.9461 | +1.1072 | 23 |
| 24 | 78 | Simona de Silvestro | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 1:08.9753 | +1.1364 | 24 |
| 25 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 1:09.0383 | +1.1994 | 25 |
| 26 | 56 | Richie Stanaway | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 1:09.2527 | +1.4138 | 26 |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Andre Heimgartner received a 3-place grid penalty for impeding Scott Pye during Qualifying.

### Race

| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Car | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 161 | 3:17:28.6203 | 2 | 300 |
| 2 | 97 | Shane van Gisbergen Earl Bamber | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 161 | +6.831 | 11 | 276 |
| 3 | 888 | Craig Lowndes Steven Richards | Triple Eight Race Engineering | Holden Commodore ZB | 161 | +8.257 | 10 | 258 |
| 4 | 17 | Scott McLaughlin Alexandre Prémat | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 161 | +25.177 | 3 | 240 |
| 5 | 9 | David Reynolds Luke Youlden | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 161 | +25.750 | 1 | 222 |
| 6 | 2 | Scott Pye Warren Luff | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 161 | +34.222 | 19 | 204 |
| 7 | 12 | Fabian Coulthard Tony D'Alberto | DJR Team Penske | Ford Falcon FG X | 161 | +38.734 | 4 | 192 |
| 8 | 15 | Rick Kelly Garry Jacobson | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 161 | +48.816 | 16 | 180 |
| 9 | 33 | Garth Tander Chris Pither | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 161 | +51.814 | 15 | 168 |
| 10 | 55 | Chaz Mostert James Moffat | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 161 | +58.183 | 7 | 156 |
| 11 | 230 | Will Davison Alex Davison | 23Red Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 161 | +58.270 | 12 | 144 |
| 12 | 99 | Anton de Pasquale Will Brown | Erebus Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 160 | +1 lap | 9 | 138 |
| 13 | 6 | Cam Waters David Russell | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 160 | +1 lap | 13 | 132 |
| 14 | 7 | Andre Heimgartner Aaren Russell | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 160 | +1 lap | 6 | 126 |
| 15 | 14 | Tim Slade Ashley Walsh | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 160 | +1 lap | 8 | 120 |
| 16 | 25 | James Courtney Jack Perkins | Walkinshaw Andretti United | Holden Commodore ZB | 160 | +1 lap | 26 | 114 |
| 17 | 5 | Mark Winterbottom Dean Canto | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 160 | +1 lap | 5 | 108 |
| 18 | 34 | James Golding Richard Muscat | Garry Rogers Motorsport | Holden Commodore ZB | 160 | +1 lap | 24 | 102 |
| 19 | 21 | Tim Blanchard Dale Wood | Tim Blanchard Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 160 | +1 lap | 14 | 96 |
| 20 | 56 | Richie Stanaway Steve Owen | Tickford Racing | Ford Falcon FG X | 160 | +1 lap | 17 | 90 |
| 21 | 35 | Todd Hazelwood Bryce Fullwood | Matt Stone Racing | Holden Commodore VF | 160 | +1 lap | 23 | 84 |
| 22 | 19 | Jack Le Brocq Jonathon Webb | Tekno Autosports | Holden Commodore ZB | 156 | +5 laps | 20 | 78 |
| 23 | 18 | Lee Holdsworth Jason Bright | Team 18 | Holden Commodore ZB | 145 | +16 laps | 21 | 72 |
| 24 | 8 | Nick Percat Macauley Jones | Brad Jones Racing | Holden Commodore ZB | 142 | +19 laps | 25 | 66 |
| 25 | 23 | Michael Caruso Dean Fiore | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 134 | +27 laps | 18 | 60 |
| NC | 78 | Simona de Silvestro Alex Rullo | Nissan Motorsport | Nissan Altima L33 | 129 | Retirement | 22 | |
| Fastest lap: Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell (Triple Eight Race Engineering) 1:09.1938 (on lap 66) |||||||||
| Source: |||||||||

### Championship standings after Race 24

| Pos | Driver | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | Shane van Gisbergen | 3054 | |
| 2 | Scott McLaughlin | 2999 | -55 |
| 3 | Jamie Whincup | 2716 | -338 |
| 4 | Craig Lowndes | 2487 | -567 |
| 5 | David Reynolds | 2435 | -619 |
| | Pos | Team | Pts | Gap |
| | 1 | Triple Eight Race Engineering (1, 97) | 5769 | |
| | 2 | DJR Team Penske | 5113 | -656 |
| 1 | 3 | Tickford Racing (5, 55) | 3688 | -2081 |
| 1 | 4 | Erebus Motorsport | 3685 | -2084 |
| 2 | 5 | Brad Jones Racing | 3621 | -2148 |
| Pos | Drivers | Pts | Gap |
| 1 | Jamie Whincup Paul Dumbrell | 300 | |
| 2 | Shane van Gisbergen Earl Bamber | 276 | -24 |
| 3 | Craig Lowndes Steven Richards | 258 | -42 |
| 4 | Scott McLaughlin Alexandre Prémat | 240 | -60 |
| 5 | David Reynolds Luke Youlden | 222 | -78 |
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for three sets of standings.