After low visibility caused several safety cars periods to plague Saturday’s 39-lap race, TeamVodafone duo Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup battled the weather and finished sixth and 13th respectively.
The TeamVodafone duo’s result was enough to secure TeamVodafone the 2011 Teams Championship.
While wet weather lashed Qualifying, Whincup braved the conditions and qualified Car #88 on the front row.
Lowndes struggled to get a good lap out of the tyres, qualifying 27th for the 39-lap race.
Whincup struggled for grip off the start and lost a couple of spots, the TeamVodafone driver reclaimed second but lost multiple positions during later stages of the race finishing 13th.
Lowndes showed true grit throughout the race, starting at the back of the field and using each of the safety cars to manoeuvre up the order. By race end, the TeamVodafone #888 driver made up 21 places to finish in sixth position.
Whincup still remains ahead in the V8 Supercar Championship points standings, 158 points clear of teammate Lowndes.
However, TeamVodafone ended as the hero of the day, with 1,111 points separating ourselves from second position in the Team Championship standings, thereby claiming the V8 Supercars Teams Championship for the consecutive year.
The Norton 360 Sandown Challenge will conclude tomorrow with Qualifying for Race 26 at 11.15am (AEDST) ahead of the final 65-lap race of the weekend at 3.35pm (AEDST).
TeamVodafone’s live race day blog from the pit garage will commence on www.teamvodafone.com at 3:35pm (AEDST).
For regular news and updates, head to www.teamvodafone.com
Top Ten Race 25 of the V8 Supercars Championship Series Results – Norton 360 Sandown Challenge
1: Rick Kelly
2: James Courtney
3: Todd Kelly
4: Will Davison
5: Shane Van Gisbergen
6: Craig Lowndes
7: Mark Winterbottom
8: Garth Tander
9: Fabian Coulthard
10: Steve Owen
13: Jamie Whincup
V8 Supercar Championship Standings
1: Jamie Whincup, 2883 pts.
2: Craig Lowndes, 2725 pts.
3: Shane Van Gisbergen, 2312 pts.
4: Mark Winterbottom, 2311 pts.
5: Garth Tander, 2277 pts.
6: Will Davison, 2216 pts.
7: Rick Kelly, 2127 pts.
8: Lee Holdsworth, 1767 pts.
9: Alex Davison, 1721 pts.
10: Fabian Coulthard, 1698 pts.
