Sandown: Kelly Racing race 1 report

BARGWANNA FINISHES 17TH AT SANDOWN

Jason Bargwanna has finished in a credible 17th place in the opening race of the Norton 360 Sandown Challenge in Melbourne, Victoria today.

Bargwanna was on track for a finish just outside the top 10 in the #11 Rock Commodore after some slick pit work pushed him up the order after starting from 19th place.

But the V8 veteran dropped several spots after being pushed off the track by Alex Davison, recoving to finish in 17th and collect vital points.

Tony Ricciardello drove a solid race aboard the #16 Stratco Commodore, finishing in 26th place after qualifying 29th.

The race was restarted after Garth Tander had a sizeable crash at the end of the back straight on lap one of the initial start, causing a lengthy red flag stoppage.

Paul Dumbrell claimed his first V8 Supercars Championship Series win at Sandown today ahead of Jamie Whincup and Mark Winterbottom.

KELLY RACING QUOTEBOARD:

JASON BARGWANNA - #11 Rock Holden Commodore

"It was a strange way to start the race with the red flag," said Jason Bargwanna.

"I actually had two really good starts in the Rock Commodore and moved up in both of them.

"We made a really good call on the pit strategy, which was a great job by all the boys given things were changing so quickly with the restart.

"We had a great pit stop so we jumped a couple but when I got back on track I had Alex Davison punt me off the track and I lost a fair few spots in one go.

"It probably cost us finishing around 12th but we will fight on tomorrow.

"The pace of the Rock Commodore is not too bad so we will look to do better tomorrow."

TONY RICCIARDELLO - #16 Stratco Holden Commodore

"The first start was not very good for me so I wasn't that unhappy seeing the red flag," said Tony Ricciardello.

"I had another go at it and did a lot better. The main thing for me was to look after the tyres to make them last long enough to do a decent first stint.

"The second set of tyres was better for us and it was a decent team result. We just need to work on qualifying tomorrow and need to have a mistake-free day.

"Now we are looking to get a good result and get some good car balance going so that we have the Stratco Commodore going well for when we use the soft tyre during Sunday's race."

-source: kelly racing