Multi-cultural Sandown win for Bowe
16/9/2001 21:27 (V8 Wire - Jason Whittaker) -
An Italian sportscar and Hong Kong banker has powered John Bowe to his third Sandown 500 title at Melbourne’s Sandown Park Raceway today.
The V8 Supercar stalwart swapped his CAT Racing Falcon for a Ferrari in the production car marathon and, together with Hong Kong-based co-driver Tom Waring, won the historic event by three seconds from the Porsche of Neal Bates and Steve Webb.
Bowe won the Sandown 500, when it was held for V8 Supercars, in 1994 and ’95 with Dick Johnson.
The Ferrari pair drove a controlled race, waiting until lap 113 of the scheduled 161-lap distance to pounce on the lead. Bowe then built a 30-second margin over Bates’ Porsche to allow time for a fuel stop on the way to the chequered flag.
“It feels terrific to win,” Bowe said. “I don’t win that often any more and to take this race with Tom is very satisfying.
“It was especially good to win in such a mixed field of cars. The Sandown 500 started as a race for production cars and this year it’s gone back to where we started – I don’t think motorsport in Australia takes enough notice of tradition.”
The winning Ferrari 360 was prepared by the Prancing Horse Racing operation, who’ll make their V8 Supercar racing debut at next month’s V8 1000 at Bathurst.
Shell Series contender Steven Johnson failed in his bid to win the Queensland 500/Sandown 500 double after the fancied Lamborghini Diablo he shared with Paul Stokell expired on lap 88.
Big Kev racer Paul Morris finished fourth in a Ferrari co-driven by John Teulan, behind Peter Fitzgerald and Geoff Morgan’s Porsche.
Along with Johnson, other notable non-finishers included fellow V8 Supercar racers Jim Richards and Cameron McConville.
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