Fast Facts - Wilson Security Sandown 500

1. History is not on the side of the car that starts on pole position for the Wilson Security Sandown 500. Only twice in the last 30 Sandown endurance races has the pole position car gone on to win the race (Lowndes/Murphy 1996 and Whincup/Dumbrell 2014).

2. Red Bull Holden Racing Team duo Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell are aiming for their fourth straight Sandown 500 pole position this year. The last driver to score four Sandown 500 poles in a row was Dick Johnson in his Shell Sierras between 1987 and 1990.

3. The lowest grid position for a race winner in Sandown 500 history is 15th. Dick Johnson and John Bowe started from that position to win the 1994 race in their Shell-FAI Falcon EB.

4. Last year’s Sandown 500 was the second closest in the event’s long history. Garth Tander beat Shane van Gisbergen to the line by just 0.3485-seconds to claim his first Sandown 500 win and co-driver Warren Luff’s second.

5. The record for the most number of cars on the lead lap at the end of the Sandown 500 is 20, set in 2015.

6. Peter Brock holds the record for the most wins in the history of the Sandown endurance classic - nine - though the most wins by a currently active driver is five by Craig Lowndes. The TeamVortex driver won the race in 1996, 1997, 2005, 2007 and 2012.

7. Jason Bright will make his 253rd championship round start at Sandown, bringing him level with Russell Ingall for third on the all-time round starts list in the championship’s record books.

8. The most Safety Car periods in a Sandown 500 was 12 in 2004. The Safety Car has appeared twice in the race in the last three years in a row - 2014, 2015, 2016.

9. This year is the 46th running of the Sandown touring car endurance race, which began as a Six Hour back in 1964. This year’s event is also the 48th held at Sandown in championship history - no other venue has hosted more rounds than the Melbourne venue.

10. Two drivers are making their Virgin Australia Supercars Championship debuts at Sandown - 2014 Australian GT Champion Richard Muscat with Garry Rogers Motorsport and reigning Dunlop Super2 Series Champion Garry Jacobson with Prodrive Racing Australia.They join three other drivers - Todd Hazelwood, Alex Rullo and Simona De Silvestro - in making their Sandown 500 debuts.