D’Alberto ready to battle on home turf

Tony D’Alberto and the crew are keen to launch into round 5 of the V8 Supercar series this weekend at Sandown International Raceway. D’Alberto has enjoyed good fortune at the Victorian circuit, with past success in both Supercar and Formula Ford. This experience places the team in a good position to build a strong qualifying lap and be a force to be reckoned with.

The circuit holds fond memories for D’Alberto, who has a solid understanding of the circuit.

“The best part of the circuit would have to be over the back section.” D’Alberto said, “You approach the left hand corner at the end of the back straight doing about 270km/h, then brake really late, not for very long though. “It’s quite bumpy on the entry so the car moves around a lot, then you’re waiting for the car to settle so you can get back on the power! It certainly gets your attention!”

Sandown plays host to a sprint race format with 3 races scheduled across Sunday and Monday. The new format ups the tension in the Championship, giving drivers a busy weekend where pace will be crucial through the sprint races. The #55 Bottle-o Commodore is well suited to the circuit, having proven in the past to have plenty of acceleration.

"The cars biggest strength would have to be its race pace," D'alberto said." "We have proven time after time that we can match it with the majority of the field in race spec."

Weather has played a deciding role in previous years, but in 2008 the forecast is for fine weather, taking the gamble out of tyre selection. The first practice session gets underway this Saturday from 12:50pm

Copyright © Rod Nash Racing 2008

Click here to open a Flash gallery of photos taken at Sandown.