Event Information | ||||||||||||||
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Round 9 of 14 in the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series | ||||||||||||||
Date | 11–13 September 2009 | |||||||||||||
Location | Phillip Island, Victoria | |||||||||||||
Venue | Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit | |||||||||||||
Weather | Fine | |||||||||||||
Results | ||||||||||||||
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Race 1 | |||
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Distance | 113 laps | 500 km | |
Pole position |
Mark Winterbottom Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing |
70 pts | |
Winner |
Garth Tander Will Davison Holden Racing Team |
3:09:47.8436 |
The 2009 L&H 500 was the Race 17 of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 11 to 13 September at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia. This was the ninth running of the Phillip Island 500 and the second time that Phillip Island had served as the venue for the annual 500 kilometre two-driver V8 Supercar endurance race. Unique to this event, two preliminary 14 lap Qualifying Races were held on Saturday with the two drivers of each car starting one race each. A single pitstop by each car in either race was mandated with the combined results of the two races determining the grid for the main 500 kilometre race. The three races all carried championship points and together constituted “Race 17” of the championship. However the finishing positions at the end of the 500 km race were deemed to be the finishing positions of the “2009 L&H 500” regardless of the total points scored by drivers over the three individual races.
For the first time since 2003, teams from outside of the V8 Supercar Championship Series were invited to compete in a championship race. Consequently, three single-car teams from the 2009 Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series contested the L&H500, bringing the total entry up to 32 cars.
Qualifying was held on Saturday 12 September 2009. Driver A Qualifying was interrupted by a red flag after Greg Ritter spun his Garry Rogers Motorsport Commodore in a sensitive position at turn 3 in the middle of the session which upset session plans for many teams. Paul Dumbrell set a time early in the session before the red which ended up standing for the session, taking pole position in his first drive for the Holden Racing Team. Todd Kelly worked down to his time, just one hundredth of a second behind Dumbrell. Will Davison and Steven Johnson also set their best laps early in the session to fill the second row of the grid. Warren Luff ably backed up team mate Johnson to be the fastest of the non-full-time V8 Supercar drivers in fifth position alongside the Ford of Steven Richards. David Reynolds was seventh fastest, a career best, ahead of Craig Lowndes with Dean Canto and Cameron McConville completing the tenth fastest drivers. Of the remaining positions the full-time drivers were generally faster. The best of the three wild card entries was Brad Lowe in 27th while at the tail Andrew Fisher was eighth tenths slower than Leanne Tander. Dean Fiore was excluded from qualifying and started the Driver A race from pit lane.