| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-championship V8 Supercar meeting on the Albert Park Street Circuit at Melbourne, Victoria. | |||
| Date | 13–16 March 2008 | ||
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria | ||
| Course | Albert Park Street Circuit km |
||
| Distance | 69 (13 each race) laps, km | ||
| Weather | |||
| Pole | |||
| Driver | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | |
| Time | 1:58.2337 | ||
| Race 1 | |||
| First | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | |
| Second | Will Davison | Jim Beam Racing | |
| Third | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | |
| Race 2 | |||
| First | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | |
| Second | Will Davison | Jim Beam Racing | |
| Third | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Performance Racing | |
| Race 3 | |||
| First | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | |
| Second | Will Davison | Jim Beam Racing | |
| Third | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | |
| Final standings | |||
| First | Garth Tander | Holden Racing Team | |
| Second | Will Davison | Jim Beam Racing | |
| Third | Rick Kelly | HSV Dealer Team | |
The 2008 Sprint Gas V8 Supercars Manufacturers Challenge was the third meeting of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 13 to 16 March at Albert Park Street Circuit, in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria. The meeting was a non-championship affair, conducted under a unique Holden vs Ford format. It was the lead support category for the 2008 Australian Grand Prix.
Contents |
Qualifying was held on Thursday 13 March. Mark Skaife was fastest as the Holden Racing Team continued its resurgence. Steven Richards shook off his car destroying crash at Eastern Creek to be second fastest ahead of Jason Richards in the Tasman Motorsport Commodore. The end of qualifying was nervous with the first top ten shootout of the season to be held the following day and while Russell Ingall scraped into the top ten, the unique Ford vs Holden rules for this event which demanded five of each manufacturer in the top ten saw Ingall, as the sixth Holden, relegated in favour of the fifth Ford, Steven Johnson. Michael Patrizi qualified 28th on the debut of both himself and his Ford Rising Stars Racing in the main game series.
The top ten shootout, the first to be held in 2008, was held on Friday 14 March. Garth Tander kept the Holden Racing Team atop the timesheets, picking off pole position, holding off a motivated Craig Lowndes for the position. Steven Richards was third fastest, but would be relegated to fourth on the grid as the Ford vs Holden format stated that the grid would be formed in alternating manufacturer order ahead of outright pace, meaning fifth fastest qualifying Rick Kelly would start third as the second fastest Holden.
Race 1 was held on Friday 12 March immediately after the shootout.
Race 2 was held on Saturday 13 March.
Race 3 was held on Sunday 14 March.
Results as follows:[1]
| V8 Supercar | ||
|---|---|---|
| Previous race: 2008 Eastern Creek round of the V8 Supercar Championship |
2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series | Next race: 2008 Hamilton 400 |
| Previous year: 2006 Panasonic V8 Supercars GP 100 |
Australian Grand Prix V8 Supercar Support Event | Next year: 2009 Sprint Gas V8 Supercars Manufacturers Challenge |