Qualifying day here at Sandown is a wrap, with James Courtney and Jack Perkins set to start the 500km race in 14th, and Scott Pye and Warren Luff 15th. Now the attention turns to a massive day tomorrow.

It was a jam-packed day schedule wise that included a warm up, qualifying session, and two races; the latter determining the starting positions for tomorrow’s race.

Qualifying was a tricky one this morning, with rain starting to fall with a few minutes left.

JC and Scotty struggled a little bit for balance, resulting in car #22 recording the 15th fastest time, and Scotty the 22nd.

Next up were the co-drivers, who had a 20-lap race which would determine the starting position for the main drivers 20-lap race later in the day.

Luffy was the hard charger of the field, picking up seven spots to cross the line in 15th. On a real positive note, he set his fastest lap of the race on lap 18, showing the strength of the car the longer the stint went.

Jacko moved forward early, but got shuffled back in a freight train mid race, before eventually finishing right behind Luffy in 16th.

That meant JC and Scotty would start their 20-lap, 60km race from right next to each other.

JC got the jump at the start, with Scotty slotting in right behind him, which was the view he had for the remainder of the race.

In a relatively uneventful afternoon, they both picked up a spot, while keeping the cars nice and straight, ready for tomorrow.

Now we focus on the first endurance race of the year.

161 laps is the journey. Plenty of time to move forward.

It’s an enduro, so a team effort is going to go a long way to getting a good result, and everyone here is completely focused on doing that.

Let’s see what tomorrow holds.

FROM THE COCKPIT

SCOTT PYE

“Overall, I’m happy with today.

“Most importantly, the car is straight and clean, ready for the race tomorrow. The last thing you want to do is damage a car not racing for any points.

“We struggled a little bit in qualifying today, but Luffy did a fantastic job in his race to bring us up the grid.

“We will work hard overnight to continue to improve the package, but with such a long race, we are in the hunt.”

WARREN LUFF

“The car was pretty good for me today, which helped me pick a few spots up which was nice.

“We got off the line well, kept our nose clean, and had some really strong pace at the end. If we had a few extra laps we would have picked a couple more off up the road.

“It’s always nice handing the car over to Scott nice and straight.

“Tomorrow is a long race, there’s a lot to play out, and I’m really excited about what it might hold.”

JAMES COURTNEY

“Today was a solid day for car #22.

“We made some progress car wise throughout the day, but will be working hard overnight to tune it up even more.

“Jacko and I have got a straight car for a big day tomorrow, which is extremely important. We like the long ones, and 500km is plenty of time for a lot to happen. I’m looking forward to it.”

JACK PERKINS

“Overall it wasn’t a bad day on our side of the garage.

“James did a good job in qualifying to get the most out of the car, and handed me the keys in a reasonable position.

“We lacked a bit of drive in my race, but we kept the car straight, got a result, and let James go to work.

“I’m really looking forward to the race now. It’s a long day out there, plenty can happen, and we are in the mix.”