Bowe doubles up for Sandown top ten.

A double stint by John Bowe paved the way for a top ten finish for the #21 Team BOC Ford Falcon in Sunday's Sandown 500. Along with fellow driver, Brad Jones they battled the elements to come home in 9th position.

It was a race that was consistently interrupted by rain showers, leading to plenty of action as well as frustration for the drivers.

Jones started in the #21 Ford, quickly getting into a rhythm and setting up the credible top ten result. Bowe was forced to deal with the rain that started just seven laps after the team had made their first pit stop.

Team BOC's engineering crew were in overdrive trying to establish the best strategy. An early call, made with the benefit of weather radar reports, to fit wet weather tyres eventually paid off when the downpour arrived. Keeping a clean and consistent driving line was the key to Bowe's result and gives the combination a shot of confidence going into the 'big one' at Bathurst.

"What a race," exclaimed Bowe. " It had just about everything. We were actually pretty lucky that we stayed out of trouble for the entire race. We took a couple of gambles on tyre choice when the rain started, one of the worked and the other didn't. Being inside the top ten is a good result for the team but we still have some work to do, our new car wasn't as fast as it could have been."

"To finish inside the top ten in an enduro is a good result and we can't lose sight of that," added Jones. " I was reasonably happy with my start and stint, I think was inside the top ten when I handed over to John. It's a good foundation for Bathurst and we need to take some time over the next few weeks to get a better handle on the new car."

The #12 Team BOC Falcon driven by John Cleland and Dale Brede had its fair share of on track dramas but managed to survive and finish in 21st position. Cleland took charge at the start and whilst not entirely happy with the car's set-up, he had clawed his way up to 17th position before handing over to Brede on lap 56. Brede completed the double stint and drove extremely well but on two occasions was innocently spun around by Mark Skaife and Jason Richards respectively.

"I definitely had my fair share of incidents today but I guess I'm lucky that none of then ruined our race," said Brede. "When you add in all the rain periods and the fact that our Team BOC wasn't the best car to drive, it was really hard to get into any sort of rhythm. Overall though I was happy with my performance and I'm really looking forward to Bathurst."

"It really wasn't a nice car to drive and I think Dale did a fantastic job of bringing it home in a respectable position," added former British Touring Car Champion Cleland. "I was happy with the way I went considering I hadn't been in a car since Bathurst last year. Hopefully we can get some more consistency at Bathurst."