2022 Supercars Sandown SuperSprint session times and preview

There will be three days of running at the suburban Melbourne circuit with the field to contest three short-format races.

The action kicks off with two 30-minute practice sessions on Friday afternoon. The first is for the primary drivers before they hand over to their respective Bathurst 1000 co-drivers for the second session.

That session marks the only official session for co-drivers ahead of the Great Race weekend in early October.

The primary drivers return to their cars on the Friday morning for a third half-hour practice session on Saturday morning ahead of a three-part qualifying session, culminating in a Top 10 Shootout, to set the grid for the first 110-kilometre race on Saturday afternoon.

On Sunday morning two 10-minute, all-in qualifying sessions will determine the grids for the remaining two sprint races.

Drivers will have access to five sets of the Dunlop super soft tyre available to them from Saturday qualifying onwards. However the fickle Melbourne weather means Dunlop's wet weather tyres are likely to make an appearance at some point over the weekend.

Triple Eight will head to Sandown as the overwhelming favourite based on recent form. The Red Bull-backed squad has won the last seven races there, a clean sweep since the introduction of the ZB Commodore back in 2018.

Series leader Shane van Gisbergen will be the man to beat in Melbourne as he returns to the scene of one of his greatest Supercars drives.

Nursing a freshly broken collarbone, the Kiwi only decided to race after getting through the practice sessions. He then qualified a lowly 17th for the opening race, before charging through the field to take a remarkable win.

As for van Gisbergen's teammate Broc Feeney, this is the last weekend that he can become the youngest race winner in Australian Touring Car Championship/Supercars history.

The record currently belongs to Scott McLaughlin, who scored a maiden win in New Zealand in 2013 aged 19 years and 307 days.

If Feeney can win Saturday's race at Sandown he will take the record off McLaughlin. If he wins either of Sunday's heats he'll tie with the three-time series champion.

Dick Johnson Racing, meanwhile, will be looking to make amends from a tough outing at Sandown early last season.

The Ford squad struggled at the venue last year to the point that fan backlash triggered former driver McLaughlin into defending the team on social media.

This year, however, the team heads to Sandown buoyed by news of a new majority owner and new deals for drivers Will Davison and Anton De Pasquale.

2022 Supercars Sandown SuperSprint session times

All times local (GMT+10)

Friday August 19

8:40-9:00 Aussie Racing Cars – Practice
9:10-9:30 Toyota 86s – Practice 1
9:40-10:05 Carrera Cup – Practice 1
10:15-10:55 Super2/Super3 – Practice 1
11:10-11:30 Aussie Racing Cars – Qualifying
11:40-12:00 Toyota 86s – Practice 2
12:05-12:25 Supercars – Gen3 track time
12:30-12:55 Carrera Cup – Practice
13:10-13:40 Supercars – Practice 1
13:55-14:35 Super2/Super3 – Practice 2
14:45-15:05 Aussie Racing Cars – Race 1
15:20-15:50 Supercars – Practice 2 (co-drivers only)
16:05-16:45 Supercars – Gen3 track time

Saturday August 20

8:30-8:50 Toyota 86s – Qualifying
9:00-9:25 Aussie Racing Cars – Race 2
9:40-9:50 Carrera Cup – Qualifying (Group 1)
9:55-10:05 Carrera Cup – Qualifying (Group 2)
10:20-10:50 Supercars – Practice 3
10:50-11:00 Supercars – Gen3 track time
11:05-11:15 Super3 – Qualifying
11:20-11:30 Super2 – Qualifying
11:45-12:05 Toyota 86s – Race 1
12:15-12:35 Aussie Racing Cars – Race 3
12:50-13:00 Supercars – Qualifying (Part 1)
13:05-13:15 Supercars – Qualifying (Part 2)
13:20-13:45 Supercars – Top 10 Shootout
13:50-14:05 Supercars – Gen3 track time
14:10-14:35 Toyota 86s – Race 2
14:45-15:10 Carrera Cup – Race 1
15:25-15:55 Super2/Super3 – Race 1
16:45-17:43 Supercars – Race 1

Sunday August 21

9:20-10:00 Carrera Cup – Race 2
10:15-10:25 Super3 – Qualifying
10:30-10:40 Super2 – Qualifying
10:40-10:50 Supercars – Gen3 track time
10:55-11:05 Supercars – Qualifying (Race 2)
11:10-11:20 Supercars – Qualifying (Race 3)
11:40-12:05 Aussie Racing Cars – Race 4
12:15-12:35 Toyota 86s – Race 3
13:05-14:03 Supercars – Race 2
14:05-14:15 Supercars – Gen3 track time
14:20-14:45 Carrera Cup – Race 3
15:00-15:30 Super2/Super3 – Race 2
16:20-17:18 Supercars – Race 3