The historic debut of the S5000 open-wheeler series at Sandown Raceway has been declared an outstanding success by fans and teams alike, with plenty of close racing, noise and drama throughout the weekend.
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With the series still in its fledgling stage, all 13 drivers were on fast learning curves to come to grips with the new breed of V8-powered cars, which provided for plenty of action both on and off the track.
23 year-old James Golding emerged the star of the meeting, winning one of the two qualifying races and victorious in the main feature race on Sunday.
A high-speed crash in the main race highlighted the safety features built into the cars, with Alex Davison able to walk away without injury after a heavy collision with a barrier catapulted the car across the racetrack, fortunately missing the rest of the field.
The S5000 series next features at the Shannons Nationals meeting at The Bend on 15-17 November as a precursor to a full season in 2020.