2004 Sandown 500: Ambrose and Ritter drive through the mud
By Thomas Miles
Date posted: 11 September 2024
Two decades ago saw many cars get stuck in the mud, but Marcos Ambrose and Greg Ritter just escaped to take a memorable Sandown 500 win for SBR.
The turn of the century also brought about plenty of change to the Sandown 500 enduro.
With the V8 Supercars enduro heading to Queensland Raceway, the traditional home instead hosted a pair of Nations Cup 500s in 2001 and 2002.
READ THE SANDOWN 500 PREVIEW AND 60TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURE IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE
Instead of Holden or Ford being victorious, Ferrari and Lamborghini appeared in victory lane before V8 Supercars brought its September race back to where it belonged in 2003.
It ensured the 40th anniversary of the pre-Bathurst enduro was on the biggest stage of all in 2004.
The cover of the post Sandown 500 edition of AUTO ACTION.
Whilst the forecast day-long wet weather failed to materialise, it still caused chaos with countless drivers getting stuck in the mud, including the eventual winners, Marcos Ambrose and Greg Ritter.
All up there were 12 Safety Cars required to to extricate cars from the mud and Ritter was extremely lucky not to be one of them.
The #1 SBR Pirtek BA Falcon had dominated the opening stages, leading 84 of the first 100 laps until Ritter locked a rear brake and skated off at the end of the pit straight.
He ventured into the Turn 1 bog, but unlike many others he managed to slither his way back to the tarmac.
After an excruciating wait, car #1 slipped from first to 10th, leaving Ambrose to perform a rescue mission.
But the Tasmanian did that, amazingly, in the space of just eight laps having set a new lap record in the process.
As leader and teammate Russell Ingall dodged a spinning Jim Richards at Dandenong Road, Ambrose pounced and snatched the lead from the #9.
Whilst many more found trouble, none of the Holdens could snap Ford’s grip on the race with Ambrose/Ritter, Ingall/Cam McLean and Steven Johnson/Warren Luff locking out an all Falcon podium.
“It was an incredible day,” Ambrose reacted.
“It is great for Greg and I and our team to get a 1-2. Winning for Ford is a great reward in their home town.
“It is very special to win my first endurance race.”
During the journey, Mark Skaife’s similar salvaging drive crumbed before his eyes when chaos struck in the chicane.
The HRT star was an innocent victim when countless cars were involved in incidents following a wild spin for Jason Bright.
The #2 Commodore suffered significant front end damage when Glenn Seton was spun into him coming out of the final corner.
Warren Luff and David Besnard go Rally Cross. Image: Mark Horsburgh LAT Images
A new nickname for WPS Racing developed, called ‘We Produce Safety Cars’ – its two Falcons almost constantly in trouble either spinning or sliding off the road.
The craziness of 2004 summed up a golden era of the Sandown 500 where every edition in 2000s was a cracker.
The return race of 2003 was almost one of the biggest underdog wins ever, only for Jason Richards to slide off at Dandenong Road and give Skaife another success after an epic hailstorm.
Skaife found himself in another titanic battle in 2005 with Craig Lowndes – this time the Triple Eight driver prevailed having slashed a 30s advantage for the HRT star, who nursed a broken front splitter to the finish.
The next instalment was even better as Jason Bright kept Rick Kelly at bay by just 0.16s in the event’s closet finish ever.
Lowndes and Jamie Whincup again proved their class to take the 2007 edition, but suddenly, after a run of unforgettable races, the 500km enduro was moved to Phillip Island for the next four years.
2004 Sandown 500 results
1: Marcos Ambrose/Greg Ritter Ford BA Falcon 3:41.03.1
2: Russell Ingall/Cameron McLean Ford BA Falcon +3.3s
3: Steven Johnson/Warren Luff Ford BA Falcon +5.2s
4: Cameron McConville/Garth Tander Holden VY Commodore +7.6s
5: Rick Kelly/Greg Murphy Holden VY Commodore +7.8s
Mark Horsburgh/LAT Photographic
READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE
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