Geared for a tight three-way contest

Traditionally known as the smash-up derby of the V8 Supercar series, the Surfers Paradise round will also be one of the closest fought in years.

Three drivers are locked in a points battle at the top of the championship with only three rounds still to go.

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2008 Gold Coast Indy event timetable

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So with 300 points on offer this weekend and a championship lead at stake, the battle is bound to be fierce.

Tander, who holds the qualifying and race lap records and has won twice at the circuit including last year, must be considered the favourite again.

“Indy's been good to us in the past, but I don't think anyone has any advantage there,” he said.

Tander qualified on pole at Bathurst, then stalled on the starting line in the race. He said the clutch failure had been fixed and put the incident behind him.

“Now it's gloves off for the rest of the year,” he said.

“There's only three of us in it for the championship and with four rounds to go it will be a battle all the way to the end.”

Last year Jamie Whincup was on fire, running second to Tander in the first two races and leading the last race until he locked up at the end of the main straight.

He went back to 21st and fought back to sixth in 13 laps, sometimes overtaking two cars in one corner.

His luck ran out when he was turned around going into the corner on to the back straight.

Winterbottom, who finished fourth at Bathurst, retains second spot on the ladder. He said Indy would be different because it was a different kind of circuit.

“Bathurst is fast flowing and you need good aero and stability, whereas Indy is brake hard and get on the gas hard like Winton,” he said.

“We're pretty confident because of our Winton results and how we went at Indy last year.”

The driver they call Frosty scored pole position, but became tangled up in the field.

“Qualify on the front is the key and keeping it off the walls as well,” he said. “Pole will guarantee a good result, but getting pole can be difficult.

“You have to sacrifice a bit of your car and you come back in with scratch marks down the side where you have scraped the walls trying to get as much out of the track as possible.”

Indy is one of those tracks where drivers tend to finish where they qualify.

Over the past few years the Holdens have been good at qualifying due to a generally stiffer set-up than the Fords.

The tight 4.47km street circuit is also bound to resemble a battleground with no room for error as the cars careen around the circuit at up to 260km/h.

A Falcon has not won at Surfers Paradise since Craig Lowndes in 2005, although Whincup went close last year before losing control in the final laps.

In February, the V8 Supercar Championship Series was signed on to return to the Gold Coast Indy 300 for the next six years.

V8 Supercars Australia Chairman Tony Cochrane said the Gold Coast had become the home of V8 Supercars with the head office and many teams located nearby.

AN Indy “hot lap” with Jamie Whincup

FIRST CHICANE: We're doing 260km/h in 6th gear when we get hard on the brakes and drop back to 90km/h in 2nd gear. Then accelerate hard and clip the tyres left and right. We go quickly into third and touch the rev limit at 150km/h.

SECOND CHICANE: Back to 2nd at 90km/h and again we clip the tyres on the inside. In qualifying you completely hit the tyres on the left to get as quick a run as possible.

TURN 3 (ANA Hotel): We hit 230km/h in 5th and then brake hard and down to 2nd and 70km/h. This part has been resurfaced and is much much smoother. There is a huge crowning in the centre of the road, so you don't turn in too early. You turn in from about the middle of the track. On the way through you take as much kerb as you can.

TURN 4 (main gate, beach): Hold 2nd, hit the rev limiter and brake again down to 1st gear and 65km/h. Use as much kerb as you can and it's all about getting power down for the long run to the 2nd longest straight. An extra

km/h will be carried all the way down. We hit 6th gear at 245km/h on this straight.

TURN 5 (Esses): There is a long heavy brake for the esses and the brakes get really hot now. Another crown on the road, so you have to watch not to turn in too late. You have to be really close to the wall but not touch the wall on the left. A lot of cars have ripped front wheels off here. You then flick it right and use all the kerb on the inside and go closer to the wall on the exit.

TURN 6: Just a slight kink.

TURN 7 (chicane on beach straight): The flip flop is tricky but there are only three steering movements. At 230km/h in 5th you brake really hard back to 3rd. It's vital that you position the car well to straight line the first part. You use all the kerb near the tyres on both sides and get back on the gas early.

TURN 8 (end of back straight): The brakes are now red hot and haven't recovered and you often get brake fade here. You shave the wall on the left and run it right out to the other wall. A lot hit the wall and break Watts linkages. There is a groove on the inside and you turn in early and hook the car into it in 2nd gear at 80km/h. On the exit it gets really light.

TURN 9 (90 degree left-hander): You're on the rev limit in 2nd and brake hard over the bumps. They have resurfaced this part this year so it could be better. You sacrifice a bit of track on the exit because you need to get positioned for the right-hander.

TURN 10 (90 degree right-hander): Use all the kerb on the inside plus a little bit of grass in 2nd gear. It's quite slippery here because it is in the shade and its cooler. Then it's quickly into 3rd gear.

TURN 11 and 12 (Hairpin): There is awkward braking for this slow corner. You have to turn it to the right before the left-hand hairpin where you go under 60km/h in 2nd gear.

MAIN STRAIGHT: Time to relax a bit and check the brake bias, roll bars, lap time and talk to the pits.

Gold Coast V8 stats

Winners

*1994: John Bowe

*1996: John Bowe

*1997: Greg Murphy

*1998: Mark Larkham

*1999: Paul Radisich

*2000: Paul Radisich

*2001: Garth Tander

2002: Jason Bargwanna

2003: Russell Ingall

2004: Greg Murphy

2005: Craig Lowndes

2006: Todd Kelly

2007: Garth Tander

* non-championship round

Fastest times

Qualifying lap: Garth Tander - 1min48.6322s (2007)

Race lap: Garth Tander - 1min49.8352s (2007)