The opening round of the 888 Home Loans Victorian State Race Series is set to blast off at Big Bad Sandown this weekend, with plenty of tasty fields set to face the starter across ten categories, with new cars, drivers and paint schemes set to shake up the establishment.

Headlining the entry list is sophomore Supercar star Thomas Randle, who will be stepping over from his Castrol Mustang into his family’s Saab Sports Sedan for the season opener.

All told, the Sports Sedan field totals 31 entries, with plenty of quality thrown into the mix.

Ray Hislop will be worth watching in his FG Falcon, ditto Francois Habib in his ex-Tasman Motorsport V8 Supercar, while Greg Lynch is forever a Sandown front-runner in his HRT lookalike Commodore.

Throw in the Chevs of Chas Talbot and Dean Camm, plus a deep supporting ensemble, the big bangers will be a class to watch.

Picking a winner in the 54-deep Hyundai Excel field is hard work, with numerous new competitors coming on stream, adding to the depth of the field.

The likes of Tim Rowse and Adam Bywater will be front runners, while Charlie Nash came on strong late in 2022, and will be looking to step up.

The Formula Fords once again looks like a national round, with 28 cars entered for the season opener.

In the Duratecs, Matthew Hillyer will be looking to make a flying start, while in the 1600s, Richard Davison seeks more strong results, with many new competitors stepping up to make an impression straight out of the gate.

The Formula Vees were the stars of the 2022 season, and once again look like a competitive fleet, with 25 of the pocket rockets entered for Sandown.

Expect Heath Collinson and Reef McCarthy to continue their battle at the front.

The Historic Tourers once again pit the best of Ford and Chevy at the front of the field, with the likes of William Trengrove, Geoff Munday, Joe Calleja, Brent Trengrove and more set to be in the mix, while the ring-in TWR Jaguar of Michael Roddy will be an interesting addition to the field.

The HQ Holdens at Sandown last year were absolutely brilliant – lookout for Rod Raatjes and Mick Magilton to once again be leaders of the pack.

The Improved Production cars meanwhile bring another mixed bag of big banging V8s and class cars to the party.

Luke Grech-Cumbo stands out as a quick pick in his HSV Senator.

Being an MGCC-promoted meet, plenty of MGs and invited British cars are coming out of the woodworks, with a 27-deep entry, with Robin Bailey likely to be at the top of the times in his V8-powered MG.

The Porsche 944s return for another year with a 17-strong lineup, the same number as the Holden versus Ford battle in Saloon Cars, with Shawn Jamieson and Keven Stoopman set to defend the honour for their respective marques.

All classes kick off Saturday at 9:10am with 15mins of qualifying each, before a full round of racing through to 5:00pm.  

Sunday’s feature races kick off at 9:10am, with a third round of races set for after lunch.

With mint weather forecast, gates open at 7:00am both days, or if you can’t make it trackside, the racing will be broadcast live and free via Blendline TV through the usual outlets.