The 2010 Yas V8 400 was a motor race for the Australian sedan-based V8 Supercars. It was the first race of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of February 18–20 on Yas Marina Circuit, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It was the first time V8 Supercar visited the circuit and only the fourth time V8 Supercar had visited the Middle-East, having three times previously raced at the Bahrain International Circuit. The two Asian venues were linked together for the 2010 season, causing the cancellation of the 2009 Desert 400 at Bahrain, and the 2010 Desert 400 will take place the week following the Yas V8 400.
The weekend was dominated by Triple Eight Race Engineering and by reigning champion Jamie Whincup who won both races over the course of the weekend. Team mate Craig Lowndes had a second and fifth, proving that the off-season change from Ford to Holden has been no impediment to their success. Between them on points is leading Ford driver Mark Winterbottom taking a third and a second for the weekend. The other driver to claim a top three finish was Stone Brothers Racing Ford driver Shane van Gisbergen who finished third under pressure in Race 2.
Report Results Results as follows:
Race 1 Qualifying Pos No Name Team Car Time 1 1 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:58.204 2 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.405 3 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:58.499 4 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.521 5 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:58.709 6 18 James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing Ford FG Falcon1:58.897 7 4 Alex Davison Stone Brothers Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.979 8 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:59.050 9 14 Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.113 10 55 Paul Dumbrell Rod Nash Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.136 11 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:59.198 12 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:59.240 13 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.321 14 11 Jason Bargwanna Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.371 15 19 Jonathon Webb Tekno Autosports Ford FG Falcon 1:59.376 16 15 Rick Kelly Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.427 17 3 Tony D'Alberto Tony D'Alberto Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.897 18 47 Tim Slade James Rosenberg Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.903 19 8 Jason Richards Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.912 20 7 Todd Kelly Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 2:00.073 21 10 Andrew Thompson Walkinshaw Racing Holden VE Commodore 2:00.077 22 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon 2:00.177 23 24 Fabian Coulthard Walkinshaw Racing Holden VE Commodore 2:00.183 24 21 Karl Reindler Britek Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 2:00.379 25 12 Dean Fiore Triple F Racing Ford FG Falcon 2:00.390 26 51 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 2:00.845 27 30 Daniel Gaunt Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 2:00.885 28 16 Tony Ricciardello Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 2:03.013 EXC 2 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:58.322 Sources:
Top Ten Shootout
Pos No Name Team Car Time 1 1 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:58.114 2 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.662 3 18 James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.679 4 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:58.854 5 14 Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:58.900 6 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:59.356 7 4 Alex Davison Stone Brothers Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.418 8 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.525 9 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore 2:09.287 - 55 Paul Dumbrell Rod Nash Racing Ford FG Falcon no time Sources:
Race After qualifying second, Garth Tander sent to the rear of grid for not having jack stands under the car while crew member were working on the car. Mark Winterbottom won the start of the race ahead of Jamie Whincup, Will Davison, Lee Holdsworth, James Courtney and Alex Davison.
Paul Morris hit and spun Todd Kelly off the track, with Garth Tander getting tangled up as a result.
James Courtney, suffering from clutch problems, tapped the rear of Lee Holdsworth, shoving slightly aside at the chicane. Courtney later moved aside and let Holdsowrth back in front.
Four laps in, race leader Winterbottom was assigned a ten-second penalty for starting outside of his grid box. Whincup took the lead from Winterbottom at turn 1 on lap 8. It was a lead Winterbottom would never regain with Craig Lowndes climbing into second after Winterbottom served his ten-second penalty at his first pitstop.
James Courtney finished in fourth position ahead of Lee Holdsworth and Shane van Gisbergen. Paul Dumbrell drove an excellent race for his new team to finish seventh ahead of V8 Supercar rookie Jonathon Webb after an excellent drive. Alex Davison and Rick Kelly rounded out the top ten.
Holden Racing Team had a poor day with 2009 series runner up Will Davison stopping with engine failure while Garth Tander was disqualified from qualifying for a pitlane infringement. The rear of grid start saw Tander get tangled with other cars during the race leaving the car damaged and he limped home for 26th position after losing four laps.
Pos No Name Team Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 1 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering 43 1hr 28min 04.434sec 1 150 2 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering 43 +0.9s 9 138 3 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 43 +2.0s 2 129 4 18 James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing 43 +11.9s 3 120 5 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport 43 +13.0s 6 111 6 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing 43 +22.2s 8 102 7 55 Paul Dumbrell Rod Nash Racing 43 +23.7s 10 96 8 19 Jonathon Webb Tekno Autosports 43 +31.3 15 90 9 4 Alex Davison Stone Brothers Racing 43 +35.3 7 84 10 15 Rick Kelly Kelly Racing 43 +37.6s 16 78 11 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing 43 +38.3s 13 72 12 8 Jason Richards Brad Jones Racing 43 +41.0s 19 69 13 11 Jason Bargwanna Kelly Racing 43 +42.7s 14 66 14 47 Tim Slade James Rosenberg Racing 43 +43.9s 18 63 15 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport 43 +45.8s 11 60 16 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 43 +1:00.1s 22 57 17 24 Fabian Coulthard Walkinshaw Racing 43 +1:01.3s 23 54 18 3 Tony D'Alberto Tony D'Alberto Racing 43 +1:18.5s 17 51 19 10 Andrew Thompson Walkinshaw Racing 43 +1:22.6s 21 48 20 12 Dean Fiore Triple F Racing 43 +1:36.7s 25 45 21 14 Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing 43 +1:50.2s 9 42 22 30 Daniel Gaunt Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport 43 +1:51.7s 27 39 23 51 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport 42 + 1 lap 26 36 24 16 Tony Ricciardello Kelly Racing 42 + 1 lap 28 33 25 7 Todd Kelly Kelly Racing 40 + 3 laps 20 30 26 2 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team 36 + 7 laps 29 27 27 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport 34 + 9 laps 12 24 Ret 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team 28 Engine 4 Ret 21 Karl Reindler Britek Motorsport 23 Retired 24 Fastest lap: Shane van Gisbergen (Stone Brothers Racing), 1:59.1140 Sources:
Race 2 Qualifying Pos No Name Team Car Time 1 5 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.037 2 1 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:58.215 3 15 Rick Kelly Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:58.378 4 2 Garth Tander Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:58.393 5 18 James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.442 6 888 Craig Lowndes Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore 1:58.524 7 9 Shane van Gisbergen Stone Brothers Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.530 8 8 Jason Richards Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:58.552 9 4 Alex Davison Stone Brothers Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.585 10 34 Michael Caruso Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:58.588 11 14 Jason Bright Brad Jones Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:58.595 12 7 Todd Kelly Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:58.612 13 17 Steven Johnson Dick Johnson Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:58.663 14 11 Jason Bargwanna Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:58.845 15 33 Lee Holdsworth Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:58.848 16 19 Jonathon Webb Tekno Autosports Ford FG Falcon 1:59.043 17 39 Russell Ingall Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:59.176 18 47 Tim Slade James Rosenberg Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.308 19 24 Fabian Coulthard Walkinshaw Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.373 20 6 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.527 21 55 Paul Dumbrell Rod Nash Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.569 22 22 Will Davison Holden Racing Team Holden VE Commodore 1:59.683 23 3 Tony D'Alberto Tony D'Alberto Racing Holden VE Commodore 1:59.752 24 12 Dean Fiore Triple F Racing Ford FG Falcon 1:59.927 25 21 Karl Reindler Britek Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 1:59.962 26 10 Andrew Thompson Walkinshaw Racing Holden VE Commodore 2:00.078 27 51 Paul Morris Paul Morris Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 2:00.562 28 30 Daniel Gaunt Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport Holden VE Commodore 2:01.438 29 16 Tony Ricciardello Kelly Racing Holden VE Commodore 2:02.002
Race Paul Morris pulled into the pits before the start of the race. Todd Kelly and Michael Caruso tangled in a chaotic start which also saw Steven Richards spun in front of the field after contact with Tony D'Alberto and contact between Craig Lowndes and Shane van Gisbergen. Alex Davison also completed the lap with a fender bent onto a tyre, forcing a lap one pitstop. The steel cords from the tyre wrapped themselves around the front left suspension causing a long stop.
Jamie Whincup won the start from Garth Tander, Rick Kelly, James Courtney and a slow away polesitter, Mark Winterbottom with a short gap to Lowndes and Van Gisbergen. Van Gisbergen soon fought past Lowndes, the Triple Eight Commodore slowing after the heavy contact on the opening lap and fell into the clutches of Steven Johnson.
Todd Kelly was spun around by Dean Fiore, then later made heavy contact with Daniel Gaunt on lap 18, resulting in a puncture and deranged front right corner of Kelly's Commodore.
Garth Tander pitted on lap 20 after the wheel nut fell off the front left wheel. The hub was damaged returned to the pits and a replacement wheel was not able to be fitted successfully and his car was pushed into the garage to attempt a repair.
Whincup capitalised on a good race start and held the lead for most of the race, winning from Winterbottom who clawed back to second after his poor start. Shane van Gisbergen claimed third after strong race to return Stone Brothers Racing to form after a rebuilding year in 2009. Rick Kelly got the best of Craig Lowndes for fourth position with James Courtney next. Lee Holdsworth took Steven Johnson for seventh on the final lap with Russell Ingall and Jason Bright completing the top ten.