Jamie Whincup took another easy victory in the second of three races at the Yas Marina circuit and extended his championship pointslead to 270. In a repeat of the previous race, Will Davison and Shane van Gisbergen joined Jamie on the podium.
Rick Kelly started from 13th on the grid and immediately found himself battling in a big mid-filed pack that included James Moffat, James Courtney and championship contender, Craig Lowndes. By lap four Rick had been shuffled back one spot as the battle continued, however a few laps later he passed both Moffat and Courtney to eventually finish 12th.
After starting 27th, Tim Blanchard also found himself in a battle with fellow Kelly Racing driver, Greg Murphy and after swapping places on a number of occasions, eventually got the upper hand and finished 26th.
TOP 10
1 Jamie Whincup
2 Will Davison
3 Shane Van Gisbergen
4 Mark Winterbottom
5 Garth Tander
6 Tim Slade
7 David Reynolds
8 Lee Holdsworth
9 Jonathon Webb
10 Fabian Coulthard
12 Rick Kelly
26 Tim Blanchard
RACE 24
Jamie Whincup has won the first of three races at the $1.3 billion Yas Marina circuit in Abu Dhabi, taking his 61st V8 Supercar victory.
Whincup passed pole-sitter Will Davison halfway through the first lap and was never headed after that, easily winning by 4.1 seconds. Joining Whincup and Davidson on the podium was Shane van Gisbergen in third.
Alex Premat was pushed to the back of the field after being turned around in a second lap scuffle with Tony D’Alberto and James Courtney. D’Alberto attempted to pass Courtney and hit both Holdens, damaging Courtney’s front-suspension and forcing him out of the race.
Rick Kelly received minor damage in the same incident before heading to the pits mid-race with smoke coming from ‘Commitment’ Holden after damaging an oil line over the kerbs. The team quickly repaired the car and got Rick back out in the race three laps down to eventually finish 27th.
Tim Blanchard drove a solid race in the Craftsmanship Commodore and had a race long duel with Greg Murphy and Taz Douglas, and later in the race Steve Owen. Blanchard eventually passed both Douglas and Murphy to finish 25th. Race 24 was completed solely on the hard compound Dunlop rubber, with soft tyres to be used in Races 25 and 26.
TOP 10
1 Jamie Whincup
2 Will Davison
3 Shane Van Gisbergen
4 Tim Slade
5 Lee Holdsworth
6 Mark Winterbottom
7 Garth Tander
8 Craig Lowndes
9 James Moffat
10 Jonathon Webb
25 Tim Blanchard
27 Rick Kelly
