2008 Gulf Air Desert 400

Last updated
Flag of Bahrain.svg 2008 Gulf Air Desert 400
Event Information
Round 12 of 14 in the 2008 V8 Supercar Championship Series
Bahrain International Circuit--Paddock Circuit.svg
Date6–8 November 2008
Location Sakhir, Bahrain
Venue Bahrain International Circuit
WeatherFine
Results
Race 1
Distance 32 laps 120 km
Pole position Jamie Whincup
Triple Eight Race Engineering
1:25.0415
Winner Jamie Whincup
Triple Eight Race Engineering
50:29.8677
Race 2
Distance 32 laps 120 km
Winner Jamie Whincup
Triple Eight Race Engineering
49:37.2508
Race 3
Distance 32 laps 120 km
Winner Jamie Whincup
Triple Eight Race Engineering
51:07.5065
Round Results
First 300 pts
Second 264 pts
Third 246 pts

The 2008 Gulf Air Desert 400 was the twelfth round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of the 6 to 8 November at the Bahrain International Circuit in Bahrain.

The 2008 V8 Supercar season is the twelfth series in which V8Supercars contested the senior Australian touring car series. It is the 49th year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship, known today as the V8 Supercar Championship Series, and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500.

Bahrain International Circuit motorsport track in Bahrain

The Bahrain International Circuit is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series and the annual Bahrain Grand Prix. The 2004 Grand Prix was the first held in the Middle East. Beginning in 2006, Australian V8 Supercars raced at the BIC, with the event known as the Desert 400. However, the V8 Supercars did not return for the 2011 V8 Supercar season. 24 Hour endurance races are also hosted at BIC. The circuit has a FIA Grade 1 license.

Contents

Qualifying

Qualifying was held on Friday 7 November 2008.

Race 1

Race 1 was held on Friday 7 November 2008. Whincup leapt away while a fierce dice erupted between Lowndes, Todd Kelly and Tander. A forceful move on the second lap saw Kelly muscle his way past Lowndes and Tander. Steven Johnson slipped into third behind Kelly as Tander and Lowndes were slow away from the hairpin. Further back in the pack a tangle saw Michael Patrizi and Mark Skaife spun backwards, also tangling with Michael Caruso, Jason Richards and Andrew Thompson, bringing out the safety car. Skaife, Richards and Patrizi had too much damage to continue.

Michael Caruso (racing driver) Australian racing driver

Michael Caruso is an Australian professional motor racing driver. Caruso competes in the Pirtek Enduro Cup, co-driving the No. 6 Ford Mustang for Tickford Racing, alongside Cameron Waters.

At the restart Steven Johnson clawed into second briefly before dropping back behind Kelly again. Lowndes took third from Johnson. Lap 9 saw Whincup, Kelly, James Courtney and Russell Ingall to put of the front runners. The following lap saw Lowndes, Tander, Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom. A slow stop and exit saw Lowndes leap frog Kelly into second place. Tander moved into fourth ahead of Courtney while Davison pulled over at pit exit, overcome by fumes. Fabian Coulthard spun into the turn 4 sand trap after contact from Jason Bright, for which Bright later was given a drive-through penalty. The resultant safety car triggered Johnson's pit stop from the lead with Rick Kelly and Steven Richards also stopping.

At the restart Whincup, Lowndes and Todd Kelly leapt away while further back in the field on the second lap contact between Tander and Winterbottom saw Tander spun in front of the pack. Tander dropped to the tail of the field while Winterbottom was assigned a drive-through penalty. Coulthard stopped out on the track trying to limp a car home with a punctured front right tyre and Patrizi spun Jack Perkins around.

Paul Morris briefly held fourth on pit stop strategy but soon lost places to Lee Holdsworth, Courtney and team-mate Ingall. Todd Kelly was controversially given a drive-through penalty, taking away his, and the team's, best result of the season, for over-taking the safety car at its second deployment.

Team Vodafone continued on to claim a race 1-2, ahead of Holdsworth, Ingall, Courtney, Johnson, Shane van Gisbergen, Steven Richards, Rick Kelly and Greg Murphy.

Race 2

Race 2 was held on Saturday 8 November 2008. Whincup leap away with Ingall in pursuit ahead of battling pair Courtney and Lowndes with Johnson. Holdsworth overtook Van Gisbergen for sixth.

Paul Dumbrell spun on the second lap after contact with Michael Caruso. Local Bahraini guest driver Fahad Al Musalem stopped with a broken gearbox in the Team Kiwi Ford. Andrew Thompson spun and stopped at turn 1 after the right rear tyre delaminated, triggering a safety car.

At the restart Whincup led from Ingall, Lowndes, Courtney, Holdsworth, Richards, Johnson and Winterbottom. Richards pounced on Holdsworth at turn 1 while further Todd Kelly picked off a few cars including Garth Tander. Van Gisbergen was smoking at the front left corner tyre rubbing after contact Van Gisbergen lost control, hitting Jack Perkins and spinning Rick Kelly. Van Gisbergen later received a drive-through penalty.

A fierce dice between Courtney and Winterbottom saw the Ford Performance Racing driver move into fourth place on lap 23, the following lap Steven Richards got Courtney as well, with Holdsworth and Todd Kelly closing behind. The dice between those three became hard fought with Courtney suffering for tyre grip but still plenty of power with Will Davison joining the fight by lap 26.

Whincup raced on to win from Ingall, Lowndes, Winterbottom, Richards, Todd Kelly, Courtney, Johnson, Morris and Davison.

Race 3

Race 3 was held on Saturday 8 November 2008. Russell Ingall led from the start, fighting with Jamie Whincup for the lead with Lowndes and Winterbottom fighting for third.

Third lap into the first corner and Steven Johnson ran into the back of Todd Kelly, spinning the Jack Daniels Commodore. Will Davison ran into his team-mate Johnson. Jason Bright and Mark Skaife made contact with Skaife then hitting his teammate Garth Tander. Skaife was out on the spot with Tander pitting for a new right rear tyre.

At the restart Ingall again overtook Whincup. Whincup later retook the lead prior to the beginning of the compulsory pit stops.

During the stops Craig Lowndes was able to get the better of Mark Winterbottom for what would become third position. Safety was called for Todd Kelly's expired Commodore, the car stopped on the circuit

Rick Kelly and Cameron McConville made contact and spun while the bunched field at the restart allowed James Courtney to pass Winterbottom, then move into third by taking advantage of a slow-out-of-the-corner Russell Ingall who had just lost second to Lowndes. On lap 25 Courtney pounced on Lowndes and brakes for second. Lap 28 saw Winterbottom take fourth from Ingall.

Whincup pulled clear of Courtney who by race end had to defend from Lowndes. The result saw the first ever 1-2 finish for Team Vodafone. Fifth spot behind Winterbottom was enough for Russell Ingall to claim third for the round, the best Holden driver for the weekend.

Results

Qualifying

PosNoNameCarTeamPart 3Part 2Part 1
188 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jamie Whincup Ford BF Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 1:25.0415
2888 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Craig Lowndes Ford BF Falcon Triple Eight Race Engineering 1:25.0624
37 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Todd Kelly Holden VE Commodore Perkins Engineering 1:25.1556
417 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Steven Johnson Ford BF Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 1:25.3874
51 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Garth Tander Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 1:25.4116
618 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Davison Ford BF Falcon Dick Johnson Racing 1:25.4481
739 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Russell Ingall Holden VE Commodore Paul Morris Motorsport 1:25.4736
86 Flag of New Zealand.svg Steven Richards Ford BF Falcon Ford Performance Racing 1:25.5114
95 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Winterbottom Ford BF Falcon Ford Performance Racing 1:25.5967
104 Flag of Australia (converted).svg James Courtney Ford BF Falcon Stone Brothers Racing 1:25.7556
1115 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rick Kelly Holden VE Commodore HSV Dealer Team 1:25.5289
1225 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jason Bright Ford BF Falcon Britek Motorsport 1:25.5405
139 Flag of New Zealand.svg Shane van Gisbergen Ford BF Falcon Stone Brothers Racing 1:25.6020
1433 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lee Holdsworth Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:25.6282
1516 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Dumbrell Holden VE Commodore HSV Dealer Team 1:25.6311
162 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Skaife Holden VE Commodore Holden Racing Team 1:25.7070
17111 Flag of New Zealand.svg Fabian Coulthard Ford BF Falcon Paul Cruickshank Racing 1:25.7542
1811 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Jack Perkins Holden VE Commodore Perkins Engineering 1:26.0854
1926 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Marcus Marshall Ford BF Falcon Britek Motorsport 1:26.1087
20777 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Patrizi Ford BF Falcon Ford Rising Stars Racing 1:26.3251
2114 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Cameron McConville Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing 1:25.7938
2234 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Michael Caruso Holden VE Commodore Garry Rogers Motorsport 1:25.7999
2351 Flag of New Zealand.svg Greg Murphy Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:25.8425
243 Flag of New Zealand.svg Jason Richards Holden VE Commodore Tasman Motorsport 1:25.9215
2567 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Paul Morris Holden VE Commodore Paul Morris Motorsport 1:26.0057
2650 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Thompson Holden VE Commodore Paul Weel Racing 1:26.0388
2755 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Tony D'Alberto Holden VE Commodore Rod Nash Racing 1:26.0600
2812 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Andrew Jones Holden VE Commodore Brad Jones Racing 1:26.0721
29021 Flag of Bahrain.svg Fahad Al Musalam Ford BF Falcon Team Kiwi Racing 1:28.8069

Standings

After round 12 of 14.

PosNoNameTeamPoints
188 Jamie Whincup TeamVodafone 2916
25 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing 2729
31 Garth Tander Toll Holden Racing Team 2624
4888 Craig Lowndes TeamVodafone 2367
56 Steven Richards Ford Performance Racing 2178

Support categories

The 2008 Desert 400 of the V8 Supercar Championship had three support categories.

CategoryRound winner
Porsche Carrera Cup AsiaChristian Menzel (Porsche 997 GT3 Cup)
DHL Gulf Radical CupJohn Stanley (Radical SR8)
Batelco 2000cc ChallengeMustafa Al Khan (Honda Civic)

Related Research Articles

2007 PlaceMakers V8 Supercars

The 2007 PlaceMakers V8 Supercars was the third round of the 2007 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of the 20 to the 22 April at Pukekohe Park Raceway in New Zealand. This round will be the last V8 Supercar event at Pukekohe until 2013, with the 2008-12 New Zealand rounds being held on the streets of Hamilton. The round was also Cameron McConville's 100th start in the V8 Supercar Championship, and ran the number 100 on his car to mark this achievement.

2007 Winton round of the V8 Supercar Championship

The 2007 Winton round of the V8 Supercar Championship is the fourth of the 2007 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 18 to 20 May at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria (Australia).

2008 Hamilton 400

The 2008 Hamilton 400 was the third round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 18 to 20 April on the streets of Hamilton, in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand.

2008 BigPond 400

The 2008 BigPond 400 was the fourth round of the 2008 V8 Supercar season. It was held on the weekend of 9 to 11 May at Barbagallo Raceway in Wanneroo, north of Perth, Western Australia.

2008 Winton round of the V8 Supercar Championship

The eighth round of the V8 Supercar Championship was held at Winton Motor Raceway, Benalla Victoria on the weekend of August 1 to August 3.

2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

The 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was the twelfth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It was the 52nd race tracing its lineage back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island.

2009 Hamilton 400

The 2009 Hamilton 400 was the second race meeting of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of April 17–19 around the inner city streets of Hamilton, in New Zealand. The 2009 Hamilton 400 was the second running of the event.

2009 L&H 500

The 2009 L&H 500 was the Race 17 of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of 11 to 13 September at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria, Australia. This was the ninth running of the Phillip Island 500 and the second time that Phillip Island had served as the venue for the annual 500 kilometre two-driver V8 Supercar endurance race. Unique to this event, two preliminary 14 lap Qualifying Races were held on Saturday with the two drivers of each car starting one race each. A single pitstop by each car in either race was mandated with the combined results of the two races determining the grid for the main 500 kilometre race. The three races all carried championship points and together constituted “Race 17” of the championship. However the finishing positions at the end of the 500 km race were deemed to be the finishing positions of the “2009 L&H 500” regardless of the total points scored by drivers over the three individual races.

2009 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

The 2009 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars. It was the thirteenth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It is the 53rd race tracing its lineage back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island.

2009 Sydney Telstra 500

The Sydney Telstra 500 was the fourteenth and final event of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the inaugural running of the Sydney 500. It was held on the weekend of the December 4 to 6 on the roads running through the former Olympic precinct at Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney, New South Wales.

2010 Yas V8 400

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.

2010 ITM Hamilton 400

The 2010 ITM Hamilton 400 was the fourth event of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series and the third running of the Hamilton 400. It was held on the weekend of 16–18 April on the inner city streets of Hamilton, in New Zealand.

2010 Skycity Triple Crown

The 2010 Skycity Triple Crown was the seventh race meeting of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It featured Races 13 and 14 of the series and was held on the weekend of 18–20 June at Hidden Valley Raceway, in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, Australia.

2010 Sucrogen Townsville 400

The 2010 Sucrogen Townsville 400 was the eighth race meeting of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It featured Races 15 and 16 of the series and was held on the weekend of 9–11 July at the Townsville Street Circuit, in Townsville, in Queensland, Australia. It was the second running of the Townsville 400 street race.

2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

The 2010 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars. The race, which was held on Sunday, 10 October 2010 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia was Race 18 of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was the fourteenth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997. It was also the 54th race for which the lineage can be traced back to the 1960 Armstrong 500 held at Phillip Island.

2010 Armor All Gold Coast 600

The 2010 Armor All Gold Coast 600 is the eleventh event of the 2010 V8 Supercar Championship Series. It was held on the weekend of the 22 to 24 October at the Surfers Paradise Street Circuit in Queensland. V8 Supercars became the naming right category of the event for the first time in 2010 after racing as a support category for international open wheel racing for many of the previous Surfers Paradise events. In 2009 V8 Supercar were the leading category but not the naming rights category as that had been previously marketed as a double header with A1 Grand Prix who failed to arrive.

2012 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000

The 2012 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was an Australian touring car motor race for V8 Supercars, the twenty-first race of the 2012 International V8 Supercars Championship. It was held on Sunday, 7 October 2012 at the Mount Panorama Circuit on the outskirts of Bathurst, New South Wales, in Australia.

2014 International V8 Supercars Championship

The 2014 International V8 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the sixteenth running of the V8 Supercars Championship and the eighteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.

2015 International V8 Supercars Championship

The 2015 International V8 Supercars Championship was an FIA-sanctioned international motor racing series for V8 Supercars. It was the seventeenth running of the V8 Supercar Championship Series and the nineteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the premier Australian touring car title.

2016 Castrol Edge Townsville 400

The 2016 Castrol Edge Townsville 400 was a motor racing event for Supercars, held on the weekend of 8 to 10 July 2016. The event was held at the Townsville Street Circuit in Townsville, Queensland, and consisted of two races of 200 kilometres in length. It was the seventh event of fourteen in the 2016 International V8 Supercars Championship and hosted Races 14 and 15 of the season. The event was the eighth running of the Townsville 400.

References

    Supercars Championship
    Previous race:
    2008 The Coffee Club V8 Supercar Challenge
    2008 Supercars Championship Next race:
    2008 Falken Tasmania Challenge
    Previous year:
    2007 Desert 400
    Desert 400 Next year:
    2010 Desert 400