Motorsport: Whincup sets cracking pace for Bahrain field

Two-time defending Australian V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup has got the jump on the rest of the pack heading into round two of the series in Bahrain this weekend. This despite his Triple Eight team changing from Ford to Holden during the off-season.

Whincup made a clean sweep of the opening two races at the new Yas Marina circuit and sits top of the table on 300 points.

The V8 circus has moved up the coast this weekend for round two of the championship in Bahrain. His competitors will be worried as Whincup went on to win his last two V8 series titles after gaining maximum points in opening rounds in 2008 and 2009. To add insult to injury for the chasing pack, Whincup won all three races in Bahrain in 2008.

"We've had a great start to the year and on top of that we've debuted a brand new car," he said. "To take a brand new car to a brand new circuit and do so well, we're extremely happy.

"We've reinvented the wheel setup wise and it's working well for us. We dominated last weekend but that's history now, although we do come into this weekend with great confidence.

"My brain almost fried trying to learn the Abu Dhabi circuit and now I have to learn a brand new Bahrain circuit as well. I think the new part of the circuit is the best part of the track. I don't think we've been getting the best out of the place in the past."

Whincup backed up his quietly confident demeanour by posting the second fastest time behind team mate Craig Lowndes at the end of official practice.

The extra 80 minutes' practice granted to Garth Tander and Will Davison due to their dismal showing last weekend was to no avail as both finished outside the top five.

There's a glimmer of hope for the rest of the drivers as this weekend's event is on the full international 5.4km circuit rather than the shorter 3.6km version used in the past.

Shane van Gisbergen is again the leading Kiwi driver, setting the fourth fastest time just behind Todd Kelly, and is the leading Ford driver.

Van Gisbergen is brimming with confidence having won his first podium finish in the V8s in Abu Dhabi last weekend, setting the lap record. He now sits fourth on the championship table.

"The new bit of road we are racing on is pretty cool. To start with we just ran through the motions and did some longer runs," said Van Gisbergen. "The surface of the track is really abrasive so the tyres didn't last that long and our times dropped away a bit.

"The car's been working pretty well and the guys have been doing a great job. I've been driving all right and it's all coming together nicely. We've been quick in pre-season testing so we knew the car was good.

"I've raced on the half the track before so now I've got to go about learning the rest of it. It's great that there are a few more passing opportunities."

Fellow Kiwi Greg Murphy took no time to get to grips with his first drive in his new Castrol Holden, after missing the first round which clashed with his co-presenting duties on the Top Gear Live Show in New Zealand, to be 10th fastest with his team mate Russell Ingall in ninth. Steve Richards finished in fifth while Jason Bright and Alex Davidson rounded out the top 10 fastest drivers.

POINTS
* Jamie Whincup: 300
* Mark Winterbottom: 267
* Craig Lowndes: 249
* Shane van Gisbergen: 231
* James Courtney: 222
* Lee Holdsworth: 207
* Rick Kelly: 198
* Paul Dumbrell: 165