Desert 400

The Desert 400 was a V8 Supercar motor racing event held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Manama, Bahrain. It was held from 2006 to 2008 and in 2010.

Desert 400
Race Information
Venue Bahrain International Circuit
Number of times held 4
First held 2006
Last held 2010
Race Format
Race 1
Laps 37
Distance 200 km
Race 2
Laps 37
Distance 200 km
Last Event (2010)
Overall Winner
Jamie WhincupTriple Eight Race Engineering
Race Winners
Jamie WhincupTriple Eight Race Engineering
Jamie WhincupTriple Eight Race Engineering

History

First held in 2006, the Desert 400 was only the second V8 Supercar championship event to be held outside Australia and New Zealand, following a single event at the Shanghai International Circuit in China in 2005. The Bahrain event was originally held in November as one of the final rounds in the season's calendar. In 2008, local Bahrain driver Fahad Al Musalam made a guest appearance in the event for Team Kiwi Racing. The 2009 event did not take place, as the scheduled event in November 2009 was postponed to February 2010 in order to link up with the new Yas V8 400 event, held in nearby Abu Dhabi.

The racing itself was dominated by Ford Performance Racing and Triple Eight Race Engineering, each winning two events at the track. Jamie Whincup was the only driver to win multiple events at the circuit, winning in 2008 and 2010 in a Triple Eight prepared Ford and Holden respectively.[1]

Demise

In late 2010, V8 Supercars announced the event was to be discontinued for 2011, citing the congested nature of the circuit's early season schedule.[2] V8 Supercar would maintain a presence in the Middle East until 2012, at Abu Dhabi, however the championship no longer features an event in the region.

Circuit
The Paddock layout of Bahrain International Circuit, used from 2006 to 2008 at the Desert 400.

The series used the Bahrain International Circuit's shorter Paddock layout for the series' first three visits. For the final Desert 400 in 2010, the addition of GP2 Asia to the V8 Supercar weekend led to the event using the full Grand Prix layout for the first time, a layout normally used in the Bahrain Grand Prix. [3]

Winners
Year Driver Team Car Report
2006 Jason Bright Ford Performance Racing Ford BF Falcon
2007 Mark Winterbottom Ford Performance Racing Ford BF Falcon Report
2008 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford BF Falcon Report
2009 not held
2010 Jamie Whincup Triple Eight Race Engineering Holden VE Commodore Report

Multiple winners

By driver
Wins Driver Years
2 Jamie Whincup 2008, 2010

By team
Wins Team
2 Ford Performance Racing
Triple Eight Race Engineering

By manufacturer
Wins Manufacturer
3 Ford

Event sponsors

See also

References
  1. Greenhalgh, David; Howard, Graham; Wilson, Stewart (2011). The official history: Australian Touring Car Championship - 50 Years. St Leonards, New South Wales: Chevron Publishing Group. pp. 102–111. ISBN 978-0-9805912-2-4.
  2. "Early season schedule sees Bahrain dumped". SpeedCafe. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  3. Freeman, Glenn (ed.) (21 January 2010). "Pit & Paddock: V8s to use Bahrain GP track". Autosport. Vol. 199 no. 3. p. 25.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)

Official event website


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