Courtney wins Abu Dhabi thriller
Date published : 12 Feb 2011 - 16:36:00
James Courtney scored his first win for HRT in a thrilling V8 Supercar race in Abu Dhabi.Two lengthy safety car periods tore up the usual strategy and created an amazing finale. Courtney was ahead, but marginal on fuel, Jason Bright was second but had no such issues. He ate into Courtney's advantage and swooped into the lead with a daring pass.But the reigning champion was able to up his pace and hold on to the Brad Jones Racing Holden. On the penultimate lap Courtney made his move, only for Bright to fightback instantly. But this left an opportunity for Courtney to re-pass once more - the lead changing three times in three corners!This was the decisive exchange and Courtney held on for a sensational victory. It also ended Jamie Whincup's unbeaten streak at Yas Marina. He finished third having being shuffled down the order by pitting under the second safety car.David Reynolds took a great fourth after a similar fuel gamble to Courtney's by his Straco Racing team, while Michael Caruso finished sixth for Fujitsu Racing, making it a Holden clean sweep of the top six places. Jonathon Webb was the top Ford runner in seventh.Pos Driver Car Time/Gap 1. James Courtney Holden 1h43m14.651s 2. Jason Bright Holden + 0.607s 3. Jamie Whincup Holden + 4.827s 4. David Reynolds Holden + 7.941s 5. Michael Caruso Holden + 12.345s 6. Jonathon Webb Ford + 13.100s 7. Alex Davison Ford + 13.656s 8. Shane van Gisbergen Ford + 14.199s 9. Greg Murphy Holden + 18.076s10. Paul Dumbrell Ford + 20.280s11. Karl Reindler Holden + 20.497s12. Jason Bargwanna Holden + 21.070s13. Steve Owen Holden + 25.713s14. Mark Winterbottom Ford + 28.110s15. Fabian Coulthard Holden + 42.488s16. Will Davison Ford + 49.120s17. Warren Luff Holden + 55.617s18. Steven Johnson Ford + 59.414s19. Rick Kelly Holden + 1 lap20. Dean Fiore Ford + 1 lap21. Craig Lowndes Holden + 1 lap22. Lee Holdsworth Holden + 5 lapsRetirements: James Moffat Ford 26 laps Russell Ingall Holden 19 laps Todd Kelly Holden 3 laps Tony D'Alberto Holden 0 laps Garth Tander Holden 0 laps Tim Slade Ford 0 laps
