Asian Motor Sports

RACE ONE

Jason Bright is the King of the Desert, but it’s the battle for the series crown that heated right up at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Bright became the inaugural winner of the V8 Supercars Middle East round, claiming victory in the Desert 400 after nearest rival Garth Tander jumped the start in the final heat and was penalized out of winning contention.

Tander looked on track for back-to-back round wins but his pitlane penalty ruined those hopes, although he was still able to recover and claim third in the round behind Bright and Holden’s Todd Kelly.

But the battle for the championship reached scorching point in the desert as Rick Kelly crashed in the second race before miraculously saving his series lead.

Kelly had built a 90 point lead before today’s races, but his disastrous second heat, when he was caught behind James Courtney’s Falcon at turn one and then plowed into from behind, allowed Ford’s Craig Lowndes to close the title gap to just 14 points.

With Lowndes starting the final race from fifth, and Kelly back in 28th near the rear of the grid, Lowndes was expected to regain the title lead.

But Kelly produced a sensational drive to finish the race in fifth position, just two spots behind Lowndes.

The result means Kelly maintains a seven point lead heading into the grand finale at Phillip Island on December 8-10.

“We got bitten by a couple of Fords,” said a philosophical Kelly. “We just have to do our best to recoup the points.”

While Lowndes’s success was virtually handed to him, Bright worked hard for his spoils with two runner-up finishes following his race one win.

Tander won race two comfortably and entered the final heat equal on points with Bright but was pinged for jumping the start.

Tander was given a drive through penalty and eventually finished ninth in the final heat and third for the round.

Bright made no mistake of the opportunity, and claimed his first individual round win at Ford Performance Racing to go with his Sandown 500 success with teammate Mark Winterbottom earlier this year.

Holden Racing Team’s Todd Kelly produced a solid final race drive, with a couple of brave passing moves earning a deserved race win and second place for the round.

RACE TWO

Garth Tander exacted his revenge on Jason Bright in the second race of the Desert 400 meeting at Bahrain International Circuit, cruising to a twelve-second win over his biggest rival for the overall round victory.

Having had to follow Bright’s CAT Ford home on Friday, Tander got the jump from second on the grid, survived the mandatory pit-stop without stalling and then pulled away at the front as his Toll HSV Holden proved to be easier on its tyres than the Falcon in his wake.

A first corner incident shuffled the pack behind them, with James Courtney being turned around and collecting Rick Kelly. With the field scattering, damage to Kelly’s car took on greater significance, as title rival Craig Lowndes jumped into an immediate third, from ninth on the grid. Although the Betta Electrical Ford driver subsequently dropped back down the order with a car not exactly to his liking, he remained fifth at the flag, closing the points gap to Kelly from 90 to just 14 with one race still to run in the desert.

Although they ran neck-and-neck to the first corner, Tander’s inside line - despite Bright holding pole - gave him the advantage to get ahead. While the top two got through unscathed, however, there was mayhem in their mirrors as Courtney, again making a fast getaway from fifth, received a touch from Rick Kelly, spinning the Jeld-Wen Ford across the bows of the second Toll HSV entry.

Steve Owen was also involved in the melee, but it was Courtney and Kelly who came off worst. Both returned to the pits but, while Courtney was back on track in short order, Kelly’s car was garaged for four laps while his team attempted to rectify steering and panel damage.

The order was shuffled as the chasing pack sought to avoid the chaos, many taking the wide line through the run-off asphalt. The net result was the appearance of Lowndes’ 888 Ford in third spot, from ninth, and Mark Winterbottom, up from eighth, both ahead of Todd Kelly, who had started third.

Max Wilson, Mark Skaife and Greg Murphy ran three abreast down the main straight at the end of the first lap, all eager to secure themselves an early top ten slot, only to be surprised by a late-braking Paul Dumbrell, who used the inside line to make it four abreast and sneak through in turn one. The Perkins Motorsport car remained at the head of the group, until Skaife’s attempts to retake the position resulted in him tapping the black Holden into a spin. That earned the multiple champion a drive-thru penalty and removed him from contention.

Where race one had been conducted in almost courteous conditions, race two continued to fill its opening laps with carnage, Will Davison’s miserable weekend again ending early when he was tipped into a spin that left the chasing Jack Perkins nowhere to go. The two cars were unrepairable, and were joined on the sidelines by Marcus Marshall’s Glenfords entry after a three-way scuffle involving Jason Bargwanna and Andrew Jones.

With the disorder behind them, it was no surprise that Tander and Bright managed to pull out a cushion over the pack. Their cause was aided by Lowndes, whose Betta Electrical Ford appeared to be running slower than usual, holding up Winterbottom and Kelly behind him. Winterbottom made short work of his Ford stablemate, but Kelly made his mandatory pit-stop just as he was lining Lowndes up.

At about the same time, brother Rick finally rejoined the fray, some four laps down, but determined to register as many points as possible to lessen the damage inflicted by Lowndes.

Once again, the opening of the pit window prompted most of the frontrunners to call in for fresh tyres within a lap or two. Kelly was joined by Bright, Richards and Whincup, while Lowndes, Murphy and Winterbottom waited a lap longer. Tander came in when most of the field had departed, giving him a less frenetic pit-lane to deal with. That proved to be a wise tactic, as Russell Ingall received a penalty for clipping Jason Richards on exit and others coming close to contact. Kelly and Lowndes both stalled as they tried to get away on the grippy concrete apron, but it didn’t appear to affect their positions too much.

With Steven Johnson, who had started from pit-lane after a disastrous opening race, not showing many signs of wanting a quick return, and debutant Chris Pither opting not to pit with the pack, the order immediately after the flurry was somewhat misleading, but Tander had retained his advantage over Bright, with Winterbottom, Kelly and Lowndes following on.

Lowndes car began issuing smoke at irregular intervals but the title hopeful had the safety net of 888 team-mate Whincup running behind him, ahead of Richards and the Supercheap Holdens of McConville and Murphy. Although the race had become largely static, with cars strung out around the shorter version of the Bahrain circuit, Murphy was man on the move, passing McConville for ninth on lap 16 and, nine laps later, catching and disposing of Richards for what had become seventh when Pither pitted. McConville was also doing his bit to liven proceedings, fending off Jason Richards for ninth, while the midfield had a four car train running for the mid-teens.

Other than that, the second half was mostly about two things - the growing gap between Tander and Bright, and whether Lowndes could keep going and resist succumbing to those inching closer behind him. The answer to the latter was yes, with Lowndes securing fifth at the flag. With title rival Kelly only 28th after his problems, the gap between them was slashed by nearly 80 points, the Ford man redressing the damage of recent races to blow the championship race wide open again.

Tander’s advantage, meanwhile, grew to in excess of ten seconds at the checkers, the Toll HSV Holden handling its rear tyre wear a lot better than Bright’s Ford. The pair now enter race three tied on points in terms of the round win, setting up a head-to-head that, if it goes Bright’s way, could give Ford the manufacturers’ title. Tander, however, will have other ideas, his sights set on Winterbottom’s third place in points.