Shane van Gisbergen set the fastest time in practice at the Yas Marina Circuit today ahead of Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom.
After practice, five-time V8 Supercar champion and Seven Network V8 Supercar commentator Mark Skaife drove laps in Rick Kelly's #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore for Seven's telecast from Abu Dhabi.
JACK DANIEL'S RACING QUOTEBOARD
Rick Kelly - #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
"It was a tough first day for us," said Rick Kelly.
"The first practice session was massively hindered by the set of tyres that we put on. We had really bad oversteer and could not get ride of it.
"We eventually flat spotted a tyre and spun because of it so we changed to another set and that dramatically changed the Jack Daniel's Commodore.
"It's a bit of a bummer that those first set of tyres cost us some time and put us behind the eight-ball, but the car is feeling OK now.
"The track is a lot of fun and a real challenge so tomorrow we are just going to have to really give it our best shot and perform at a higher level to make up some ground.
"There are a lot of things to this track - change of direction, undulations in the first part of the lap, so it's a lot of fun.
"I feel pretty privileged to be able to drive around a circuit like this with the facilities we've got here. It's pretty exciting but nothing will make it more enjoyable than a good result.
"We've now got to work out where the car needs to be and how I need to drive it so that we can attack qualifying."
Todd Kelly - #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore:
"This track is a little bit tricky in places in one of these cars," said Rick Kelly.
"I think everything worked out quite well for our #7 Jack Daniel's Commodore today. We went through a heap of different set-ups and the mechanics earned their money today.
"We got a pretty good idea on the direction and where to go on set-up and I think the car was pretty good in the end. Nearly everyone put a second set of tyres on but we made a pact at the start of the day that we would only use one set of tyres for all four sessions.
"So it's a little harsh that we are 23rd when we are probably a bit better than that. When the car was at its best we stayed on old rubber.
"There is a bit of fine tuning that we need to do to the car and it's still a little too loose in the rear.
"I think that we should be up there somewhere when hook into qualifying tomorrow.
"The track is a challenge and it promotes you to be a little messy and loose in places so it's hard to string a really good lap together.
"If you get one or two corners wrong it's a long way to get back around and have another crack at it, and then to try and finish a neat lap.
"But it's a good track. It's quite difficult in places and technical. You need to have your eyes on to get around here for 200 kilometres, that's for sure.
"It's a fairly low grip type of surface and the corners are fast and a few of them are quite long-radius, which a V8 Supercar traditionally doesn't like. At the end of the day we don't have completely purpose built race cars and this track is a Formula One type track, as in Bahrain.
"And these types of tracks you need to bring your driving back from the limit a little bit and get around as good as you can without pushing too hard because it is extremely easy to get the car out of shape."
RESULTS: Combined Practice Times
1. #9 Shane Van Gisbergen 1:58.2230
2. #888 Craig Lowndes 1:58.3720
3. #5 Mark Winterbottom 1:58.5260
4. #4 Alex Davison 1:58.5600
5. #14 Jason Bright 1:59.1360
6. #11 Jason Bargwanna 1:59.3350
7. #6 Steven Richards 1:59.3390
8. #19 Jonathon Webb 1:59.3970
9. #1 Jamie Whincup 1:59.5130
10. #18 James Courtney 1:59.7090
19. #15 Rick Kelly 2:00.1990
25. #7 Todd Kelly 2:00.5320
KEY FACTS:
- Todd Kelly to debut brand new #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore in Abu Dhabi ...
* The brand new chassis is the first car to be constructed entirely at Kelly Racing's Braeside workshop, and has therefore been given the chassis designation 'KR-01'
* The car had its first outing on Monday 8 February 2010 at the first official test day of the season at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria, where team-mates Jason Bargwanna and Rick Kelly set the first and second fastest times respectively
- The Yas V8 400 is the first time V8 Supercars will race in Abu Dhabi ...
* The Yas Marina Circuit is arguably the world's most spectacular motorsport venue, costing A$1.49 billion to build
* The event will feature two twilight races, with Todd and Rick Kelly's Commodores set to stand out under lights with special reflective DFS and Jack Lives Here signage
* V8 Supercars will be the first category to use the 4.7 kilometre configuration of the circuit, which features the spectacular 'Corkscrew' section, which drops 15 metres in elevation across 100 metres in distance
- Todd Kelly has strong form in overseas events ...
* Todd Kelly won the first Asian event in V8 Supercar history by winning at the Shanghai International Circuit in 2005 (winning Race 1, Race 3 and the event overall)
* Todd Kelly also scored a race win (Race 3) and second overall at the first V8 Supercar event held in the Middle East at the Bahrain International Circuit in 2006
- Rick Kelly one to watch in season openers ...
* Rick Kelly won the season's opening event in 2007 when he claimed victory at the Clipsal 500 on the streets of Adelaide
* Rick Kelly also scored pole position for the season opener in Adelaide in 2005 and earned a podium finish with third place in 2006
- Key personnel stable at Jack Daniel's Racing ...
* Jack Daniel's Racing enters 2010 with a stable line-up of key personnel:
* Barry Ryan - Jack Daniel's Racing Team Manager
* James Small - Race Engineer, #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore
* David Swenson - Race Engineer, #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore
* Aaron Zampese - Number One Mechanic, #7 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore
* John Moore - Number One Mechanic, #15 Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodore
- Kellys welcome DFS aboard for Middle East double header ...
* Todd and Rick Kelly will welcome DFS Galleria to their team for the upcoming V8 Supercar events in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. DFS signage will be paired with 'Jack Lives Here' branding on the two distinctive black Commodores driven by the Kelly brothers, with Jack Daniel's logos removed from the cars, equipment and team uniforms for the two events in the Middle East
* DFS is the world's leading luxury retailer catering to the travelling public. Founded in 1960, DFS operates more than 200 stores including Abu Dhabi, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Japan, New Zealand, Guam and Hawaii
* The round DFS logo will replace the 'Old No 7' logo that usually adorns the bonnet of the two Jack Daniel's Racing Holden Commodores. The team's familiar Jack Daniel's Racing livery will return for the first Australian event of the 2010 season at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide on March 11-14
- Middle East airlift a massive operation for Jack Daniel's Racing ...
* More than 100-tonnes of cars and equipment, with an estimated value in excess of $AUD50 million, will be flown in two purpose-built 747-400 aircraft from Australia to Abu Dhabi before being re-packed for the short flight north to Bahrain and then returned home.
* As well as the V8 Supercars themselves, per car each team will also freight one spare engine, two spare gearboxes, 16 spare wheels, two spare bumpers, one rear bumper.
* Per car each team is also given a 3500kg freight container for spare panels, suspension, hubs, axles, oil, tools, computers and pit equipment.
An estimated 500 people from Australia will be attending the races in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, including:
* Approximately 500 people teams and V8 Supercars Australia will be travelling to Abu Dhabi for the Yas V8 400, with the Kelly Racing contingent around 40 people
YAS V8 400 DETAILS:
Circuit: Yas Marina Circuit
Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE
Circuit Length: 4.7 kilometres
Format: 200km race Saturday and Sunday
2010 is debut event for Abu Dhabi
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
All times are local UAE Times (GMT + 4 hours)
Thursday 18 February 2010
2:20pm - 3:00pm: Practice 1 (Rookies & Lower 50%)
3:20pm - 4:00pm: Practice 2 (Rookies & Lower 50%)
4:20pm - 5:00pm: Practice 3
5:20pm - 6:00pm: Practice 4
Friday 19 February 2010
2:10pm - 3:00pm: Qualifying
3:00pm: Top 10 Shootout
6:05pm: Race 1 (Series Race 1) - 43 laps
Saturday 20 February 2010
3:10pm - 3:30pm: Qualifying (for Race 2)
6:05pm: Race 2 (Series Race 2) - 43 laps
TELEVISION SCHEDULE - SEVEN NETWORK
Times subject to amendment - please check local guides
Saturday 20 February 2010
12:30pm - 4:30pm AEDST (V8 Supercars Race 1)
Sunday 21 February 2010
1:30pm - 4:30pm AEDST (V8 Supercars Race 2)
