Jamie Whincup wins race one in Abu Dhabi

Triple Eight Race Engineering’s Jamie Whincup has won Round 24 of the V8 Supercars Championship at the Yas Marina circuit, extending his points lead.

Will Davison had started from pole in the Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon, and held on to the lead at the start, but Whincup was able to pass on the the first lap and hold on to take the win.

Davison continued to finish second after a close battle in the early stages with Shane van Gisbergen.

Behind Whincup it was a strong race for Ford, with the blue oval occupying second to sixth spots with all three Stone Brothers Racing Falcons in formation from third to fifth, with FPR’s Mark Winterbottom finishing in sixth and losing ground to Whincup in the championship.

Former champions James Courtney and Rick Kelly, driving for HRT and Kelly Racing respectively, retired from the race after being caught up in an incident at Turn 7 on lap two which also involved Garry Rogers Motorsport’s Alex Prémat and Tony D’Alberto.

Race 25 follows today with Race 26 on Sunday, with Davison starting from pole ahead of Whincup for both races.