Jonathon Webb tops opening Abu Dhabi practice

Tekno Autosports driver Jonathon Webb has continued his strong run of form by topping the opening practice session for the V8 Supercars Championship in Abu Dhabi.

Webb’s set his best time of 2:14.88s on his 10th and penultimate lap, which proved almost 0.5s quicker than the next fastest man, Steve Owen.

Tim Slade, Jamie Whincup, Michael Caruso, Lee Holdsworth, Will Davison, Shane van Gisbergen, James Moffat and Alex Premat completed the top 10.

The 30 minute session  was held in typically hot and sunny conditions and saw the V8 Supercars competitors taste Yas Marina’s full Grand Prix layout for the first time.

Cars frequently took to the abundant tarmac run-off areas as the drivers explored the limits of the ‘dirty’ surface, with minor contact between Caruso and Fabian Coulthard at the Turn 7 hairpin the only notable incident.

James Courtney, meanwhile, was parked in the pitlane for five minutes by officials after hitting the Turn 1 apex bollard.

Greg Murphy ended the 30 minutes at the foot of the time sheets after a session blighted by mechanical issues. The Kiwi’s single flying lap proved a full 4.4s slower than Webb’s best.

Teams have six sets of new tyres (three soft and three hard) to use over the weekend, with no pre-marked practice tyres brought over from Australia.

A second 30 minute practice session will take place prior to qualifying.

See below for the full session result

See below for Speedcafe.com’s Abu Dhabi Race Guide