V8 Supercars Championship leader Jamie Whincup has thrown down the gauntlet ahead of qualifying in Abu Dhabi, topping the second practice session of the day.
The TeamVodafone driver sat atop the sheets from the early minutes, setting his best time of 2:13.66s on just his fourth of 11 laps.
A late effort from Tony D’Alberto saw the repaired Hiflex Falcon just 0.15s adrift in second ahead of Practice 1 fast-man Jonathon Webb.
Steve Owen and Michael Patrizi also lapped in the 2:13s bracket to complete the top five while Steven Johnson, Craig Lowndes, Dean Fiore, Tim Slade and Shane van Gisbergen filled sixth through 10th.
A number of drivers, including the three Ford Performance Racing Falcon pilots Will Davison, Mark Winterbottom and David Reynolds, elected against dipping into their soft tyre bank during the session and ended up down the order.
Greg Murphy’s difficult day continued as the Pepsi Max Crew Holden failed to add to its single flying lap from Practice 1, sitting in the garage with mechanical issues for most of the 30 minutes.
A 20 minute qualifying session will complete the Friday running for the V8 Supercars at the Yas Marina Circuit. Each driver’s three fastest times in the session will determine the grid for Races 24, 25 and 26 respectively.
See below for the full Practice 2 result
| 1 | TeamVodafone | Jamie Whincup | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.6960 | |
| 2 | Team Hiflex | Tony D’Alberto | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.8090 | 0:00.1130 |
| 3 | Tekno Autosports | Jonathon Webb | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.8300 | 0:00.1340 |
| 4 | VIP Petfoods | Steve Owen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:13.9280 | 0:00.2320 |
| 5 | Tekno Autosports | Michael Patrizi | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:13.9950 | 0:00.2990 |
| 6 | Dick Johnson Racing | Steven Johnson | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.0180 | 0:00.3220 |
| 7 | TeamVodafone | Craig Lowndes | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.0930 | 0:00.3970 |
| 8 | Dick Johnson Racing | Dean Fiore | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.1790 | 0:00.4830 |
| 9 | Lucky 7 Racing | Tim Slade | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.3660 | 0:00.6700 |
| 10 | SP Tools Racing | Shane Van Gisbergen | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.5740 | 0:00.8780 |
| 11 | Trading Post FPR Ford | Will Davison | Ford Falcon FG | 2:14.5750 | 0:00.8790 |
| 12 | Kelly Racing | Rick Kelly | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.6420 | 0:00.9460 |
| 13 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Alexandre Premat | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:14.8500 | 0:01.1540 |
| 14 | Orrcon Steel FPR Ford | Mark Winterbottom | Ford Falcon FG | 2:15.0100 | 0:01.3140 |
| 15 | Lockwood Racing | Fabian Coulthard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.2320 | 0:01.5360 |
| 16 | Irwin Racing | Lee Holdsworth | Ford Falcon FG | 2:15.2880 | 0:01.5920 |
| 17 | Holden Racing Team | Garth Tander | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.3420 | 0:01.6460 |
| 18 | Team Norton DJR | James Moffat | Ford Falcon FG | 2:15.3710 | 0:01.6750 |
| 19 | The Bottle-O Racing Team | David Reynolds | Ford Falcon FG | 2:15.6200 | 0:01.9240 |
| 20 | Fujitsu Racing GRM | Michael Caruso | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.6300 | 0:01.9340 |
| 21 | Holden Racing Team | James Courtney | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.8240 | 0:02.1280 |
| 22 | Kelly Racing | Tim Blanchard | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.8580 | 0:02.1620 |
| 23 | Team BOC | Jason Bright | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.9000 | 0:02.2040 |
| 24 | Supercheap Auto Racing | Russell Ingall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:15.9970 | 0:02.3010 |
| 25 | Wilson Security Racing | David Wall | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:16.4760 | 0:02.7800 |
| 26 | Team iSelect | Taz Douglas | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:16.9270 | 0:03.2310 |
| 27 | Fair Dinkum Sheds Racing | Karl Reindler | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:17.1900 | 0:03.4940 |
| 28 | Pepsi Max Crew | Greg Murphy | Holden Commodore VE2 | 2:29.3860 | 0:15.6900 |
See below for Speedcafe.com’s Abu Dhabi Race Guide
