V8 Supercars to Share Race Weekend with F1 at Yas Marina Circuit Next Month
Drivers will compete in three 12-lap races – each over 65 kilometers each – with two held on Saturday November 3 and the third on Sunday November 4.
There will be a pair of 30-minute practice sessions on Friday November 2 as well as a 20-minute qualifying session that will see the three fastest times of each driver count for the grid of each of the three races.
A driver’s fastest time will determine the grid for Race 24 of the championship, their second fastest determine their starting spot for Race 25 and their third fastest will lock in their grid position for Race 26.
Drivers will be permitted to use either tire compound – soft and/or hard – in the qualifying session.
The same qualifying format was used at Barbagallo in Perth last year – in that case a driver’s two fastest times were used to determine two separate race grids.
Tire usage will be mixed for the three races with Dunlop’s hard tire to be used in Race 24 and its soft tire compound in Race 25 and Race 26.
Each car will have 12 hard and 12 soft tires to use over the course of the event.
There will be no compulsory pit stops in any of the races.
Each race will be worth 100 points to the winner with the usual scale down for a three-race event.
The announcement that the Abu Dhabi event will feature three races now means that the 2012 V8 Supercars Championship will be held over 30 races.
This year will be the third consecutive year that the V8 Supercars have raced on the Abu Dhabi circuit, but for the first time alongside Formula 1 and for the first time on the 5.554-kilometre Grand Prix-length circuit.
Jamie Whincup won both races in the inaugural event at the Yas Marina Circuit in 2010, while he shared the victories with the Holden Racing Team’s James Courtney in last year’s season-opener.