I’ve just finished watching the 1st round of the V8 Supercars from Abu Dhabi. Here’s a rundown of the good, the bad and the ugly
The Good

• The bounceback from the negative points situation for James Courtney to win Race 2 of the round! It was truly awesome and my heart was racing for those last 20 laps, willing you home. Brilliant result!
• Awesome finish by Jason Bright (second) – It looked like he was going to do it but didn’t have the tyres left under him. The last 10 laps were the highlight of the race
• Alex Davison’s 2nd place in Race 1. He knew he could do it, and a great race got him there!
• Jason Bargwanna scoring the fast lap of the race and breaking the lap record (incidentally right after being nerfed off the track by Jamie Whincup).

The Bad

• James Courtney being pinged 50 points (to put him into negative points!) Drive-through penalties work better as it gives someone the chance to claw some points back, and you don’t end up ‘creating  history’ with silly negative points situations! (For the record, an ‘early plea’ would have resulted in a 25 point deduction). James Moffat also copped a 25-point penalty for nerfing Bargwanna on lap 43 (See Story). Also, see “The Ugly”, below
• Garth Tander & Tim Slade being knocked out less than half a lap through Race 2 by a wayward Tony D’Alberto.
• The lollipop man at the end of the pits – he clearly had his little ‘stop’ sign showing and Lowndes just drove straight past. No penalty.
• Jamie Whincup nerfing Jason Bargwanna. No penalty.

The Ugly

• Tony D’Alberto, you are an idiot. No race or championship is won before a lap is completed!
• V8 Supercars: for handing down a 25 point penalty to Tony D’Alberto you, too are idiots. How can 25 points for Courtney or Moffat equate to the carnage caused by Tony D’Alberto?
• The farce that was the Safety car debacle in Race 2
• Craig Lowndes hit on Russell Ingall. WTF Craig?!?

Other notables

• Mark Winterbottom, you need to stop ‘following’ and think for yourself. That last second jump into pitlane was a brain explosion, possibly as a reaction to Whincup. Think like a leader, not a follower.
• Will Davison showed promise, but that re-entry to the track was dangerous, and always going to end in tears.
• David Reynolds (fourth) in the second race thanks to a great strategy and fuel economy. It must be great to outscore the team owners and be 5th in the championship!

I am looking forward to the Clipsal 500 as I will be there to see all the action up close!