The Desert 400 was a
V8 Supercar
The Supercars Championship is a touring car racing category in Australia, running as an International Series under Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) regulations, governing the sport.
Supercars events take place in all Australian ...
motor racing event held at the
Bahrain International Circuit
The Bahrain International Circuit ( ar, حلبة البحرين الدولية, Ḥalba al-Baḥrayn ad-Dawliyya) is a motorsport venue opened in 2004 and used for drag racing, GP2 Series (now FIA Formula 2), and the annual Formula One Bahrai ...
in
Manama
Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani Arabic, Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is h ...
,
Bahrain
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...
. It was held from 2006 to 2008 and in 2010.
History
First held in 2006, the Desert 400 was only the second V8 Supercar championship event to be held outside
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, following a
single event at the
Shanghai International Circuit
The Shanghai International Circuit () is a motorsport race track, situated in the Jiading District, Shanghai. The circuit is best known as the venue for the annual Chinese Grand Prix which was hosted from 2004 to 2019 and was scheduled again fro ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2005. The Bahrain event was originally held in November as one of the final rounds in the season's calendar. In 2008, local Bahrain driver
Fahad Al Musalam made a guest appearance in the event for
Team Kiwi Racing
Team Kiwi Racing is a racing team that previously competed in the Australian V8 Supercar series, the Australian Carrera Cup Series, The New Zealand 2.0ltr Touring Car Championship, The NZV8 Championship and BMW Championship Series. The team has s ...
. The 2009 event did not take place, as the scheduled event in November 2009 was postponed to February 2010 in order to link up with the new
Yas V8 400
The Yas Marina Circuit V8 Supercar Event was a V8 Supercars motor racing event held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event was held from 2010 to 2012.
History
The inaugural Yas V8 400 in 2010 was the opening event ...
event, held in nearby
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area.
...
.
The racing itself was dominated by
Ford Performance Racing
Tickford Racing (formerly known as Prodrive Racing Australia and Ford Performance Racing) is an Australian motor racing team which competes in the Supercars Championship. The team currently campaigns three Ford Mustangs, with their current drive ...
and
Triple Eight Race Engineering
Triple Eight Race Engineering, (branded as Red Bull Ampol Racing) is an Australian motor racing team competing in the Supercars Championship. The team has been the only Brisbane based V8 Supercar team since its formation, originally operating ...
, each winning two events at the track.
Jamie Whincup
Jamie Whincup (born 6 February 1983) is an Australian professional racing driver competing in the Supercars Championship. He currently is team principal for Triple Eight Race Engineering. He has driven the No. 88 Holden Commodore (ZB), Holden Z ...
was the only driver to win multiple events at the circuit, winning in 2008 and 2010 in a Triple Eight prepared
Ford
Ford commonly refers to:
* Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford
* Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river
Ford may also refer to:
Ford Motor Company
* Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company
* Ford F ...
and
Holden
Holden, formerly known as General Motors-Holden, was an Australian subsidiary company of General Motors. It was an Australian automobile manufacturer, importer, and exporter which sold cars under its own marque in Australia. In its last thre ...
respectively.
Demise
In late 2010, V8 Supercars announced the event was to be discontinued for 2011, citing the congested nature of the circuit's early season schedule. V8 Supercar would maintain a presence in the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
until 2012, at Abu Dhabi, however the championship no longer features an event in the region.
Circuit
The series used the Bahrain International Circuit's shorter Paddock layout for the series' first three visits. For the final Desert 400 in 2010, the addition of
GP2 Asia to the V8 Supercar weekend led to the event using the full Grand Prix layout for the first time, a layout normally used in the
Bahrain Grand Prix
The Bahrain Grand Prix ( ar, جائزة البحرين الكبرى), officially known as the Gulf Air Bahrain Grand Prix for sponsorship reasons, is a Formula One motor racing event in Bahrain. The first race took place at the Bahrain Internat ...
.
Winners
Multiple winners
By driver
By team
By manufacturer
Event sponsors
* 2008:
Gulf Air
Gulf Air ( ar, طيران الخليج ''Ṭayarān al-Khalīj'') is the state-owned airline and the flag carrier of Bahrain, which was founded in 1950 by British Pilot Freddie Bosworth as Gulf Aviation. Headquartered in Muharraq, the airline ...
See also
*
Yas V8 400
The Yas Marina Circuit V8 Supercar Event was a V8 Supercars motor racing event held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The event was held from 2010 to 2012.
History
The inaugural Yas V8 400 in 2010 was the opening event ...
*
List of Australian Touring Car Championship races
The list of Australian Touring Car Championship Races is a list of all the races or rounds which have been held in the combined 60-year history of the Australian Touring Car Championship, V8 Supercars Championship and Supercars Championship.
As o ...
References
External links
Official event website
Supercars Championship races
Auto races in Bahrain
Motorsport competitions in Bahrain
Recurring sporting events established in 2006
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2010
2006 establishments in Bahrain
2010 disestablishments in Bahrain
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