Whincup on Abu Dhabi race one pole

Whincup was fastest in qualifying and went even faster in the shootout to take pole position by nearly quarter of a second in his return to the Holden marque, with Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander alongside him after setting the second fastest time in both sessions.

A pair of Fords fill the second row, Ford Performance Racing's Mark Winterbottom just edging out Jim Beam's James Courtney. Tander's team-mate Will Davison was fifth fastest, just edging out Jason Bright who switched teams and marques during the off-season and is now in a Holden for Brad Jones.

Lee Holdsworth and Stone Brothers Racing team-mates Alex Davison and Shane van Gisbergen fill the next three places, with Whincup's team-mate Craig Lowndes completing the top-ten after spinning late in his shootout lap after looking likely to set a time around that of Winterbottom's.

Just outside the top ten are Paul Dumbrell in another FPR car, just ahead of Holdsworth's team-mate Michael Caruso and the Supercheap car of Russell Ingall.

The two Kellys, Rick and Todd, had a disappointing session, qualifying 17th and 21st, though both are ahead of FPR's Steven Richards in 23rd and Paul Morris in 27th who is subbing for Greg Murphy who had a clashing commitment in New Zealand.

Pos  Driver                Car                   Time
 1.  Jamie Whincup         Holden Commodore VE   1:58.1140 
 2.  Garth Tander          Holden Commodore VE   1:58.3550  + 0.2410
 3.  Mark Winterbottom     Ford Falcon FG        1:58.6620  + 0.5480
 4.  James Courtney        Ford Falcon FG        1:58.6790  + 0.5650
 5.  Will Davison          Holden Commodore VE   1:58.8540  + 0.7400
 6.  Jason Bright          Holden Commodore VE   1:58.9000  + 0.7860
 7.  Lee Holdsworth        Holden Commodore VE   1:59.3560  + 1.2420
 8.  Alex Davison          Ford Falcon FG        1:59.4180  + 1.3040
 9.  Shane Van Gisbergen   Ford Falcon FG        1:59.5250  + 1.4110
10.  Craig Lowndes         Holden Commodore VE   2:09.2870  + 1.1730
11.  Paul Dumbrell         Ford Falcon FG        1:59.1360  + 1.0220
12.  Michael Caruso        Holden Commodore VE   1:59.1980  + 1.0840
13.  Russell Ingall        Holden Commodore VE   1:59.2400  + 1.1260
14.  Steven Johnson        Ford Falcon FG        1:59.3210  + 1.2070
15.  Jason Bargwanna       Holden Commodore VE   1:59.3710  + 1.2570
16.  Jonathon Webb         Ford Falcon FG        1:59.3760  + 1.2620
17.  Rick Kelly            Holden Commodore VE   1:59.4270  + 1.3130
18.  Tony D'Alberto        Holden Commodore VE   1:59.8970  + 1.7830
19.  Tim Slade             Ford Falcon FG        1:59.9030  + 1.7890
20.  Jason Richards        Holden Commodore VE   1:59.9120  + 1.7980
21.  Todd Kelly            Holden Commodore VE   2:00.0730  + 1.9590
22.  Andrew Thompson       Holden Commodore VE   2:00.0770  + 1.9630
23.  Steven Richards       Ford Falcon FG        2:00.1770  + 2.0630
24.  Fabian Coulthard      Holden Commodore VE   2:00.1830  + 2.0690
25.  Karl Reindler         Holden Commodore VE   2:00.3790  + 2.2650
26.  Dean Fiore            Ford Falcon FG        2:00.3900  + 2.2760
27.  Paul Morris           Holden Commodore VE   2:00.8450  + 2.7310
28.  Daniel Gaunt          Holden Commodore VE   2:00.8850  + 2.7710
29.  Tony Ricciardello     Holden Commodore VE   2:03.0130  + 4.8990