The 2010 V8 Supercar season was the fourteenth series in which V8 Supercars have contested the senior Australian touring car series. It was the 51st year of touring car racing in Australia since the first runnings of the Australian Touring Car Championship, known today as the V8 Supercar Championship Series, and the fore-runner of the present day Bathurst 1000, the Armstrong 500.
The season began on 18 February at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi and finished on 5 December at the Homebush Street Circuit. 2010 featured the fourteenth V8 Supercar Championship Series, consisting of 14 events covering five states and the Northern Territory of Australia as well as events in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and New Zealand. There was also a stand-alone event supporting the 2010 Australian Grand Prix. It also featured the eleventh second-tier Development Series, this year referred to as the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series. It was a seven-round series. A third third-tier series was run, the Shannons V8 Touring Car National Series. Its five-round series was held on Shannons Nationals Motor Racing Championships events.
Season review The first title to be decided saw Tony Evangelou dominate Shannons V8 Touring Car National Series, wrapping up the series a round early at Eastern Creek on 12 September.
Steve Owen clinched the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series with a race to spare, and eventually won the championship by over 300 points, taking four of the seven round victories over the course of the season, and a total of eight race wins. Tim Blanchard finished as season runner-up, taking a round victory at Townsville where he won his only race of the season. Consistent finishing helped James Moffat and Nick Percat – neither won a race – finish in third and fourth places respectively, ahead of David Russell, who won the round at Bathurst. Cameron McConville took the other round win, in a single appearance at Winton, while Taz Douglas, Jack Perkins and Paul Morris each took race victories.
The main V8 Supercar Championship Series was last to be decided, with the championship not being decided until the final race in Homebush on 5 December. James Courtney won his first championship, finishing every race en route to a 65-point title-winning margin over two-time defending champion Jamie Whincup. Courtney's championship was the first for Dick Johnson Racing since John Bowe won the title in 1995. Courtney took five race wins to Whincup's nine, but retirements for the latter at Ipswich and Homebush denied him the opportunity of matching Mark Skaife as a three-time successive champion. Mark Winterbottom finished third in the championship, winning races at Hidden Valley, Townsville and Symmons Plains, as he finished 60 points over Whincup's team-mate Craig Lowndes. Lowndes won the endurance rounds at Phillip Island and Bathurst with Skaife, as well as a solo win at Symmons Plains. Holden Racing Team's Garth Tander rounded out the top five in the drivers' championship, recovering from a poor beginning to the season, taking a double victory in Adelaide, a win (with Cameron McConville) in Surfers Paradise, as well as a victory in the non-championship BRC IMPCO V8 Supercars GP Challenge for V8 Supercar Championship Series competitors.
Other race victories were taken by Lee Holdsworth, Paul Dumbrell, Jonathon Webb and Steve Owen (partnering Whincup in Surfers Paradise), which were the first victories for each driver with the exception of Holdsworth. Triple Eight Race Engineering won the Teams' Championship via the top four championship placings of Whincup and Lowndes.
Race calendar Dates sourced from:
Race titleCircuitCity / stateRoundDateWinnerTeamReport Yas V8 400 Yas Marina Circuit Yas IslandUnited Arab Emirates VSC 1VSC 2 18–20 February Jamie WhincupJamie Whincup Triple Eight Race EngineeringTriple Eight Race Engineering report Desert 400 Bahrain International Circuit ManamaBahrain VSC 3VSC 4 25–27 February Jamie WhincupJamie Whincup Triple Eight Race EngineeringTriple Eight Race Engineering report Clipsal 500 Adelaide Street Circuit AdelaideSouth Australia VSC 5VSC 6 11–14 March Garth TanderGarth Tander Holden Racing TeamHolden Racing Team report FVS 1 Steve Owen Greg Murphy Racing BRC IMPCO V8 SupercarsGP Challenge Albert Park MelbourneVictoria 26–28 March Garth Tander Holden Racing Team report Launceston Symmons Plains Raceway LauncestonTasmania SVTC 1 10–11 April Terry Wyhoon Image Racing ITM Hamilton 400 Hamilton Street Circuit HamiltonNew Zealand VSC 7VSC 8 16–18 April Jamie WhincupJamie Whincup Triple Eight Race EngineeringTriple Eight Race Engineering report Ipswich 300 Queensland Raceway IpswichQueensland VSC 9VSC 10 30 April - 2 May James Courtney James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing report FVS 2 Steve Owen Greg Murphy Racing Winton Winton Motor Raceway BenallaVictoria VSC 11VSC 12 14–16 May James Courtney James Courtney Dick Johnson Racing Dick Johnson Racing report FVS 3 Cameron McConville Eggleston Motorsport Mallala Mallala Motor Sport Park MallalaSouth Australia SVTC 2 29–30 May Tony Evangelou A.N.T. Racing Skycity Triple Crown Hidden Valley Raceway DarwinNorthern Territory VSC 13VSC 14 18–20 June Mark Winterbottom Jamie Whincup Ford Performance Racing Triple Eight Race Engineering report Winton Winton Motor Raceway BenallaVictoria SVTC 3 26–27 June Tony Evangelou A.N.T. Racing Sucrogen Townsville 400 Townsville Street Circuit TownsvilleQueensland VSC 15VSC 16 9–11 July Jamie Whincup Mark Winterbottom Triple Eight Race Engineering Ford Performance Racing report FVS 4 Tim Blanchard Sonic Motor Racing Services L & H 500 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit Phillip IslandVictoria VSC 17 10–12 September Craig Lowndes Mark Skaife Triple Eight Race Engineering report Eastern Creek Eastern Creek Raceway SydneyNew South Wales SVTC 4 11–12 September Tony Evangelou A.N.T. Racing Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Mount Panorama Circuit BathurstNew South Wales VSC 18 7–10 October Craig Lowndes Mark Skaife Triple Eight Race Engineering report FVS 5 David Russell MW Motorsport Armor All Gold Coast 600 Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Surfers ParadiseQueensland VSC 19VSC 20 21–24 October Garth Tander Cameron McConville Jamie Whincup Steve Owen Holden Racing Team Triple Eight Race Engineering report Sandown Sandown Raceway MelbourneVictoria SVTC 5 23–24 October Tony Evangelou A.N.T. Racing Falken Tasmania Challenge Symmons Plains Raceway LauncestonTasmania VSC 21VSC 22 12–14 November Craig LowndesMark Winterbottom Triple Eight Race EngineeringFord Performance Racing report Norton 360 Sandown Challenge Sandown Raceway MelbourneVictoria VSC 23VSC 24 19–21 November Paul DumbrellJames Courtney Rod Nash RacingDick Johnson Racing FVS 6 Steve Owen Greg Murphy Racing Sydney Telstra 500 Homebush Street Circuit SydneyNew South Wales VSC 25VSC 26 3–5 December Jonathon WebbLee Holdsworth Tekno AutosportsGarry Rogers Motorsport FVS 7 Steve Owen Greg Murphy Racing VSC - V8 Supercar Championship Series SVTC - Shannons V8 Touring Car Series FVS - Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
V8 Supercar Championship Series
Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series
BRC IMPCO V8 Supercars GP Challenge
Shannons V8 Touring Car National Series
References
External links Official V8 Supercar website