The best thing for me from the racing at Abu Dhabi was getting plenty of
championship points and making a much better start to the season
compared to the past two years.

I finished fourth and sixth in the two races in the championship's
opening event at the Yas Marina Circuit (February 18-20).

My results earned me 222 points, and I'm fifth in the championship
heading into the second event in Bahrain later this week (February
25-27).

That's a big improvement compared to my results in the first event of
the 2008 and 2009 championships in Adelaide when I had big crashes both
years and finished with damaged cars and very few points.

In the previous two years I felt I was playing 'catch-up' in the
championship points for much of the season after my crashes in Adelaide,
but that won't be the case in 2010.

My Jim Beam Racing Ford Falcon was reasonably competitive at the Yas
Marina Circuit, and with a few improvements I think we can do even
better in Bahrain this week.

The off-season lasted two months, and it felt good to be back behind the
wheel and racing again in Abu Dhabi.

Our team had a test session at Queensland Raceway earlier this month,
and at first everything seemed to be happening very fast which is normal
after a break. However, after a few laps I was back in the groove.

It's a big change to have the V8 Supercar Championship calendar starting
the season overseas with the double header in Abu Dhabi and Bahrain.

The Yas Marina Circuit is amazing. I've raced on many major circuits
overseas, but nothing compares with the track in Abu Dhabi, which opened
in 2009 with a Formula One grand prix.

The circuit cost $1.5-billion to build, and apart from the track and pit
facilities, the complex includes a hotel, which looks like some type of
spaceship, a business precinct, a theme park, residential areas, and
even a beach!

I arrived in Abu Dhabi on the Monday before the racing. Our team stayed
in a villa near the track. The locals were very friendly to us, and the
event was well organised.

Racing at night was a new experience for me, and I didn't have any
problems with it. The lighting was so good it didn't seem much different
to racing during daytime.

The track has several off-camber sections which created a challenge with
car set-ups.

My car felt better in the first day of qualifying and racing on Friday.
It didn't seem to handle as well in qualifying and racing on Saturday.

I had a clutch problem at the start of the first race, and leaving the
pits, but the team replaced it overnight, along with the gearbox.

Before Abu Dhabi there was a lot of speculation whether Team Vodafone
would be competitive at the start of the season after their switch from
Ford to Holden.

Jamie Whincup's two wins at the Yas Marina Circuit showed they will
again challenge for the championship, but no one is unbeatable.

Both races were incident-free for me. After qualifying third for the
first race, I dropped a couple of positions on the opening lap, but
finished fourth after a long dice with Lee Holdsworth.

In the second race I qualified fifth. I raced with Rick Kelly and Mark
Winterbottom in the first part of the race, but they finished in front
of me.

I've had good results at Bahrain in the past so I'm keen to do well this
week.

In 2007 I finished sixth, second, and second in the three races in
Bahrain, and in 2008 I was fifth, seventh, and second.

On our previous visits to the Bahrain International Circuit we drove on
a 3.6km track, which had plenty of good passing sections and produced
some fantastic racing.

However, this year we will be using the 5.6km layout. Hopefully the
racing will be just as good as before.

After Bahrain I will be heading home to catch up with my family and
prepare for the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide. Earlier this month my wife
Carys gave birth to our second child, Cadel, a brother for our daughter
Zara, who was born in January, 2008.

On another matter, you can now follow me on Twitter at:
http://twitter.com/jcourtney18 or click on the Twitter link on the home
page of my website: http://www.jamescourtney.com.au

Keep smiling.

JC

ABU DHABI RESULTS - JAMES COURTNEY
EVENT 1, V8 Supercar Championship, (February 18-20)

Qualifying - Race 1: 6th
Top 10 Shoot Out: 3rd
Race 1 Result: 4th
Qualifying - Race 2: 5th
Race 2 Result: 6th

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS (after event 1): Jamie Whincup (Holden) 300, Mark
Winterbottom (Ford) 267, Craig Lowndes (Holden) 249, Shane Van Gisbergen
(Ford) 231, James Courtney (Ford) 222, Lee Holdsworth (Holden) 207, Rick
Kelly (Holden) 198, Paul Dumbrell (Ford) 165, Steven Johnson (Ford) 152,
Jonathon Webb (Ford) 141