Less than a fortnight after taking a perfect pole and three race wins on the concrete-lined streets of Surfers Paradise, TeamVodafone’s focus shifts to a new challenge over 12,000km from home – the Gulf Air Desert 400 at the Bahrain International Circuit.

Just days after returning to its Brisbane base, the team was already putting the finishing touches on its preparation for the championship’s twelfth round of competition, loading cars, parts and equipment into air freight containers destined for the Middle-Eastern kingdom in the Persian Gulf.

The 3.6km, Formula 1-style circuit is unlike any other the national series visits on the calendar, with high-speed, flowing corners and generous run-off areas. Its tyre-hungry surface is made even more abrasive by sands sweeping in from the surrounding desert.

A race win to Craig Lowndes at the 2007 event was the only high from a weekend of lows for the team, with both drivers involved in a race 1 accident and Jamie Whincup failing to score a single point.

The team is confident it can avoid the typical mid-pack scuffle this weekend, with a better understanding of the qualifying setup required.

Whincup, who heads into the event with a healthy championship points lead, said he was looking forward to recording a good result and reversing the outcome of last year’s round.

“Bahrain is one of the tracks we’ve yet to do well at, last year really highlighted the importance of qualifying well and avoiding the usual scrap for position outside the top 10,” said Whincup.

“We know the track is very tough on tyres, and with a softer compound this year, it could have even more of an effect.”

“TeamVodafone is a clear leader when it comes to setting up a car to manage its tyres, so I’m confident that we can continue the momentum gained from the win at Surfers and record our best ever result here this weekend.”

Lowndes said he was looking forward to getting back on track at Bahrain, and agreed that tyre conservation would determine the winner this weekend.

“We had a bad start last year, but the silver lining for us was a good bank of tyres for the final race,” said Lowndes.

“The track is an interesting one, it is not suited to V8 Supercars but it is still a lot of fun to drive.

“With three rounds remaining, Jamie and myself are both maintaining strong championship positions and we are looking forward to a good result this weekend.”

Whincup leads the championship on 2,616 points; Lowndes is fourth on 2,103 points.

The event will feature 3 x 32 lap races – race one will be held on Friday, with races two and three to be held Saturday.