V8 Supercars has begun preparing for next year's Abu Dhabi event after a hugely successful weekend, winning the praises of the Yas Marina crowd and organisers.
This time next year V8 Supercars will again share the stage with Formula One, an event that drew hundreds of fans from Australia and even more expatriates from the Middle East on arguably the world's best race circuit.
"It was absolutely fantastic to be on the same stage as the best of the best in Formula One, have three great races and show V8 Supercars to the world," V8 Supercar CEO David Malone said.
"The number of Australians in the crowd wearing their team colours showing the strength of our brand 12,000 kilometres from home was one of the things I was most impressed by.
"Our Australian fans and the locals had a great time; it was a great pleasure to be there. The facilities are incredible and Abu Dhabi is a wonderful place. They have been great hosts."
Malone said V8 Supercars would now look to build on the success for next year.
"We have already had informal discussions with Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management about how we will make the weekend even better next year. Being the first time sharing a full points weekend with Formula One at an overseas venue was always going to be a learning curve," he said.
"The weekend ran very smoothly and gives us a solid building block for next year. All in all it was a shining success."
Championship favourite Jamie Whincup won all three races across the weekend, saying racing on the Yas Marina Circuit was a privilege for the drivers and their teams.
"We had a great weekend and I thought everything was first class," Whincup said.
"The place is absolutely amazing. It was an honour to be here, the racing was great and the circuit absolutely spectacular. It's a fantastic event for V8 Supercars all round."
Team owner Brad Jones had a solid weekend with Lockwood Racing's Fabian Coulthard although Jason Bright struggled and failed to finish the final race after a mid-race crash. But all in all Jones is a great supporter of the Abu Dhabi event.
"The facilities are absolutely first class, the track proper is simply amazing and the locals looked after us extremely well. For us and our sponsors it was a great weekend."
Stone Brothers Racing was a constant in the top ten over the weekend, appearing on all three podiums with Shane van Gisbergen on Saturday (twice) and Tim Slade on Sunday.
"It's awesome. I think the format was cool. You only had time for four or five laps and you had to pick your best three and the races, the different compounds - you need to go out with no feeling and go straight into the races and perform. It's pretty exciting for a driver," Van Gisbergen said.
"I like it, definitely. It is pure racing, really ... you go out and go as fast as you can and that's it. The tyres go off and you hold on. It's great."
The Championship heads to Winton Raceway in regional Victoria in eight days time, following by the season-ending Sydney Telstra 500 at Olympic Park.