In the box seat. Like clockwork Jamie Whincup again won the Friday ‘Championship’ as he bids for his third V8 Supercar title in four years.
His TeamVodafone challenger Craig Whincup keeps pushing but again ended up in his rear mirror today as Whincup steadied for the weekend.
Sour memories from his ‘lost’ Championship to James Courtney continue to haunt Whincup. They also motivate him.
Whincup admits he was too pent up in the moment in 2009 when Courtney won with year-long consistency rather than outright race wins. He is determined that won’t happen again.
He is noticeably more relaxed than he has been previously or in the last few weeks. That is not too say he thinks he is over the line.
“In some ways coming second last year was a good thing,” Whincup said.
“It has re-motivated me for this year to push on and raise the bar. Then there’s trying to win with both types of cars, maybe I could do three or four in the future, who knows.
“I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself. I’m in a great position at the moment but its no more or less than a good position.”
Whincup’s mental approach is considered and measured. He sees two possible options.
“I want a good result tomorrow,” he said.
“If I haven’t got the Championship tomorrow I’ve finished outside the top six which I don’t want to do. Both Lowndsey and I have stumbled at this event in the past … if we could have both cars on the podium that would be fantastic.
“It’s two-fold. Of course I want to win the race and put in a good result for Vodafone, so that’s the priority. On the flip side the other risk you take is that if you aim to be conservative, particularly with set-up and strategy, you can trip over yourself.
“We are going to stay on the attack but you have to be smart as well. I am not going to throw it in the wall for the sake of a position if it’s second or third. But if I am going for the win I am going to go hard.”
What does Lowndes hope for? It’s a question he can’t really answer.
“It all hinges on tomorrow for me so today was about setting it all up,” Lowndes said.
“Over the past four years there have been 10 different people on the podium so hopefully we can change that tomorrow and actually get on the podium.
“I need to beat Jamie, not follow him. I just wish the point gap was a bit closer but them’s the breaks and the way the Championship is.”
Shane van Gisbergen, Jonathon Webb, Rick Kelly, Davison, Mark Winterbottom, Russell Ingall, Lee Holdsworth and Paul Dumbrell rounded out the practice top 10 today.
Several drivers made minor contact with the barriers in the final session, including Michael Caruso, who found himself in the Turn 1 tyre wall during the final minutes.
Steve Owen ended the session down in 24th fastest after breaking a right-front damper. Karl Reindler failed to turn a lap during the 30 minutes after crashing at Turn 8 in Practice 3.
The vital qualifying session takes place in the morning followed by the first of two 250km races for the weekend tomorrow afternoon. It could decide the 2011 Champion.
Cole Hitchcock | Media Manager | D +61 7 5630 0315
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