Driving force to help mate

JAMIE Whincup says he will do whatever he can to help teammate Shane van Gisbergen win the Supercars championship this weekend.

And he has not ruled out using controversial team orders.

Ford fans were livid when Whincup, who is out of title contention, appeared to dramatically slow down at the last round at Auckland, allowing van Gisbergen to pass and finish second.

The result restricted Ford gun Scott McLaughlin’s series lead over van Gisbergen to just 14 points going into this weekend’s final round in Newcastle, ensuring the closest title race in a decade.

Red Bull Racing claimed their driver Whincup was simply running out of fuel in Auckland but social media went into meltdown over what was perceived as blatant team orders, sparking an official investigation.

The team was later cleared.

Whincup denied he was following team orders, but vowed to do what he could to help van Gisbergen claim his second Supercars title.

“The only thing I can do this weekend is get out with the leaders and try and win a race,” he said.

“At the same time we do what we can to help car 97 (van Gisbergen) score as many points as they can.

“I certainly won’t be doing anything untoward to any other team or driver. That’s not the way we play.