Whincup’s focus is on future not past glories

JAMIE Whincup will never wear a crown.

While he has long been considered the ‘King of Townsville’, it is a title the 15year veteran rejects.

Whincup stood atop the podium on the very first race at the Reid Park hybrid circuit, and he has been on the podium a further 17 times from 25 races.

It is an enviable record that will likely never be touched.

But the Red Bull HRT driver refuses to pay attention to it. Instead he is just focused on his work this weekend in the Robson Civil Projects Townsville Supersprint.

The number 88 Commodore never goes in reverse.

“We have had a good run in the past, but as I always say history doesn’t guarantee you anything heading into a big weekend of racing,” Whincup said. “We are not thinking of what we have done, we are thinking about what we can do and the possibilities this weekend.

“If you sit on your hands and don’t move forward, you get gobbled up by the rest of the field. If we don’t make a gain this week, we will fall back into the pack. Our goal is to keep moving forward.”

The evergreen Whincup, who celebrated his 500th race earlier this season, is again locked in a two-horse battle with Shell V-Power’s Scott McLaughlin for the Championship.

He shortened the Kiwi’s lead at the top to 119-points with a round win at Townsville last weekend and is determined to keep chipping away at the gap. In fact, Whincup believes it is his duty.

“We feel like it is our responsibility as a team to make sure the championship goes right down to the wire and the last event in Bathurst,” he said.