Whincup’s sharp turn

ANY disappointment Jamie Whincup felt after narrowly missing a podium finish in Sunday’s Supercars race at Queensland Raceway was tempered by the memory of Saturday’s shocker.

Whincup bounced back from an error-riddled day where he finished 20th in the 120km opener to come home fourth in yesterday’s 200km race. The Red Bull Racing star dreamed of better but a late safety car with seven laps remaining in the 65-lap race allowed teammate Shane Van Gisbergen to close in and pass the six-time series champion.

The fourth-place finish combined with Scott McLaughlin’s second-place means Whincup leaves Ipswich 129 points behind the New Zealander in the championship standings.

“I am pretty rapt to turn around,” Whincup said.

“We were being competitive out there but were just too aggressive in my opinion.

“We tried to win a race we probably weren’t going to win and that’s cost us the podium.

“Some days you have just got to consolidate and try to get a podium.”