Whincup predicts track will take toll
SUPERCARS recordbreaker Jamie Whincup says no driver will win the championship this weekend on the Gold Coast – but several could lose it.
Five drivers are in contention for the title with three rounds remaining, the first of which will be played out on the streets of Surfers Paradise where the track’s brutal concrete barriers are as ominous as ever. A mishap could prove costly.
DJR Team Penske’s Fabian Coulthard currently holds a slender series lead, 91 points ahead of Whincup, with Scott McLaughlin a further six points back.
Chaz Mostert and Shane van Gisbergen are also within striking distance.
Last year on the Gold Coast, Coulthard was involved in a crunching impact on the main straight after a collision with Garth Tander during the Saturday race and only took part the following day after his crew pulled an all-nighter.
Whincup, having been in the hunt so many times before as a six-time champion, said the Gold Coast 600 had the potential to knock at least one of the championship hopefuls out of reach. “Without doubt,” he said. “This round is always critical to the championship, it plays a big part. You have to finish here which is hard work within itself in a concrete canyon.”
The 34-year-old denied that his relative experience as a multiple series winner compared with Coulthard and McLaughlin would benefit him, given the influence of American motorsport giant Penske on the latter two.
“While Penske is a new team for Australia, there is so much experience there with all of those guys so I honestly don’t feel like we do have an advantage,” Whincup said.