Triple Eight boss says team behind main man
SHANE van Gisbergen and Craig Lowndes will help teammate Jamie Whincup’s hunt for a seventh championship, Triple Eight Race Engineering head honcho Roland Dane has declared.
Van Gisbergen is all but out of the race to defend his 2016 crown, meaning the Kiwi will help Whincup where possible as he battles Ford trio Fabian Coulthard, Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert.
That may put Whincup at an advantage compared to DJR Team Penske stablemates Coulthard and McLaughlin, who are unlikely to do each other any favours while both are vying for their maiden crown.
Whincup yesterday jumped into the series lead, now 17 points ahead of Coulthard, with McLaughlin a further 10 points back.
“Shane is a team player and he is a master tactician,” Dane told the Bulletin.
“Shane and Craig will both help if they have to.”
Dane added consistency has been the key to Whincup’s ability to keep in touch with the often quicker DJR Team Penske Falcons.
“Well one of their cars (McLaughlin) has been quicker for most of the year, not both of them,” he said.
“Jamie and Coulthard have been more consistent than anything. Scotty McLaughlin has been very quick but not always has converted.”
But with two rounds remaining at Pukekohe and Newcastle, Dane stopped short of pencilling in his No.88 star man in for the trophy.
“It’s very, very close between the top four,” he said, not ruling out Prodrive’s Chaz Mostert, who has been strong through the endurance rounds.
“Only a fool could predict the outcome at the moment.”