Whincup closes on ‘ Peter Perfect’ pole record
JAMIE Whincup is on the verge of equalling the late great Peter Brock for the record number of poles at Symmons Plains today after posting the fastest time by a supercar around the Tasmanian power track.
The Red Bull Racing ace and reigning champion is on seven pole positions in Tasmania, one behind “Peter Perfect”, who racked up eight in his famous 05 Commodore.
In a frenetic second practice session yesterday, Whincup bettered the race lap record set by his Triple Eight stablemate Craig Lowndes ( 51.4370s) last year and pipped his own qualifying record of 50.9676s, set in 2014.
“J- Dub” clocked 50.509s to be the man to beat heading into the three- stage qualifying session ahead of today’s 50- lap race at 4.55pm followed by a 84- lapper at 2.05pm tomorrow.
Reigning Bathurst champion David Reynolds laid down the second- best time in practice, followed by Lowndes, Scott McLachlan, Shane Van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard.
After climbing from his Red Bull rocket, Whincup said his super time was wind assisted.
“It was all about the wind – the wind today was great,” he said.
“We were protected from it going up to the hairpin and then as you turn you get that big tailwind that rips straight.”
Whincup did some “gardening” at the end of the main straight.
“Sometimes when you’re trying to go a bit quicker you make mistakes,” he said.
“We not just circulating – we’re trying to go as quick as we can – so you’re trying to find that limit and upping your pace until you find that moment.” Holdens filled four top- five spots. “The Penske [ Ford] cars are rockets, like always, and to be honest we were a bit nervous about how the new [ Holden] body shell would perform around a circuit like this,” Whincup said.
“Early indicators are that you down the back it is every bit as good as last year’s.”
In Formula One Sebastian Vettel will make his 200th race start in Bahrain, a milestone the Ferrari driver thought he had already celebrated and would be happy to repeat if the result is the same.
“I thought I had the 200th already in Australia ( two weeks ago) as somebody was saying. So maybe I have twice the 200,” the German told reporters before tomorrow’s race.
“If we have the same result as well, then I’m looking forward to it.”
The season- opener in Melbourne was the 200th race Vettel had entered but Sunday’s race at Sakhir will be the 200th the fourtime world champion has actually started since his debut in 2007.