Jamie puts himself in picture for 2021
HOLDEN star Jamie Whincup has declared he has unfinished business in Supercars with the seventime champion to race on next year to further his claim as an immortal of the sport.
The greatest championship driver in the history of the series has turned his back on thoughts of retirement to sign on for another season with Triple Eight in 2021.
It had been widely speculated the driver with more wins and titles than anyone else in history could pull the pin on his grand career at the end of this year, but Whincup says he’s not done yet.
Arguably the sport’s greatest driver, Whincup has the chance to put it beyond doubt by adding to his already epic list of Supercars records.
The news brings light for Holden fans after a dark week following the shock announcement the iconic brand would cease to exist in Australia by the end of the year.
Whincup’s commitment means Triple Eight will continue with the same driver line-up into a sixth season after the team also extended Shane van Gisbergen’s contract until the end of 2021.
The 37-year-old Red Bull Holden Racing Team ace has been weighing up his future over the off-season, but decided he was not ready to hang up his race suit.
“I obviously had a good think over the break and the thought of not continuing on past this year didn’t really sit well with me,” Whincup said.
“I made the decision over the break that I wanted to go again in 2021, but it’s not fully my decision, nor do I want it to be.
“One of the biggest factors of what I was thinking about over the break was: ‘Am I the best person to drive the 88 car beyond 2020?’ And I felt I was. The great news is the team also thought I was and decided to renew me for another season.”
Beyond that, Whincup, who is this weekend celebrating his 200th round with Triple Eight, said he was “not thinking that far ahead”.
Whincup has already started to make plans for his post-racing future, having bought a 15 per cent share in the Triple Eight team he has raced for since 2006. He was also voted on to the Supercars’ commission last year.
But he remains confident that he can be in the fight to add to his record seven Supercars crowns, buoyed by the strongest finish to the year of any driver in 2019.
Van Gisbergen, the series runner-up during the past two seasons, blitzed the field in practice at the seasonopening Adelaide 500 yesterday.
In a tough week for fans of the famous red lion, van Gisbergen gave the Holden faithful something to smile about by setting a hot pace around the South Australian capital’s street circuit.
Milwaukee Racing’s Will Davison fought back from early drama to finish second.