Forget ‘funeral tour’, Whincup wants to leave with smile on face
IT was dubbed the “funeral tour” for Craig Lowndes, but Jamie Whincup is adamant he will not be distracted by any sentiment surrounding his impending retirement until the end of the year as he eyes one final Supercars crown.
The man with more Supercars titles than anyone is focused on going out on a high by winning an eighth V8 championship after announcing he would retire from full-time driving at the end of the year.
Whincup will hang up his helmet and don the headphones in the garage as Triple Eight managing director and team principal.
Lowndes’ then teammates Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen jokingly referred to the Bathurst king’s final full-time year in the sport as the
“funeral tour”, such was the outpouring of grief for the Holden hero among his devoted fans.
However, Whincup said he wasn’t going to be swept up in the same sort of emotion.
“I watched Lowndesy go through the last year and he is so much more famous than I ever will be,” Whincup said at the Supercars season launch at Mount Panorama yesterday.
“But people were treating him like he was going to die the next year. He is still a part of this pit lane as much as he ever was and hopefully I can do the same with my new role.
“I think I’m going to save all that (sentiment) until the last round. The cool thing is the last round’s at home as well on the Gold Coast.
“I’m not thinking about it, I’m not talking about the R (retirement) word. It’s not factored in at all.
“I won’t be around forever, as you know, so I’m just trying to do the best I can while I’ve got it.”
Whincup won the last of his seven championships in 2017.
“That’s my plan (to win the title),” he said. “That’s everybody’s plan. It’s going to be a special year one way or another. We’re all excited.
“This part of the year everyone is pumped. Everyone just wants to get in the cars and race each other.”
THE Broncos have enlisted a multi-millionaire business tycoon to hold negotiations with Cameron Smith in a desperate last-ditch bid to save the Storm champion from retirement.
The Titans are officially out of the running to sign Smith, with sources close to the Queensland great adamant he has privately drawn the curtain on his glittering NRL career.
Smith was spotted at Suncorp Stadium, the scene of his great Origin triumphs, on Tuesday hosting a group of corporate companies who paid to attend a guest-speaking event. Smith’s decision to address Queensland’s business elite of his life suggests he is finished with rugby league, but that hasn’t stopped the Broncos having one final crack at the future NRL Immortal.
Broncos coach Kevin Walters has confirmed his interest in Smith and Brisbane have called on a rich businessman who lives near Smith on the Gold Coast to help get a deal across the line.
Walters had one informal discussion with Smith last November, but the 430-game icon has sidestepped further phone calls from the Broncos coach and club bosses as he weighs up his future in the code.
Smith will almost certainly finish his career as a one-club Storm servant, but Broncos board member Darren Lockyer remains hopeful of Brisbane snaring his former Maroons teammate.
“We have a little bit of room in our salary cap for Cam due to some player movements,” Lockyer said.
“But it’s a bit like the scenario with Craig Bellamy (Brisbane’s pursuit of the Storm coach), we are waiting to see what Cam wants to do.
“If he decides to play on, he might be an option for us.”
Asked if Smith will retire, Lockyer said: “I honestly don’t know if he is playing on.
“As much as I have a relationship with Cam from our playing days, he has kept his cards close to his chest.
“Other than Bart Campbell (Storm powerbroker), I don’t think anyone knows what Cam is going to do.
“Cam has always kept himself in good condition, so it probably wouldn’t take him long to get back to NRL match fitness, but at this stage we’ve heard nothing from him.”
Smith was in a relaxed mood at the Suncorp event. He looked noticeably lighter, suggesting he has not been in the gym preparing his 37-year-old frame for one last hurrah at Red Hill.