Jamie a saviour of race series

IMMORTAL, legend, record breaker — and now, saviour.

Jamie Whincup can be revealed as one of the five Commission men that have saved Supercars from ruin by rescuing the V8 season.

Far more than just the sport’s greatest ever driver, Whincup has secretly been spending up to 20 hours a week working with the Supercars Commission to steer the sport through COVID.

Plunged into the biggest crisis since V8 Supercars was established in 1999, Whincup has made it his mission to not only win an unprecedented eighth crown by beating Scott Mclaughlin but to also ensure his sport survives COVID-19.

“It is a crazy time,” Whincup said. “We are just trying to keep the sport alive during a time when it is massively interrupted and affected. It has been the toughest time in sporting history.

“We will see a lot of sports not survive during this COVID period and I feel the work we have done as a group will ensure we not only survive but have a strong future. That is my whole purpose at the moment and what I am about.”

Working alongside fellow Commission members Ryan Story, Rod Nash, Tim Edward and Brad Jones, Whincup has sacrificed up to half of his working week to plot and plan the sport’s future.

Whincup became the driver to take a seat in Commission when he elected in 2019.

“Some weeks are huge and first the was big week is over 20 Whincup said.

“It is a non-paid gig and I have dedicated my time to make the sport better. My role is to represent the teams and I am proud to do that on their behalf. A big week is 20 hours plus and the is a big investment as a race car driver and time away from the car.

“But I am really proud of that because I am contributing to the sport. Everything I am doing is for the greater good of the sport and there is zero personal gain.”

Whincup admits the last six months of his life have been among the most challenging with the sport put on pause after the Australian GP.

The series only resumed in August following months of complex negotiations with several bodies, most notably all the state governments that host V8 events.

“It is massively time consuming because the goalposts keep on moving,” Whincup said. “You get told that one thing is happening and then something changes. We keep on being forced to change direction.

“We are stepping forward, then back, then to the side. We have spent so much time this year just rearranging our plan.

“Normally I’d be spending all that time just trying to make my car go fast, but there has been a lot of planning and not much racing.”

Supercars will race at Hidden Valley in Darwin this weekend before coming to Townsville later this month for Townsville Supersprint events on consecutive weekends. hours,”