Whincup gears up for support role
Reigning champ and seven-time Supercars series winner Jamie Whincup is promising to help Red Bull Holden Racing teammate Shane van Gisbergen win a second crown.
Whincup lies third in the standings and has a mathematical shot at defending his crown but dramas at Bathurst and on the Gold Coast a fortnight ago have seen him declare the fight a straight shootout between Kiwis van Gisbergen and Scott McLaughlin.
“It is mathematically okay but it is not going to happen for car No 1 this year,” Whincup said ahead of the penultimate round of the 2018 championship at Pukekohe Park Raceway this weekend.
“We are going to go and race hard — there are no team orders — but there is a balancing act there. Obviously our efforts to try and win the biggest trophy are all in one basket with car No 97 [van Gisbergen].
“If I can help out, I certainly will.”
A year ago the roles were reversed and it was van Gisbergen trying to help Whincup edge McLaughlin in a head-to-head sprint for the finish.
“The biggest thing I can do this weekend is really help out with car set-up and make sure both cars are really competitive,” he explained.
“We can give as much info as we can to No 97 to make it as competitive as we can. We certainly aren’t going to do anything untoward to car No 17 [McLaughlin] or anything like that. That is not the game we play.”
Whincup lost out to van Gisbergen in 2016 while he somehow managed to pip McLaughlin last year in a controversial finish to the season.
With seven championships to his name, the most successful driver in the championship’s history is convinced there is no blueprint to handle a straight battle for the title over the last four races.
“Everyone is different, so what works for me won’t work for anyone else and vice versa. Both of these guys and everyone in the field make huge sacrifices and dedicate our life to winning championships, so it is a huge deal.”
Hearing van Gisbergen and McLaughlin talk about how tough it is to win a championship brings home how incredible Whincup’s run of success has been in the past decade.
“I certainly respect the great success I have had and the hard work that has been done. Every year is a battle — you don’t get any easy ones and this year is no different,” the 35-year-old said.
“Whoever stands on the top step at the end of the year knows they deserve it and I hope the best man and best team wins.”