Double take has Whincup flying

The new king of Australian motor sport Jamie Whincup began his quest for back-to-back V8 titles in style, making it two from two at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide yesterday.

The V8 Supercars champion admitted he was suffering from pre-season nerves, but showed no mercy as he blitzed his Holden rivals Will Davison (second) and Garth Tander (third).

Whincup is hoping to become the first driver since Marcos Ambrose (2003-04) to win back-to-back championship crowns.

“It has been a long three months since I won the championship at Oran Park,” Whincup said. “There was a lot of pressure coming into this round carrying the No. 1.

“There were a lot of question marks over a lot of things. There have been big changes at the team with the new cars and it has been just such a different lead up to the season. I didn't know if I was going to run 25th or finish up the front.”

Whincup was forced to dig deep early, with Tander leading a Holden fight-back on the first lap.

As the second race fired to life in spectacular fashion, Tander ducked inside Whincup to take the lead in a gutsy move. But Whincup put his head down and stole the lead back on lap 10 with a classy pass on Holden's top dog.

It was a horror start for last year's runner-up Mark Winterbottom, with another crash costing him valuable championship points.

After fighting his way up to fifth, Winterbottom flew round turn 13 and ended up in the gravel when his steering failed. The mechanical malfunction sent him back to last place and all but ended a disappointing weekend for Ford Performance Racing.

Davison is looming as a championship threat after an outstanding debut with the Holden Racing Team.

After a strong year with Dick Johnson Racing last year, Davison is shaping as a genuine force with the Red Lion's backing.

“It is just one step at a time,” Davison said.

“For me it is just crazy to start thinking of the championship. I know what I want to achieve this year and this is a great start.”

But the day belonged to Whincup.

“My car got stronger and stronger,” he said. “The pace was massive. We were doing mid-22s, which was just huge. I had a great battle with Will. It was intense pressure the whole way and I am so happy to get a second win.”

ROUND 1

CLIPSAL 500, RACE 2

1 Jamie Whincup (Ford)

2 Will Davison (Holden)

3 Garth Tander (Holden)

4 Craig Lowndes (Ford)

5 Lee Holdsworth (Holden)

CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS AFTER ROUND 1

1 Jamie Whincup 300

2 Will Davison 267

3 Lee Holdsworth 249

4 Steven Johnson 222

5 Jason Richards 207