Articles by Jamie Whincup

Not because we were trying to make the car go any faster, but because of all the pitstops we did. Lowndes and I have all the enduro bits and bolts ready to go on his car for Phillip Island and Bathurst and there is not much more we can do to it.Instead, we spent our third test day of the year fine-tuning all the ergonomics in the car and practising driver changes for the endurance races. We're the same size, height and shape so there are no major changes needed, but the cars are getting harder and harder each year to get in and out of. There are more bars and safety precautions in the car these days which makes driver changes very difficult.I've been stretching the hamstrings in preparation over the last couple of weeks. You need to be loose and flexible and almost do the splits just to get in and out. It's not so bad getting out of the car after a stint racing over the mountain because you are all warmed up and quite flexible.But getting into the car is quite difficult. You land on a hard seat made of carbon composite, you hit your knees on the dashboard, scar your knuckles on something sharp and chip your helmet on the roll bar. So yesterday was a pretty brutal day physically for us just getting in and out of the car about 100 times. At the end of the day we were pretty bruised and battered.We will do a heap more practices between now and Phillip Island next week and we really want to be at our maximum for Bathurst. All those areas where we whacked ourselves against something hard should be nicely callused by then.And our team physiotherapist Chris Brady will be pretty busy. There's not much he can do about the bruises, but he will be working hard to keep us loose. It hasn't happened before but it is quite easy to get a cramp or strain a muscle doing a driver change and that would be a tragedy at the start of a driving stint.Meanwhile, the crew also had a big day practising brake pad changes and tyre changes. We're all now getting pretty excited about the coming enduro season. You may have seen the ads for Bathurst with Lowndesy running. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my three Bathurst wins and I have the trophies sitting at home to remind me. But Brocky was King of the Mountain and Lowndesy was his protege, so that's ok by me that they feature him in the promotions.It's going to be a great few weeks for sport with the coming footy finals and then Bathurst. I'm a Hawthorn fan and my mate Will Davison is an Essendon fan and we played each other last week and the Bombers won so we're out. But I'm hoping my other favourite team, Storm, will do better in the finals. I love this time of year. It's always entertaining to watch champions doing what they do best.And that's why I will do everything I can to get down to the Tweed this weekend to see the action in Rally Australia. Citroen driver Sebastian Loeb is leading the World Rally Championship and he is at his peak at the moment. Even if I only see him for two seconds as he goes past at Mach 1 it will be well worth the trip.

I can't complain after winning pole, then scoring my first win at QR on the Saturday and increasing my championship lead at the end of the weekend by 66 points. But 13th place on the Sunday was a bit of a disappointment for me and the team with the soft tyre rule coming back to haunt us. We used our soft set on the Saturday and then pitted early on Sunday and were forced to take a second stop a lot earlier than planned to try and counteract some handling issues. I realise you can't win them all, so you just have to be consistent and score points which we did. The last thing I want to do is harp on about the soft tyre rule, but really there were two races out there on the Sunday. You just can't compete against cars on soft tyres. The guys who save up their soft tyres for the second race can go out and set lap records like Russell Ingall did and look good. In fact he could have even won the race if there had been a safety car. Luckily there wasn't a safety car all weekend. I can't remember the last time that happened. I'm glad to say we won't see soft tyres again until Perth in November then that's it for this year. There was a lot of oil out on the circuit last weekend because several teams had oil pressure issues including us, HRT and FPR. I think it was probably due to the heatwave. I don't think it will be a problem in the enduros coming up next at Phillip Island and Bathurst. They will be much cooler than Queensland and I'd be very, very surprised if our engine problems resurfaced. There's been a lot of talk about the schedule for next year, in particular a suggested big break in the middle of the season. The idea is that the two halves of the season can be compacted to provide more regular racing every second weekend rather than three or more weekends apart. I'm a racer and the more races there are and the closer together the better. I'd race every weekend so long as I got four weeks off in the summer to be with the family. I can see that a big break in the middle of the year would be welcomed by the mechanics, however, I think I'd get awfully bored. I mentioned in this column recently that I was concerned about Mark Skaife racing in the enduros because in his position as a TV commentator and Car of the Future director he had privileged access to confidential areas of all the race teams. Now it has happened again with retiring category technical director Campbell Little joining FPR. Campbell was Craig's (Lowndes) race engineer before he took up that job and he copped some unfair criticism about favouritism causing him to announce his retirement. I don't see any problem with engineers and mechanics moving between race teams or into category positions. But it's a different story for officials going to a race team. As technical director Campbell has had unfettered access to every technical aspect of every car on the grid and now he will be able to use that information to help one team. I think we should block out certain official positions, especially the technical director, from being employed by a race team for at least a year after they resign.  

He's a bit of a legend in our sport and it just goes to show − once a driver always a driver. Clearly he was struggling to stay away and I'm confident he will do a good job. However, it's a bit of a concern because Triple Eight Racing and a lot of other teams have welcomed him into the pit garage and let him in on most of our information in his capacity as a commentator for Channel 7. He's also been in our Brisbane workshop talking to our people and seeing the operation to try to get a feel for his involvement in the Car of the Future project. Everyone has been willing to help, thinking that's his main role, but we didn't expect him to then work with one of the teams on the track. We'll have to be a bit more careful because we will now be racing against him. Teaming up with Greg Murphy will make them real contenders at Bathurst. That's a track where you need experience and they've certainly got that. They will be a huge threat to our attempt at a historical four-peat. We really need Skaifey to be an independent commentator and V8 Supercars director. The issue about us moving to Holden seems to be settling down now. We're not copping as much abuse from the hard-core Ford fans any more. We've done our best to educate people on why we made the move and I think a lot of people now understand why the change was inevitable. And it looks like we'll have the same main rivals, with Garth Tander signing on again with HRT and I'm sure they'll also have Will Davison back again. Just because next season we will also be an HRT team it doesn't mean we won't be fierce rivals. They are our main rivals now and they will continue to be next year. even though we are running the same brand of vehicle. The fans will see how fierce that rivalry is when we meet up again next weekend at Queensland Raceway. We need to get some momentum back and I will be driving just as aggressively as I did at Sandown. Queensland Raceway was the first time last season that we weren't on the podium so we will have to turn that around. There has been talk in pit straight lately about the championship starting with a double-header in the Middle East next year. I think commercially it's OK and it won't really affect Clipsal in Round 1, or affect the fans either. For me as a driver, the more opportunities to race in world-class circuits, the better. And I'm sure the fans won't be unhappy about more races in the season. After all, that's the whole point of the Car of the Future exercise. If we can make the cars cheaper to run, then we can afford to do more rounds like NASCAR in the US or like footy here in Australia. It's hard to keep the fans keen when we don't have a race for several weeks. More rounds will mean more consistency for the fans. Lately I've been a little out of my depth posing for Billabong's Von Zipper brand. The photos are on my website and I have to say modelling is not my future career. However, I was pretty pleased they chose me because it's the first time they've used a non-surfer.  

...plus a tough Sandown round and then a ride day at Eastern Creek. Last weekend at Sandown was a tough round for many reasons. We had a lot of focus on off-track activities explaining our decision to switch to Holden next year and in some ways that hurt our on-track performance. It just goes to show that you have to be operating at 100 per cent to get the results in this category. My championship lead has now dropped a bit, but I'm still happy to be leading with one round at Queensland Raceway to go before we head on to the dual driver mode. I hope everyone noticed that I drove very aggressively and pushed pretty hard at Sandown. I wasn't just playing it safe. I never play it safe. I like to get out there and go as hard as I can. I think that's good for the sport and good for the fans. Speaking of the fans, I was a bit concerned about the boos from the crowd that Craig (Lowndes) and I got. There are always some in the crowd that want to play it that way and I suppose it's understandable. We both spent a massive amount of time talking to hard-core Ford fans at the track and I spent a whole day on the website explaining the situation to the hundreds of angry people. I was trying to explain why we had to make the change and that we tried to make it work with Ford. We aren't walking away from Ford. They walked away from us. I knew when I signed on with Team Vodafone for three more years that we were switching to Holden. In fact, that made my decision all the more easy. You can't compete without some form of manufacturer support and we had none, not even for our ride days, let alone for development of the race car and the street product. The word "support" means more than just money. Support also means things like providing cars for ride days which are a fun way to turn fans into better drivers. I believe we've made the right call and I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't lead to the introduction of more manufacturers to the sport. If Ford can't support half the Ford V8 Supercar teams, then someone else should step in. Meanwhile, I like Garth Tander's suggestion that if the organisers are going to continue with the soft tyre rule, they should keep it to no more than six rounds and allow two sets of soft tyres each race, although the extra expense could be a problem. I'm not a fan of the soft-tyre rule, but I do understand it is good for our sport. I'll tell you what else is good for the sport; the decision to run a round of the Australian Superbikes at the Phillip Island round. That's a big plus. I and most of the V8 Supercar drivers love their bikes and I'm sure most of the fans love bikes as well. I'll be making sure I have some spare time during the day to hang over the fence and watch the best riders and bikes in Australia go round. It's just a test at the moment, but I wouldn't be surprised if there aren't at a lot more shared events with the superbikes next year. While they can't do the street circuits because they aren't suitable or safe for bikes, they should be at all the track circuits.  

Last weekend's Townsville event was a huge success and I'm sure a lot of North Queensland people now have a taste of V8 Supercar racing and will be tempted to head south for the Gold Coast Nitro Super

Our season starts off with a street circuit in Adelaide and finishes with a street circuit in Sydney and there are now a few street circuits spread throughout the year. But as far as passion goes, I think Townsville will be the biggest street event. North Queensland has been starved of motorsport for a long time and a lot of people up there really enjoy fast cars. From day one when tickets went on sale and I saw the long queue and recently when I was back up there, it seems like every second person is wearing V8 Supercar team apparel. They are just so into it. It will be a huge honour for whoever gets the first win. I'm just hoping it will be me. Our team following is pretty good in North Queensland. After all, we're a Queensland-based team. Townsville is also pretty special to me because I won a state karting championship there in 1998. It's the only time I've raced at Townsville, so I'm looking forward to going back and continuing my winning streak. Because no one has driven the circuit, all the drivers are studying the two-dimensional circuit drawing we have been supplied. Most teams have also created a simulator of what the car will do on the track. That's about all you can do to prepare for the race and preparation is vital in this game. If you roll out of the truck fast on the Friday because you've done all your homework, then you will have a good weekend. After we've driven the track on Friday we will then immerse ourselves in data analysis. But there's only so much you can do on a laptop. In the end, it is up to the drivers to work out what the fastest line is through a corner. In the down time since Darwin almost four weeks ago we've been working on getting more car speed. We've made great inroads. And that's important as we head toward tracks that are a bit more open and need pace. Finally I want to make a quick comment about a recent article in another paper which suggested I'd retire at 30. In fact, I'll be involved in motorsport for the rest of my life. I have grown up with it ever since dad bought me my first kart at seven. It's like an addiction so I'll be around it for the rest of my life. What I was alluding to was that the lifespan of a modern racing driver is starting to align with footy where your career isn't as long as most other careers. There are a few exceptions to the point like Russell Ingall. I will keep driving while I'm competitive, but I won't hang around and take a seat from a young guy who needs it. I'm only 26 and hopefully I have a long career ahead of me.  

The big result for me was the enthusiasm about bringing another manufacturer into the sport. I think the poll just highlights how the world changes and motorsport has to be right on the front foot with these changes. We can't be stuck in your old ways. We have to keep changing to keep it fresh. However, I'm not so sure about another manufacturer.I think what it is telling us is that the fans are now starting to support drivers and teams, not just Holden V Ford. The days of red or blue are fading. It will never completely go, but we are starting to convert the fans to supporting people and teams which is better.It's the people behind the machinery that make the difference in this sport. Fans realise that V8 Supercars is not just Commodores and Falcons. They are purpose-built race cars. That's what racing is all about; having a fast piece of machinery and watching guys trying to get that machinery around the track as quick as they can. It's putting more emphasis on the drivers and teams.I note that in NASCAR there are four manufacturers, but two are pretty shaky at the moment.I don't mind which way our sport goes, just so long as our cars stay the great race cars they are with lots of horsepower and really good brakes and suspension.Meanwhile, I'm starting to look ahead to the enduro season in our sport and changing my training slightly.Surprisingly we are in the car for a lot longer in a normal sprint race than in an enduro. However, with the enduros we are in the car three or four times a day, rather than just once. So you really have to convert your mind and body to switching on and off, on and off.Most athletes do one major training session a day, but for the enduros we have to do several smaller sessions a day to get our bodies primed.Craig and I are teaming up yet again for the endures, which is great. I'm not absolutely sure yet which car, engineer and mechanics we will use, but for the past couple of years it's been mine. This year I think we will work with Craig's race engineer, Jeromy Moore, and drive Craig's car.I think Jeromy is up to it. He's very smart and switched on. He's had Craig ultra-quick all year and he's been innovative and pushing us along which is why I've had the success I've had. So I've got no problems jumping into Craig and Jeromy's car. I know they will do a good job.Can I just add that I was totally stoked by Valentino Rossi's 100th win in the MotoGP last weekend following on from his incredible last-lap battle with Jorge Lorenzo the previous weekend.I'm a big bike and Rossi fan and I'll be glued to the TV screen on Monday morning when they go round at Laguna Seca in the US.

It was an amazing battle between Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo and so inspiring for me to watch an athlete like Valentino at the top of their game. And to grab a last corner victory like that is what every racer prays for. I was yelling at the TV screen and I'm still pumped up. Ever since then I've been itching to get in the car at Darwin this weekend and turn around my hoodoo at that circuit. It's the one track I've had good speed at but never had a good result. I haven't even been on the podium. It's one of those remaining tracks I'm yet to conquer. It's my Everest and that gives me great motivation. I like the circuit and we've been really fast in the past, but I just haven't had a clean run. We've struck some bad luck with an engine blow up and last year a bit of an incident with Garth Tander. However, I feel I have momentum behind me after fighting back in Tassie so I'm feeling really confident about the weekend. The Darwin round is the Northern Territory's biggest event so we always get a good crowd up there. It's also going to be hot which will be a nice change to the recent cold weather. I love the heat being a Queenslander. And talk about heat and last-minute victories, we had a bit of both in our social indoor cricket team last week when we won the B grade grand final. That was also a cracker of a match. We were one run down in the last over and we were bowling. A wicket is worth five runs in indoor cricket, so we got a couple in the last over and scored a narrow victory. The team's called the Tank Slappers and Steve Johnson's also on the team. We're just like thousands of other young people who like to pay some social sport during the week. I crave my Monday night cricket. On a serious note, it looks like an almighty shake-up in the V8 Supercars administration with technical chief Campbell Little announcing he is resigning, then CEO Cameron Levich standing down and Mark Skaife joining the board. It's all happening, but I don't think it's going to affect the racing which is a good thing. Let's hope they can sort out the politics sooner rather than later and settle everything down. At the moment, it's just a few speed humps, but if it goes on any longer, then we'll become more worried about what we're doing internally rather than moving our sport forward. As for Skaifey, it's a bit of an unknown at this stage. It will take time for him to prove he is independent now that he is not associated with the team. But he is a very competent sportsman and has been around for a long time. Plus he's a racer _ he's one of us _ so he's great to have associated with our sport at an admin level. One last thought: while I'll be busy on Saturday night, I'll be setting the recorder on SBS for The Squiz sports comedy quiz show. My teammate Craig (Lowndes) will be on. Following on from the 60 Minutes segment on Marcos Ambrose last Sunday it's always good to see motorsport stars get some exposure on TV.

What a waste of time and money for everyone. Hopefully, the result will come out soon and not drag on because I can't see there being any other result than the one the stewards found originally. Thankfully I'm not a decision maker; I'm not part of that side of racing. Most fans are smart enough to realise it's just internal politics and it's not affecting tainting the sport at all. It's just a couple of people having a go at us. I don't understand the motivation. Unfortunately, it seems to have claimed an innocent scalp with category technical director Campbell Little resigning. That's really unfortunate. I had the pleasure of working with him when he was Craig's race engineer and he's a very good operator. Obviously he asked himself the question whether he needed all this stress and innuendo in his life. However, I'm sure people haven't been attacking him personally. Campbell has worked very hard for many years and been a successful engineer and I just hope he finds something satisfying to do now. Meanwhile, Craig and I had a lot of fun last weekend at the Winternationals in Ipswich. The first pass was a bit embarrassing when we both stalled. We didn't get any practice runs and we just underestimated how grippy the track is. We have 650 horsepower in those cars and we gave it 100 per cent throttle and just dropped the clutch. On that surface you couldn't spin the wheels, so they just stalled. Second pass was better for me with a 10.84 second quarter mile, while Craig stalled again. But in the third pass we had a genuine race. I had the best reaction time and crossed the line first, while Craig had the fastest time of 10.81 and 134mph (215km/h). I'm really proud that our cars are 10-second cars. People were predicting high 11s, but to get into the 10s is really good. I absolutely loved it. It was one of the best things I've done in motorsport. The drag racing crowd is very friendly and there is a lot of crossover with V8 Supercar fans. It was just a really pleasant atmosphere and everyone treated us like kings and made us feel so welcome as we stepped into their world. I now know it's a lot harder than you think and comments about just steering in a straight line are just rubbish. It might be cold at the moment, but the heat will be on Troy Bayliss today when he gets a chance in our spare race car to show what he can do. I reckon the three-time World Superbike champion will be very quick; after all, he's a racer at heart. And I'm really keen to see how seven-time world surfing champion Layne Beachley goes as well. She's no stranger to fast cars and has raced in the Mini Challenge so it will be a great opportunity for her to show her stuff. It's all part of the V8 Supercar driver evaluation day where we get to do as many laps as we like. Craig (Lowndes) will take his old chassis 15 race car around for a few laps to check it's all ok, then it's over to the sport stars. I'll also be in the pits helping Layne and Troy with some advice. Our next race is in Darwin next weekend where it should be a lot warmer.

Anything that could go wrong did on the Saturday and then everything just seemed to run smoothly on the Sunday for my fifth win of the season. We got caught out again with Tassie being under 10 degrees. It was freezing and because I was quickest in qualifying I had to wait until last for the top 10 shootout and by the time I got out there the tyres were stone cold. Then we got caught with this new soft sprint tyre. The strategy is just a lottery and it just didn't go our way again. We had predicted a safety car and it never happened which is very rare, particularly in Tassie where there is almost always a crash and they send out a safety car for anything. All you can do is work on probability and what is most likely going to happen. We pretty much regrouped on Saturday night and spent long hours in the garage working out what the strategy was for the next day and I did one of the best laps I've ever driven on Sunday morning to get pole. Then it was just flat out right till the end through a lot of lapped traffic. There was a lot of carnage down at the hairpin most laps and it was all about who could survive the drive and run the fastest for the longest. Meanwhile, Craig had problems in qualifying with his brakes. They put brand new brakes on because Tassie is very hard on them. He wasn't completely happy with them so they got rid of them and put on another set for the race. Otherwise he was happy with the new FG. He went very quick all weekend, so it made a good debut. Now we have a proven spare car ready and waiting, but hopefully we won't be using it. Craig and I shape up again on Saturday at the Winternationals at Willowbank Raceway for three drag races in our full race-spec cars. And I can tell you it's not just a show; it will be a full-blown race. I'll be shattered if the old boy beats me. I'm looking forward to seeing how much grip we have on the drag strip as it should be much grippier than we normally experience on the race track. We should be able to just drop the clutch and launch it. I'll then be hanging around at night to watch the action, especially the top-fuellers which are amazing. Everyone thinks drag racers are just driving in a straight line but they are driving the whole way as their car is trying to spit them off. Speaking of night racing, there is talk around the pits that the V8s could do a night race. We did a twilight meeting at Eastern Creek a couple of years ago and it was a success. The main purpose of night racing on an international scale is to get the TV coverage at the right time for the Americans or for when you are racing at places that are extremely hot. We don't really have a huge amount of need in Australia on those counts; not even at Hidden Valley in Darwin which is always packed. The fans just love spending a day at the races. However, what would be fantastic would be a trial night race this year in Bahrain. I'm sure a lot more of a crowd would come out at night rather than the day, plus it's an awesome spectacle to watch cars racing at night.