Articles by Jamie Whincup

We've won at Symmons Plains the last two years and had an awesome team result last year so we're high on confidence. However, what we can't forget is that while we've had good pace this year, we haven't been the fastest in qualifying the past two years. We've been very fortunate in those years that our main rivals haven't had their best weekend so we will still battle if the opposition is on their game this weekend.Tassie is one of those unique tracks with long straights and only four corners. It's almost like an oval circuit. A lot of people don't understand oval racing and don't appreciate how difficult NASCAR racing is. It looks from the outside like it's easy and boring, but the thing is that for the driver and teams the fewer corners there, are the more technical each corner becomes. So at Symmons Plains you only have four corners to make up time on your opposition. That means qualifying times will be very, very close.I know V8 Supercars driving standards observer Tomas Mezera has predicted that the racing will be cleaner than at Winton despite the soft tyre rule being employed again, but I disagree. On this circuit it's easy to hold the opposition out because there are so few corners and that will mean the guys on soft tyres will take chances and make suicide missions up the inside. I think the soft tyre rule will make the racing more exciting, but it will also create more carnage.I'll be going flat out to win but I'll also be careful to keep the car straight. Don't ask me what we're doing about this flexible splitter mount. I heard Jim Beam Racing and Team IntaRacing are planning to use it and Wilson Security Racing is waiting to see what we do, but I still don't know what we are doing. All I can say is that we won with it and we won without it. We've proved our point. I don't think it's an issue, it's an old story and I'd prefer not to make any more comment about it.What I would like to comment on is the Gold Coast SuperGP, formerly known as Indy. This week we passed the milestone of 150 days to go and I'm already excited. For me last year's race was one of the highlights of my career as it's my home race and that makes it extra special. This year the V8s get priority in pit lane which means we get the old Indy Car pits, but I am glad the A1GP is on board as the main support category.Aussies are very patriotic and a lot of people will come out and support the Team Australia car plus we'll get our usual huge V8 crowd. I have no doubt the Gold Coast event will be big if not bigger than last year.As for doubts raised about racing at Perth next year, I believe it's important that we go there to complete the national championship. The track offers good racing and as far as the drivers are concerned we don't mind it. However, the circuit doesn't offer enough corporate facilities which are important for our sport. I do hope they upgrade that so we can return next year and ensure this is a truly national championship.

but it should be called a splashdown with all this rain we've been having.At the start of the year we had five new FG Falcons built for us and other race teams. Craig got the first and I got the second.Now we've built a new one for Craig which he will race at Tasmania next weekend. His car will then become our team spare.With any new race car you are allowed to do a shakedown test of 20 laps.That just means a systems check, not a performance test, so unless the track is totally under water, we should be going ahead.We don't have to do the shakedown, but it's highly advised to sort out any issues, warm everything up and check it all works, and that it's safe and balanced.In fact, it's probably better that it's raining so they can test things like the heated windscreen.Then the cars go straight on the truck to leave on Sunday for Melbourne and the ferry across to Tassie.It's been a massive break since the last round in Winton and I've been filling in my time renovating my house down the coast.In fact, it's taken up all my spare time but I will get a bit of a fun break next week when the team blows off some steam at Morgan Park circuit in Warwick on our bikes.Most of our team are bike nuts, including our boss Roland (Dane) who has a great collection of motorcycles.It won't be super-serious and I'll make sure I keep the rubber side down on my trusty KTM this time. I had a slight "off" the last time we had a team track day at Queensland Raceway.Speaking of motorcycles, I believe we were hoping to get Troy Bayliss in a race car this week for a test.However, being the current World Superbike champion, he still has commitments to Ducati — even though he's retired — so he's currently in Europe.Obviously it's going to be a big transition for him, but bikes and cars both have a throttle, brake and tyres and there's still the same concept of trying to get the most out of your machine and tyres.I think it is probably slightly easier for a bike guy to go to a car than for a race car driver to go to bike racing.Troy loves his cars and is really keen on a V8 trial. It's a thing that motorsport guys have common — if it has an engine, we love it.I also have to say, I love street circuits and I'm really excited about the new rounds in the streets of Townsville in July and Homebush (Sydney) in December - what a great finale to the season that will be.I'm really pleased for our far north Queensland fans who've been deprived of motorsport for a long time. I hope we can race in Townsville for many years to come.I always say we should have a good mix of permanent tracks and street circuits.This is the best motorsport championship in Australia so we have a huge responsibility to keep permanent circuits alive for things like driver training, road safety courses and track days.It's important that people who don't have an opportunity to race can still enjoy their cars in a safe environment rather than racing on the roads.

This issue last round about the flexible splitter mount was not really an issue for us. We proved the car can go fast with or without it. And as I said last week, we have done nothing wrong and have now been totally cleared after a thorough stewards inspection. However, now the officials want to change the rules. It wasn't an issue for us, but many of the teams have rallied together to make it one to try to mentally get us off our game. I suppose it's just human nature to attack the leader and all's fair in sport. But while the critics are trying to rattle us with their mind games to find every advantage they can, we are just going to continue to focus on making our cars go faster. What this issue has done, unfortunately, is to create a lot of confusion with many of the rules. What they are saying now is that every component should only have one purpose. That opens up a massive can of worms. Take for example a wheel: it's primary purpose is to make the car move forward, but it also has a secondary purpose to hold the car up. Now what do you suppose we do about that under this proposed single-purpose rule? It's ludicrous, isn't it? It's just out of control. In the end, I'm sure the officials will show some commonsense. Meanwhile, I'm concentrating on the next round at Symmons Plains in Tasmania where we've won the past two years. However, this year it's going to be another lottery like Winton with the soft tyre rule. Only this time we don't even get a chance to test it in practice. The first time we will use it will be in the race, so it's going to be an even bigger lottery. Last week I said in that I didn't like the soft tyre rule and most of my comments were with my driver's cap on. Sure, it creates a lot of passing and that's great for the fans, but for a driver it's not very rewarding. In an ideal world — for me and most other race drivers — every car would be identical and the best driver wins. In some ways that's why I love athletics and even boxing. In almost every situation it's the best man who wins. I suppose it highlights how much a team sport this really is. Speaking of team sports, rugby league has copped a big black eye over the whole Matthew Johns affair. It's been a big learning experience for me that you have to always do the right thing in all facets of your life. If you've done something wrong, it never goes away. It has come back and bitten him years later; not only him, but other league players. Another example is businesses that go broke and leave creditors out of pocket and reeling for years down the track. It just goes to show that it doesn't matter if you are a CEO, a star athlete, or just an everyday worker, it's always important to do the right thing by people.

You get that feeling with a perfect start to the championship, and winning four races from four starts is a very big deal for all of us at TeamVodafone.

Last year I came away with the round victory and it was just about the best racing of my life.We were leading then had mechanical issues and dropped back through the field only to fight our way back through the pack and hit the lead near the end.It was like a Rocky movie; something you just dream of. And to happen in front of such a big crowd was the icing on the cake.But I really don't feel any extra pressure or expectation being last year's round winner and the current champion because this year we start with a clean sheet of paper.We have some major rule changes and a brand new race car, so what happened last year is somewhat irrelevant.It's certainly important to get the year off to a good start as it really sets the tone for the season and creates momentum.After two slid days of testing last week at Queensland Raceway we have a lot of things sorted, but we're still not 100 per cent sure if we have the pace.However, all the elements that gave us pace last year are still there. It's mainly just a matter of fine tuning the aero kit.While there were about six cars last year that could have won in Adelaide I reckon there are about 12 that could win here this year.The competition is so much tougher and closer.Another major unknown is fuel. This year we are running on 85 per cent ethanol which burns at a faster rate than the 10 per cent ethanol blend we ran last year.That means it may come down to who pits at the right time as there is no compulsory pit window.We know how many laps the car will do on a tank so it will be a matter of getting to that lap and then filling up and going to the end.The use of E85 fuel is designed to make the racing better and more interesting and I think it will.But it is also designed to show that we as a sport are concerned about the environment.It may burn faster, but it also burns so much cleaner. I looked at the exhaust after our big test days at Queensland Raceway last week and it was so much cleaner. It wasn't covered in near as much soot as it used to be.I think we will demonstrate to the public that ethanol is a good clean fuel that you should use in your road car. It's good for the environment and healthy for your engine.But right now I just can't wait to get out there. It's been three months since I last raced and I've only had two test days in the meantime. Bring on race day. 

I have had a crack at calling for changes to the V8 Supercars Championship in previous columns. Well, it looks as if we're on the money with many of the changes, such as spicing up the racing and having a more condensed calendar, looking likely to come into reality. There is a buzz around the V8 paddock that sweeping changes will be made to the championship next year, plans which I'm led to believe were presented to the board at the category headquarters at Southport yesterday. There is talk that the three-heat format has been given the boot and will be replaced with two heats at the smaller rounds like Queensland Raceway at Ipswich, which starts with practice today. From the talk going around the series at the moment, it also looks like we'll go to E85 blended ethanol fuel next year. V8 Supercars have the opportunity to show the public ethanol is not, as many perceive it to be, a low-performance fuel. There's also a perception that it's bad for modern engines with their associated sophisticated electronic systems, but that is simply not the case. The big plus with adapting E85 is that it's better for the environment. The fact that there is likely to be a change in the format at sprint rounds, which I believe will include 2x200km races, is a good development. Change is good because the last thing you want to be doing is running the same formula year in, year out. There is also strong mail that some three-day meetings will be cut to two days in the interests of cutting costs, which essentially is a smart move. The switch to 2x200km races in place of the 3x120km style, which will be the case at Queensland Raceway this weekend, presents a few problems from a technical point of view. The fuel range in our cars is good for a maximum of about 200km. Therefore it is almost certain we will not make it to the finish without having a fuel stop. The promise that the break between rounds in 2009 will be reduced is a positive step and one which I've called for previously in this column. It's a big plus for us, the teams, but most importantly it's better for you guys — the fans.  

It was probably more of a shock to teams like DJR and Jason Bright's Britek team than to our Team Vodafone based in inner-city Brisbane. For us Ford was down the pecking order in terms of how much it contributed to the program so we'll easily be able to replace that revenue. Bu the Ford development highlights something we have spoken about previously in this column — V8 Supercars need more manufacturers. Bring in a third, a fourth, a fifth manufacturer. We've said in the past that bringing in more car makers is vital in keeping the category going, and this is just another sign that to keep the series alive we need to make some changes. A few months ago we touted that this was going to be the case so it's no surprise and there will probably be more good to come out of it than not. The Hidden Valley round in Darwin last weekend presented us with difficult challenges because we really didn't have the ball rolling on Friday. One thing led to another and we ended up facing little issues the whole time. Some weekends you get through without a problem and at other times, if something can go wrong it does. In the final race last Sunday I was challenging Garth Tander for third position and I got shuffled back to ninth place. Tander pleaded guilty to careless driving and was docked 12 points. I finished eighth, which made me 26 points poorer than if I had grabbed third spot and held that position at the end of 42 laps. When we were in the stewards' room Garth said he thought the move was a bit over-ambitious. All I said was that we have been racing hard and extremely clean for years. We've gone side by side over the last two years without having a touch between us. So to try a move around Garth on the outside was completely acceptable. I'm not seeking revenge over it and I'm glad the stewards have addressed the incident. Garth made a mistake and was under a bit of pressure which left him with a split-second decision to make. It's all put to rest now and let's go back to where we were and race clean and hard. The other issue at Hidden Valley was the debut of the new Dunlop control tyre, which is seen to be environmentally friendly because it is now made of a synthetic binding agent as opposed to using oil as a binder. Some people seemed to have a problem with it but I think the track was changing more than the tyre. You can't make any rash decisions. For any change you make on a car you need time to analyse it properly. You can't judge it on that one race or test. With everything we do on the cars, we give it a good honest try over three or four rounds and then make an assessment. I think the tyres should be put in the same category. We need to do three or four race meetings at least before any of us make any assumptions. At the moment we have some drivers saying the tyres are better and some who are saying the tyres are worse. And that just goes to show we need more time before we make a final decision on what changes the tyres have made to the cars. Standings FORMULA ONE (After 9 of 18 rounds) 1eq L Hamilton (McL) .........48 1eq F Massa (Fer) .................48 1eq K Raikkonen (Fer) ........48 4 R Kubica (BMW-Sau) .....46 5 N Heidfeld (BMW-Sau) ..36 Previous round: Winner - Lewis Hamilton, British GP, July 6. Next round: German GP, Hockenheim, July 20.   V8 SUPERCARS (After 6 of 14 rounds) 1 M Winterbottom (FPR) ............1402 2 G Tander (HRT) ............1332 3 J Whincup (Vodafone) 1276 4 R Kelly (HSV Dealer) .1208 5 S Richards (FPR) ...........1123 Next round: Queensland Raceway, July 18-20.   WORLD SUPERBIKES (After 8 of 14 rounds) 1 Troy Bayliss (Duc) ..........259 2 Max Neukircher (Suz) ...210 3 Carlos Checa (Honda) ..207 4 Nori Haga (Yamaha) ......191 4 Troy Corser (Yamaha) .185 Next round: Brno, Czech Republic, July 20.   INDY RACING LEAGUE (After 10 of 16 races) 1 Scott Dixon ........................370 2 Helio Castroneves .........322 3 Dan Wheldon .....................311 4 Tony Kanaan ..................304 5 Marco Andretti ................241 Next round: Nashville, July 13.