Lowndes and Whincup the perfect match

There is an old adage that a teammate is the first person a driver has to beat. That doesn't make for lasting friendships.

Certainly in the V8 Supercar ranks there are teammates who just don't get on, whether it's because of personal ambition or personal hygiene.

Normally that's not a problem because race teams tend to split into two parts anyway, separated by sponsors and engineers and held together somewhat tenuously by a single team boss.

At this time of year, when the endurance races of Sandown and Bathurst come along, friendships can become even more strained as teammates are paired together for the greater good of the team.

Creative tension is normally the name of the game. Yet Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup might be about to rewrite the rules.

Whincup was very much the junior when they won the Bathurst 1000 last year. He's still not the superstar Lowndes is, but he's taken quite a few steps up the ladder.

Before he had even driven a race for Team Vodafone, Whincup was hailed by his boss Roland Dane as the next Craig Lowndes. It was a big call which now appears to be close to the mark.

Yet rather than resent a challenge to his status, Lowndes has warmly endorsed the driver who, at 24, is nine years his junior.

Immediately after the emotional Bathurst win last year, Lowndes expressed surprise and admiration that Whincup was quicker than he was over some sections of Mt Panorama. “He made me lift my game,” Lowndes admitted.

Since then, Whincup has been winning races in his own right. In a tough season, he now sits third in the V8 Supercar championship, one spot ahead of Lowndes.

Yet Lowndes continues to praise him, most recently at Sandown where Whincup handed over with a winning lead for the final stint.

No doubt Lowndes is comfortable with his own status in the sport — but Whincup acknowledges that such camaraderie might not be so forthcoming in some other teams.

“It is a different attitude. I know not all teams work this way,” Whincup says. “But there is give and take on both sides.

“I know — for my part — I owe him. He has been so open with his advice and experience. He has been an excellent teammate for me.

“He is one of the reasons I have been so successful. In a way, what I am doing is repaying the debt.”

It would be wrong to think they're peas in a pod, no matter how comfortably they sit in each other's driving position in the Triple Eight Falcon.

“Craig tends not to think too much. Not to be too fazed,” Whincup says. “But I am different. Before an event I study the race. I study the car. I have to have things 100 per cent clear in my mind. I do the best I can and I am happy.

“We are both taking different directions to get to the same point.”

Which brings them back to Mt Panorama this weekend.

Whincup believes some technical advantages Holden had last year have dissipated particularly in the area of speed and aerodynamics.

“We had a slow start to the season and Holden gave us a whupping. But we are back on the pace in recent races,” he said.

“Last year was amazing when we broke the Ford drought and with Craig's emotion at winning the first Peter Brock trophy. This year there are probably seven cars that can win. We have a car which is fast enough to win. We have the tools.”