Asian Motor Sports

Jamie Whincup banked a perfect haul of two wins, extending his V8 Supercar championship lead, from the opening two heats and extinguished a hot challenge from Garth Tander in the Coffee Club V8 Supercar Challenge at the Gold Coast Indy today.

The result was a mirror image of the opening race yesterday with Mark Winterbottom (Ford Performance Racing) claiming third place.

Whincup capitalised on a slick pit stop to take the lead on lap nine of the 27-lap race and commenced a mistake-free run to the checkered flag.

The Holden Racing Team’s pit strategy cost Tander dearly as he was the first of the stoppers on lap seven before rejoining behind Tony D’Alberto’s slower Commodore.

Tander was held up for three-quarters of a lap and ultimately paid the price when Whincup pitted on lap nine with the TeamVodafone driver released on to the track with a decisive lead.

All of the hard work Tander undertook in the early laps, highlighted by setting the fastest laps on three, four and five went down the drain.

Tander nailed the start sailing into the lead in the Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore but Whincup argued the position under brakes into the first turn with the pair making contact.

Whincup negotiated the chicane but Tander had no option but to straight-line it to avoid what would have been a messy collision.

No sooner had Whincup settled into a comfortable lead the safety car was brought out after Fabian Coulthard’s Glenfords Falcon stopped nose-in at the turn 12 hairpin.

Moments later Jason Richards cannoned into the right-side of Coulthard’s stricken Ford.

The safety car was out for five laps as the recovery truck had difficulty in extracting the Coulthard car.

Once racing resumed Tander dialled in some sizzling times setting the fastest tours on lap 17 (1min50.8750s) and lap 19 (1:50.7815s).

Whincup’s Ford began to find more pace as the race progressed firing back at Tander with the fastest lap, four laps from the finish in 1:50.6942s.

“Jamie and I leaned on each other pretty hard going into the first turn and I had nowhere to go but straight ahead and played it by the rules,” Tander said.

“But we got the pit stop strategy wrong and I guess the computer’s not that smart,” he said in reference to being released after the stop into slower traffic.

Whincup holds all the aces with Tander now having to rely on the Ford driver making a mess of the final heat.

But Whincup warned that Tander is only a breath away from scooting into the distance.

“Garth is really quick going in under braking but I’m quicker on the exits so I only need to stuff an exit up and he’s got me,” Whincup said.

Winterbottom turned the heat up in third place in the dying stages of the race turning fastest laps on lap 23 (1:50.6942s) and lap 25 (1:50.6634) before buttoning off when he knew he was not going to make up any positions.

One of the highlights of the race was the cracking drive by Rick Kelly who came from last in the HSV Dealer Team Commodore to finish sixth, a position behind an excellent run from Jim Beam Racing Ford driver Steve Johnson.

Race Two – Top 10

Jamie Whincup Falcon
Garth Tander Commodore
Mark Winterbottom Falcon
Lee Holdsworth Commodore
Steve Johnson Falcon
Rick Kelly Commodore
Todd Kelly Commodore
Russell Ingall Commodore
Craig Lowndes Falcon
Will Davison Falcon

The final 27-lap race of the weekend will be held later this afternoon following the Gold Coast IndyCar race around the Surfers Paradise street circuit.