Superior strategy pays off for Jamie Whincup
Jamie Whincup took victory in the second race of the Chill Perth 360 at Barbagallo, and extended his championship lead over FPR pilot Will Davison to 45 points. An early pit-stop paid dividends for Whincup, who used clear air and superior track position to set up his fourth career race win at the circuit.
Whincup led home Brad Jones Racing driver Jason Bright, who recovered from a difficult start to pick his way through the field in the second half of the race. Mark Winterbottom steered his Ford Performance Racing Falcon to third, ahead of Fabian Coulthard in the Lockwood Racing entry and Will Davison in the second Pepsi Max FPR Falcon.
Jason Bright set the fastest time in qualifying, only 0.0047sec ahead of former championship leader Will Davison. Yesterday’s winner, Craig Lowndes, placed his Red Bull Racing Commodore third on the grid alongside BJR’s Fabian Coulthard. Championship leader, Jamie Whincup, could only muster 5th place.
Bright made a poor start to the 100 kilometre sprint, and had already lost three positions after navigating the first corner. Ford’s Will Davison led a five car train for the opening 17 laps, before Red Bull Racing made the decisive call to bring Jamie Whincup into the pits to take advantage of cleaner air and fresher tyres. The undercut strategy proved to be the correct one, as Whincup reeled in the no-stopping Dodo Commodore of Dean Fiore in the final laps and held the lead until the finish.
Another impressive showing by Brad Jones Racing saw Jason Bright and Fabian Coulthard finish 2nd and 4th respectively, continuing their striking run of form in the early part of the season. Phil Keed, Bright’s engineer, maximised the length of his opening stint, allowing the Team BOC driver to pick his way through the field on fresher tyres in the latter stages of the race. Fabian Coulthard had a relatively uneventful race; however it was a strong recovery after a puncture relegated him to 27th in yesterday’s 120 kilometre race.
Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison again impressed for Ford Performance Racing, showing their ability to conserve tyres whilst maintaining competitive race pace. Winterbottom continued his Barbagallo resurgence, taking his second podium result from two races, while Will Davison navigated his way to 5th position, and now pursues a 45 point gap to Whincup in the championship standings.
James Courtney was the best placed HRT Commodore, crossing the line in 6th after fighting hard for a top 5 finish. Shane Van Gisbergen led the Tekno Autosport charge in 7th, while Craig Lowndes found it tough going in the pack, eventually ending up 8th. James Moffat rounded out the top 10 in his Norton 360 sponsored Nissan Altima, behind the Jeld-Wen FPR Falcon of Alex Davison.
Contact between Lee Holdsworth and David Wall sent Holdsworth’s Erebus Motorsport Mercedes into the turn 6 gravel trap, and necessitated a safety car intervention in order to retrieve the Irwin Tools entry.
A second 100 kilometre sprint race is scheduled to take place later in the afternoon. Championship leader Jamie Whincup starts from pole position.
