Double win for Whincup at Symmons Plains
Jamie Whincup has won the second race at Symmons Plains in Tasmania to extend his Championship lead to 194 points over Craig Lowndes, after finishing ahead of the trio of Ford Performance Racing.
Whincup had qualified third for the second race of the weekend, Round 24 of the Championship, whilst Triple Eight team-mate and title rival Craig Lowndes struggled in qualifying and started down in 15th place in the #888 car.
Paul Dumbrell in the Rod Nash Racing/FPR-sister car started from pole position with Mark Winterbottom alongside, with the two holding positions at the start.
Shane van Gisbergen in the Stone Brothers Racing Ford Falcon initially got the jump on Whincup into third, but the Triple Eight driver overtook the New Zealander on the final corner of the opening lap to reclaim his position.
By lap 15, Lowndes had broken into the top ten, slowly working his way up the order, and was the first to pit on lap 18.
Jamie Whincup pitted two laps later, with the leading pair of Dumbrell and Winterbottom pitting the following lap. Dumbrell rejoined the track just as Whincup was heading into the first corner, with an over-enthusiastic Dumbrell slipping off the track, losing him positions to the two FPR cars of Winterbottom and Will Davison.
Winterbottom was passed immediately by his FPR team-mate, falling to a net third position.
Shane van Gisbergen was the last of the front runners to pit on lap 25, which temporarily gave an off-sequence Cameron McConville the lead of the race in the Brad Jones Racing Commodore. McConville had been drafted into the #8 car after qualifying with Jason Bright withdrawing from the race. Bright is suffering with torn cartilege in his rib cage after yesterday’s race and discovered it was too painful to drive in the qualifying session. McConville was forced to start from the back of the grid but went on to finish in 19th place.
The rest of the race saw the front runners hold station, with Lowndes eventually passing Holden Racing Team’s Garth Tander on lap 71 for what would be his final finishing position of fifth place.
After 84 laps, Whincup took victory number nine of the 2011 season, and with Lowndes down in fifth now builds a 194 point lead in the standings with the two final rounds of the season to go at Sandown and Sydney.
Will Davison, Mark Winterbottom and Paul Dumbrell finished second, third and fourth in the three FPR-run cars with Lowndes just over seven seconds adrift.
The next round of the Championship is at Sandown, in Melbourne, Victoria next weekend.
