No, no, no, we’re not talking about the personal life of the six-time champ… That’s certainly not our style. The gossip we are happy to reveal is the unveiling of Jamie’s new car and, as you may or may not know, he affectionately gifts each of his racing Commodores with a female name. With “Lizzy” his current car being put into retirement after what’s been a tumultuous season thus far, and currently sees him sitting sixth in the driver’s championship, it’s time for the latest Triple Eight built Holden, Chassis 040, to join the field of V8 Supercars.
“There’s nothing nicer than a new car,” said Whincup. “Every car is slightly different and unique in its own way, so I’m looking forward to the upcoming test to work on what this car likes to create a balance.”
When asked what name he’s got planned for this Bull, Whincup played coy and admitted to needing to spend some intimate time with his new lady before giving her a title. “No, I haven’t named her yet,” said J-Dub. “I’ll wait until I drive her on the test day first, then we’ll come up with a name.”
With the Pirtek Enduro Cup due to kick off in just a couple of weeks at the Sandown 500, it was pivotal to roll the new car out now and give Jamie and his co-driver, Paul Dumbrell, the best chance possible at retaining the highly sought after trophy.
‘We’re excited to get a new chassis under Jamie,” said Team Manager and Jamie’s Race Engineer, Mark Dutton. “The team has been working around the clock to get it ready for the Enduros and we’re excited to see how it shakes down in the upcoming test. As Jamie mentioned earlier, each individual chassis – although built to spec – still has its own unique characteristics and it’s always an exciting process for both the driver and engineers to see how it plays out.
“There’s no hiding that we had an inconsistent start to the year, but we’ve definitely made up some ground in the last few rounds and feel like we’re at a point where the cars are much closer to the set-up window we need to be in to be able to consistently win races again. Jamie proved that on the weekend at Sydney Motorsport Park and hopefully with the addition of the new car, it’ll help add a little extra spark to he and Paul’s Enduro Cup defense.”
The new car is set to get its first test at the team’s up-coming test day on 1st September in QLD, followed by the kick-off of the Pirtek Enduro season at Sandown Raceway in Victoria on September 11.
