Jamie Whincup has provisionally won the 2014 V8 Supercars Championship to take his record-breaking sixth title at Phillip Island.
His Red Bull Racing Australia teammate, Craig Lowndes, completed a historic day with a pair of second-placed finishes in the two 100km races, moving him from fourth to third in the championship.
JDub’s series win came with a pair of stellar results – a third place in Race One and a strong victory in the second.
The latter result wasn’t without drama though – the No.1 Holden driver just needed to finished ahead of Mark Winterbottom to clinch the title, but a slow start off the line saw him file in behind his rival. However, a move on lap four saw him take the lead and create an unassailable gap.
“It’s always nice to gather up the championship with a race win,” JDub said. “It’s a bit of a weird feeling to lock away the championship with a round to go because there is still a lot of pride on the line for the final races and we don’t want to let ourselves down right to the very end.
“It’s a great result and full credit to the entire team, the car was fantastic today. It’s a special championship win because this year has thrown up its own challenges particularly with our mid-year slump. Had we won, lost or drawn, I’m proud of how we’ve been able to turn that slump around, there’s a lot of grinding that goes on behind the scenes with the whole team and I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of that.
“Having won six championships is a weird feeling that I can’t describe at the moment. I’m sure it will mean everything when I look back at it and it has a chance to sink in. My motivation and love for racing is higher than ever and I’m looking forward to enjoying the next few races.”
Lowndesy pounced on Winterbottom moments after Jamie in Race Two to form the eventual Red Bull one-two finish.
“Our car was good in the first race today,” Lowndesy said. “Scott McLaughlin drove really well and we put on as much pressure as possible and had a few good runs at him but he drove fast and smart and deserved the win.
“The second race we had another good run and managed to pull a gap from Frosty. Our car worked really well throughout the whole day and you expect the tyre life to start going at this circuit but we managed to hold on to it to the very end.
“We had a good crack at both races, you have to be happy with two second places and the bonus is we’ve come away with some good points for the championship.”
Tomorrow’s qualifying session and 200km race kick off from 1.05pm AEDT.
