The next record in Whincup’s sights

Name a Supercars record and there’s a fair chance it belongs to Jamie Whincup.

Another could soon be headed his way if he has a fruitful couple of weeks in the Northern Territory, where Hidden Valley will host a doubleheader beginning tomorrow with the BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown.

Whincup is equal third on the all-time Darwin winners’ list with six victories to his name.

Only his endurance co-driver Craig Lowndes (seven) and Mark Skaife (eight) remain ahead… and with six NT races coming up, Whincup could conceivably go to the top by the end of the CoreStaff Darwin SuperSprint next weekend.

To do so would involve a reversal on two fronts: Red Bull Holden Racing Team’s relatively poor last round in Sydney, and the fact Whincup has not won in Darwin since 2014.

The seven-time champion though is optimistic about having a better time of it this weekend.

“We were certainly happy with a podium last year but it wasn’t the top step of the podium, the other guys were very, very fast,” he told media this week.

“We’re quietly confident we can do a good job but it’s just all going to come down to putting the right tyre on at the right time and then bolting when you need to bolt.”

Adding his two cents’ worth on the four consecutive race weekends Supercars are about to begin, Whincup like his peers was all for it.

“We’re just trying to get as much sport as we can in while we can still compete, so doubleheader here and then we will be looking forward to going to another doubleheader at Townsville,” he said.

“Hopefully we can get another couple of races in before Bathurst but the situation as we keep saying is very fluid.

“We will see what the future holds but we are all ready to go. We want to race as much as we can.”

The BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown will begin tomorrow with a rookie-only session at 10:10am local time; the first full-field practice starts 10:50am.