Six-time champ ready for SuperTest
Six-time V8 Supercars Champion Jamie Whincup is counting the days until he gets back behind the wheel of his beloved Red Bull Racing Commodore to chase the quickest lap at the sydney.com SuperTest.
A resurface at the circuit means a high chance of setting a new lap record - and as the last car out in Sunday's SuperShootout, pushing for the top time over one perfect lap, Whincup believes the weekend will be a cracking event for drivers and fans.
"[The track] will definitely be faster, it will be good," the 2014 Champion told v8supercars.com.au.
"Hopefully the cars are a bit quicker than last year, we've all innovated and moved forward over the break.
"With this first little mini competition of the year, it's a good way to start off ... hopefully someone does get that number (fastest lap) in a few weeks' time."
All 25 drivers will participate in the ARMOR ALL SuperShootout, vying for the honour of being 2015's fastest man straight out the box, and a cool $2500 on offer from ARMOR ALL.
"We're all competitive ... we're all going to go out there and have a bit of a crack, have a bit of a laugh and it's fantastic there's going to be something on the line," Whincup said.
Having won the ARMOR ALL Pole Position Award last season recording 10 p1 starts, Whincup knows what it takes to put an extraordinary lap together.
However, he was pushed to the brink by young gun Scott McLaughlin, who equaled his 10 poles in the final Top 10 Shootout in Sydney. The draw meant it went to a countback to determine the winner - however ARMOR ALL matched the cheque and also awarded prize money to McLaughlin for his achievement.
Whincup said the tie did not provide any extra motivation to top the SuperShootout and praised his young competitor, who ended up finishing fifth in the title in his first year in the Volvo S60.
"I think it was a great scenario with both of us going head-to-head with the Pole Award - obviously I'm very thankful to have gotten it over the line," he said.
"Big respect for ARMOR ALL to match the cheque for Scotty. ARMOR ALL has been a supporter of the category for many years.
"So no - last year is last year, I won't be going out there trying to get one back on Scotty or anything like that. I'll just be enjoying it."
Even when he hasn't needed to push hard for Championship points, Whincup always races on the edge and is looking forward to seeing what his Holden Commodore VF can do around the 3.93km Sydney Motorsport Park.
"We can have a bit of fun with the cool equipment we use all year - I'm really looking forward to it," Whincup said.
The sydney.com SuperTest runs from February 7-8 at Sydney Motorsport Park and is free for fans to attend.Saturday will be a full day of testing for the teams, with Sunday officially unveiling the new-look V8 Supercars, and allowing two hours of final testing being the SuperShootout, determining the first of the fast men for the 2015 season.
Click here for all you need to know about the SuperTest.
