Whincup 'looking at bigger picture' despite dual defeats

Jamie Whincup was pleased with dual one-two finishes for Red Bull Ampol Racing in Townsville despite being on the losing end of both.

Whincup led the bulk of both races at the NTI Townsville 500, but was beaten to victory on both occasions by Shane van Gisbergen.

Sunday’s Race 16 was a carbon copy of Saturday’s race, with van Gisbergen chasing down and passing Whincup in the closing laps.

Sunday’s race was a more bitter pill for Whincup, who scored his 90th ARMOR ALL Pole Position.

With the wins, van Gisbergen now enjoys a 245-point lead over Whincup.

The Holden squad’s two drivers were untouchable, however, with Anton De Pasquale over 20 seconds behind in third in both races.

"The racing probably wasn’t as entertaining as we would’ve liked, but we’re here to do a job and get the results,” Whincup said after the race.

"There’s a small part of me that’s disappointed to have led 140-something laps and not get any chocolates for the weekend.

“But looking at the bigger picture, it’s a fantastic team result and I couldn’t be happier.”

Whincup was shocked not to see the BP Ultimate Safety Car make an appearance in either race.

The racing up and down the field rarely saw drivers come to blows, aside from a first-lap melee on Sunday.

While he was unable to convert either performance into victory, Whincup was pleased to help his team clinch two quinellas.

“I obviously couldn’t be happier with the team’s result this weekend,” he said.

"It’s one of the biggest events we’ve been to since the Adelaide 500 in 2020, so it’s great to see so many fans out in the paddock enjoying the Supercars action.

"It’s crazy not to have a Safety Car all weekend... 500 kilometres and no Safety Car around a tight street track with heaps of marbles and everything is unbelievable.”

Red Bull Ampol Racing enjoys an extended 766-point lead over Shell V-Power Racing Team in the teams’ championship.

Whincup will return to Townsville next weekend for the WD-40 Townsville SuperSprint.