Whincup out to remedy Bathurst blues

For Jamie Whincup, there’s no better way to banish another Bathurst hard luck story than by chasing surfboard trophies at his home track.

The long-time Gold Coast resident has won more races at Surfers Paradise than any other driver in history, with eight all up.

Add in another three for co-driver Craig Lowndes and they make up the pairing with the most previous Vodafone Gold Coast 600 successes – just ahead of Red Bull teammates Shane van Gisbergen (three) and Garth Tander (seven).

Whincup looked set to snap his seven-year Great Race drought a fortnight ago after emerging from a late-race pitstop phase in the lead, just ahead of Scott McLaughlin.

However, a tight fuel situation forced him to relinquish the lead for a splash-and-dash 10 laps from the end, finishing just shy of the podium in fourth.

Three years since his last victory on the Gold Coast, Whincup cuts a hungry figure ahead of this weekend’s action.

He told Supercars.com of Bathurst: “Lowndesy has done a great job there; me, not so much in the recent years but I’ve been thankful to have some success there a while back and to have won some races.

“It doesn’t guarantee anything for this weekend but we’re hoping to compensate for the disappointment of Bathurst.

“We were pretty heartbroken to have led the race again in the final stint, only to have had to pit again for fuel.”

The seven-time series champion was at Gold Coast Airport on Tuesday morning as part of the event build-up, which he enters now just 67 points off third in the championship.

“I might be biased but for me this is the best week in Australian motorsport,” Whincup said.

“It is such a challenging place just to get around.

“So to finish the race is one thing, but whoever, driver and team, stands on the top step of the podium this weekend knows they have gone through hell and high water and escaped all of the possibilities to really deserve to stand on that top step.”

The 36-year-old added the Gold Coast round would undoubtedly produce its own storylines after a controversial Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 that has rumbled on.

“What I can guarantee is that another set of sagas will happen again this weekend,” Whincup said.

“It’s sport … when you’re all going for one position and there’s only one top step, generally there’s a few little dramas that go on in between.”