Jamie Whincup confident that Triple Eight can fight for win
#888 Ford fast, #88 struggled on Thursday at Bathurst
Whincup offers strongest indication yet 2025 was swansong
Jamie Whincup has declared that Triple Eight is as best placed as any to claim the 2026 Repco Bathurst 1000, despite a mixed day for the Red Bull Ampol Fords on Thursday.
The #888 Ford of Will Brown/Scott Pye ended the day fourth on the combined speed charts, while the sister entry of Broc Feeney/Nick Percat was 23rd on combined times, having struggled through the day with braking dramas.
Triple Eight has never gone five enduros without a podium in its 23-year Supercars history, and Whincup is adamant that the streak will not be broken if the whole team hits its marks.
That's despite the team battling through the Ryco Enduro Cup opener, which Whincup wasn't shying away from at a Thursday media call.
"Hopefully The Bend wasn't a good form guide, because we were pretty ordinary," Whincup admitted.
"I think there's probably a good dozen cars that can win this weekend, and I think the conditions are going to be good, I think we're going to get a bit of rain on Saturday, but it should be a dry day on Sunday.
"But who knows? It's Mount Panorama at the same time, so there'll be a good dozen cars. It's a sporting event, we don't know who is going to win, that's why there's going to be a couple of hundred thousand people sitting on the hill seeing what's going on."
On a puzzling day that saw very slick and dusty track conditions leave plenty scratching their heads, Brown went close to putting the #888 on the back foot early when he clipped the inside wall at The Cutting early in Practice 1.
While they recovered, with Pye impressive to go second behind Erebus young gun Lochie Dalton in the afternoon's co-driver session, there's work to be done on the #88 side of the garage.
"Right now on paper we're as good as anyone, there's absolutely no reason why we're not as good a chance as everyone else," Whincup said before Practice 1 on Thursday.
"If we do a good job as a team, and give the drivers great cars that are reliable and fast, and the drivers maximise the potential of the car, there's no reason why we shouldn't be there."
2026 marks the 20th anniversary of both Whincup and Triple Eight's first Bathurst win, with Feeney unveiling a special tribute helmet he'll run through the weekend for his co-driver of the last four years.
For the first time since 2001, Whincup won't contest the Great Race, and while he hasn't officially called time on his driving career, the seven-time champion also gave his strongest indication yet that 2025 might've marked the end of Jamie Whincup the racing driver.
"You never say never, but don't read into that comment whatsoever," Whincup said.
"As far as I'm concerned, my last Bathurst was last year, but who knows what the future holds?"
Friday's Supercars action begins with Practice 3 at 10:05am local time.
