Motorsport: Safety car drama upstages resurgent Whincup

Jamie Whincup firmed as the title favourite by winning yesterday’s race at Phillip Island. Photo / Getty Images

PHILLIP ISLAND - V8 Supercar drivers have gone on the front foot after a potentially disastrous safety car blunder at the Phillip Island 300 on Sunday.

Ford star Jamie Whincup firmed as the 2009 title favourite by adding victory in Sunday's race to his win on Saturday, but the focus post-race was on a dangerous mistake midway through the 200km event.

The field was forced to screech to a halt from speeds of up to 250km/h when they were confronted by a stationary safety car parked at the exit to pit lane.

Whincup had pitted and was next to the safety car when the incident happened, officials having failed to direct the safety car onto the track to slow down the field after an accident.

"I was aware that cars were doing about 250 km/h at that point and I was doing about 20, waiting for the safety car to go," Whincup said.

"If I had my time again I probably would have just kept going and just passed it and got it sorted out another time.

"It's just a massively dangerous situation. When it pulls off and the lights (on top of the safety car) go out it's all a bit messy at the moment. If we could clean that up I think it would be much better.

"The whole confusion was the leader, which was me, pitted, so whoever called the shots was probably looking for me on the track but I was in pit lane."

Second-placed Holden driver Rick Kelly described the incident as "absolutely dangerous to be honest with you."

"We're quite lucky that someone's fuel tank didn't end up under the bonnet with what happened.

"I parked alongside the safety car and gave it a few revs and just sat there - like, we're ready, let's go - and nothing happened.

"I would expect that something may get done about that, because you certainly don't want that to happen again.

"I wouldn't like to be parked on the road when cars are coming up the straight doing 250 again, that's for sure."

Kelly said there were "a lot of rough edges which could get tidied up" regarding the safety car.

"Whoever is responsible for that incident would surely recognise that something needs to be done."

Holden driver Garth Tander, who was third in Sunday's main race, said drivers needed to understand whether the issue was one of communication or procedure.

"Perhaps we need to have a review about all of that and certainly not head-hunt anyone or find someone and lynch them for it but certainly we don't need cars parked on the circuit at the fastest pit exit in Australia.

"A bit of common sense might have prevailed ... the race director was standing right above all of that."

Meanwhile, after his double victory, Whincup takes a 122 point break over Will Davison's Holden into the next round at Barbagallo in Western Australia after coming to Phillip Island with just a 32-point lead. Davison finished 11th on Sunday.

"The car was very good. Rick was pushing really hard and we were battling flat out and there was one tenth (of a second) between us at pretty much every lap so the two second gap I had at the end accumulated over 20 laps or so," Whincup said.

"But that sort of helped me in a way, I kept my concentration and pushed hard until the end and the car was much, much better today."

Whincup said he would continue to race at 100 per cent unless he goes into the season finale at Sydney with a big points buffer.

- AAP