Motorsport: Whincup on track for payback

Jamie Whincup likes the Hamilton circuit. Photo / Getty Images

The Australian V8 Supercar championship leader, Ford driver Jamie Whincup, is back in New Zealand determined to improve on his less than auspicious outing at the inaugural Hamilton 400 last year.

Through no fault of his own Whincup was punted into the wall, turning his Ford Falcon into "something like a Ford Laser".

"We really worked hard to get a good result last year here at Hamilton but didn't even get on to the race track," said Whincup. "We wrote the thing off in qualifying."

On returning to Australia he was nigh on unstoppable and eventually clinched his first V8 championship to go with his three Bathurst wins with co-driver and teammate Craig Lowndes.

After finishing runner-up three times in a row, Whincup felt good about getting that monkey off his back.

He started the 2009 season as he left in 2008, winning the opening two races at the first round of the championship in Adelaide last month.

At the non-points-scoring event, as part of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, his good form continued with a second and two top-seven places.

"We haven't been rewarded for our hard work yet and I'm not getting too far ahead of myself because if I make the race this weekend I'll be happy," he said.

The Triple Eight team are so far four wins from five races this season (teammate Craig Lowndes won two of the three race at the Australian Grand Prix) and it looks ominous for the chasing pack.

"We're very, very happy at the moment," said Whincup.

"There were some big questions about how the new FG was going to perform and it's been really hard work since January.

"But we answered all the questions at the first two rounds."

This season Whincup's Triple Eight team are building a number of customer cars for various teams, including Kiwi driver Fabian Coulthard's Wilson Security car.

It must feel a bit strange to do all the development work on a racecar and then hand it over to a competitor. And it clearly puts greater emphasis on a driver's skills.

"They're pretty much the same cars now. Fabian's car is identical to mine with every bit of set-up knowledge to go fast," said Whincup.

"It's a level playing field so it's a more difficult job for me [to win] because there's someone else out there with the same equipment. But it's much more rewarding when you do get over the line, knowing you've beaten someone with the same kit. The main change in the car these days is the driver."

Whincup likes the Hamilton circuit, and he can't wait to break the Holden stranglehold on New Zealand tracks.