Motorsport: Whincup praises 'rocket' car after Townsville win

Jamie Whincup came from ninth place on the grid to win race one of the Townsville 400. Photo / Getty Images

TOWNSVILLE - V8 Supercar champion Jamie Whincup praised the speed of his Ford after climbing through the field to win race one of the inaugural Townsville 400 event on Saturday.

The TeamVodafone driver started the 71-lap race on the 2.87km street circuit in ninth place but used a combination of luck and car speed to claim his seventh win of the V8 season.

Whincup progressed to the lead when pole holder Lee Holdsworth and early leader James Courtney were both stopped by engine trouble.

He avoided a penalty when he rear-ended Jack Perkin's Holden midway through the race and held off a late charge by Holden Racing Team duo Will Davison and Garth Tander to clinch the first V8 Supercar race ever held in north Queensland.

"I just had a rocket ship underneath me," Whincup said.

"The car's strong and when we get it right it's really, really fast.

"I was just able to come through the pack, get a nice comfortable lead, there were a few little ups and downs there but today was just about car speed and fantastic teamwork."

Davison's second place means Whincup's gap hasn't extended too much, with the Holden driver now on 1266 championship points to Whincup's 1422.

Tander also confirmed his place in the championship top three just a further 183 points behind his HRT teammate.

Stewards ruled after the race they did not need to investigate Whincup's contact with Perkins but Davison suggested the Ford driver had been lucky to escape punishment.

"He's pretty lucky I reckon," Davison said.

"How he got away with that, I don't know what the officials are thinking at the moment."

While Whincup was blessed with good fortune, Courtney just can't buy a trick in his first year with the Dick Johnson Racing team.

After jumping Holdsworth at the start of the race to claim pole, the Ford driver blew two cylinders by the race's seventh lap and was forced to retire.

A similar fate befell Holdsworth, who was pushing Whincup hard in his Holden before an oil issue caused him to retire on lap 30.

Whincup's teammate Craig Lowndes kept his championship hopes alive by racing from 15th place on the starting grid to finish fourth with Darwin race two winner Michael Caruso fifth.

The race was scheduled for 72 laps but ended after 71 due to time constraints.

The Townsville 400 continues on Sunday with an all-in qualifying session ahead of another 72-lap race.

- AAP