V8s: Courtney takes title fight to Whincup

Ford driver James Courtney dealt a major blow to Holden rival Jamie Whincup's V8 Supercars championship hopes. Photo / Getty Images

Ford driver James Courtney has dealt a major blow to Holden rival Jamie Whincup's V8 Supercars championship hopes by sealing back to back wins at Ipswich on Sunday.

Courtney continued his dominance at Queensland Raceway, backing up his runaway victory on Saturday by winning race two by more than 11 seconds.

In a worst case scenario for Whincup, the series leader retired with mechanical problems after 27 of race two's 65 laps.

Victory in Sunday's 200km event made serious inroads on Whincup's lead.

Courtney now trails the Holden driver by just 24 points - Whincup arrived at the Ipswich round leading by 204.

Disaster struck for the Holden ace when the race resumed after a safety car on the 25th lap with Whincup at the lead.

After being swamped by the field at the resumption, a clearly alarmed Whincup headed for the pits - but didn't return.

His teammate Craig Lowndes had problems too, never recovering after losing the race lead due to a disastrous pit stop on lap 47.

He finished fifth.

Courtney won race two ahead of Holden's Garth Tander and Ford's Shane van Gisbergen.

It was also a shocker for championship aspirant Mark Winterbottom.

The Ford's driver's race was over before it could really start on Sunday after crashing out before the first turn.

After Lee Holdsworth stalled on the starting grid, Winterbottom clipped his Holden before smashing into a safety barrier, abruptly ending his day.

It capped a nightmare for Winterbottom, who finished ninth on Saturday and qualified 17th on Sunday - his worst ever grid start with his Ford team.

Winterbottom had high hopes when he arrived at Ipswich, starting the round on third spot in the championship behind Whincup and Courtney.

- AAP