Champion Jamie Whincup is hardly ready to throw in the towel despite a self-confessed ‘tough’ weekend when dominated by the Fords of Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom.
Whincup was a distant third to the two FPR Fords at the first leg of the Tasmanian Challenge in Launceston. The two Blue Oval machines had a race between themselves to the chequered flag, at times having to avoid taking each other out.
It was the second straight statement from FPR following their similar dominance at the opening V8 Supercar event at the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
The win was Davison's first in V8 Supercars in Tasmania and the eighth of his career, also extending his title lead over Whincup to 39 points.
“There are no secrets or stories,” Whincup said.
“We had a tough weekend so far. The car is not quite right, it’s a bit of a handful. We are trying a few things because if you don’t have a crack you are never going to move forward.
“We have got a bit of work to do, we are not hiding behind that. We are not proud of our effort today but we will fight on tomorrow and for the next six months.”
Davison, suffering from an undiagnosed problem that leaves his right leg numb, was also feeling a few pins and needles with the fantastic start to the year.
“It’s amazing to be sitting here in the middle again,” he said. “I am just going to try to enjoy the races and rack up as many wins as I can. To get another one so early feels really good inside but we have got to concentrate on being calm now.
“I got a bit excited by the Clipsal win but now it’s going to be a long hard road. It’s tricky to race your team-mate here but that’s what you have to manage. The nature of the game is to try to keep it clean. Frosty wants to win as much as anybody but there was no harm done.
“Anytime you beat a Vodafone guy or Jamie you know you are doing a good job. I don’t know what his story is but you never underestimate him.”
Winterbottom is also still suffering from a broken leg in the off-season. He botched his start again today which effectively cost him the lead and a real chance at pressuring Davison.
“It’s pretty ordinary at the moment but we are working on it. People are expecting us to fall over but it’s great to keep popping up there. We are not thinking we are going to dominate. We need to stay on top when we can.”
The 59-lap race saw all but two cars start on the hard tyre with both types to be used in the race. In the end, no one had the answers to stop the two FPR Falcons from running up front.
Team iSelect's Taz Douglas ended up finishing 12th - a personal best - after running in the top 10 for the majority of the race.
It was another day of disaster for 2010 champion James Courtney. He and Rick Kelly clashed on the first lap and the duo spun to the rear of the field.
Courtney recovered to 18th with Kelly 19th, though the incident will be investigated by Race Control post-race.
A total of 17 cars finished on the lead lap on the tight 2.4-kilometre circuit, with a longer race to be held tomorrow over 84 laps (200 kilometres).
There will be a practice session tomorrow ahead of another 20-minute qualifying session that will determine the grid for tomorrow afternoon's fourth race of the 2012 title chase.
Cole Hitchcock | Media Manager | D +61 7 5630 0315
M 0412 743 097 | F +61 7 5630 0338 | P +61 7 5630 0364 | www.v8supercars.com.au
PO Box 607, Southport BC, QLD, 4215