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The 2008 V8 Supercar Championship is Jamie Whincup’s to loose.

The Team Vodafone star has been the man-to-beat all year and holds a 187 point lead over his arch-rival, Ford Performance Racing’s Mark Winterbottom with only two rounds remaining.

The young racer has poured all his focus into winning this year’s title. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, he doesn’t have any hobbies. He lives for one thing; to be the best V8 Supercar driver in the country.

And so far his plan is working.

Over the last five rounds Whincup has taken the most of any driver.

At Winton he finished the weekend on equal points with Garth Tander and Will Davison.

Despite a race-losing mistake at the Phillip Island 500, he still finished that weekend with the most points.

He followed that with a dominating win at the Bathurst 1000 with Craig Lowndes. And hasn’t lost a race since, powering to clean sweeps on the Gold Coast and in Bahrain.

But after losing a huge points lead earlier the year at Hamilton when he was taken out in a qualifying crash, he’s making sure he doesn’t get over-confident.

“We’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves,” Whincup said after Bahrain.

“There’s still 600 points up for grabs in six races so, of course I’d be silly not to change my approach from here on in.

“I want this championship more than anyone else and will do whatever it takes to try and be No.1 at the end.”

It’s the right attitude to have because V8 Supercars can be an unpredictable sport, and one mistake could see his lead vanish again.

Winterbottom knows that Whincup has pulled out a comfortable gap, but has vowed to keep his foot down to be ready to pounce if Whincup slips up.

“We haven’t given up,” Winterbottom said. “Until the chequered flag drops at Oran Park we won’t concede defeat. Each round is getting a lot harder but you never know what will happen; we’ve got two more tracks, two different scenarios.”

Whichever one of the two Ford young guns that wins the title, they will both look back on this season as a coming-of-age.

They have emerged from years of learning as two of the sport’s best talents and look set to continue their rivalry that dates back to childhood for years to come.

Pre-season favourite Tander knows how they feel. It wasn’t long ago he was in the same position as an budding young steerer.

Now, though, he is in a very different position. He has gone from the hunter to the hunted this season as the defending champion leading the factory-backed Holden Racing Team.

He has fought a lone battle this year for Holden against the Ford chargers. The fight has turned increasingly ugly as he and Winterbottom engage in heated battle both on and off the track.

It reached a peak at Bahrain when Winterbottom accidently spun Tander around in the first race and left both of them back in the pack and handed the advantage to Whincup.

“It was the most unprofessional race I have ever been involved in and I don’t know what he was thinking,” Tander said of the clash.

“It is not the way you play the field when you need points. He has made it a lot harder for both of us.”

And it wasn’t just Winterbottom he had a problem with as Whincup’s teammate Craig Lowndes spent several laps banging fenders with him.

Tander has vowed to fight fire-with-fire to get revenge for rough tactics, meaning Winterbottom will have to play it safe around his Holden rival on the tight confines of Symmons Plains.

“The driving standards from everyone I raced against this weekend were poor. I don’t have a problem with people passing but they need to show some professional courtesy and give you some room,” Tander said.

“I can’t remember a race like that and if that’s what the guidelines are, well, then I look forward to racing them all later in the year.”

Although 292 points behind Whincup Tander has vowed to keep fighting.

“The championship is looking extremely tough and every race that goes by where you have a poor result makes it harder, but its still mathematically possible,” he said. “We’re miles behind so we need to go into full attack mode. The next two tracks were going to we’ve been very strong at the last two years, so we won’t be giving up without a fight.”

The wildcards for this weekend’s action will be the teammates of the three title contenders; Lowndes, Steven Richards and Mark Skaife.

All three have the potential to get involved in the fight at the front of the field and play spoiler to the title fighters.

Lowndes finished second in Bahrain - the first one-two finish for Team Vodafone - and finished fifth at Symmons last year.

Winterbottom’s partner Richards was second in this round in 2007 and has had good speed this year.

Skaife has had a disappointing season but with plans to hang up his helmet after Oran Park he is looking to go out on a high. And has a part-owner of HRT he will do whatever he can to get Tander back in the fight.

It has been an intense competition this year and the fight will only get hotter at Symmons Plains.

 

 

V8 Supercar Top Ten

1. Jamie Whincup, Team Vodafone (Ford), 2916 points

The 25-year-old has been in the best form of his career this year. He has been both fast and consistent all season long. He is 187 points ahead of the field despite missing all three races at New Zealand when he was taken out by a rival car in qualifying.

 

2. Mark Winterbottom, Ford Performance Racing, 2729

The fastest man for most of the season but has been a off the pace lately. He hasn’t been off by much but in this game, you can’t afford to be off your best at all. At one stage he looked like the favourite but will need to rediscover his magic and hope for a mistake (or two) from Whincup.

 

3. Garth Tander, Holden Racing Team, 2624

The defending champion has had an up-and-down season trying to settle into his new home at HRT. It is a sign of his strength that he has been able to turn the team back into a force again after several disappointing seasons.

 

4. Craig Lowndes, Team Vodafone (Ford), 2367

It may sound hard to believe but V8 Supercars most popular driver has flown under the radar this year. Whincup’s performances have put him in the shade. Lowndes has relied on his experience instead of speed but he looked on-form in Bahrain.

 

5. Steven Richards, Ford Performance Racing, 2178

It’s been a funny old season for Richo. He has been quick (winning the round in Darwin) but has been on the edge of title fight. He finished second at Symmons Plains last year so could add to his win tally this weekend.

 

6. Will Davison, Dick Johnson Racing (Ford), 2153

A future star of the series. He has dragged Dick Johnson’s famous team back from the brink with a round win at Eastern Creek and consistent pace the rest of the year. A serious contender for the win if he brings his A-game.

 

7. James Courtney, Stone Brothers Racing (Ford), 2136

Still something of an enigma of the sport. No-one doubts his speed but he had been unable to translate that into regular wins. SBR isn’t the same unit it was during its title-winning days but still has the potential.

 

8. Rick Kelly, HSV Dealer Team, 2046

The former champion has endured a difficult season trying to lead a re-structured Dealer Team. With several key members of the team moving to HRT (including Tander) the team has slipped off the pace. Still Kelly’s speed and consistency has kept in touch.

 

9. Russell Ingall, Supercheap Auto Racing (Holden), 1908

One of the biggest surprises of the year. The Enforcer has been rejuvenated with his return to Holden. The 2005 champion has unlocked the potential of the Paul Morris-owned team and turned it into a serious player.

 

10. Steven Johnson, Dick Johnson Racing (Ford), 1837

Despite being over-shadowed by Davison Junior Johnson has still shown plenty of ability this year. Although he hasn’t looked like winning a race he has been able to put his experience to good use to stay consistent.

 

- Herald Sun