Just touched down in Adelaide for round 1, I meant round 3 of the championship. To be honest it all feels normal from my end. Clipsal still feels like Clipsal although we started in the Middle East a few weeks ago.

It was a little chilly getting off the plane which I am not complaining about. I would love a nice cool weekend of racing. I remember almost dying here in 2007 when we copped 38 degrees on the Saturday. I backed off for 5 laps to catch my breath and then pushed on again with 3 laps to go. Hot or cold this is still the toughest event of the year and one that has given me the most reward. I regarded my battle with Will Davo and win here last year as my most memorable race of 2009. So memorable I am very hungry to do it again.

We have to be confident coming into the weekend. We won here last year and had a fantastic run in our new Holden’s in the Middle East. But at the same time we are fully aware of our challenges. Although our car was very fast on the ultra smooth Middle Eastern tracks, it may be a completely different story on the very bumpy streets of Adelaide. Our plan is to do what we normally do and work really closely with Lowndesy especially on Friday to try and find the right setup on the cars.

Since we spoke last time allot of activity has happened off track. You would have noticed the website was offline for a few hours while we make changes to the back end. You won’t see many changes at the moment but I am slowly putting plans into place to make the community better for it’s members. There has also been some long term negotiations finalised that unfortunately I can’t mention here. But I am confident that over time the end result will mean I am performing better as a racing driver. I know I can’t wait around and be lazy, I have to keep striving to be better otherwise my opposition will run me over.

So I feel I have recovered well from being away and feel fit and healthy ahead of another big weekend. I know most of you are wrapped we are back in oz and battling it out on home soil. I hope to see as many of you as possible out at the circuit. If you get a chance check out our new merchandise range, I think we have found another gear this year. Gee that almost rhymes!

Take it easy

Jamie

The dual champion qualified third for today’s 250km leg and never once opted to cruise despite only needing to finish within the top 28. Whincup fought hard and gave his all as he battled with the leaders throughout the 2 hour race, even passing Garth Tander for the race lead on Lap 26.

A physically and emotionally drained Whincup admitted he had nothing left in the tank at the end of the gruelling race.

“This is an incredible feeling,” Whincup said. “I didn’t think there could be a better feeling than last year’s (championship win) but this is unbelievable.

“It really is twice as hard to win the title a second time. There is a lot of pressure that goes with running the number one and you do become a bit of a target.

“I am very, very proud of what the team has achieved. I am just one part of the team and this championship victory has been a massive team effort,” he acknowledged.

It was a tough day for teammate Craig Lowndes who had the arduous task of starting from 22nd on the grid after a horror qualifying run.

Lowndes had a sensational first half of the 74 lap race and was up into the top ten before his second pitstop. An altercation with Will Davison on Lap 42 of the race forced him into the pits for repairs and in turn put him 13 laps down.

The TeamVodafone pit crew worked frantically to replace two uprights and the left hand bottom steering arm and he eventually finished the race in 19th place.

“It was a disappointing finish because I got a sensational start and the car balance was great. We had a good strategy, I passed a lot of cars on the on the opening lap and through the first stop,” Lowndes explained.

“After the second pitstop I clipped the wall coming onto the straight and Will (Davison) tried to out brake me down into Turn 1. He was a little bit too ambitious and we had contact which bent my steering quite badly.

“The team did a fantastic job to get me back out there and after today’s experience I know just how important qualifying well will be tomorrow as it is very difficult to pass on this track. The gloves will definitely be off as the Team’s Championship is still up for grabs,” he added.

The Sydney 500 will conclude tomorrow with the final race of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series to get underway at 2.35pm (AEDST).

V8 Supercar Race 25 Top Ten Results

1. Garth Tander, 150pts
2. Mark Winterbottom, 138pts
3. Jason Bright, 129pts
4. Lee Holdsworth, 120pts
5. Jamie Whincup, 111pts
6. Michael Caruso, 102pts
7. Jason Bargwanna, 96pts
8. Steven Richards, 90pts
9. Rick Kelly, 84pts
10.Shane Van Gisbergen, 78pts
19. Craig Lowndes, 48pts

Top Ten 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Standings

1. Jamie Whincup, 3286pts
2. Will Davison, 2954pts
3. Garth Tander, 2916pts
4. Craig Lowndes, 2592pts
5. Mark Winterbottom, 2285pts
6. Steven Johnson, 2177pts
7. Rick Kelly, 2162pts
8. James Courtney,2042pts
9. Lee Holdsworth, 2006pts
10. Russell Ingall, 1928pts

Now it’s almost here and it’s a great feeling knowing we are coming into the grand final with just 22 points to get. If you do the maths that means even if my mate Will (Davison) wins both races, I only need to get 28th position in one race to win the championship.

I’m fairly confident we can achieve that. It makes me especially proud of our team to have such a lead at this point in the series, considering what a topsy-turvy year it’s been with the unknown factor of the soft tyre rule, the changes that happened with the different format at Indy and then not going to Bahrain.

It seems they have thrown everything at us this year to disrupt our planning and make it difficult to run away with a points lead, yet we’ve managed to do it all the same.

While my first focus is to get those 22 points, the second item on the agenda is to get a win in Sydney because it’s going to be such an amazing event.

It’s the grand final of a truly national championship. My third agenda item for the weekend is the team championship. You would have thought it a bit far-fetched that we could win both the driver and team championships before the Perth round two weeks ago.

We were so far behind in the points, but we did a perfect job at Perth with two pole positions and two wins so now we’re actually one point ahead of HRT with a chance of winning the prized pair of titles.

Of course, the unknown factor will be the track. No one has even walked around it yet and there’s no computer game to practise on, so everyone is in the same boat. I’ll have a good look at the layout and come up with an educated guess on the lines, then when I get on the track I’ll confirm or amend them.

After that there will be a lot of going over the track in my head to get it right. From what I’ve seen it looks like a good track for passing. There are several places where the track is wide which gives a good opportunity for passing, especially turn one at the end of the main straight.

However, I’ve been so busy with promotional activities this week I haven’t had much of a chance to study the track yet. One of those promotional activities was the launch of our team calendar to aid the McGrath Foundation. It was a Vodafone initiative, it’s all for a good cause and it was a bit of fun. Some of the photos are a bit racy, but I was fairly conservative. I tend to concentrate on being a racing driver rather than being a male model but I was happy to take part, even though I was definitely the most modest.

I don’t think I’m letting the cat out of the bag when I say there was a fair bit of trick photography and trick lighting involved plus a fair bit of photoshopping afterwards.

It’s amazing what you can do with good lights. But I’d just like to say there was none of that with my pictorial.

Today saw a complete reversal on yesterday’s results with Jamie Whincup claiming pole position for Race 24 of the 2009 V8 Supercar Championship Series and teammate Craig Lowndes taking the race victory.

Storming from the last pit stop where he put on his slightly used soft tyres, Lowndes capitalised on the bunched field to elevate him from seventh to first and was never headed for the remainder of the race.

Although the soft tyres were nursed home over the closing laps, his 15 second buffer ensured he was never under threat from Steven Johnson in second place, who was also driving a Triple Eight Race Engineering manufactured car.

“Not bad for an old bloke,” Lowndes acknowledged wryly.

“Going into this event my primary role was to be rear gunner for Jamie and now I am standing on the podium.

“It was an awesome weekend for TeamVodafone. Two pole positions and two race wins - what more could we ask for,” he said.

Team strategy and an opportunistic safety car helped Jamie Whincup record a credible fourth place without lengthy use of the soft tyres.

With his championship rival failing to finish the race Whincup now holds a commanding 281 point lead going into the last event of the year in a fortnights time and only has to finish one race in 28th place to seal his second consecutive title.

“While I only need to finish better than 28th in one race in Sydney there is the Team’s Championship which is also undecided and Craig and I are desperate to achieve the double header,” Whincup said.

“It was no secret I was racing Car 22 today but once he was out, I pushed on as hard as I could.

“With the tyres I had to work with fourth place certainly exceeded my expectations today,” he added.

The Sydney 500 will host the Grand Finale of the V8 Supercar Championships from December 4-6 at Sydney Olympic Park and is expecting more than 150,000 people to attend the three day event.

V8 Supercar Top Ten Race 24 Results

1. Craig Lowndes, 150pts
2. Steven Johnson, 138pts
3. Garth Tander, 129pts
4. Jamie Whincup, 120pts
5. Russell Ingall, 111pts
6. Jason Bright, 102pts
7. Jason Bargwanna, 96pts
8. Steven Richards, 90pts
9. Cameron McConville, 84pts
10.James Courtney, 78pts

V8 Supercar Top Ten Championship standings

1. Jamie Whincup, 3175pts
2. Will Davison, 2894pts
3. Garth Tander, 2766pts
4. Craig Lowndes, 2544pts
5. Steven Johnson, 2177pts
6. Mark Winterbottom, 2147pts
7. Rick Kelly, 2078pts
8. James Courtney, 1988pts
9. Lee Holdsworth, 1886pts
10. Russell Ingall, 1871pts

The day started well for the championship winning team with an all TeamVodafone front row of the grid confirmed after teammate Craig Lowndes beat Whincup to pole position for the 42 lap race.

Both Whincup and Lowndes started the race on the Dunlop Sprint Maxx tyres but it was the defending champion who got off the line first. While Whincup pulled away, Lowndes took an early pit stop on Lap 6, opting to save his sprint tyres for tomorrow’s longer race.

Whincup was never headed as he took his eleventh race win of the season ahead of Todd Kelly and Mark Winterbottom and he now sits 161points clear of championship rival Will Davison.

“I have never won in Perth before so it is a great feeling.” Whincup said.

“We had great pace, but we did use the best of our tyres so it will be extremely tough to win again tomorrow.

“We had to sprint today and get that lead over 150 points. We are racing car 22 (Will Davison) and that’s who we have to race tomorrow,” he acknowledged.

After securing his first pole position for the year Craig Lowndes finished today’s race sixth and said the team strategy was to try and save the soft tyres for tomorrow.

“I had a consistent car throughout the race but once I went onto the standard control tyre I was pretty much racing myself,” Lowndes said.

“Our strategy was to pit early to save the sprint tyres so they can be used tomorrow. We want to stay out of trouble and try and match it with the other cars on soft’s.

Tomorrow’s on track action will see the V8 Supercars contest a 20 minute qualifying session at 10.00am (WST) ahead of Race 24 (84 laps) at 12.35pm (WST).

Top Ten V8 Supercar Race 23 Results

1. Jamie Whincup, 150pts
2. Todd Kelly, 138pts
3. Mark Winterbottom, 129pts
4. James Courtney, 120pts
5. Will Davison, 111pts
6. Craig Lowndes, 102pts
7. Rick Kelly, 96pts
8. Greg Murphy, 90pts
9. Russell Ingall, 84pts
10. Steven Johnson, 78pts

Whincup won yesterday’s 100km race and backed it up this morning with pole position for today’s 200km race.

The defending champion got his best start of the season and virtually controlled the race from start to finish, the only glitch a miscommunication with the safety car at the conclusion of his second pitstop.

“Obviously I am extremely happy with the weekend,” Whincup said. “I came here with a massive job to do and feel like I executed it well.

“We had momentum against us coming into the round and needed to lift our game and we did just that. Our car speed, reliability and pitstops were top notch this weekend.

“While we have regained some points and momentum, there are still four races to go and 600points up for grabs,” he continued.

Teammate Craig Lowndes qualified 12th for today’s 44-lap race and bounced back from a bad start to finish the race seventh.

“I had a very rocky start,” Lowndes explained. “I got way too much wheel spin and lost about nine positions.

“The car was much better than yesterday and our strategy and pitstop were fantastic. I managed to leap quite a few positions through the stops.

“It was a great finish to a tough weekend and I am really looking forward to going west,” he added.

While Lowndes and Whincup head home to continue their preparation for the BigPond 300 at Perth’s Barbagallo Raceway on 20 – 22 November the TeamVodafone crew will remain at Phillip Island to prepare the teams two V8 Supercars for their journey west.

Top Ten V8 Supercar Race 22 Results

1. Jamie Whincup, 150pts
2. Rick Kelly, 138pts
3. Garth Tander, 129pts
4. James Courtney, 120pts
5. Jason Bright, 111pts
6. Shane Van Gisbergen, 102pts
7. Craig Lowndes, 96pts
8. Paul Dumbrell, 90pts
9. Fabian Coulthard, 86pts
10. Michael Caruso, 78pts

Top Ten V8 Supercar Championship Standings

1. Jamie Whincup, 2905pts
2. Will Davison, 2783pts
3. Garth Tanders, 2565pts
4. Craig Lowndes, 2292pts
5. Mark Winterbotton, 1964pts
6. Steven Johnson, 1961pts
7. Rick Kelly, 1925pts
8. Lee Holdsworth, 1817pts
9. James Courtney, 1790pts
10. Shane Van Gisbergen, 1679pts

Determined to right the wrongs of the previous round, Whincup posted the quickest time in the morning practice session before qualifying third for today’s 22-lap race.

A good start saw him move into second at the first turn and on Lap 3 of the race he passed championship rival Will Davison for the lead. A perfectly executed pitstop on Lap 9 put him back on track in front of Davison, a position he maintained to the chequered flag.

“I couldn’t be happier,” Whincup said. “This has really given me some confidence back.

“My pre race strategy seemed to work but there are still five long races to go so I need to keep the eyes down and focused.

“The car was very good but the tyres were getting pretty hot before the safety car came out,” he explained.

There was no such luck for teammate Craig Lowndes who ended the race 18th after an intense battle with Todd Kelly saw both cars excursion through the sand-trap.

A post race investigation further added to his woes with the TeamVodafone driver handed a 38 second pit lane penalty equivalant which put him back in 28th. 

“It was a disappointing way to finish the day,” Lowndes said. “I was quick throughout practice and qualifying.

“I had a good car and was running strongly in fourth but the battle with Todd came to a head at Turn 2 and unfortunately we both ended up in the gravel.” 

Tomorrow’s on track action will see the V8 Supercars contest a 20 minute qualifying session at 10.35am (AEDST) ahead of Race 22 (44 laps) at 2.05pm (AEDST).

Top Ten V8 Supercar Race 21 Results
 

1. Jamie Whincup, 150pts

2. Will Davison, 138pts
3. Rick Kelly, 129pts 

4. Garth Tander, 120pts         

5. Shane Van Gisbergen, 111pts

6. Mark Winterbottom, 102pts 

7. Lee Holdsworth, 96pts

8. Steven Johnson, 90pts

9. James Courtney, 86pts

10. Jason Richards, 78pts


Defending AMA Motocross and Australian Super X Champion Chad Reed has come to the aid of defending V8 Supercar Champion Jamie Whincup who has chosen to sideline himself from the prestigious Race of Champions in Beijing.

27-year-old Reed from Monster Energy Kawasaki will step in to the role at Team Australia in the multi-discipline motorsport event, replacing the 26-year-old TeamVodafone driver who endured a horror weekend of results at the Surfers Paradise SuperGP.

Reed flew to Queensland to support Whincup at his home event and said he was glad to help out having seen the points leader overcome with disappointment after a late race mistake.

“I’m more than happy to step in for Jamie who made the decision to remove himself from the event after a very tough weekend,” said Reed. “Motorsport can bring you the highest of highs but the lows are crushing – I’ve been in that position myself and I know what he is going through.

“We’ve been friends for a few years now and thankfully l was the position to be able to step in for him.

“I love nothing more than flying the Aussie flag and I am really looking forward to teaming up with Mick (Doohan). The only condition I made was that Jamie give his all to win the 2009 title,” Reed explained.

Whincup said it was a difficult decision to make but was staunchly determined to defend his title and pay back the support shown by his team, sponsors and fans.

“V8 Supercars are my focus, we’ve worked very hard to get where we are and I’ve made the decision to withdraw from the Race of Champions in order to concentrate on rebuilding my points lead,” said Whincup.

“I am extremely grateful that Chad has been able to take my place and I am certain he will do a very good job for Australia.

“He is an incredible athlete and is one of the toughest competitors I have met. He has shown he can mix it on four wheels – in the past he has driven our TeamVodafone V8 Supercar and also had a good test in a Toyota rally car.

“I wish him and Mick all the best in Beijing.”

Reed will pair up with another two-wheel star in Mick Doohan, a five-time MotoGP world champion.

Doohan was also present at the SuperGP race and supported the decision of Whincup to relinquish his drive.

The Reed/Doohan duo will be up against stars including Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button, Marcus Gronholm, Travis Pastrana and many more at the November 2-4 event at the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing.

That’s something I’ve now got to sort out if I want to be competitive right to the end of the season. Thankfully I still have time to turn it around. I can also take some comfort from the way I was able to recover from my own misfortune when I crashed at the end of the third race. Of course, I shouldn’t have been in that situation to begin with.

But I didn’t need a session with the team psychologist to get my head straight for the last race. Once that helmet goes on I am immediately focussed. That crash was just a lapse in concentration. You have to remember that we are not just driving around out there; we’re on the limit every corner of every lap and you need to have 100 per cent concentration for the whole race.

The damage was almost had enough to finish me for the weekend, but our team did a fantastic job to get it right for the last race in very short time. Twelve guys replaced the whole front end and the rear including the watts linkage in just two hours and even managed to fill the drink bottle with water and ice.

In fact, all the teams did really well considering the amount of carnage, plus the hectic four-race format and the complicated strategies that required. Our crew did such a good job the car still handled just as well as it had all weekend. In fact, it was so good I managed to pass about 30 cars in that last race. I started in 23rd place and passed about six cars before the race restart where I was sent back to 23rd, then I got myself back up to sixth by the end. My race engineer told me “don’t come back unless you are in the top 10″, so I did.

I know Bargs had a go at me about my driving, but there is nothing to talk about in my pass on him. I don’t know why he turned across me. It was a textbook pass and the stewards and everyone in the pits saw it the same way.

What a crazy weekend, but what a great event even with the A1s pulling out. I thought the V8 Supercars put on a great show. There was plenty of carnage for the fans and three different winners in four races. It offered everything. What more could you want?

I don’t know what they will do for future Gold Coast events, but I agree with our team boss Roland (Dane) about the possibility of getting the
Formula 3 guys in before they head to Macau in November. I know the V8s would like to make it our own event. We want to be the number one category and be in control of our own destiny, but we also need some fantastic support categories. I’m sure F3 would be accepted without doubt. They are top-notch open-wheel cars and not particularly noisy. Most of the corporates don’t want the cars as noisy as the Indy cars or the A1s, but still the F3 cars are full-spec racers. It’s also one of the most competitive categories in the world.

Despite crowds being down because of the uncertainty of the event there was still that awesome Indy vibe and just thousands of people enjoying themselves with that carnival/party atmosphere. I’d hate to see the event lose that vibe.

And it’s important those people coming to the Nikon SuperGP realise that A1GP haven’t just decided to abort the Australian round. The result of them not coming here could almost put an end to that whole championship, they’re not just aborting this round.

In saying that, I’m so proud of Tony Cochrane and the V8 Supercar board. This weekend could’ve been a bit of a black mark for motorsport but the way Cocho and the board have pulled together Plan B to give fans double the amount of race starts and finishes, plus 50 per cent more racing for the V8s, is fantastic.

For the thousands of people who are there to watch the V8s and have a good time, it’s probably going to work out better.
But no, it’s probably not an advantage for me. Leading the championship the less rounds to go the better and the less racing you do the better. It could disadvantage the position I’m in.

But, on the flip side of the coin, it’s another opportunity to gain some more points on my position as well. If I do well. As a racing driver _ I’ve been vocal about this in the past _ I always want to do more racing and this weekend is an opportunity for another two more races to do this year, which is great.

I love Indy. The track itself has copped a bit of flak from time to time about being very tight, narrow and hard to pass. But I just have this completely different opinion of it _ I reckon it’s just one of the greatest tracks of all time. In qualifying, having new tyres on a V8 Supercar, out there brushing the mirrors in qualifying is one of the best sessions of the year. It’s unbelievable. Just barrowing this monster through a concrete canyon, there’s no greater feeling than when you get to the end of the lap and you’ve done a good time.

So for everyone who has tickets and is planning to come out to this Nikon SuperGP, don’t be scared of the changes. The party’s still going to be there, the V8s will be in full swing and I’m going to do everything I can to go back-to-back, run my own race and try to keep the surfboard trophy here in Queensland. We’re now into this high-speed run down to the championship finale at Sydney.

This is where it gets kind of hectic with a race every two weeks and for me it’s a little more hectic with the Race of Champions in Beijing after the SuperGP. But that’s not on my mind at the moment. My attention is focussed on one event at a time and right now that’s this great Gold Coast weekend of racing.

Features include:

Limited edition TeamVodafone removable handset cover
Exclusive in-car video footage of a Jamie Whincup Bathurst Lap
Exclusive TeamVodafone ring tones and wallpapers
Great Quality Q-VGA Display
FM Radio, Music Player and Bluetooth
3G internet capable

Currently available at participating dick smith, Allphones and Vodafone stores, and also online at store.vodafone.com.au

A handset will be given away each week, beginning on Friday September 25.

To enter, simply leave a comment with your answer to the following question.

How many points do you think Jamie will score at the SuperGP this weekend? Hint - there are 300 points available.

Week 4 competition entries will close at midnight on Friday October 23. One entry per post please. Members may enter each week but will not be eligible to win more than 1 handset. Competition winners will be announced following week 4’s competition.

It was the first time in a long time I had been able to finish the race and I was happy to get the chance to do that. As soon as I crossed the line I was straight on the radio to thank the guys in the pits. We battled very trying conditions all day and things just didn’t go our way the whole time. It was a big roller coaster. We were in contention from the start, then got the drive through penalty, so we dropped back, we had some ordinary wet pace, got back into contention, had some luck with a safety car, but couldn’t convert it. We had just too many mistakes.

HRT won the race like we did in the past three years with no errors. In the past we had won the race when we weren’t the quickest, but we also didn’t have any issues.
This time there were four or five issues that set us back. You can bounce back from two or three, but not five. I think the black flag for the dangerous pit release was fair enough. We released the car and FPR had to jump on the brakes to get out of the way, even though there was no contact. All pit lane rules are for safety. The last thing we want is contact and mechanics in danger.

It wasn’t ideal, but I knew there was a long way to go and that we could get back there. I had my first race laps in the wet and dropped back because the tyre pressures were too low. I couldn’t turn the car in the corners and I was just getting passed in the straights. It was wheel spinning in a straight line and I couldn’t get grip to use full throttle. It was frustrating, but my main focus was not to throw it away. In those tough slippery conditions I could easily have speared off the track and ended the day.

At the end, it was a fantastic duel. There was a bunch of cars in contention and swapping places right to the chequered flag. Kelly was holding up a bunch of cars, but they had track position and they were within their right to defend their line. They had an issue with their car and were doing the best they could with what they had. I was getting frustrated behind Bargs (Jason Bargwanna) and made a last-corner dive which I felt was safe. The main issue is Bargs moved under brakes and the car getting passed isn’t supposed to do that. I’m happy with my move, but I can understand Bargs being disappointed as he’s been working hard to get back into the series.

But I’m not a charity either. I had a few runs on Bargs and he shut the gate on me a few times. No one likes anyone being defensive like that so I did what I had to do. I saw him half go and tried to clip the front of him to straighten him up a bit but I couldn’t. I didn’t want him to spin and tried to straighten him up.

In the end I was very happy for my former housemate and good friend Davo (Will Davison) getting his first Bathurst win. I know what it feels like and I’d like to congratulate him and the HRT team for their flawless effort.

Now my attention is on Surfers Parade next weekend. It usually seems that whoever wins there goes on to get the championship and there are four of us now in contention, so it will be a thrilling ride to the finish in Sydney.

Whilst the fairytale finish would have been four wins a row, the day did not start well for the star pairing with a drive through penalty applied after the first pitstop.

During Jamie’s second stint mid race, the rain came down and incorrect tyre pressure settings made it impossible for Whincup to keep consistent lap times until the track began to dry out and tyre temps increased.

However, with the best fuel economy of the field they regained the outright lead on Lap 121 and from there battled a pack of Commodores against the lone TeamVodafone V8 Supercar until problems with the clutch arose.

“It was a very tough day,” Lowndes admitted. “The conditions were difficult to keep on top of and we had a couple of little things go wrong.

“The team did an unbelievable job with strategy, Jamie did a fantastic job in the final stint and despite the problems we encountered the car soldiered on all day.

“We can be proud of the fact that we continually fought back but it just wasn’t meant to be. We now know where we stand in terms of the championship and we will turn our focus to the Super GP in two weeks time.

Driving the final stint for the first time Whincup battled valiantly but with a sticking clutch and lacking outright pace the duo had to settle for fifth.

“It wasn’t our day today,” Whincup explained. “We had a few little hiccups and to win this race you have to have everything squeaky clean.

“I am extremely proud we were able to pick up the pieces and still get a reasonable result.”

“We fought all day and our absence from the podium was not from a lack of trying,” Whincup said.

The European contingent in car 88 also had a day of ups and downs, an excellent start by Allan Simonsen elevated them from 17th to 3rd in the early stages of the race but a lengthy pitstop during a safety car period put them a lap/ A black flag for speeding in pit lane further added to their woes but it was an engine failure five laps from the race end that forced them into retirement.

“We had mixed weather conditions leading into the start of the race and we really didn’t know until the last minute what tyres we would be on so I was really happy my start,” said Simonsen.

“I made my way up to third by the end of my stint and everything went extremely well until our pitstop that put us a lap down.

“A drive thru penalty meant we were never able to really recover and then five laps from the end the engine let go over the top of the mountain spraying oil on the rear tyres. I experienced the biggest slide of my career but somehow managed to keep it off the wall,” he added.

It was a day of firsts for James Thompson in his Bathurst race debut with the former BTCC driving a V8 Supercar in wet conditions for the first time.

“It was an amazing experience and I have to say a big thank you to everyone at TeamVodafone,” Thompson said. “I almost accomplished my dream of completing a Bathurst race.

“I experienced a lot of firsts today – my first time on wets, my first time driving on slicks in the wet and the first time I have ever driven that distance.”

With the endurance races over Simonsen and Thompson will return to their respective european championships while TeamVodafone will prepare for the SuperGP on the Gold Coast in a fortnights time.

Top Ten Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Results

1. W.Davison/G.Tander, 300pts
2. C.McConville/J.Richards, 276pts
3. M.Caruso/L.Holdsworth, 258pts
4. G.Murphy/M.Skaife, 240pts
5. C.Lowndes/J.Whincup, 222pts
6. J.Bargwanna/M.Noske, 204pts
7. P.Morris/T.Slade, 192pts
8. R.Kelly/T.Kelly, 180pts
9. D.Besnard/G.Ritter, 168pts
10.T.D’Alberto/A.Thompson, 156pts

Top Ten V8 Supercar Championship Points

1. Jamie Whincup, 2476pts
2. Will Davison, 2383pts
3. Garth Tander, 2038pts
4. Craig Lowndes, 1947pts
5. Steven Johnson, 1656pts
6. Mark Winterbottom, 1574pts
7. Lee Holdsworth, 1568pts
8. Rick Kelly, 1516pts
9. Russell Ingall, 1484pts
10.James Courtney, 1436pts

Features include:

Limited edition TeamVodafone removable handset cover
Exclusive in-car video footage of a Jamie Whincup Bathurst Lap
Exclusive TeamVodafone ring tones and wallpapers
Great Quality Q-VGA Display
FM Radio, Music Player and Bluetooth
3G internet capable

Currently available at participating dick smith, Allphones and Vodafone stores, and also online at store.vodafone.com.au

A handset will be given away each week, beginning on Friday September 25.

To enter, simply give us your most creative answer to this week’s question:

What part does technology play in being a V8 Supercar champion?

Week 3 competition entries will close at 3pm on Friday October 16. One entry per post please. Members may enter each week but will not be eligible to win more than 1 handset. Competition winners will be announced following week 4’s competition.

Monster Energy is pleased to welcome defending V8 Supercar and Bathurst 1000 champion Jamie Whincup to its family of action sports athletes.

In the space of just a few years, the 26-year-old has emerged as one of the most talented touring car drivers in Australian history, recording an incredible run of results including a driver’s championship title and three consecutive Bathurst wins.

Whincup’s personality and attitude epitomises the Monster Energy lifestyle. The TeamVodafone driver is an easygoing fan favourite off the track but once the engine of his 650hp V8 Supercar roars to life there is few that can rival his merciless approach and commitment to achieving victory.

Monster Energy’s Adrian Hunter said the sponsorship of such a prominent and successful athlete was the perfect way to unleash the brand upon Australia.

“We are very happy to welcome Jamie Whincup to the team at Monster Energy and are looking forward to sharing his incredible journey in V8 Supercars,” said Hunter.

“Jamie is at the top of his game and easily one of the best drivers that Australia has ever produced – he is both passionate and driven but remains firmly committed to connecting with his fans.

“He lives and breathes an adrenaline-fuelled lifestyle, both on the track and off and will be a perfect fit within the Monster Energy family, joining other prominent motorsport stars including Formula 1’s Jenson Button and MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi.”

Whincup said he was thrilled to be joining Monster Energy’s team of world-class athletes.

“To join forces with such a popular and proactive brand in Monster Energy is very exciting, I feel it’s a natural fit and really represents the lifestyle I lead,” said Whincup.

“I look forward to delivering successful results on track and helping to introduce the iconic green claw to our passionate V8 Supercar fans.

“I’m excited to unveil a new helmet design featuring the Monster Energy logo for our attempt at a fourth consecutive Bathurst 1000 win, it would be a fantastic reward for Adrian and the team if I was able to stand atop the podium at our first race meeting together.”

The Monster Energy sponsorship begins at the Supercheap Auto 1000 at Mount Panorama, Bathurst and will extend into the 2010 and 2011 V8 Supercar seasons.

The Gold Coast-based athlete’s skills will be showcased on a truly international stage when heads to China next month to compete in the 16th annual Race of Champions event.

Whincup will race wheel-to-wheel against the world’s best drivers including Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher, Formula 1 championship contenders Jenson Button and Sebastien Vettel, World Rally Championship points leader Mikko Hirvonen and many more.

Strictly invitation-only, the event is open to the world’s best motorsport athletes who compete against each other in a variety of different race cars to determine the world motorsport ‘Champion of Champions’.

For further information on Monster Energy, please visit www.monsterenergy.com.au.

The day provided the successful TeamVodafone pairing with the opportunity to dial in their base set up, with further refinements set to be made for tomorrow’s qualifying session.

Whincup’s fastest lap, a 2:07.3745, was set on the final lap of Practice C, with the defending series champion indicating there was still more speed to be found in the #888 V8 Supercar.

“The car was great,” said Whincup. “We put a good set of tyres on at the end and the car had excellent balance.

“We were quick but not on the limit so there is definitely a lot more in it.

“Today is about learning the track again but we capitalised and the cool conditions and tail wind certainly helped.”

Lowndes said that the day provided the team with the opportunity to work on their basic setup and tomorrow would be dedicated to finding the perfect balance for qualifying.

“Most of my time in the car was spent working on a baseline setup. The car was nice and predictable which is what you want and for the tyres we were on the time was pretty good,” Lowndes said.

“Today’s result is encouraging but there is a long way to go - who knows what the next few days are going to bring.

“We will both use what happened at Phillip Island as motivation for this weekend.”

In car #88, endurance race pilots James Thompson and Allan Simonsen also had an encouraging day with the pairing finishing 13th despite not working on car setup until the final half of practice session C.

“Today was about getting James some kilometres,” Simonsen explained.

“We did work on setup during the last session and we have a very good direction to go on with.

“We put on a new set of tyres at the end but only got two laps; encouragingly we got better and better.

“The car is good and we didn’t make any mistakes so it has been a good start to the event.”

Thompson said that following today’s practice sessions he was feeling a lot more confident about his Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 debut.

“It is a very impressive track not an easy one to learn in 12 laps, you can’t force it, I just need miles,” Thompson said.

“The main thing for today was to familiarise myself with the track and keep it off the walls so we can come back tomorrow and really work on setting some times.”

A further 60 minutes of practice will follow tomorrow. Teams will then take to the track for the all-important qualifying session to determine placings within the Top Ten Shootout.

Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 Practice Results


#888 C.Lowndes/J.Whincup, 2.07.3745
#3 J.Bargwana/M.Nooske, 2.07.9918
#17 J.Courtney/S.Johnson, 2.08.0277
#6 S.Richards/M.Winterbottom, 2.08.0842
#8 C.McConville/J.Richards, 2.08.1048
#15 A.Davison/S.Van Gisbergan, 2.08.1419
#51 G.Murphy/M.Skaife, 2.08.2931
#18 W.Luff/J.Webb, 2.08.5636
#25 J.Bright/K.Reindler, 2.08.6165
#111 F.Coulthard/M.Patrizi, 2.08.8214

Check it out on the video page.

Features include:

Limited edition TeamVodafone removable handset cover
Exclusive in-car video footage of a Jamie Whincup Bathurst Lap
Exclusive TeamVodafone ring tones and wallpapers
Great Quality Q-VGA Display
FM Radio, Music Player and Bluetooth
3G internet capable

Currently available at participating dick smith, Allphones and Vodafone stores, and also online at store.vodafone.com.au

A handset will be given away each week, beginning on Friday September 25.

To enter, simply give us your most creative answer to this week’s question:

How would a Nokia 3120 TeamVodafone handset help you show your true colours?

Week 2 competition entries will close at 3pm on Friday October 9. One entry per post please. Members may enter each week but will not be eligible to win more than 1 handset. Week 1 winner will be drawn this week.

From Bathurst, it’s a race every two weeks until the end of the year. One minute you are racing at Bathurst and the next thing you know you are sitting down for Christmas lunch with the family. It’s a gruelling schedule and a right royal battle all the way to the finish. So we have to get our fitness right before next weekend because we are pumping it for the rest of the year.

I suppose this will be pretty much what it will be like next year with the two condensed halves of the season with racing every fortnight and a nine-week break in the middle. I don’t do anything massively special in my training except to modify frequency to cope with the two or three driving stints we do at Bathurst. So instead of one training session a day we do several sessions a day to get used to switching on and off and recovering quickly.

Generally we have one big race per day, so we warm up, compete and cool down. The body gets used to that. Bathurst is more like a game of footy with two halves so you work hard, put in the big effort, then recover as quick as you can and then go back out there and put in again for the next half.

Speaking of footy, I’m really looking forward to the grand final this weekend. I’m originally from Melbourne so I’m a big Storm fan and I’m hoping they can make it two out of four. Going by their form of last week it’s looking good. I’ll probably catch up at the local with a few mates and watch the game as we did with the AFL final. It’s an amazing time of the year for sport with the footy finals and then Bathurst.

We did our final testing at Queensland Raceway on Monday. There were no issues that surfaced. It was all fairly routine. We weren’t trying to go for times or speed, we just ran in all our equipment for the race over about 10 laps to make sure everything is running well. Then we get everything crack tested and that goes in Saturday night for the big race on Sunday. We also did plenty of driver changes and pitstop practice.

It’s great news to hear that Casey Stoner is fit and ready to return to MotoGP this weekend in Portugal after his lay-off with a mystery illness. They say it’s chronic fatigue syndrome but no one knows for sure. I think he just needed a bit of a much-deserved rest. We went overseas quite young and has been pushing really hard for a long time. I can relate to that. I’ve been pushing hard since I started as a kid in karting. Every sportsman can knows that to stay at the elite level as he has it takes a lot of energy and mentally it’s extremely tough. I hope he will come back feeling refreshed, motivated and strong. He clearly is an awesome rider as no one has been able to handle that Ducati like he has. If his mind is in the right place he should be really competitive. I wish him luck and I’ll be glued to the TV at the weekend cheering him on.

I haven’t received anymore details about the Race of Champions in Beijing next month. All I know is we’re 100 per cent committed and ready to go. I get to drive a WRC car which should be fantastic plus a KTM buggy and some other great racing cars. It’ll be a great experience to race against some of the world’s best drivers. It’s something I’m looking forward to, but it will make that busy time of the year even busier.

Features include:

Limited edition TeamVodafone removable handset cover
Exclusive in-car video footage of a Jamie Whincup Bathurst Lap
Exclusive TeamVodafone ring tones and wallpapers
Great Quality Q-VGA Display
FM Radio, Music Player and Bluetooth
3G internet capable

Currently available at participating dick smith, Allphones and Vodafone stores, and also online at store.vodafone.com.au

A handset will be given away each week, beginning on Friday September 25.

To enter, simply give us your most creative answer to this week’s question:

What is the coolest thing about the new Nokia 3120 TeamVodafone handset?

Week 1 competition entries will close at 3pm on Friday October 2. One entry per post please. Members may enter each week but will not be eligible to win more than 1 handset.