Everything appears to be going to script for defending V8 Supercars champion James Whincup ahead of this weekend’s Townsville round.
And that usually does not mean pretty reading for his rivals.
However, Whincup admits uncertainty surrounding the new Car of the Future models has him wondering whether he will get another happy ending in 2013.
Four-time V8 champion Whincup appears to have picked up where he left off from last year with a season-best seven wins including six in the last three rounds.
And with five wins from eight starts in Townsville, Whincup does not look like losing his Midas touch any time soon.
“It’s not only one of my favourite street tracks but also one of my favourite tracks full-stop,” he said of Townsville.
However Whincup believed he was now going into unknown territory as the Car of the Future models rounded the halfway point of the season.
“We just don’t know what we are going to get,” Whincup told v8supercars.com.au.
“We are going to be doing 1000km at Bathurst, we are going to be banging off walls at the Gold Coast.
“There are so many question marks, which is good for everyone watching and a real challenge for all the teams to take an educated guess on what’s the best plan of attack.
“I am sure we will all have issues along the way but I think the people that will perform the best will have the least amount of issues.”
Whincup made a rare slip-up last round in Darwin, copping a drive through penalty for spinning wheels in pit lane which banished him to 19th place.
It let nearest championship rival – Holden teammate Craig Lowndes – cut Whincup’s series lead to just 159 points.
The winner of each of Townsville’s 200km races this weekend receives 150 points.
“There is no question everyone will have issues but having the least amount compared to everyone else is the important thing,” Whincup said.
“Because the end of the year is so unknown you don’t want to be stupid and just look back and say ‘gee if I had just calmed down a bit in the middle of the year and scored those points then I would have been in a good position’.”
Practice for the Townsville round starts on Friday with a 70-lap race on the street circuit held on Saturday and Sunday.
