Jamie Whincup has no regrets about his costly passing attempt on Ford ace Scott McLaughlin, with the Holden legend boldly declaring he’s not giving up on winning a seventh Supercars championship.
The simmering Red Bull-Shell V-Power rivalry boiled over on in Saturday’s first race of the Tailem Bend Supersprint as the series heavyweights clashed on the opening lap.
Whincup was slapped with a 15-second penalty for the incident which left McLaughlin’s Mustang in the sand.
“(McLaughlin) made a mistake at the corner before, so I needed to have a go,” he said.
“If I didn’t, I would have had a garage full of mechanics and engineers asking why I didn’t, and I’m not here to hand the championship to DJR Team Penske on a platter.”
McLaughlin didn’t earn the wrath of the stewards, and instead made a gallant charge to close within reach of an improbable podium finish.
But McLaughlin earned the same time punishment as Whincup for a late-race clash with Lee Holdsworth that left the Tickford veteran off track.
With Whincup pushed to 19th, a safe drive from McLaughlin would have given him an almost unassailable championship lead.
But a potential third-placed finish turned into 15th for McLaughlin, but the New Zealander still holds a 151-point lead over Whincup ahead of two more 24-lap races to complete the round on Sunday.