V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup has completed a perfect Saturday in Darwin to reignite his title defence.

The Holden driver won both 100km races at Hidden Valley Raceway from pole position to emphatically end a winless streak stretching back to the Tasmania 400 in March.

The double victory lifts Whincup to five wins for the year, two more than championship rivals Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom, and gives him 150 vital points.

Winterbottom could only claim a pair of sixth-place finishes with Lowndes picking up two second placings on his 40th birthday to close the gap on the Ford driver at the top of the standings to just 65 points.

Whincup’s points’ haul has kept him in fourth overall behind Winterbottom, Lowndes and surprise packet Fabian Coulthard but, importantly, he has picked up 48 points on Winterbottom.

Coulthard continued his solid year by finishing third in Saturday’s second race, a fifth podium of the season for the Lockwood Racing driver.

Another victory for Whincup in Sunday’s 200km race would make him the first man to successfully claim the Triple Crown at Darwin in the event’s 15-year history.

Sunday’s action begins with qualifying from 12.40pm (1.10pm AEST) before the 69-lap 200km race starts at 3.15pm (3.45pm AEST).