It is bemusing to gloss over the list of race winners in the 2017 Supercars championship and not see the name Jamie Whincup pencilled in, at least even once.
That is because the six-time series champion has started his campaign without a victory and for the first time since 2005 in fact, Whincup has not won a race within the first five rounds of the season.
The most recent outing at the Winton SuperSprint presented the 34-year-old with his best opportunity to get the monkey off his back in 2017, however a late mistake following a safety car restart, handed the victory to Red Bull teammate Shane van Gisbergen.
“Personally, I’m pretty gutted. I gave it everything I could to win the race. All I want to do is win a race and I can’t get there,” remarked Whincup post-race.
“I’m the only loser sitting here without a race win.”
In applying such harsh self-criticism, Whincup is forgetting the bigger picture – being the championship itself. Despite being winless, the Holden driver sits a mere four points adrift in the standings in second place, from leader Fabian Coulthard.
Consistency has assured the former champion to remain within touching distance of the championship leader, with only one race result yielding a finish outside of the top-ten so far. Otherwise, Whincup has six podiums to his credit, including one from the non-points race in Tasmania.
Whincup’s closest rivals meanwhile, have all had topsy-turvy weekends thus far. His teammate and defending Supercars champion Van Gisbergen stood up on the podium for the first time in seven races, with shocking races at Phillip Island and Perth.
DJR Team Penske’s Scott McLaughlin has had the most pole positions in 2017 of anyone, though a weekend of misfortunes at Phillip Island, which saw the Kiwi finish tenth and fourteenth across both races – conceded a lot of points to his competitors.
Ultimately, consistency will be what sees Whincup add a record seventh crown to his already immaculate Supercars career. The yearning to equal his stablemate Craig Lowndes’ all-time tally of 105-race wins is understandable, though for the form driver of the last decade – claiming another title ought to be more rewarding.
With a flurry of young talent now staking a claim at the championship, this may as well be one of the last seasons where Whincup could win. It has nothing to do with his ability, or the proficiency of his Triple Eight team, but rather the depth of skilled drivers in the field.
As the championship heads north to the Top End of Australia, there will be opportunities aplenty for Whincup to open his account for wins in 2017.
Venues such as Hidden Valley and Ipswich have been happy hunting grounds in the past for the six-time champ and his Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
And while DJR Team Penske have proved to succeed this year at the circuits dominated by Triple Eight, Whincup won’t stay winless for long – though his position in the championship must be considered vital.
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