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The script couldn’t have played out any better for Jamie Whincup on the streets of Sydney Olympic Park on Saturday.
But the Holden driver is taking no comfort from a breezy victory that extended his championship lead and left his nearest title rivals shattered and bruised.
Whincup cruised home for his maiden win at the Sydney circuit, 1.79secs ahead of Jonathon Webb and Shane Van Gisbergen in the first of two races this weekend.
“It’s a huge relief to finally get a win here at Olympic Park,” Whincup said.
While the 30-year-old enjoyed a relatively smooth ride up front after starting from pole, the brutal concrete-lined circuit proved the undoing of teammate Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom.
The pair damaged both their cars after trading bumps in a tense tussle during the early stages of the twilight race – sparking a war of words between the drivers and their respective team bosses.
Lowndes crawled home in 15th but remains in the hunt for the 2013 crown.
He will need to win Sunday’s season-ending race and have Whincup finish 22nd or worse to erase a 110-point deficit and steal his first championship since 1999.
But the dream of a maiden title for Ford’s Winterbottom is over, the Bathurst winner crashing with 12 laps to go.
He was among five drivers who failed to finish the race – interrupted by four safety cars – with Scott Pye, Maro Engel, Tim Blanchard and Scott McLaughlin all ending the day in the pits.
Until now, Whincup had never finished better than fifth in Sydney.
And while his win has put him on track for a fifth championship in six years to equal the number of titles of the late Ian Geoghegan, Dick Johnson and Mark Skaife, the defending champion isn’t ready to start popping the champagne.
“I’d like to celebrate the win, but we’ve just got to keep our heads down and not throw it away with one day to go,” he said.
“The championship’s well and truly still alive.
“Don’t think it’s all done and dusted. There’s still a big motor race to happen Sunday and I’ve certainly got to be on the ball to take away the trophy.”
“I won’t be doing anything crazy. Winning Sunday’s race isn’t crazy important for me – my eyes are on the prize, and that’s the grand prize.”
But Lowndes is not going to let him run away with it.
“Until you’re a out of the equation, you’ve got to keep fighting,” he said.
“And tomorrow’s a brand new day.”
The final race of the year starts at 3.05pm (AEDT) on Sunday.
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