Jamie Whincup (left) and Craig Lowndes pose with a team Ford Falcon in Sydney on Monday, Oct. 6, 2009. Whincup and Lowndes will attempt to become the first drivers this weekend to win four Bathurst 100 races in a row after placing first in 2006, 2007 and 2008. AAP Image/Paul Miller
Following on from the AFL and the NRL Grand Finals, the V8 Supercars take the Australian sporting centre stage today with Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup on the brink of creating Bathurst history.
The Triple 8 pair has owned the Peter Brock trophy exclusively since that emotionally charged 2006 race when Lowndes, grief-stricken following the death of his mentor, led Triple 8 to victory.
Their hat-trick of wins drew Lowndes and Whincup level with the record of consecutive Bathurst victories – Brock-Larry Perkins and Brock-Jim Richards are the other partnerships who scored three in a row.
But no one has ever won four in a row.
Whincup and Lowndes could write themselves into Australian sporting folklore, and what an achievement that would be.
In this era of such close and intense competition within V8 Supercars, to dominate a race of such difficulty and length is remarkable. It is a testament to the experience and quality of Lowndes, the pace and maturity of Whincup and the ingenuity of Triple 8 – a team who has set a new technical standard in the series.
Their success has been so overwhelming that there are growing calls from within the V8 Supercar paddock for lead drivers to be separated for the endurance races, helping to bring some unpredictability back to Bathurst.
Three unpredictable factors this year will be the implementation of ethanol fuel (E85), which will increase the number of pitstops and could therefore result in different strategic approaches, the durability of tyres following numerous punctures last year and, finally, the huge number of rookies in the field this year in several privateer entries who could impede the pacesetters at the head of the field.
But barring these factors dramatically altering the state of play, including inclement weather, on speed alone it is a two-horse race.
Only the Holden Racing Team (HRT) pair of Garth Tander and Will Davison can dethrone Lowndes and Whincup on pace.
Contenders who have emerged over the weekend such as Brad Jones Racing and Garry Rogers Motorsport will be competitive, but may lack the ultimate pace to contend with Triple 8 and HRT.
The HRT duo snatched victory from an ailing Craig Lowndes on the final lap at Phillip Island and will be keen to put one over their future Holden stablemates.
For fans of the Holden and Ford rivalry, it could be one of the last great contests at the Mountain between the two manufacturers.
With Triple 8’s defection to Holden next season, Ford has lost its most successful team of recent times and unless the factory Ford Performance Racing get their act together and fulfil their potential, there could be some barren years ahead for Ford.
Their blunder in not giving Triple 8 the support they wanted could go down as one of the greatest blunders in Australian sports.
And for those who cringe when ‘sport’ and ‘V8 Supercars’ are used in tandem, then it’s time to accept motorsport as a ‘sport’.
The challenge of driving racing cars may be invisible to the casual fan, but the physical and mental demands of such a race are immense.
Jamie Whincup certainly proved his athleticism in the Rexona Greatest Athlete competition – holding his own against greats from a variety of codes.
So sit back and enjoy one of Australia’s great sporting events and take in what could be a historic day.
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