Whincup confirmed at T8 for 3 years

FPRXR-6 · 11 Nov 2005, 00:32 (Ref:1457760)

www.crash.net

Jamie Whincup has been confirmed as jumping ships from Holden to Ford as he leaves Tasman Motorsport at the end of this season to join Triple Eight in a Team Betta Electrical Falcon alongside Craig Lowndes.

Whincup replaces Steve Ellery at the squad in a three
Whincup has signed a contract for three years which will allow him to develop to his full potential with the team.

"We are very pleased to secure Jamie," team principle Roland Dane said on the announcement. "He has shown himself to be a true racer with consistency that belies his years.

"We feel he will compliment Craig and possibly become a protégé, following in his footsteps, perhaps I can be so bold to say he could become the new ‘Kid'.

"Our aim over the next few years is to remain truly competitive in the hunt for the championship and to have both cars consistently performing in the top ten.

"Jamie joining the team should ensure we achieve these team objectives," Dane said.

Currently Victorian based, Whincup said he will relocate to Brisbane early in 2006 in preparation for his inaugural year with the team.

I am absolutely rapt," Whincup said. "This is a very exciting opportunity for me and the next big step in my racing career.

"It is also great to know where my future lies, and to be working with Craig and such a high profile team gives me great satisfaction and pride.

"Now that things are secure I will put plans into place to move to Brisbane and be as close to the team as possible as it is a huge opportunity for me and I need to make the most of it," he concluded.

Craig Lowndes is also very supportive of the signing.

Jamie has really impressed me with his consistency especially during the endurance races and I am more than happy to pass on the title of ‘the Kid' to my new team mate," Lowndes said.

MRJUCY · 11 Nov 2005, 01:37 (Ref:1457790)

I'm not to sure on this one he isn't a bad driver he just doesn't jump out as an outstanding one either. That's ok I guess seeing Triple 8 is basically a one car team but I don't see him doing any better then Ellery really apart from maybe bringing the car back a bit straighter.

Rombles1 · 11 Nov 2005, 02:35 (Ref:1457807)

Hmmmm 3 year contract for the second seat at Triple8. I wonder how long he will last - 2 years or only 1? Or will he manage to buck the trend?

ford boy · 11 Nov 2005, 02:49 (Ref:1457809)

Congratulations to Jamie. I think this is a big step in the right direction for both parties.
I think Jamie will be on the pace next year !

SRabbit · 11 Nov 2005, 05:12 (Ref:1457831)

Jamie is around +0.3 to J.Richards in todays practice session - what the hell is Craig going to do to him?

pete60 · 11 Nov 2005, 06:50 (Ref:1457846)

Based on this team's record of driver turnover, if I were Jamie and moving to Brisbane, I'd rent, not buy.....

Guss · 11 Nov 2005, 08:25 (Ref:1457880)

Quote:

Originally Posted by pete60

Based on this team's record of driver turnover, if I were Jamie and moving to Brisbane, I'd rent, not buy.....

I agree, Rent a house jamie

TheMan · 14 Nov 2005, 13:03 (Ref:1460358)

Congrats to Jamie he is a great young guy who thouroughly deserves a break. I would hate to have to do it though, even though I think Whincup is talented this is the most strange decision I have heard of for a long time. Tasman are definately going places, why would you give that up to be Lowndes team mate. The guy is a freak and has demorilised everyone that has tried to compete with him in the same car. I see this as a career ending decision not a career starting decision.

Also the management at T8 need there heads read. While Ellery has made mistakes so has the team. Next year would have been huge for the team with Lowndes and Ellery at the helm. I cant beleive their decision and think they are on something but anyway good luck Jamie you will need it. Where will you drive in 2007, not T8 thats for sure. Hope I am wrong but I wont be.

Also talking to Craig at the track Saturday, he says he was shocked to hear the news that Ellery was gone, an how bizarre his replacement was. Not what the press release says is it!

**GTRMagic** · 14 Nov 2005, 19:31 (Ref:1460602)

I doubt Mr Lowndes was shocked.... he would have known the team 2nd driver was on the outer indeed the engineering staff have made no secret of this from about June... if Mr Lowndes was as 'in' with the team as you might expect, he would have felt the vibe pretty early on..............

Doesnt make the decision right, but questions the accuracy and validity of what some people say publicly

tiko · 14 Nov 2005, 22:55 (Ref:1460835)

I think your right GTR, if Lowndes wanted Ellery to stay and rated him highly as a driver i'm almost positive they would have shared a car together at the enduros..

Phase3 · 15 Nov 2005, 06:13 (Ref:1461033)

Not sure on this one, T8 want two competetive cars next season, but I'm not convinced Whincup is the man to do it........

SkaifeysGal · 15 Nov 2005, 07:24 (Ref:1461055)

Congrates and Good luck to Jamie, but sad to see Holden losing so many good drivers

WebberForWDC · 15 Nov 2005, 08:47 (Ref:1461106)

So T8 took a wrestled a whole bunch of cash to build a properly engineered car. (Similar to how Kelly Racing have properly engineered cars so even though they can be in the P20s some of the time, they can potentially get them right and win convincingly unlike DJR, FPR etc. for whom winning is impossible). And took Campbell Little to set them up properly, and hey presto a race car that's actually fast! Doesn't mean that they really know what they are doing though....

Jason Bargwanna or Steven Johnson would have made excellent FAST team-mates for Lowndes. Whincup will be out the door very shortly, and I don't think Whincup can drive faster than Ellery... why not sign Seton in this case?

Beatcha · 15 Nov 2005, 09:47 (Ref:1461170)

I have been told by a lot of different people that Cam Little is very good at interpreting what a race drivers says and then has the ability to make the car behave in the way the driver wants. Good engineers are few and far between.

James63 · 15 Nov 2005, 09:51 (Ref:1461174)

Quote:

Originally Posted by WebberForWDC

Whincup will be out the door very shortly, and I don't think Whincup can drive faster than Ellery... why not sign Seton in this case?

Would Seton be any better? You can't tell me Seton is as quick as he was 10 years ago. He was rarely at the same pace that Lowndes was when they were at FPR. Granted the cars were crap (and DJR's aren't much better) but Lowndes could still pull a half decent result out of it.

Mattracer · 15 Nov 2005, 10:37 (Ref:1461212)

Maybe looking at a young driver coming through. Seton still has the goods to do the job but at 40 they are looking elsewhere or so it would seem. The two work very well together- 2x 2nds at Bathurst reflect that. Admittedly one race in each year they were together but they did the job admirably.

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