Congrats to Jamie Whincup, 2012 Series Champion!

[Henry]

Kudos to Jamie on stepping into even more rarified territory, with his fourth title.

It occurred to me, as I watched Homebush this weekend, that a measure of the lay of the land might be to consider what the racing landscape would look like throughout the season without the champion elect's involvement. 2012 might have been a very close-fought tussle without Whincup... and it's not like it was all over by mid-season as it is. He made best of what he had ... and did it better than anyone else. Appreciably so.

While Jamie will likely never be the sort of charismatic, larger-than-life demi-god that so many of the "conventional" legends of the sport appear to be - Brock certainly, Geoghegan, Beechey, Bob Jane, Johnson, Moffat, Grice, Bartlett et al - he's become remarkably prolific through what would appear to be hard work and dedication to his sport, and the utilisation of everything he can utilise within his reach. He's consistently better-utilised the 888 cars than Lowndes (although Lowndesy remains remarkable and quick), and he's achieved so much more than his peers.

I'll admit that he hasn't captured my imagination at all, not like Ambrose, or SVG, or any of my childhood heroes, but (he writes tongue planted firmly in cheek) that hasn't been an impediment. I'll claim that the sort of domination he's shown has diminished the spectacle of Supercars. I'll claim that he's had some dicey calls go his way from time to time.

I'll wager that many pundits said the same thing about Allan Moffat back in the day - another four-time touring car champion, and a legend of the sport.

And I'll admit that the boy's done good.

Congratulations, Jamie, and best of luck in manoeuvring that chassis out of Roland's grasp!

[STEALTHY]

Originally Posted by Henry

He's consistently better-utilised the 888 cars than Lowndes (although Lowndesy remains remarkable and quick), and he's achieved so much more than his peers.

That isn't really an accurate reflection though, you only needed to be slightly better in qually, to not have to stack during pitstops, which has cost lowndes on many many occasions.

[Umai Naa]

Well yes and no.

There have been times where Mr Lowndes has made a meal of quali, and not recovered, whereas Mr Whincup might've. It's been said that Mr Whincup is a 'data junkie', pouring over the squiggly lines, graphs and numbers, searching for that elusive one thousandth of a second.

[STEALTHY]

Originally Posted by Umai Naa

Well yes and no.

There have been times where Mr Lowndes has made a meal of quali, and not recovered, whereas Mr Whincup might've. It's been said that Mr Whincup is a 'data junkie', pouring over the squiggly lines, graphs and numbers, searching for that elusive one thousandth of a second.

Yet week in week out Lowndes is much better on his tyres

[Mixer]

The only thing I reflect on is how many times Jamie has achieved the seemingly impossible with regards to fuel strategy or tyre life. There's no doubt the car setup and his ability to drive it according to the strategic requirements is a major part of his consistent winning ability.

[Micklegend]

I think when you look at how close the comp is, most quali performances by all being within a second of each other, that second matters come race time. Jamie has been able to capitalise on his position a lot more than others, get to the front, dictate pace and nurse the car when needed, and push the car to break the spirit of others chasing.

Jamie is a true professional and backed by a very good engineering partnership, his achievements shouldnt be labelled his own and a lot of credit goes to Mark Dutton and the team.

Well done Jamie, while you will probably never be the peoples champion, the results achived earlier in the Ford (or Hogster) and in one special VE chassis speak for themselves.

[peckstar]

must be time for a thread rename