Holden star Jamie Whincup vows to take ‘big swing’ at Ford rivals this weekend at Winton

Jamie Whincup will equal fellow Holden great Mark Skaife for round starts this weekend, but it’s the number next to his name in the race results that he’s focused on as he mounts a championship fightback.

Jamie Whincup has moved up to sixth in the championship race.

Holden star Jamie Whincup insists there is still plenty of time to mount a championship fightback, vowing to take another “big swing” at his Ford rivals at Winton this weekend.

Whincup will equal fellow Holden great Mark Skaife for Supercars round starts (220) this round, but the numbers he is focused on are the ones next to his name in the race results.

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After slipping to ninth in the championship standings after dismal results at Symmons Plains and Phillip Island, Whincup produced a form turnaround at the Perth night races last round.

It has pushed the seven-time Supercars champion back up to sixth in the title race.

Whincup said the Red Bull Holden Racing Team was

“There have been plenty of times over the last 15 years where we haven’t had the quickest cars, but we are dedicated to turn that around,’’ Whincup said.

“We have given our opposition plenty of head start, but we are not thinking about that. There is still 10 rounds to go, still over 3000 points. First things first try to make the cars fast.

“We made some big changes for Perth and certainly improved our performance relatively to the rest of the field.

“We are going to take another big swing and another big step in the same direction and see what happens again.”

Jamie Whincup celebrates after finishing second at the Perth Supersprint at Barbagallo Raceway. Picture: Getty Images

Whincup finished fourth and second in the two Perth races to claim his first podium since the second round at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park.

But at the same time, Ford rivals Fabian Coulthard and Scott McLaughlin claimed back-to-back wins for DJR Team Penske.

“We were very ordinary at Phillip Island, but great to see we had some pace under lights in Perth,’’ Whincup said.

“But Winton is a different track again … we are semi-confident that we should be somewhere near the pace in the dry at Winton but the weather prediction is that it’s just going to be drizzly and wet all weekend, so that could turn everything on its head.”

Whincup moves to equal eighth on the all-time list alongside Skaife for round starts, but

“Hopefully there is a lot more to come … but 300 starts means I’m not the rookie anymore, but I’m thankful I’ve got some good results to show for my time in the sport,’’ the 36-year-old said.

“I have always said that I won’t go past my used by date, I won’t go too far. I would rather pull up a little early than a little late.

“I still think I have at least got a couple of years left in me, but I don’t want to put a line in the sand yet.”

Originally published as Holden star Jamie Whincup vows to take ‘big swing’ at Ford rivals this weekend at Winton