Jamie Whincup lambasts Scott McLaughlin’s Bathurst 1000 victory
The fallout from Scott McLaughlin’s controversial Bathurst 1000 win has continued with Supercars rival Jamie Whincup casting further doubt over the legitimacy of his victory.
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Scott McLaughlin’s controversial Bathurst 1000 victory continues to cop a hammering with Jamie Whincup questioning the Ford flyer’s place as the rightful winner.
Setting the scene for an explosive Newcastle 500 season finale, Whincup, the sport’s greatest ever driver suggested McLaughlin did not deserve his Mount Panorama crown after DJR/Team Penske was found guilty of using an illegal engine while qualifying for Australia’s most prestigious car race.
Whincup hinted McLaughlin’s title should have been stripped and handed to his Red Bull Holden teammate Shane van Gisbergen.
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“He (van Gisbergen) hasn’t won Bathurst before,’’ Whincup said.
“And unfortunately, he was second again. I feel sorry for the teams that were on the receiving end of an illegal engine and team orders.
“If I was to feel sorry for anyone it would be those people that should have had a better chance in qualifying and the race.’’
Further casting doubt on a Bathurst 1000 win that was already marred by a team orders charge, Whincup declared the fresh engine controversy a “big deal” that had rattled his all-conquering team.
McLaughlin was stripped of his top-10 shootout win and his qualifying victory after a post-race investigation found his Mustang had an irregular engine valve. Despite it giving him an advantage with pole position, he wasn’t stripped of his race win.
While Whincup wouldn’t publicly go as far to say McLaughlin should lose the Bathurst title, he was in no doubt of the impact it had on the race.
“It is not really my position to comment,’’ Whincup said.
“But what I will say is that it has affected us. When the news (about the illegal engine) came through on Sunday at Sandown it really affected us. For us as a team we couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“It is a big deal.
“I guess if my heart goes to anybody it would be Chaz (Mostert) and to Shane. Chaz was the quickest guy on Saturday at Bathurst on the biggest day of the year. He didn’t get a pole position.’’
The Red Bull Holden Racing team will be out for Bathurst revenge next week at the season-ending Newcastle 500.
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Whincup said his team would go to war with DJR/Team Penske in a bid to be crowned the sport’s best team.
“The team’s championship is a massive deal,’’ Whincup said.
“We were miles behind at the beginning of the season with the differences in the cars. But now the cars are more even we have slowly clawed our way back and given ourselves a shot.
“We have an opportunity to try and grab the team’s championship. We knew Team Penske will be quick and they will be throwing everything at it. We will fight them right until the end.’’
The Newcastle 500, which has been rocked by the withdrawal of headline off-track entertainment act Kiss, begins with practice on Friday.
“It is completely out of our control,’’ Whincup said.
“One of them got sick and there is nothing we can do about it. While it is a bit of a dampener there is still a good line up of band and more importantly a couple of 250km races.’’