Jamie Whincup casts aside empty feeling ahead of Gold Coast 600

Jamie Whincup is making sure he has enough petrol in the tank when he hits the streets of Surfers Paradise for the Gold Coast 600 this weekend.

Jamie Whincup has extra fuel on hand for the Gold Coast 600. Picture Glenn Hampson

FUEL for thought? He ain’t ­nobody’s fuel? Feeling fuelish?

In the past week, the Gold Coast’s Jamie Whincup has heard them all.

Yes, he ran out of fuel at Bathurst but the experienced driver, who was a good sport in hamming it up for today’s photo, said he wouldn’t change a thing heading into this weekend’s Gold Coast 600. That’s because the championship leader is looking to write himself into the record books with championship No.6.

No driver has won six Australian touring car championships but Whincup is on track to achieve the milestone with just three events to run on the 2014 V8 Supercars title trail.

The five-time champion has a near-unbeatable 297-point break over his nearest rival, Mark Winterbottom, with just 900 points available through the Gold Coast and at the final two events at Phillip Island and Sydney.

But he is not backing down from the win-or-bust approach that cost him victory earlier this month in the Bathurst 1000 when his Red Bull Commodore ran out of fuel on the final lap.

“We were working to the wrong number (at Bathurst),” he said.

“The fuel number that we thought was correct wasn’t and I had an opportunity to buy some insurance, so to speak.

“We’re all in it together. I could have done better saving fuel.”

While many V8 enthusiasts wrote off Winterbottom, the current championship No.2, at Bathurst, Whincup knew ­better than to underestimate his arch rival and predicted the Ford Falcon FG would again be quick at Surfers Paradise.

“At this place it’s not completely out of the question that I’d leave here three points behind in the championship,” he said.

“My biggest issue here is trying not to get carried away with the party and focus on racing. We’ve been working crazy hard behind the scenes and we’ll be competitive.

“We’re certainly not going to be in cruise mode, just looking to pick up points.

“That’s never the style.”

Whincup has plenty of form on the streets of Surfers. He has taken four of the last six pole positions at his home race.

He’s also a proven performer on street tracks, scoring 26 of his 85 championship race victories on temporary tracks.

Jamie Whincup walks away from his car after running out of fuel on the last lap of the Bathurst 1000. Picture: Getty Images

But he knows that Ford Performance Racing, which fields the Falcons of Winterbottom and Bathurst winner Chas Mostert, has proven pace on the “soft” Dunlop tyre that’s being used this weekend.

“Traditionally, FPR has been good on the soft tyre. We understand that’s our weakness. But if we snag a good set-up we’ll be competitive. Don’t worry about that,’’ Whincup said.

“We, like all teams, have strengths and weaknesses. But I think it all evens out.

“FPR could potentially have a bit of form on us for the weekend on the soft tyre. Fingers crossed that our hard-tyre pace is as good as we go on the softs.”

Whincup also knows the potential for carnage on a two-driver weekend on a hot, tough track, even though his partner Paul Dumbrell is in top form after winning this year’s V8 Development Series and helping him to victory in the Sandown 500 to give them the lead in the Pirtek Enduro Cup.

“My concerns are no different to anyone else. It’s a crazy street track where anything can happen, and it usually does,” Whincup said.

“It’s an absolute battle to finish at the end of the day. Just getting to the end is a win.

“But it’s one of my favourite race weekends, a home event with a little bit extra involved. I’ve been able to stand on the top step a couple of times, which makes it even better.”

So, is Whincup starting to think about that elusive sixth championship – a result that’s eluded greats as Dick Johnson, Mark Skaife and the late Ian “Pete” ­Geoghegan?

“Not yet, not yet. Only because the Gold Coast is such a crazy event. We’ll definitely reassess things after the weekend. I could come out of the weekend two points behind.

“So we’ll focus on the weekend, pushing hard, then afterwards focus on a plan coming home. This weekend I’m just focused on my own job and making sure I’m ahead of as many people as I can be.”