Holden's Jamie Whincup wins at Hidden Valley

JAMIE Whincup yesterday scorched his way back into the championship lead with the Team Vodafone top gun out-blasting his Ford rivals.

Jamie Whincup

JAMIE Whincup yesterday scorched his way back into the championship lead with the Team Vodafone top gun out-blasting Ford rivals Will Davison and Mark Winterbottom.

In a typically chaotic Hidden Valley V8 Supercars race, Whincup endured cabin temperatures of more than 50C to fend off the double challenge from the Ford Performance Racing (FPR) team and steal back a narrow advantage in the race to the crown.

With nemesis Davison starting from pole position following his stunning qualifying speed, Whincup plummeted to fifth place off the start line and was forced to show all his skill to claw his way to the lead and power away to his third win of the year.

Ending FPR's seven-race winning streak, the win put Team Vodafone back on top in an intriguing war between two mighty teams.

"I wouldn't say it has been a tough start to the year," Whincup said. "But we have certainly had our challenges and we are working through them. All of our fans and sponsors have been asking what has been going on.

"At the end of the day we are just working hard to improve in every area that we think we are weak.

"Today was a good step forward in that regard."

With the track temperature a blistering 32C, it took just three laps for tempers to boil, with Michael Caruso spinning out of control before being shunted by David Russell.

With David Reynolds out in front, Craig Lowndes became and innocent victim and veered off the track.

Whincup charged through the field, taking Winterbottom on lap 14 before superior tyre life on both the softs and hards saw him rocket past Davison.

"The car was very good," Whincup said. "It didn't matter what tyre it was on, it was set up perfectly.

"I wouldn't say it was a guess, rather an educated decision. The engineers came up with the right setting today and the combination was great. It was the perfect job and the car was by far the quickest I have had this year."

Triumphant Team Vodafone boss Roland Dane applauded the competition and both his drivers, with Lowndes fighting his way from 20th to fifth place.

"It is a red-hot Holden versus Ford battle at the moment," Dane said.

"It is a great battle between two top teams and it has been a great contest so far and hopefully it will be all year. That is what we are in the sport for."

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