Testing Gold Coast track can bring title bid to an end

CONTENDERS for the V8 Supercars championship are predicting a title-deciding clash at the Gold Coast 600 this weekend.

THE verdict's in - and contenders for the V8 Supercars championship are predicting a title-deciding clash at the Gold Coast 600 this weekend.

TeamVodafone pair Jamie Whincup and Craig Lowndes, and Ford Performance Racing rival Mark Winterbottom all believe the unforgiving, 2.96km concrete-lined Surfers Paradise street circuit is the ideal layout to claim a decisive edge in the series _ or drop out of contention.

Holden driver Lowndes, who trails championship leader Whincup by 161 points, knows how a title can be lost on the Gold Coast. The 38-year-old was leading last year going into the event but had a horror weekend and relinquished the lead to eventual champion Whincup.

"I don't know if it's going to make this championship, but you can definitely break it this weekend," Lowndes said.

"If you have a bad race, either Saturday or Sunday, you're going to lose 150 points in potential and, of course, then you start getting further away.

"I've spent all year basically catching up from my mistake in Tasmania earlier in the year and it's taken me all year to get back to where I am now. So a bad run here either the Saturday or Sunday could definitely break the championship."

Whincup comes into his hometown race full of confidence after his Bathurst 1000 victory a fortnight ago and with his international co-driver from last year, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais, again joining him in the No 1 Commodore.

Whincup said that despite his healthy points lead and the potential risk of a costly crash, there was no way he and Bourdais would drive conservatively this weekend.

"It's definitely one of the rounds that influence the championship," Whincup said. "Having a clean run is 10 times harder than actually winning here. We'll be on the attack."

Ford's Winterbottom said winning was his only hope. "We need to be aggressive, go on the attack and try and win races. That's the only way we can win this championship," he said.

The Gold Coast 600 begins with practice today before 300km races tomorrow and Sunday.

AAP