Whincup claims V8 win at Hidden Valley

Success in Darwin was the one glaring omission from V8 Supercar champion Jamie
Whincup's dominant CV, but it isn't any longer.
The Ford star claimed his first win at Hidden Valley, and his sixth victory from
nine championship starts this year, in the first race of the Triple Crown event on
Saturday.
But while the second-half of his victory was a cruise, it wasn't all easy going at
the start for the Triple Eight Racing driver.
Whincup jumped pole winner Jason Richards on the start but was nearly forced off the
track by Richards and Holden's Garth Tander at turn one and had to overcome early
issues.
"That was close (on turn one), Garth was having a crack at me and then JR must have
just tapped the rear," Whincup said of his early dramas.
"To be honest I've never had success here, and while I just go out and do my job,
there was a brake issue at the start and I thought "here we go, it's all gone pear
shaped again".
"Thankfully, today was my day and we came home with maximum points."
Only the scheduling of the Seven Network could stop Whincup, time constraints
meaning Saturday's 35-lap race finished a lap early.
While Whincup's dramas were early, it was a different story on an otherwise good day
for Richards.
The Holden driver had earlier claimed the first pole of his nine-year V8 Supercar
career and was looking good for second place going into the race's 32nd lap.
But a mistake on the first turn of that lap saw him go off the track and the New
Zealander had to settle for seventh place.
Ford's Mark Winterbottom and Holden's Will Davison took full advantage to claim
second and third places respectively.
Davison's podium at least keeps some pressure on Whincup, with the Holden Racing
Team driver 117 points behind the leader after Saturday's race.
And the 26-year-old isn't willing to throw in the championship towel just yet.
"No, I think the rate we're going at now is very good," Davison said.
"Obviously there's going to be a point in time if he (Whincup) keeps going this way
where we're not going to win the championship.
"Until the enduros are won and done, there's no point even looking at the
championship."
Davison's teammate Tander pushed Whincup for several of the race's opening laps, but
a costly pit-stop saw him drop several places and have to settle for fourth place.
The Triple Crown event concludes on Sunday with a gruelling 69-lap race on the 2.9km
circuit, one that is sure to test drivers' endurance to the limit, as Whincup
admitted.
"Yeah, big concerns, that's going to be a long way," he said.
"We're going to have our work cut out for us (on Sunday)."