Whincup makes it four
02/27/2010 08:54:59 PM
Defending V8 champion Jamie Whincup continued his perfect start to 2010 with his fourth consecutive victory in the Middle East on Saturday night.
Whincup, who won race one of the Desert 400 in Bahrain from start to finish, again started from pole but found himself back in fifth place at the first turn.
But he was back in front by lap eight and fought it out with Mark Winterbottom for the victory.
The TeamVodafone driver held on to extend his early championship lead to 57 points with Winterbottom claiming second place.
"That certainly wasn't my perfect performance," Whincup said. "The start was ordinary; I ran wide and had a wheel lockup which I got away with. Then I stalled coming out of the pit bay which I'm not happy about and will have to go away to have a think about."
"It's just a massive, massive effort from our team and one we are immensely proud of. My preparation for each event is simple; I go out to do the best job I can. Some day's your best isn't good enough some days it is and the last two weekends our best has been better than anyone else."
"I am looking forward to the Clipsal 500 in two weeks time. We will go there having already done these last two races which I think will definitely help us prepare for what will be one of the toughest events of the year," he continued.
New Zealand youngster Shane van Gisbergen came from 14th place to grab third, while Whincup's team-mate Craig Lowndes came fourth and James Courtney completed the top five.