Motorsport: Whincup convinced he belongs in Australia

A deal done at a backyard barbie based on gut feeling convinced V8 Supercars series champion Jamie Whincup to stay in Australia.

Whincup and Craig Lowndes, who will be striving to win a record fourth consecutive Bathurst 1000 race in October, signed new deals with Team Vodafone this week for three more years.

The series-leading team has secured renewed backing from Vodafone through its newly merged company with Hutchison Australia until the end of the 2012 season.

Whincup, who leads the 2009 driver standings, says he came "reasonably" close to following the lead of Marcos Ambrose by attempting a switch to America's Nascar series.

While the 26-year-old driver revealed he was a "little bit jealous" that most of his mates had driven overseas, he was convinced he had made the right choice.

"I spoke to a lot of people, I did a lot of homework and really spent hours and hours weighing up what is the right thing to do and I've come to this conclusion," said Whincup.

"My gut feeling steers me in the right direction every time and it said don't give up this opportunity, this is a big one, stay in Australia and drive for one of the best teams with the financial support from Vodafone and also with Lowndsey as well, it was the right call.

"Trust me, there was no boardroom stuff. We didn't all sit round a boardroom. Although [Team Vodafone team principal] Roland [Dane] is quite a hard businessman, this was done in my backyard over a barbie and a couple of beers, so that's what made it right.

"We did a big sporting deal - as far as Australia is concerned - over a couple of steaks and a couple of beers, it doesn't get any better than that for me."

Dane refused to disclose any financial details of his team's new sponsorship package, describing it only as "in Australian sport terms a major sponsorship".

Asked what was motivating Lowndes and himself this year Whincup said: "To win four [Bathurst], that would just create history and that's our main drive."

Whincup believed he was just starting to reach his peak and stressed he still had a lot more to achieve in the Supercars class. He pointed to the examples of seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and former world motorcycle champions Mick Doohan and Valentino Rossi as men who rose to the challenge of consistently winning championships.

Whincup said he was not sure what he would do after 2012, but suggested he could still race overseas.

Lowndes, who had an ill-fated venture into the International Formula 3000 class in 1997, said Whincup should try his luck overseas while he was still young enough.

"He needs to have that passion to want to go outside of his comfort zone, because obviously it will be, and try and basically start again. But it's his decision. We did speak about it, but I would love to see him go over and at least have an attempt at it."

Lowndes, who is running fourth in the drivers' championship, said his new deal meant it would be his longest connection to a team and longest partnership with a teammate.

"We have a rivalry that is friendly, we get on exceptionally well, we like each other's company, but we are very competitive and we go to race weekends, we do help each other."

- AAP