Motorsport: Winning Whincup plays it cool before facing fast new Bathurst track

Jamie Whincup. Photo / EDGE Photographics

Despite being on a super run of form, V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup is playing down his chances ahead of next month's Bathurst 1000.

The five-time V8s champion has overcome a mid-season slump to open up a 273-point series lead going into the 1000km endurance classic at Mount Panorama.

Victory in this month's Sandown 500 with co-driver Paul Dumbrell was Whincup's seventh win from his past 13 starts. A fifth Bathurst crown would put him on track to join Craig Lowndes (1996) and Peter Brock (1978, 1980) as the only men to win both endurance races and a championship in the same year.

But the Red Bull Racing driver says a $2 million resurfacing of the Mount Panorama circuit has him feeling unsure of his chances.

"With the resurfacing at Bathurst, to be honest, it's a little bit of a weakness for our cars on that really grippy surface," Whincup said.

"It sounds weird but we're not setting our expectations too high for the big one. If we can finish in the 10 we'll be pretty happy."

Predictions are that the new road surface will result in much faster lap times. Whincup says a lot of that will come down to how quickly each team can adapt to setting up their cars to make the most of the track's new feel.

"It's fairly substantial as far as car set up goes. The good thing is we've got plenty of laps so Thursday, Friday are going to be critical," he said. "It's just a lot of headaches during the weekend to get your car right."

Victory on October 12 should make Whincup unbeatable going into the final three rounds of the year.

- AAP