Riding with Whincup

[L4OMEO]

Hey all

Thanks to a corporate sponsorship arrangement I got taken around Queensland Raceway for a few laps by Jamie Whincup earlier this week in his V8 Supercar Falcon (the real one, not a drive-car). Well, beats working.

The Falc weighs about the same as my 156, and it doesn't have cup-holders either, but apart from that there's not a whole lot in common. Impressions? Well it's quite nippy. 650bhp will do that. Stops well too. I was initially surprised at how early his braking points were, but then he was carrying a bunch more speed than I'm used to. Also surprised at how softly sprung the car was - noticeable lean in corners and big dive under brakes. Still, that's dictated by the formula of the class.

The other key difference my highly-trained powers of observation detected between this and my own racing experiences related to skill. He has a bit. I don't.

I can also confirm that Jamie has cereal and fruit for breakfast; Lownsdey a bacon & egg roll. Forget NW magazine, you read it here first.

Awesome experience, highly recommend it if you get the chance. Suggest you watch your speedo carefully when you leave though as your speed-sense may have been recalibrated - I settled on a comfortable cruise back on the highway to find I was doing over 180km/h. Hmmm. Sorry about that, Officer. My colleague got himself a ticket on the way there, but I put that down to kharma for turning up at a Ford event in a Commodore.

Rory






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[alfagtv58]

What an experience, how cool.  Even though the cars/rules are not to everyones liking, you have to admit, when you get the best in country doing what they do best, it is impressive to watch.....I would imagine more so from the passenger seat.

The other key difference my highly-trained powers of observation detected between this and my own racing experiences related to skill. He has a bit. I don't.

[NigelC]

I thought for a moment there I was turning into the Incredible Hulk, but then realised I was just green with envy.  Sounds like a great experience.

[L4OMEO]

Yeah, sure was an experience. Watching someone operate at that level is very impressive, spent half my time looking forward and the other half watching the guy at work. He definitely made it look easy. Apparently their target for drive days is 90%+ pace (they're still test days for the team, everything is logged), I'd loved to have seen what happens in that last 10% up to the ragged edge. I think.

The part that still sticks in my mind was exiting the final turn on our in-lap, from the apex Jamie nailed it hard right and kept the hammer down right into the narrow pit lane entry, braking j-u-s-t before the line. Insane! I'd love to know our speed right at that point.

There were a couple of other teams there that day (DJR, Wilson Security) and there was lots of gamesmanship and showboating going on between them all. Made you realise that despite the big business built around it, deep down they're still just boys with their toys like the rest of us. Still, I'd like their toys for a while.

[hammer]

That would have been awesome to watch Whincup at work. How good is it to sit and watch those guys work the pedals. It's one thing to see it on TV and another to see it up close and personal from the passenger seat.

I had the pleasure of riding with Tony D'Alberto in his Commodore at QR last July. I was amazed at the sheer violence of the acceleration and braking, but it was comforting that they braked well short of our markers for the Alfas.

He did three laps at 1min 14 sec with 90kg of human ballast in the passenger seat - not bad considering his qualifying time was 1min 11sec. The best I have clocked in the Alfa is  1min 28sec. Our corner speed is right up there with theirs, but man they hammer in a straight line!

Cheers,

Brent