TRIPLE Eight has closed the door on any potential uncertainty surrounding the final piece of its 2023 Supercars enduro line-up.
While pairings for the #97 Red Bull Ampol Camaro (Shane van Gisbergen/Richie Stanaway) and Supercheap Auto wildcard (Zane Goddard/Craig Lowndes) were announced long ago, the continuation of Jamie Whincup alongside Broc Feeney in the #88 had remained unofficial.
Until now.
“I’m stoked the team has decided that I am the best person to co-drive the #88 car alongside Broc for this year’s endurance races,” said four-time Great Race winner Whincup, who is in his second season as Triple Eight managing director and team principal.
“There’s no doubt that Broc is becoming a more confident and competitive driver in the series – you just have to look at his results after the first three rounds to prove that, and I couldn’t ask for a more compatible co-driver.
“He has good morals and a good attitude who knows the definition of hard work, and we’ve enjoyed watching him grow as a driver with the support of a formidable team around him.
“I’m thrilled that Sandown has returned to the enduro calendar this year, allowing us co-drivers to have more time in these Gen3 cars.
“Having a longer enduro campaign will allow Broc and I, along with Shane and Richie to work closely together to ensure we’re competitive at both events.”
Whincup was somewhat infamously selected over Feeney to qualify the #88 entry at last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000, but the young gun has since come along in leaps and bounds as evidenced by three main game race wins.
“It’s great to have Jamie back as my co-driver for a second season. It still doesn’t feel real that I’m in this environment at Triple Eight with him, and to be able to co-drive together for another year is awesome,” said Feeney.
“He was fantastic last year, and I learnt so much from him. I feel like we’re building a better relationship all the time, and I feel like we can have a really positive enduro campaign this year.
“Being two events this year makes it even more crucial to have a good co-driver, and I couldn’t have a better person by my side.”
Whincup is keeping sharp this year with a full season in GT World Challenge Australia, in which he enjoyed an entertaining weekend-long battle in Perth with German ace Christopher Mies.
“I had fun this weekend in the GT car,” Whincup told V8 Sleuth.
“I hate using BoP (Balance of Performance) as an excuse but I don’t feel like we were quite on the right side of the BoP, the Audi was very, very quick and I had to be as wide and as defensive as possible to keep Chris behind me.
“I was able to do that in the first race but couldn’t quite hold him off for the entirety of the second race.
“Those guys are fast but I enjoyed the laps and love the cars.”
Feeney added: “It’s going to be key to have someone who’s still fresh out of the seat and still driving a lot, obviously racing in GTs this year.
“He’s had a lot of success at both tracks, so I’m really looking forward to our campaign this year.
“Jamie has been super open to me for the past 16 months while I’ve been driver of the #88.
“He’s really been opening up to me and sharing his racing IP and gave me access to a lot of his work which has been invaluable.
“The way he goes about his racing has really stood out, and I think it stands out to a lot of people and is certainly a reason for his success.
“For me, to be the lucky guy to be on the receiving end of that information is awesome.”
Whincup has made 21 prior starts in the Bathurst 1000, with wins coming in 2006-08 alongside Craig Lowndes and in 2012 with Paul Dumbrell.
