V8SC 2012 Round 7: Whincup Still On Top After Townsville Clean Sweep

Jamie Whincup has extended his lead in the 2012 V8 Supercar Championship, after taking out both Round 7 races in Townsville at the weekend.

Former leader Will Davison has now slipped to third position in the championship behind FPR teammate Mark Winterbottom, after a twelfth place result in the Saturday race being somewhat balanced by a credible third place on Sunday.

Winterbottom eclipsed Davison’s championship tally after finishing second on Saturday, and holds onto this despite a fifth placing on Sunday.

Despite the lack of outright race results, FPR were the team to beat in qualifying, with Winterbottom and David Reynolds sharing the front row for both races.

Reynolds’ Sunday qualifying pole was a career-first for the 27-year-old driver, and came as no surprise after four front-row appearances in the preceding five races.

This qualifying success failed to guarantee finishing results however, with a lack of race pace and a Sunday pit delay contributing to sixth results in both races.

Craig Lowndes was disadvantaged in the Saturday race when he was forced to queue in pit lane behind Whincup during his second stop, but the perennial crowd favourite recovered more than 15 positions to finish a credible fifth place.

Lowndes’ determination continued in the Sunday race, working his way from fifth on the grid to lead Whincup (who’d qualified ninth) for much of the race, ultimately losing the top podium spot through an unintended activation of his pit lane speed-limiter.