Albert Park Supercars: Whincup dominates wet Race 2
Jamie Whincup chalked up his first win of the 2018 Supercars season with a dominant showing in wet conditions at the Australian Grand Prix.
The Red Bull Holden driver's only challenge across the 13-lap sprint race was the weather, a morning deluge leaving the Albert Park circuit soaked for the second points-paying race of the weekend.
It meant the race was started behind the Safety Car, giving Whincup a huge free kick when it went green after a couple of laps, the reigning champion sitting pretty out from as the rest of the field struggled in the spray.
Having quickly built a lead, even a pair of offs at Turn 1 couldn't stop him taking a 4.2s win.
"It's so Melbourne – 35 degrees one day, five the next and pissing with rain," he said.
"It was good fun though. I was pretty loose out there, I nearly speared off a couple of times. I nearly spun on the warm-up lap, which would have been embarrassing. But good fun."
Scott McLaughlin came home second, holding off Penske teammate Fabian Coulthard by just over half a second.
There was a bit more action behind the top three, Shane van Gisbergen and Cam Waters staging a brilliant battle for fourth. The Tickford driver held on to the spot for 12.5 of the 13 laps, before points leader van Gisbergen barged his way past on the run to Turn 11 on the final lap.
It was a similar story with the battle for sixth, Nick Percat finally bested by Chaz Mostert on the penultimate lap after running nose-to-tail for most of the race.
Michael Caruso was the best Nissan home in eighth, ahead of Mark Winterbottom and Tim Slade.
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About this article
| Series | Supercars |
| Event | Albert Park |
| Location | Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit |
| Author | Andrew van Leeuwen |
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