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Whincup reflects on 'violent' qualifying shunt
Jamie Whincup says it was driver error that led to his brand new Red Bull ZB Commodore being destroyed in the closing stages of qualifying in Adelaide this afternoon.
Andrew van Leeuwen
Edited: Mar 2, 2018, 11:47 AM
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Whincup was pushing hard trying to overcome teammate Shane van Gisbergen in the dying seconds of today's qualifying session when he fired his new Commodore into the Turn 8 wall after going fastest in Sector 1.
The high-speed shunt pulled the left-front wheel clean from the car and sent it flying into the catch fencing, the damaged Holden then coming to a halt against the wall.
According to Whincup, the crash was purely the result of him 'putting it on the line' in search of provisional pole.
"I was up, I was pushing hard," Whincup told Motorsport.com.
"The car wasn't that flash through Turn 8. I put it on the line, made a mistake, ran wide, bang.
"It was a big impact.
"I was slow there [earlier in the session] just through driving, so I decided to up it a bit. And that's what happens.
"You're pushing the limits all the time. Sometimes when you step over the limit there are big consequences. Today was one of those days.
"It's all violent stuff. It slammed in hard. It... the thing just folds around you, and then the wheel flies of.
"It's tough, but that's the game we play. That's motorsport."
While admitting that it was driver error, Whincup also conceded that the new surface at Turn 8 and the fact that the ZB Commodore is a new car may have contributed.
"[The car] is a different beast this year. It's not similar to previous years, I'm still trying to find my way," he said. "I'm struggling at places like Turn 1 and Turn 8, I haven't quite got a rhythm yet.
Whincup added: "[Turn 8] is a little bit more difficult now it's resurfaced. But it's the same for everyone, and you drive to the conditions. I clearly tried to push a little bit more out of it than what was there."
The qualifying shunt was, quite remarkably, Whincup's first big one at the notorious Turn 8.
"I've had a very good run through there over the years. I've clipped a few times, but never damaged like that..."
Providing the car is repairable, Whincup will still be able to fight for pole position tomorrow thanks to still finishing today's session ninth fastest despite the crash.
Practice 3 is scheduled for 9:50am local time, before the Shootout at 11:55am local.
The first leg of the Adelaide 500 then kicks off at 3:20pm.
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Previous article Adelaide 500: Van Gisbergen edges provisional pole, Whincup in the wall
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