How Jamie Whincup became a hero

Jamie Whincup was a little known figure a few years ago, but three Bathurst 1000km wins and back to back V8 Supercar titles have changed all that. Mark Glendenning heard the story of his success

It's time to meet one of the best drivers you've barely heard of. His obscurity in the UK owes something to a general European blind spot regarding anything on the other side of the world. But don't feel too bad: three or four years ago, most Australians hadn't heard of Jamie Whincup either.

They have now. One of the quirks of V8 Supercar racing is that victory at Bathurst is worth almost as much in PR terms as winning the series and, since 2007, Whincup has covered his bases by doing both repeatedly. He scored back-to-back victories at Mount Panorama with Triple Eight (TeamVodafone) team-mate Craig Lowndes in 2006, '07 and '08, won his first series title in '08, and then successfully defended it last year.

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