Triple Eight team manager Mark Dutton said he took no fun in making a tough strategy call that ultimately put a harpoon through Jamie Whincup’s chances of hoisting a Townsville double.
Eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen was given the preferred strategy in Race 15 despite trailing team-mate Whincup in the first stint.
The call to pit Van Gisbergen first was made after the Kiwi had flat-spotted his left-front tyre in the early laps, triggering fears that it would delaminate.
Switched onto a long first stint strategy, Saturday winner Whincup limped home in fourth as Van Gisbergen claimed the victory from a fast finishing James Courtney.
“It was a team strategy but Jamie got the rough end of the stick with that one,” Dutton told Speedcafe.com.
“We haven’t had to make too many of those calls before and it’s not fun making them.
“It could have easily been the case that Van Gisbergen could have finished worse than Whincup if we didn’t make the call.
“And worse than that is if the tyre was to delaminate and he goes right to the back.”
Dutton stressed that the team’s priority was to have two cars finishing at the front of the field at the finish of 70 laps.
“The Safety Car fell at the wrong time for Jamie and it just didn’t work out as well as it should have,” he said.
“We wanted two cars up there. The standard strategy play is that the lead car obviously gets preference. We’ve done that forever.
“It’s never made easy because you know at the time you are giving him (Van Gisbergen) the preferential strategy and you are reducing the chances of Jamie winning that race.”
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