Just days after winning a fifth championship title, Jamie Whincup will be back behind the wheel of a V8 Supercar in a unique test outing in Thailand.
Whincup has been called upon to sort an ex-Triple Eight V8 Supercar chassis that has been competing in the Thailand Super Car Series.
Referred to be Triple Eight as the ‘Folden’, the car was originally built as a Ford Falcon FG for Marcus Marshall’s doomed IntaRacing effort in 2009.
With the team folding before the build was completed, the car was eventually finished as Triple Eight’s first Holden Commodore VE and subsequently used as a ride and promotional car.
Whincup is expected to test the car, now owned by New Zealander Craig Corless, at the Bira Circuit near Pattya today (Thursday).
“The guy that bought the ‘Folden’ approached me when he saw that I was coming back for the Race of Champions and asked if I could set the car up and get it nice to drive for him,” Whincup told Speedcafe.com.
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“We locked it all in and booked the track all before the event (ROC) was cancelled.
“I had a four-day holiday planned as well, so I decided that I’d still go over anyway.
“I’ve seen a few maps of the circuit but I don’t know too much about it,” he added of the 2.41km venue, which is the only FIA sanctioned circuit in the country.
“I’ll go out in a road car and learn which way it goes in the morning and then attack it in the race car.
“It’ll be a bit of fun to go to a new circuit, even if it’s going to be a fairly relaxed day.”
Having moved straight from Australian Formula Ford to V8 Supercars, Whincup has not raced overseas outside of last year’s Race of Champions.
Now with 10 full-time V8 Supercars seasons under his belt, the 30-year-old says he has an eye out for opportunities to compete elsewhere.
“I looked into the (Bathurst) 12 Hour but just didn’t have enough info,” he said of adding other races to his 2014 calendar.
“If I do anything, I’ll do it properly. I’m not going to half-arse something.
“PD (close friend and endurance co-driver of the last two seasons) is pretty keen on doing some international stuff, so if something lines up I’ll definitely do it.
“Race of Champions is great, it’s a really fun event, but it’s a different style of thing. It’s not Le Mans or anything like that.”
Dumbrell has yet to commit to returning to the V8 Supercar endurance races for a third season since retiring from full-time driving.
His decision is expected to be influenced by whether he can find the time and opportunity to complete other racing during the year.
“He’s keen to come back but we haven’t done a deal yet because we’ve been so focussed on the championship,” said Whincup of Dumbrell.
“I’ll have a chat with him over the break, see what his motivation is and what his calendar looks like. Hopefully he will come back an do it all again.”
