Third place in the season finale at Sydney Olympic Park was more than enough to secure Jamie Whincup a fifth V8 Supercars title.

The Red Bull driver faced the media after a hard fought 250km. Here is what he had to say.

QUESTION: The names at the top of the order are fantastic; Ian Pete Geoghegan, Dick Johnson and Mark Skaife all on five championships. Tell us what it means to join them after coming up through the ranks in lower formulas and in V8 Supercars?

JAMIE WHINCUP: The numbers are massive. I must admit I was very happy with the first championship but we have just kept going plugging away each year. I had the opportunity to go three in a row here in 2010 but I threw that away. Three years later I was given another chance and to do the three in a row is very very special.

My main motivation this year was that there was a lot of talk last year that our cars were better. We had that old car working so well that it was virtually bulletproof. This year that has been eliminated to some extent with car of the future as everyone has the same chassis and pretty much the same gear.

We have worked hard all year and it all came back to digging deep on the big day. Our team did a phenomenal job to be the best over the year and to finish one two three years in a row is pretty special.

QUESTION: You’ve won five championships in eight years with Triple Eight plus two second place finishes in the championship. How do you repay Roland Dane to choose you for that drive after racing for Tasman Motorsport back in 2005?

WHINCUP: Of course its a great story getting started in the category. I got back in the championship after 2004 (where he was on the sidelines following a difficult rookie 2003 season with Garry Rogers Motorsport) and in 2005 I pretty much said I would drive for nothing (in 2006) if you can give me the opportunity.

People said don’t join the team as Craig Lowndes makes his team-mates look pretty ordinary and you will be the next one… he’s had seven team-mates in seven years and you will back on the scrap heap. I backed myself and I’ve got a good group of guys around me to help me out and move forward and develop.

Five championships now is incredible. I’m a huge fan of Skaifey so to join him on that number of championships is special.

QUESTION: What do you have to do to get your motivation back to go for six championships?

WHINCUP: I’m not sure. It’s been an incredibly tough year as we have had to refine this new car from scratch. It was a fair animal when we first rolled it out at Adelaide so we have burnt the midnight oil, all of us this year since Adelaide. We all deserve a couple of weeks break.

QUESTION: Can you just talk about those last few laps and the dice between David Reynolds and Shane Van Gisbergen? Were you worried that a wrong move could potentially put you out of the race?

WHINCUP: I was really enjoying the battles to be honest. I had the championship in the back of my head. All these things were going through my mind in the last 20 laps or so about what i should do but I couldn’t help but race.

The boys were banging wheels and it was really good to watch. There was a little bit of risk factor when Brighty turned int at once stage but I avoided it. I just love driving the car and it was really good fun.

QUESTION: Was the radio running hot during those battles?

WHINCUP: It wasn’t really. It did occur to me it was risky, but you have got to have a go. I was thinking about all those fans who pay 100 bucks to watch this so I wanted to put on a show.

QUESTION: What was your mindset last night knowing you almost had it in the bag?

WHINCUP: I think I was the only one stressing about the outcome as everybody thought it was a foregone conclusion. It was far from that as everyone who knows motorsport knows how quickly things can turn around.

It happened to me at the Gold Coast a few weeks back. Its been a long year but I just had to keep my focus.

QUESTION: Is it more satisfying that you gave it your all and didn’t play it safe?

WHINCUP: Yes it is. At the end of the day it is all about being true to yourself. I wanted to race hard right until the end and sometimes it goes pear shaped and sometimes it goes right.

QUESTION: Everyone has year under their belts developing the Car of the Future, how exciting is 2014 going to be?

WHINCUP: It should be a pretty good year. I said at Adelaide this year that our cars were probably 60 percent there. They were a real animal but as the year has gone on they have been much better to drive.

Everyone will have all the info for next year so the cars will be better to drive but it is going to be another big year.