Supercars chief executive James Warburton has instigated peace talks with Triple Eight in the wake of the Bathurst appeal saga.
Tension had flared between the team and Supercars after Warburton slammed its protest over Jamie Whincup’s Bathurst penalty as “un-Australian”.
The comment is said to have had a big impact on several team members who became extremely emotional.
While team boss Roland Dane would not comment if an apology had been forthcoming from Warburton, Speedcafe.com has learned that unreserved apologies were made at the weekend’s Castrol Gold Coast 600.
It is understood that Warburton apologised separately to Jamie Whincup and Dane and also the team collectively after the Supercar chief’s controversial statement in the aftermath of the squad’s Bathurst appeal.
An attempt to contact Warburton for comment was unsuccessful while Dane removed himself from discussing the Bathurst appeal matter any further.
Whincup however did confirm that he had a conversation with Warburton but would not confirm whether it had involved an apology.
“I don’t want to go into the specifics of the convo,” Whincup told Speedcafe.com.
“What happened at Bathurst was unjustified. And I want to work with Supercars to help improve it.
“I love the sport and I haven’t met anyone who loves the sport more than myself. And I want to make it better.
“When I see something that involves me or somebody else I just want to fix it for the good of the sport.
“There is passion there. It’s what keeps us all in a job. The day that no-one talks about the racing is the day we are all in trouble.
“So Bathurst there was a lot of chat and a lot of drama. Unfortunately it wasn’t good for #88.”
Triple Eight have successfully sought a refund on their $10,000 appeal fee after it was revealed that the team had in fact, no right to appeal the Bathurst time penalty in the first place.
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