Jamie Whincup is not re-thinking his decision to retire from full-time driving, despite his excitement over the arrival of Supercars’ Gen3 era.
Whincup pulled the pin on his Repco Supercars Championship career at the end of the 2021 season with seven drivers’ titles to his name.
The most successful driver in the category’s history, Whincup has taken over the reigns of Triple Eight Race Engineering from Roland Dane.
Aside from leading the day-to-day motorsport operations of the organisation’s Supercars team, Red Bull Ampol Racing, the 39-year-old is also heavily involved in the Gen3 project.
The new Chevrolet Camaro and Ford Mustang Supercars will debut at next season’s opening round, with Triple Eight the General Motors homologation team.
Whincup’s role in developing the new-generation Supercar has stirred his excitement, saying that he would like his own personal Gen3 car to “keep at home”.
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“It’s such a nice refined car, I can’t wait till it rolls out.”
However, the Triple Eight boss said he feels settled in his general manager role and that having a chance to drive the Gen3 car in testing is enough.
“I’ve made my decision and my decision to retire was the right one, for sure,” he told Speedcafe.com.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to drive the car, which I will once we have a couple of cars built and we’re in control of them.
“I’ll certainly do some laps and enjoy myself because I enjoy driving.
“I’m certainly not thinking now ‘ah gee I shouldn’t have retired.’
“That was definitely the right call.”
Whincup will continue as a co-driver in Supercars, partnering Triple Eight rookie Broc Feeney at this year’s Repco Bathurst 1000.
The ability to compete without the intricacies and intensity of a full-time championship season is refreshing for the Queenslander.
“I did this gig for 18 years; trying to dial out understeer and oversteer and trying to find a few hundredths few each corner and what tyres to put on at the right time,” added Whincup.
“All that sort of stuff; where to go off the start, sitting in the truck until eight o’clock each night going through the data and trying to work out how to go faster.
“I had a really good run, I really enjoyed my time as a full-time driver and I’ve definitely made the right decision.
“I’m thankful that I can still have a big part in the sport. I couldn’t be happier; a change is as good as a holiday.”
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