Jamie Whincup has seen his lead in the V8 Supercar championship cut to nine points after rival Garth Tander took victory on the Gold Coast during the V8 Supercar Challenge at Surfers Paradise.
Whincup finished the eleventh round of the season in fourth place, but saw Tander pick up 18 points more to close the gap at the head of the standings.
Things looked good for Whincup following the opening two races after he finished both in second place, behind Tander, but he then locked up while leading race three and took a trip down an escape road – dropping him down to 19th place.
The Team Vodafone man was soon recovering through the field but he was then caught out just one lap from the finish when he tangled with two other cars and was forced out.
“Locking the brake was something I shouldn't have done,” he said. “It just shows that one minor mistake can be so costly in this very tight championship.
“I am really comfortable with the new chassis, it is certainly fast and I have got every confidence that I can improve going into the next round.
“I am going to put this round behind me, I still have a nine point advantage in the championship and it is up to me now to continue the charge.”
Team mate Craig Lowndes also had mixed results with a glance of the concrete barrier whilst exiting the back chicane causing the rear bumper to come loose during race two. Lowndes was issued with a mechanical black flag and subsequently dropped to 24th.
Race three saw him consistently advance through the field finishing seventh, and eighth overall for the round.
“There were some really good battles out on the track today and all credit to the boys who did some excellent pitstops particularly in race three,” he said. “But reflecting, I probably pushed too hard the result being a torn rear bumper that forced me to pit for repairs.
“This track is so unforgiving, it is a concrete canyon that really hurts cars but I am happy that both Jamie and I have got reasonably straight cars heading into the fly away Bahrain round.”
![Jamie Whincup - Team Vodafone [Pic credit: BAM Media]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/393071.jpg)
