V8 Supercar points leader Jamie Whincup will see his slim advantage whittled away in Hamilton this weekend, and won't be able to do anything about it after ruling himself out of the three scheduled races by crashing in qualifying.
After making a promising start to the inaugural race weekend in the New Zealand city by topping Friday practice, the Team Vodafone driver suffered an horrific impact with the concrete retaining wall during the second phase of qualifying, leaving himself outside the top ten but, more importantly, writing off his #88 Ford Falcon and denying himself a chance to make amends.
Whincup had been quickest again in the opening phase of the Formula One-style qualifying session, but disaster struck in the early stages of phase two when the red-and-silver Falcon was clipped by the # 7 Holden of Todd Kelly - who was recovering from a moment of his own at turn five - causing it to career into the concrete barrier before rebounding back across the track.
The #88 car sustained substantial damage to both front and rear, and will not be raced again this weekend. Fortunately unhurt in the impact, Whincup will be forced to watch the race action from the Team Vodafone garage while turning his attention to the Perth event in three weeks' time.
“Some days are tough,” he sighed, "Unfortunately, in sport, you have your highs and lows, and today was one of the lowest days we have had for a long time.
“It was a big hit and the car sustained quite a lot of damage, but the safety equipment did a great job and I have come out of it 100 per cent okay. Of course, I am bitterly disappointed as the car was amazing and it is hard to sit on the sidelines and not be out their doing the fun bit and racing your mates.”
![Jamie Whincup - Team Vodafone [Pic credit: Ford/Edge Photographics]](http://pix.crash.net/thumbs/417094.jpg)
