Whincup ramps up Eseries testing

The seven-time Supercars champion, not a regular sim racer, was playing down his chances in the 10-round virtual series just a fortnight ago.

But having now taken the delivery of a state-of-art simulator, his tune is beginning to change.

He's now hoping to give the more experienced sim racers a run for their money, Whincup confident an intense testing schedule could have him on the pace within the first handful of rounds.

“I haven’t done much driving in a simulator before, it’s all been inside the race car on the track,” said Whincup.

“But I’m fairly competitive as well, so I’m hoping after three or four rounds I’ve got a little bit of pace on and can run with the young blokes.

“From what I’ve been told, the software is unbelievable and also the hardware is as realistic as it comes, so I think once you get a feel for the simulator, I think it should be really, really accurate.

“So if I do enough hours and do enough testing, I can’t see any reason why I shouldn’t be somewhat competitive and get up there.

“At the end of the day, if it provides great racing, then that’s what it’s all about.”

Despite question marks over his pace, Whincup reiterated that staging the Eseries, with all 25 championship drivers, was a strong move by Supercars.

"I think it's a fantastic initiative," he said.

“Of course we can’t jump in our Supercars and get out on the track so what an awesome alternative to get the whole Supercars grid still racing, still competing team-to-team, but in the comfort of their lounge rooms.

“I’m so grateful that we have got the opportunity to be able to still go racing in a time like this.”

The Supercars All Star Eseries will kick off this Wednesday with races at Phillip Island and Monza.

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