Whincup on top as Davison rallies in V8s finale

3 December 2012

 

Jamie Whincup ended the year assured of his status as the highest-ranked V8 Supercars driver in the Castrol EDGE Rankings following his fourth championship triumph.

Behind him, the fight for second took a twist in the Sydney finale as Will Davison vaulted ahead of rivals Craig Lowndes and Mark Winterbottom.

That rise came despite Davison finishing behind the duo in the drivers’ championship.

Davison dominated the season finale, the last race of the current V8 Supercars era.

A second-lap pass on Garth Tander gave him a lead he held until the finish.

In the Rankings that proved easily enough for massive gains, Davison vaulting seven spots and into 84th as a result.

As he rocketed Lowndes and Winterbottom both fell back.

The former backed up victory in the opener by finishing second in race two, but following an equally impressive final weekend to 2011 he couldn’t prevent a two-place slide to 94th.

Winterbottom meanwhile had a disastrous finale.

Pushed into the barriers at the first corner, he later suffered a puncture and incurred a pitlane penalty, leaving him 18th.

That dropped him behind Lowndes in the championship and behind Davison in the Rankings, The FPR Ford man falling five places to 85th, right on Davison’s tail.

None of the trio were able to touch Whincup however, who ends 2012 just seven spots shy of his all-time Rankings best.

Outside the top quartet, Tim Slade (185) finished best of the rest in the Rankings thanks to a massive 18-spot jump in the final weekend.

As was the case in the championship, he narrowly edged out Tim Slade (185) and Garth Tander (188).

The AUTOSPORT World Driver Rankings are based on drivers' measurable performance over the last 12 months, including everything from their grid position to fastest laps. For further information on how the AUTOSPORT World Driver Rankings scores are calculated, click here.