The feud between Jamie Whincup and the Walkinshaw team has taken a surprising turn, with reports it almost led to legal action being pursued.
Whincup – the four-time Supercars champion and current Triple Eight boss – sparked fury among the rival team after claims made on a recent podcast.
During an episode of Apex Hunters United earlier this month, Whincup suggested that Walkinshaw had been running “illegal” cars during the start of the season.
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Triple Eight’s Jamie Whincup. Â Getty
Regulations require chassis manufacturers to use metal inert gas (MIG) welding rather than stronger but more complex tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding.
Whincup had accused Walkinshaw of flouting the rules, labelling it as “out of control” and urging Supercars officials to address the situation.
It prompted a stern response from team boss Ryan Walkinshaw, who claimed Whincup was “confused” with the current cars compared in an interview with V8 Sleuth.
Walkinshaw also took to social media to refute the claims.
“Those chassis have been retired years ago … Jamie, as usual, is chatting nonsense,” he said.
Whincup denied the suggestion he was ‘confused’ and declared to Wide World of Sports that he believed the two cars on the grid at Albert Park were illegal.
The latest twist came in revelations that the issue could have spilled over from the track and into the courtroom, with the Walkinshaw team reportedly weighing up legal action.
Ryan Walkinshaw. Getty
“There was talk of legal action with what Jamie said,” reporter James Phelps said on this week’s edition of Fox Sports’ MotorRacing 360.
“Ryan Walkinshaw or the organisation had a look at it, because those claims weren’t true. It didn’t go there because there was no actual word ‘cheat’, so there was no defamation …. that’s how serious this stuff can get.
“I don’t like seeing it go that way, because I think it’s a great rivalry, a great feud.”
The two rival teams have history dating back to 2017 when the decision was made to switch Holden from Walkinshaw to Triple Eight.