SUPERCARS legend Jamie Whincup maintains that fans shouldn’t read anything into him stopping short of officially retiring from racing.
In announcing Nick Percat’s recruitment and Scott Pye’s retention as co-drivers, Whincup said “at this stage I will not be driving a Red Bull Ampol Racing race car in the 2026 or 2027 enduros” but “I’m not shutting the door on driving ever again”.
That prompted speculation that Whincup could shift to the incoming SCT entry alongside rookie Jackson Walls, but V8 Sleuth understands that co-drive has been snapped up by Jack Perkins.
In confirming to V8 Sleuth that Percat and Pye have inked two-year deals, Whincup indicated the 2025 Repco Bathurst 1000 genuinely might have been the end of the road.
“Don’t read anything into why I’m not saying I’m fully retiring,” said the man who had been Broc Feeney’s co-driver for each of the past four enduro campaigns.
“I just don’t want to be that person that says I’m retired and then has to make a comeback.
“I’ve got no intention, no plan. I think Bathurst this year was my last event, but it may not be.”
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Even outside of Supercars, Whincup said there’s no burning desire to tick off any bucket list items behind the wheel.
“I feel like I have given all I can with this concept of trying to drive a car around in circles as fast as you possibly can,” he said.
“It’s a great concept, it has involved half my life, but I have got no huge desire now to keep doing that.
“What I do have a huge desire of is growing the Triple Eight Race Engineering franchise. There’s a big challenge there and I’m looking forward to that challenge and trying to do the best I can.”
This season was the first since 2019 that Triple Eight won neither the drivers’ championship nor the Bathurst 1000.