Jamie Whincup will try to do some racing outside of Australia after retiring as a full-time Supercars driver later this year.
The seven-time Supercars champion is set to embark on his last campaign as a full-time, before moving into the role of managing director and team principal at Triple Eight.
He doesn’t always hang up the helmet for good, however, Whincup is open to the idea of a more diverse program once he’s retired from Supercars.
While he has always broken in Supercars, Whincup has traditionally not done much out of school racing during his career.
His competitive work outside of Supercars is largely limited to Bathurst 12 Hour’s four starters, who gave up three podiums including a win for Maranello Motorsport in 2017.
He also impressed McLaren ‘s test team when he drove a Formula 1 car around Albert Park for a promotional event in 2010 – even prompting rumors that he might be invited to do more testing in Europe. But that did not happen in the end.
But the European dream may not be over, however, Whincup is now open to dealing with some of the big international events once the epidemic is over and back borders are open.
“I’ve slightly lost myself from other motor sports methods,” he said.
“There are other races around the world that I would like to compete in while I am still sharp and driving well, ready to go.
“But, I have to wait and see. I’ll get back to you more than that, maybe in the next six months.
“Yes [no single race] that very much manifests itself. But there are some pavilion events around the world in which all drivers want to compete. One of these might be attractive.
“But I don’t want to promise anything like that, there’s plenty on my plate for 2021 and 2022 and that’s my priority.”
Whincup won’t even promise to drive Supercars enduro for 2022 just yet, four-time Bathurst 1000 winner waiting to have his workload assessed before making a final call.
“[I’m] unsure about that, “he said. It depends … this opportunity to be a team principal is huge and may take up most, if not all, of my time.
“I have to evaluate that, but it’s not out of the question to submit as a co-driver to make the races sustainable in 2022.”
One thing Whincup is sure of is a contender for the eighth Supercars title this year.
“I would have pulled the pin at the end of last year if I didn’t think I could do it at number eight,” he said.
“I’m not there to make up the numbers, I’m there to get results. Of course number eight is achievable.”