Whincup says it's "business as usual" at Red Bull. Source: Mark Horsburgh / Supplied
CHAMPIONSHIP leader Jamie Whincup has laughed off claims the sacking of his team principal will derail his bid to win a record fifth V8 Supercar title, with the Red Bull Racing Australia driver declaring it is "business as usual" at the all conquering outfit.
The shock dismissal of Holden Racing Team (HRT) bound Adrian Burgess earlier this month has cast doubt on Whincup's championship credentials, with rivals suspecting the team will be weakened by the turmoil that will see team owner Roland Dane take back full control of racing operations at Winton this weekend.
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Burgess, the mastermind behind two of Whincup's title wins, was suddenly sent packing by the team after it was revealed he had signed a deal to reunite with former Jim Beam charge James Courtney at HRT next year.
Ahead of what could prove to be a championship changing round at Winton beginning Friday, Whincup defiantly predicted the upheaval at the team would have "zero" effect on the speed of his or teammate Craig Lowndes' car.
"We are not vulnerable at all," Whincup said.
"Adrian had to make a call for him personally and he did what he had to do. He won't be at our team from here on in but we are a 50-deep team here and losing one person will not change us.
"We will be operating at 100 percent and will be business as usual."
Burgess was employed by the team after helping win Dick Johnson Racing (DJR) the 2010 championship with Roland Dane deciding to step back from running the hugely successful Triple Eight outfit.
According to Whincup, Burgess had little to nothing to do with the engineering department and was employed to oversea the operation in its entirety.
"All the fundamentals are still the same," Whincup said.
"Losing him should have no effect at all moving forward. Adrian oversaw everything so RD (Dane) could look at other projects. RD will step back in and get on the front line. It is a job he has done before.
"Adrian had nothing to do with the engineering of the cars and as far as car speed goes, nothing will be different at all."
Whincup, who leads the championship heading into the final event before the start of the endurance season, said Dane would bring the best out in the team with his hard-nose management style.
"RD is the best operator," Whincup said.
"His plan was to step back but he is going to have to get on the front-line for a while. It is great news for us because he is the best.
"But he is also a hard man and a hard task master so we know we are up for a challenge. We will have a hard grind in front of us but we will be the better for it."
Whincup's lead in the championship has been chipped down to just 129 points and the four-time title winner is expecting the like of Lowndes, Mark Winterbottom and Will Davison to keep up the fight.
"It is a tight championship," Whincup said.
"I am happy that we are leading, but I am not quite sure we deserve to be with some of the results we have had.
"I'll take it but we need to stay on top of our game because all those guys will be fighting right until the end."
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