Whincup claims hat-trick at Eastern Creek.

Jamie Whincup has claimed a third place finish from the latest round of the V8 Supercar Championship after bringing his Team Vodafone Falcon home on the podium in two out of three races at Eastern Creek.

Whincup had started the opening race of the weekend from the second row of the grid but a fine start saw him quickly jump into second place behind HRT driver Mark Skaife, with solid work from the Triple Eight run squad during the mandatory pit-stop enabling Whincup to maintain his position - settling for second after a small mistake while chasing Skaife saw him lose his chance of a race win.

"My car was good from the start," Whincup said. "It balanced out as the race went on and was even better after the Safety Car period. I thought I might have had a chance to pass Mark after the Safety Car but I a pushed a little too hard at turn nine and ran wide.

"My goal this year is to be consistent, today's second place is another positive result but it's a long championship and I am very conscious of not getting ahead of myself."

Building on that performance, Whincup came home third in the second race of the weekend and then just missed the podium in race three - meaning he finished the round in third place behind Holden duo Skaife and Todd Kelly and has closed the gap to Garth Tander in the overall championship standings.

"This weekend consistency was the key," Whincup, who has now finished in the top three in each of the last three V8 Supercar events, said. "I am very comfortable that we are on track in terms of progress which is obvious by our results over the past three rounds.

"I am very happy to just be out there doing the job that I am expected to do. With the tracks that are coming up on the calendar I am looking forward to proving that our progress is ongoing."