Scott McLauglin, Shane van Gisbergen and Fabian Coulthard (main picture) were all competing at the Sucrogen Townsville 400 back in 2013, the seventh round of the V8 Supercars Championship.
Coulthard, driving for Brad Jones Racing, scored his ninth podium from 20 starts in Saturday’s race finishing behind a Ford 1-2, with Will Davison winning from Mark Winterbottom.
Shane van Gisbergen, driving the VIP Tekno Holden, grabbed pole with an outstanding effort in the shootout, and was in control before a calamity during his pit stop. The car was dropped off the jack too early, resulting in a drive-through penalty and then a further stop because they had not been able to add sufficient fuel at the initial pit stop.
Van Gisbergen was again the fastest car when he returned, recovering to 17th on a day when they had a strong change to top the podium.
The third Kiwi in the race, rookie Scot McLaughlin (Garry Rogers Motorsport Holden VF Commodore) also qualified in the top 10 and was solid until the final stint when the hard tyres went off badly and he drifted from a handy seventh position to 14th.
In Sunday’s race, van Gisbergen charged from last to a place on the podium after being spun around a the first corner of the opening lap. While it was a Ford 1-2 on Saturday, the Holden Racing Team duo of Garth Tander and James Courtney took first and second.
Van Gisbergen left Townsville in fifth place overall in the championship ahead of Tander and compatriot Fabian Coulthard who was caught out on the slower hard tyres to finish 17th.
Young Kiwi star McLaughlin, who started on the front row of the grid, fell well back after the longest of all stints on the hard tyres but made a strong run late on his faster soft tyres to finish ninth.
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