New Zealand driver Scott McLaughlin, on the back of a win on Saturday and second placing in Townsville today, leads the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
The 24-year-old McLaughlin holds a marrow six-point advantage over Red Bull Racing rival Jamie Whincup (pictured) who broke through for his first win of the season. His teammate, fellow Kiwi Shane van Gisbergen, finished third.
It was not such good news for McLaughlin’s Shell V Power Racing teammate and fellow Kiwi Fabian Coulthard, who had a weekend to forget, dropping to third in the championship 158 points behind McLaughlin with van Gisbergen a further 73 points back in fourth.
At the midway of the championship, the flying New Zealand trio has won 12 of the 14 races and are three of the top four overall.
Whincup and his Red Bull Holden Racing Team pulled a surprise by defeating McLaughlin and Shell V-Power, which had dominated the weekend to date.
The result brings Whincup equal with Craig Lowndes as the all-time most successful in the history of championship on 105 wins.
“It took a while, but what a relief,” beamed Whincup. “Trying to get a win this year has been bloody tough. As always, it was tough again.
“Scotty’s things a rocket but we dug deep today. The guys did a great job. I’d like to feel we deserved this one.”
Pole-sitter McLaughlin had held the lead off the start, holding out David Reynolds at Turn 1 after a quick getaway for the Erebus Holden from fourth on the grid.
Whincup meanwhile tracked McLaughlin and was just 1.5s adrift when the Red Bull entry made its first stop on lap 16. McLaughlin pitted a lap later and emerged second after taking on six litres more fuel than his rival.
While that should have reversed the positions in the second stops, Whincup was able to ease away as the stint progressed, pulling more than three seconds clear.
McLaughlin ran two laps longer than Whincup before their second stop and emerged one second behind with 26 laps to go.
The Shell Ford driver battled cool suit issues during the race and, while taking the flag just 1.6s adrift, never truly threatened Whincup for the remaining laps.
“I lost my cool suit so that was tough, but well done to Jamie,” said McLaughlin. “He was consistent and it was only a matter of time. It was a champion drive and we had nothing for him.”
Van Gisbergen had a quiet race, dropping from second to fourth with another tardy start before soon gaining one place back at the expense of Reynolds.
The reigning champion held an effective third throughout, eventually finishing 7.3s behind his winning team-mate.
Prodrive pair Mark Winterbottom and Chaz Mostert scored fourth and fifth respectively, each gaining a single place from their starting positions.
The loser in that was Reynolds, who race pace did not match his qualifying speed and eventually finished 11th.
The next stop is the Ipswich SuperSprint in Queensland in three weeks with only the Super Sprint event in Sydney in August before the start of the three major two-driver endure events at Sandown, Bathurst and Gold Coast.
Attention then turns across the Tasman for the ITM Auckland SuperSprint at Pukekohe Park Raceway on 1-4 November which is set for a Kiwi celebration with McLaughlin, Coulthard and van Gisbergen dominating the competition to date.
Tickets are now on sale at Ticketek for the ITM Auckland SuperSprint, which will be decided on a new format with two longer 200km races on both Saturday and Sunday. Family concessions mean kids 12 and under get trackside access free (with a paying adult). Grandstand tickets are better value than ever with single day grandstand tickets also available.
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