Shane van Gisbergen and co-driver Garth Tander have led home a Red Bull Holden Racing Team weekend of dominance on the streets of Surfers Paradise winning the second race of the Vodafone Gold Coast 600. After trailing team mate Jamie Whincup and co-driver Craig Lowdnes home in the opening leg of the Saturday, the intra-team tables turned for the finale with Whincup in second.
“It was an awesome team weekend,” commented van Gisbergen. “To come and do it here on the Gold Coast which almost feels like home, is great but then to also finish one-two on both days makes it even more special. The weekend couldn’t have been any better.
“The pace we had today and even yesterday was very good. We managed to avoid the walls and push through the chicanes. Garth definitely gave us a great start and maintained consistency throughout his stint, so I just had to jump in and keep it going. Hopefully we can do the same at Sandown as we were good there last year, so I am looking forward to it.”
Supercars points leader Scott McLaughlin and co-driver Alex Premat were forced out of the running when McLaughlin had a 43G crash into a concrete wall during qualifying this morning.
McLaughlin, who was sitting on provisional pole at the time, clipped the inside wall at the exit of the first chicane and fired across the track into the concrete, flipping the No.17 Mustang onto its side.
McLaughlin was able to pull himself from the car with the aid of officials and fellow competitor Shane van Gisbergen who stopped to assist, however he was subsequently admitted to Gold Coast University Hospital for additional tests. Following several tests, he was given the all clear and released.
“That was the biggest shunt of my career, and its testament to the work put into these cars that I was able to walk away,” McLAughlin said. “Thanks to all the marshals and officials that helped me, and to Dr Carl and the Supercars medical team. Thanks to Shane too for stopping and checking on me.
“Because of the size of the crash, I had to go to hospital and have a few tests, but I’ve been given the all clear so now I’m looking forward to getting back on track again. I’m really sorry to my team, they’re going to have to put in some hard yards over the next week or so to get us ready for Sandown, but they are the best in the business so I’m sure we’ll be good as new in two weeks.”
Penrite Racing’s David Reynolds/Luke Youlden finished third 0.6720 seconds behind Whincup, followed by Scott Pye/Warren Luff and Cameron Waters/Michael Caruso.
The series resumes in a fortnight at the Penrite Oil Sandown 500, with McLaughlin and van Gisbergen the only title contenders heading into the penultimate round.
McLaughlin’s lead in the Championship has been cut by 150 points to 463, with Coulthard sitting fourth 400 points further back. The Team’s points lead has also been cut, with it now sitting at 132 points.
Van Gisbergen/Tander meanwhile lead Whincup/Lowndes by 36 points two-thirds of the way through the PIRTEK Enduro Cup.
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