Craig Lowndes win in the second leg of the Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint is his first Supercars victory in nearly two years and his 106th win of his career. Having set the fastest lap in qualifying, Lowndes led the bulk of the 80-lap race at Symmons Plains, crossing the line 2.3571 seconds ahead of Scott McLaughlin, while Jamie Whincup completed the podium and becomes the new championship leader after throttle problems left Shane van Gisbergen 25th.
The 200km, 84 lap Race 8 started well for Shell V-Power Racing Team, with Scott McLaughlin from fourth on the grid and Fabian Coulthard from sixth. Good starts from both drivers saw them hold position, through to their first stops.
A quick stop saw McLaughlin leap the field to take the lead, fighting with Lowndes. Lowndes got by McLaughlin to re-take the lead on Lap 29, and they held those positions until their second stops.
McLaughlin pitted two laps earlier than Whincup and Lowndes, and raced them as they exited pit lane. He split the Triple 8 pairing, and then was able to hold that position through to the race finish to take a strong podium, against the tide of the weekend.
“For us today, this is almost like a win,” commented McLaughlin. “We struggled through the weekend, chasing down those Triple 8 Holdens. It was really nice to split them today, and be second on the road. It was a good battle, through the pitstops. I thought I might have been able to scrape past Craig, but after that last stop we just missed out. It feels like a win, and now we move on to Phillip Island where we feel quite strong.”
Coulthard raced well again, gaining positions to be third until his first pit stop. He returned to the track and continued on at strong pace, however he complained of a strange feeling in the rear end of the car. It would prove to be a loose wheel nut, which failed on lap 41. Coulthard returned to the lane, took four tyres and fuel to the finish but lost a lap in the process. He battled hard to end the race in p17 after making several passes in the closing stages.
Tickford Racing rookie Richie Stanaway’s torrid season continued, retiring on the opening lap with significant left-rear corner damage sustained as the pack tackled Turn 4 for the first time.
The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship continues on April 20-22 with the WD-40 Phillip Island 500.
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1. Jamie Whincup 658
2. Scott McLaughlin 647
3. David Reynolds 647
4. James Courtney 624
5. Shane van Gisbergen 618
6. Craig Lowndes 597
7. Scott Pye 589
8. Nick Percat 505
9. Chaz Mostert 494
10. Tim Slade 479
11. Fabian Coulthard 473
TEAMS’ CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS
1. Triple Eight Race Engineering 1276
2. Walkinshaw Andretti United 1213
3. Shell V-Power Racing Team 1120
4. Brad Jones Racing 984
5. Tickford Racing (Winterbottom/Mostert) 955
6. Erebus Motorsport 901
7. Nissan NISMO (Caruso/De Silvestro) 674
8. Garry Rogers Motorsport 617
9. Nissan Motorsport (Kelly/Heimgartner) 615
10. Tickford Racing (Waters/Stanaway) 597
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