Red Bull warns McLaughlin the battle is on

WATCH out Scott McLaughlin, we’re coming for you.

That’s the Supercars championship warning issued by Red Bull Holden Racing Team following a dominant showing at the Townsville 400.

Shane van Gisbergen’s first race win since March on Sunday narrowed Ford driver McLaughlin’s championship lead to 131 points while teammate Jamie Whincup has kept his title defence alive after a win on Saturday and a secondplace finish on Sunday.

The seven-time champion, who pipped McLaughlin to the title last year in the final race of the season, is 403 points off the lead but has moved up to fourth after the Townsville weekend.

Red Bull owner Roland Dane said having both cars finish ahead of McLaughlin in both races in north Queensland was the perfect outcome.

Dane says the DJR Team Penske driver is the only worry for his team heading into the back half of the season.

“There’s only one guy whose consistently been quicker over the last few races and that’s Scotty,” Dane said.

“It’s really a question of doing as good or better job than he is. Their other car is weak and Scotty’s the one we’ve got to focus on.”

McLaughlin was pleased to salvage a pair of third-place finishes from Townsville, conceding the Red Bull pair were simply too quick to catch this time.

But he’s not daunted or surprised by the response from his rivals. “They’re a great team, they’ll fight back when they want,” McLaughlin said. AAP