Aussie Alex into final

attack that bent panels and ruined paintwork, van Gisbergen floored his way past McLaughlin to move another step closer to stealing the title lead. The Holden driver now has the Ford star looming large in his sights after collecting a whopping 300 points in the one-off 300km return to night racing.

“We put a big preparation into it because we knew it was the biggest points per kilometre of the year,’’ van Gisber- gen said. “We knew we had to do a good job with no mistakes and that is what we did. It is really cool to come out of here with [maximum] points and we go into the next few rounds in a good spot.’’

Penske’s McLaughlin said he was not considering his position in the championship during his Eastern Creek fight with his Red Bull rival.

“No, I wasn’t thinking about the championship,’’ McLaugh- lin said. “I wanted to win the first night race. I was trying my hardest. I know that Shane is my closet rival at the moment and I was trying to hold him back.’’

Leading the race until a safety car sparked van Gisbergen’s race-winning charge, McLaughlin said he had nothing left to fight with after his tyres collected road rubber.

“I wasn’t going to die trying by attempting to hold Shane and Jamie back,’’ McLaughlin said. “I knew it was going to be on at the end. I was in a battle but unfortunately he was all over me and unfortunately I got a little bit of pick-up on the tyres at turn 3 and that was it.

“But I am sure it was still a good show for the fans because it was from my seat. We raced hard and did no one any favours, but it is still a bit disappointing because I feel like I had the best car.’’