KIWI CHASING CROWN
McLaughlin extends lead on his race rivals
themercury.com.au
Motorsport
SUBSCRIPTIONS 1300 696 397
SCOTT McLaughlin kept his eyes on the championship prize on the second day of racing at the Repco SuperSprint at The Bend, shaking off a mistake on Saturday to clinch a podium finish then a race win on Sunday.
The Shell V-Power Racing Ford Mustang driver extended his championship lead to 215 points with two rounds remaining — one at the South Australian track again next weekend and the last at the mountain in Bathurst next month.
A millimetre-perfect start from pole position as the lights turned green set up his victory over teammate Fabian Coulthard in the third and final race of the weekend.
After winning the Saturday race, Coulthard finished the overall winner for the round.
McLaughlin’s nearest championship rival, Red Bull
Holden Racing Team’s Jamie Whincup, had a shock result of 17th in Sunday’s first race but salvaged a third position in the second, as he tried to pull out all stops over the weekend to claw back some ground.
McLaughlin said the championship was not over despite his hefty lead.
“I’m sure it’s going to get even more dramatic, which will be great for everyone at home,” he said.
“For us, the car is fantastic, it’s a pleasure to drive and I’m proud of everyone at Shell VPower Racing to bounce back from yesterday.
“I think track position helps, being in front. I got a good start and am thankful that we did.”
Whincup was thankful to claw back to the podium after a disastrous first race of the day, when a bungled pit stop cost him time.
“It’s been a tough weekend, we made too many mistakes,” he said.
Turn 17 on lap one again was the location for carnage, after an incident between the two championship leaders there on Saturday.
This time it occurred midpack and Shane van Gisbergen received a 15-second time penalty for his role in causing race cars behind him to collide and spin through the dust.
The incident cost Mark Winterbottom and James Courtney their races, the two limping back to the pits and failing to complete a lap of the last race.
It was a starkly different result for van Gisbergen earlier on Sunday afternoon, when in the first race of the day he won a drag race with McLaughlin to the first corner.
The Red Bull Holden Racing Team driver took on polesitter McLaughlin from the front row and just managed to pip his fellow New Zealander as they exited Turn 1.
In warm, sunny yet blowy conditions, McLaughlin elected to be among the first to take his pit stop on lap six and was passed by Mobil 1 Appliances Online driver Chaz Mostert in the pits.
Mostert struggled to hang on to his position late in the race, eventually finishing 11th.
NED Whisky Racing’s Andre Heimgartner, who qualified fifth and fell back to sixth at the start of the race, kept in touch with the frontrunners and got a blinding run with 10 laps to go, making the pass of the race past both McLaughlin and Mostert at the one corner.
He held on second spot.
CARA JENKIN
to finish in