Shane’s got the runs on board
RED Bull team boss Roland Dane says Shane van Gisbergen’s 2016 championship win has him “better equipped” to handle the pressure than Scott McLaughlin in their Supercars title showdown.
The battle for the V8 crown between DJR Team Penske star McLaughlin and van Gisbergen will go down to the wire in the last round at the Newcastle 500 next week.
In one of the tightest finishes the series has seen, McLaughlin will take a slender 14-point lead over his Red Bull Holden Racing Team rival into the final round.
While McLaughlin is still chasing his maiden Supercars crown, fellow New Zealander van Gisbergen has one in the bank from two years ago
Dane believed that experience would give van Gisbergen an edge for the decider.
“It reduces the pressure, there is no question,’’ Dane said. “When you have won a championship already it just takes a little bit of pressure off you. But Scotty will have learnt a lot from last year when he succumbed to the pressure and he will have taken a lot out of that.
“But there is no question that if you have won a championship, if you have won a grand final, you’re probably better equipped.’’
McLaughlin’s championship dream was shattered in Newcastle last year when a costly late collision with Craig Lowndes – that resulted in his third penalty for the race – allowed Jamie Whincup to swoop in and win an unprecedented seventh title.
With fellow Triple Eight drivers Whincup and Lowndes out of championship contention, Dane said van Gisbergen’s teammates would team up to help him win.
“If they can help, of course they will,’’ Dane said.
“The great thing is I don’t even need to ask them, they are fully committed to helping. Shane helped Jamie last year as well, so they will assist.
“But they won’t do anything silly and they certainly won’t get in the way of a good battle between Scotty and Shane.’’
There was off-track niggle between the two leading teams in the last round in Auckland after DJR Team Penske protested a stewards decision clearing their rivals following an investigation into spinning wheels at a pit stop.
Van Gisbergen also parked so close to McLaughlin after the race that the championship leader couldn’t get out.