Teammates share success
THE Red Bull Holden Racing Team has completed a stunning weekend at the Townsville 400 after Jamie Whincup and Shane van Gisbergen shared the race honours.
Whincup produced a dominant drive to claim his 10th Reid Park victory ahead of his teammate on Saturday before they reversed positions as van Gisbergen cruised home to win yesterday’s race.
It was the third time the Triple Eight stars have claimed the Townsville quinella after Whincup also led home van Gisbergen in the Saturday race in 2016.
Van Gisbergen grabbed the early lead after a wild opening lap before Whincup hit the front after the first pit stops as he looked to claim the second Reid Park sweep of his illustrious career.
Whincup managed to open up a steady gap, but van Gisbergen still had the speed after earlier winning the Top 10 Shootout and made his move on Lap 43 of the 70- lap race.
A late safety car gave Whincup a sniff as he hung in his teammate’s shadow over the final six laps, but van Gisbergen kept him at bay to win his first race since the opening round in Adelaide.
Van Gisbergen celebrated his win with what has become a customary burnout and the Kiwi ace said it was an “awesome day” for the Red Bull team after finally addressing their qualifying issues in the new ZB Commodore.
“All weekend we’ve been really fast,” van Gisbergen said.
“We improved the car a lot and the racing was really good. It took me a little bit to get used to it and then the pace was good.
“I think every weekend we learn as we go and we’re slowly understanding it ( the car) and getting better and better.
“I obviously want to take a lot of confidence out of it and momentum, but we’re always good at tracks like this so hopefully it carries on, but I do feel like we’ve learnt a lot with the car.”
Championship leader Scott McLaughlin started on the grid in seventh, but worked his way up to third to keep a 131- point buffer from van Gisbergen while Whincup moves up to fourth in the standings.
The winner of the Sunday race in Townsville has gone on to win the past four Supercars titles, a good omen for van Gisbergen, but the 2016 champion did not want to talk about his chances with another eight rounds left in the season.
“I’m just happy we genuinely took the fight to these guys ( McLaughlin and the Shell V- Power team),” he said.
“I feel like we can take them on head to head in racing and look forward to some battles in the next few rounds.”
Townsville was a needed boost for Whincup after just one podium in the previous four rounds, but he stopped short of saying he was back to his best.
“I think we were asleep there in the start of the year and got swamped pretty hard, but I feel like we’re certainly stepping up now and working really well as a team,” Whincup said.
“We’ve improved the cars, which is great, but we’re not getting carried away. It’s one round.
“I’m only having fun when I’m competitive and winning races, so this weekend was much better than the last few months.”