Long game strategy pays off for Van Gisbergen

SHANE van Gisbergen got the better of Scott McLaughlin in a game of pit stop cat and mouse to score a narrow win in yesterday’s Ipswich SuperSprint.

First the Red Bull Holden Racing driver beat pole sitter McLaughlin off the start, and then he played the long game with his stops, which proved the difference when the chequered flag was waved.

Van Gisbergen cut McLaughlin’s Supercars championship lead to 131 points after the DJR/ Team Penske man took out Saturday’s race.

The victory gave van Gisbergen a 300- point gap to the rest of the chasing pack of Holdens – teammate Jamie Whincup, David Reynolds and Craig Lowndes.

Queensland has proved a happy hunting ground for van Gisbergen, who backed up his last- round victory in Townsville with yesterday’s win at Queensland Raceway.

“That was awesome,’’ van Gisbergen said.

“It was another great battle with Scotty and I was able to get him in the end. It is a great result for the team and I am very stoked with that.

“Scott is very consistent as well,’’ van Gisbergen said. “That team is consistent and I am really enjoying the fight upfront. I am just loving it.’’

McLaughlin, still just 25, created a piece of history when he beat van Gisbergen in qualifying by just 0.04 of a second to claim the third- most pole positions in the history of the sport.

McLaughlin scored his 42nd qualifying win to surpass Lowndes and now sits behind only Whincup ( 75) and Peter Brock ( 57) on the all- time list.

In almost a carbon copy of the line launch that allowed him to steal five places in race one, van Gisbergen took the lead from McLaughlin at the start.

McLaughlin chased hard and closed the gap before electing to take the undercut by pitting after just 11 laps.

Van Gisbergen continued to run long and rejoined the race three spots behind McLaughlin on lap 21.

On fresh rubber and with more fuel, the Red Bull driver floored his way past Fabian Coulthard, Whincup and Chaz Mostert to set up another down to the wire fight with McLaughlin. The Kiwi won out in the strategy fight following the second round of stops when he emerged to lead McLaughlin by just over a second.

And he could not be caught.