Night rider
Kiwi driver wins dramatic race in Sydney classic
A courageous drive from Shane van Gisbergen saw the New Zealand star secure a drama-packed first Supercars night race in Australia for 21 years.
Van Gisbergen engaged in a classic battle with Kiwi championship rival Scott McLaughlin, before passing the Ford driver in his Holden with 10 laps to go, in an enthralling race at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday.
It proved to be a stunning night for Red Bull Holden, as Jamie Whincup worked his way past McLaughlin with three laps to go, for a second-place finish.
Van Gisbergen’s fifth win of the season, making it three from the last four, could prove to be vital in his quest for a second title.
The safety car coming out with 19 laps to go in the 300km race played into his hands, as the race previously seemed to be a twoway fight between McLaughlin and Holden veteran Craig Lowndes.
But van Gisbergen adopted an ultra-aggressive approach from the restart to pick off Lowndes, before flying past McLaughlin, following a number of unsuccessful attempts.
‘‘I think in the end it turned out to be a great race,’’ van Gisbergen said.
‘‘When the safety came out the race really came alive and hopefully we put on a good show for the fans.
‘‘The front five cars were all on good tyres and had a close battle. Craig [Lowndes] and Scotty [McLaughlin] pitted early and I think we still could have run them down without the safety car, it still would’ve all come together. I just knew I had to get a good restart and get Craig as quick as I could, because he was driving really well.
‘‘Thankfully, I passed him straight away, and could focus on bringing the tyres in nice to attack Scotty.
‘‘The battle with Scotty was epic, he got a bit of pick-up and ran a little wide, so we got a free pass there.
‘‘The 300 points wasn’t on my mind during the race, but it definitely was in preparation for the weekend.
‘‘We just knew that we had to do a good job with no mistakes and get a good result which, as a team, is what we did.’’
Reigning champion Whincup also benefited from the safety car as he was able to pass Lowndes and then McLaughlin, setting a race lap record of 1min 29.8424sec at the Eastern Creek circuit.
Tickford Racing’s Chaz Mostert rounded out the top five, finishing behind Lowndes and McLaughlin.
It could be a defining moment in the championship fight, with the sole race of the weekend worth double a regular event.
McLaughlin was unable to convert his 11th pole of the season as van Gisbergen’s success cut the gap in the championship battle to only 89 points.
‘‘I’m gutted,’’ McLaughlin said. ‘‘I’m proud of the team and the way we raced, and the strategy, but we just ran out of luck with that safety car.’’
Fellow Kiwi driver Fabian Coulthard finished 11th, while Richie Stanaway was 21st and Andre Heimgartner 24th.