FINAL WEEKEND A BEAUTY
IT all comes down to one final battle.
After nine months, 30 races, and one epic duel, just two points separate Scott McLaughlin from Shane van Gisbergen heading into the final race of the year.
Setting the scene for a winner-takes-all Newcastle 500 thriller, van Gisbergen moved a step closer to crushing McLaughlin’s dream of winning the crown with a spectacular last-lap pass.
Van Gisbergen floored his Red Bull Holden past a fuelsaving McLaughlin to win the 250km street fight.
“What a race,’’ van Gisbergen said.
“That was just awesome and doesn’t that set it up for (today)?’’ It certainly does. In the closest decider in V8 history, whoever wins the oneon-one race will be crowned V8 champion.
“It will be two big times just fighting hard for it,’’ van Gisbergen said.
“I can’t wait for tomorrow. There are two top teams here and we are both up the front.’’
McLaughlin seemed certain to extend his championship lead to 26 points and put one hand on the championship trophy after flooring his way to the front as van Gisbergen made a third stop for fuel.
But van Gisbergen charged his way through the field to pass a fading-on-fuel McLaughlin just metres away from the finish line.
“He was struggling at the end,’’ Van Gisbergen said.
“But they made the risky call to get all the fuel in. I thought it was all over for a while there but It came back our way.’’