Race for title revs up
THE Gold Coast 600 battleground will be more intense this year with five drivers fighting for the Supercars championship after the Bathurst 1000 set up a thrilling finale to the season.
With three rounds left in this year’s series, five drivers have a serious shot at the title after the big guns were shot down at Mount Panorama.
Bathurst engine failures for season standouts Scott McLaughlin and Jamie Whincup have put Fabian Coulthard (DJR Team Penske), Chaz Mostert (Prodrive Racing Australia) and Shane van Gisbergen (Red Bull Holden Racing Team) in championship contention.
That means fans are in for a treat when the five clash on the Surfers Paradise street circuit in the next round from October 20-22.
Coulthard stole the championship lead from teammate McLaughlin by surviving the late Bathurst 1000 carnage to finish third.
“If you’d told me before the start of this weekend that I’d leave with my first Bathurst podium, the championship lead and the lead of the Pirtek Enduro Cup I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” Coulthard said.
“It’s was a great day for me, a real shame for Scott and Alex (Premat). They were super quick all weekend so seeing them go out like that wasn’t good at all.
“But it is good for the team to still get a result.”
Red Bull legend Whincup was able to salvage 60 points by nursing a wounded Commodore around for a final fling to be classified as a finisher.
The six-time champion held on to second place in the championship fight and is 91 points behind leader Coulthard, who has stormed to
2431.
“It’s something,” Whincup said. “Not ideal but we took something away.”
McLaughlin was not so lucky with the Ford flyer crashing from first to third on the championship table (2334) following his terminal engine failure.
“It’s amazing how quickly things turn around and, boom, that’s the end of the day,” McLaughlin said.
“We were hanging in there, waiting for the end of the race and it all turned real quick.”
Van Gisbergen fought his way home to finish fourth and move to 2142 championship points to remain in the hunt.
IN a game-changing call, IndyCar heavyweights Andretti Autosport and Brown’s United Autosports will buy into the once-mighty Holden team from 2018.
From January 1, the team will be known as Walkinshaw Andretti Autosport.
Coulthard was unfazed by the looming threat, in fact considering it a compliment that Andretti had followed the lead of his DJR Team Penske boss – US giant Roger Penske – in entering Supercars.
“I think it is fantastic if more want to join,” he said.