‘Fight it out yourselves’

SHANE van Gisbergen says he won’t play tail gunner and try to shoot down Scott McLaughlin in a bid to hand Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup an unprecedented seventh Supercars crown.

DJR/Team Penske title hopeful McLaughlin will go head-to-head with Whincup for the V8 crown in the seasonending Newcastle 500, which begins with practice on Friday. Whincup leads McLaughlin by just 30 points in one of the closest finishes in championship history.

Van Gisbergen, who stormed his way to a breakthrough title last season, was adamant the championship decider should be strictly a two-way fight.

“I won’t be doing any of that stuff,’’ van Gisbergen said.

“I won’t be holding him up or taking him out. I have never done it myself to help anyone and I don’t think I ever will. When it is a two-horse race, even though there are 20 other cars on the track, it is better they fight it out themselves.”

But with Whincup holding a narrow lead heading into the winner-takes-all clash, van Gisbergen said he’d give Whincup pitting preference.