Holden breaks its duck
AFTER eight races, Holden has finally produced a Supercars race winner, with Shane van Gisbergen triumphing at Symmons Plains to kickstart his season.
The Kiwi won from pole position yesterday, beating home Fabian Coulthard and David Reynolds on a grey day in Tasmania.
While the drizzle made for miserable conditions, there were finally smiles in the Red Bull Holden Racing Team.
Never before has the sport’s dominant team had to wait so long for a win, and hopes will now be high they can begin to chip away Scott McLaughin’s championship lead.
McLaughlin finished fourth yesterday, the first time he’s started a race this season and not won it.
The Kiwi’s lead at the top of the standings is now 124 points to teammate and compatriot Coulthard, who took second place in both races.
But together with Jamie Whincup’s run through the field to finish fifth, Red Bull and van Gisbergen could look back on a result that didn’t come easily.
Van Gisbergen was clearly relieved post-race, considering his last meet at the Australian Grand Prix yielded a DNF, 10th, 21st and 22nd.
“So good to get one back,” he said. “What an awesome race, I had a big battle with Fabian and Scott out of the pits. We’ve bounced back from our shocker last time ... once our tyre life was good I knew we were going to be OK.”
Whincup jumped off the canvas yesterday, putting aside his last place on Saturday, rallying strongly from a grid position of 13th.
In a tactical race, a breakaway of the top five finishers and drought-breaking Saturday pole-winner Mark Winterbottom duelled for control. Highlights were a bumper-tobumper and door-to-door lap between van Gisbergen and McLaughlin, and a red-hot duel between Coulthard and Reynolds. Reynolds was disappointed not to nab Coulthard but at least bagged a first podium of his year.
“We gave it our best shot,” Coulthard said. “I’m rapt for my guys … they did a great job.” Garry Jacobsen had a dire day, finishing 22 laps down after an electrical issue and copping a $3000 fine and the loss of 30 team points for a pit stop line lock breach.