Kiwi rivals still battling on for title
Supercars title protagonists Scott McLaughlin and Shane van Gisbergen traded points, paint and some gamesmanship at Pukekohe but the end result saw no change to McLaughlin’s slender 14-point lead as the championship heads to its Newcastle finale later this month.
The ITM Auckland SuperSprint saw the Kiwi duo to the fore. Van Gisbergen won on Saturday after closing fast on race leader McLaughlin and bumping past on his way to a win. To seal the victory, van Gisbergen had to stretch the gap to McLaughlin to cover a 5secs time penalty for the contact with McLaughlin.
Sunday’s second 70-lapper saw a reversal of competitive fortune with McLaughlin in command and van Gisbergen claiming second place — and nine potentially vital points — after a last lap swap of positions with teammate Jamie Whincup. With the Kiwi rivals scoring equal points for the weekend it leaves McLaughlin just 14 points clear going into the final race weekend and the title fight is now an all-Kiwi, Ford against Holden duel. Third placed Jamie Whincup is now 481 points behind McLaughlin with 300 points left to play for at Newcastle.
Bathurst winner Craig Lowndes signed off with his final New Zealand appearance as a fulltime Supercars driver by taking fourth place on Sunday and sixth overall for the Pukekohe weekend.
Lowndes is fourth in the championship, only 58 points behind Whincup. David Reynolds completed the Pukekohe weekend in a quiet front-running style with a fourth and fifth place effort and consolidated his fifth ranking in the championship.
The title deciding Coates Hire Newcastle 500 on November 24-25 features a 95-lap race each day on the beachfront street circuit. Scott McLaughlin leads the championship by 14 points going into the final round in Newcastle later this month. Championship leader Scott McLaughlin races past fans on the crowded hill in his Ford Falcon GG-X. Jamie Whincup leads the field at the start of Sunday’s race.