Mclaughlin edges away as Whincup falls
Scott Mclaughlin is now firmly in control of the Supercars title after outscoring rival Jamie Whincup in all three races at The Bend Motorsport Park.
The pair went into the first leg of the South Australian double-header separated by 143 points, only for the margin to balloon to 215 thanks to an error-ridden weekend from seven-time champion Whincup.
The scene was set early for Whincup, his initial blunder coming on the opening lap of Saturday’s first race. Looking to surprise leader Mclaughlin, the Triple Eight Holden driver went for an ambitious lunge into Turn 17, only to lock his rears and clatter into the side of the DJR Team Penske Ford and send them both off the road.
Whincup fared better in the scramble to get going again, slotting back into 10th. But he was swiftly slapped with a 15-second penalty that meant he could do no better than 18th by the finish.
That opened the door for Mclaughlin to do some real damage in the title fight, the Kiwi fighting his way from 19th to third at the chequered flag. But Mclaughlin too picked up a 15s penalty along the way for contact on Lee Holdsworth, dropping him to 14th in the results in what was a huge let-off for Whincup.
Meanwhile, there was a thrilling battle at the front thanks to higher-than-expected tyre degradation. Shane van Gisbergen led the majority of the race only for his rears to fall off a cliff in the closing stages. Some staunch defence saw him hold off Fabian Coulthard and Jack Le Brocq until the start of the penultimate lap, when the Mustangs finally got through and bolted away.
Coulthard then held off Le Brocq by 0.5s to take his first win in 41 starts, as Bryce Fullwood took a career-first podium and van Gisbergen sunk all the way back to ninth.
Van Gisbergen got his set-up right for the first of Sunday’s two races, a bold move around the outside of Mclaughlin into Turn 1 setting up a dominant win. A cautious Mclaughlin came home third behind
Andre Heimgartner, safe in the knowledge that Whincup was back in 17th after being delayed by an air-spike issue during his stop.
Whincup finally had a clean run in the final heat, making his first appearance on the podium with third place. But he was no match for the two Penske Mustangs, Mclaughlin extending his points lead with a comfortable win as Coulthard played the rear-gunner role in second.
Mclaughlin now has the opportunity to seal the title at this weekend’s second Supersprint at The Bend, which will be held on the shorter, sharper ‘West’ layout. If he can stretch the margin to 300 points or more, he’ll head to the season-ending Bathurst 1000 next month as a threetime series champion.