Shane van Gisbergen’s bold overtaking move to claim a dramatic Supercars victory in the final race of the Townsville SuperSprint has provoked the ire of Ford rival Scott McLaughlin.
Only hours after claiming his first win of the season, Holden’s van Gisbergen added a second 2020 triumph to turn around a campaign which had been filled with disappointment heading into this weekend’s round.
McLaughlin appeared to be heading towards his 11th win of the season but the championship leader faded around the Reid Park street circuit on Sunday afternoon as van Gisbergen grabbed the lead with just four laps remaining.
The safety car being called on lap 25, when Anton de Pasquale’s Commodore crashed into a wall, worked in van Gisbergen’s favour.
Van Gisbergen was thrilled with his 38th career win, which was made even sweeter when Red Bull teammate Jamie Whincup crossed the line in second.
“What an awesome race,” he said.
“Had a great car and got stuck in the first stint so it was going to be interesting trying to get back to the podium but the safety car worked out perfectly.
“Big battle at the end, tried to do the team thing to help Jamie, so really awesome.”
After finishing third, a livid McLaughlin hit out at van Gisbergen’s move to overtake him.
“I think if we didn’t have the safety car, we might have been a real good shot… but when the safety car happened I was just hanging on,” McLaughlin said.
“Shane’s playing the team game there, and he’s made some clean passes over the years but that was pretty average, just a big push off at the end.
“It would have been nice to have a bit more of a fair battle.”
A perennial championship contender, van Gisbergen has endured a number of near misses this season as his fellow New Zealander McLaughlin appears destined to win a third-straight title.
But in Holden’s final season in the sport, Whincup and van Gisbergen are taking the fight to McLaughlin after the pair’s productive back-to-back events in Townsville.
After four-straight weekends of racing, drivers will have a break before they head to Tailem Bend in South Australia for races on September 19-20.
McLaughlin has a 143-point lead over Whincup in the championship standings with three rounds remaining, including the Bathurst 1000 season-finale.
TOWNSVILLE SUPERSPRINT RACE TWO
1. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden)
2. Scott McLaughlin (Ford)
3. Jamie Whincup (Holden)
4. Nick Percat (Holden)
5. Cameron Waters (Ford)
TOWNSVILLE SUPERSPRINT RACE THREE
1. Shane van Gisbergen (Holden)
2. Jamie Whincup (Holden)
3. Scott McLaughlin (Ford)
4. Chaz Mostert (Holden)
5. Scott Pye (Holden)
SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1. Scott McLaughlin 1834 pts
2. Jamie Whincup 1691
3. Chaz Mostert 1390
4. Cameron Waters 1369
5. Shane van Gisbergen 1357